Another finish

Today's finished quilt. I did the Circle Lord fan in the center pieced area.


A closer view of the fan and the small inner border.


And another curly feather in the outside border. I seem to be stuck on feathers the last few days. But feathers always look so elegant on quilts.


Short post today because I'm getting an early start on the next one.

Flower power quiltng

This is today's finished quilt. I can't seem to avoid the darkness in the photos. I've tried adjusting the camera but I still get dark areas.


I adapted a flower power design from Diana Phillips' new book. I put a large center flower into the center of the flower power flower. Oh my, that's a lot of the word flower in one sentence.


And...a smaller flower power design in the center of the appliqué piecing.


I didn't get to do much quilting or playing on the internet over the weekend. I had other things that required my attention. Like paying bills and making out a grocery list for next weekend and going to the hardware store. Yuck! I know, I know, boring stuff but oh so necessary.

Actually; going to the hardware is a pleasant task. It's one of my favorite places to shop. I like new things for my house but I also get new ideas to use in my quilting. I went to get a sheet of insulation board to create another design wall. For now the board is just sitting. I went while I had a ride with someone who could fit the board in their car. I'll get back to creating the wall later. Before I get back to making the design wall I need to take a trip to the fabric store. I'll need some white flannel. That will have to wait too.

Back to work

Here is today's finished quilt. It just barely fit onto my machine. As you can see, I folded one end to keep it on the table while taking the pictures.


I did freehand feathers in both the borders. LE lace on the inside small border.

And I did Circle Lord Baptist fan in the center pieced area.


Here is a close up of the freehand feathers. I couldn't get a picture of the back. The thread too closely matched the fabric and wouldn't show up.


I have another quilt loaded on the machine to start this morning. It may become a three day job. I will have to see how it goes.

I'm still making notes of organizing ideas to start in January. I spent a little time checking out organizing ideas (company sites) on the internet. Don't get me wrong, my budget won't allow me to purchase items in the hope they will help me organize. To the contrary, I visit these sites for ideas and inspiration. I'm a frugal living person. If there is a way for me to create an organizing item from 'found' objects that's what I will do.

I sincerely hope my blog will become a place of ideas and inspiration to anyone wanting to get their art, craft, or quilting life better organized. Time for me to go to work.

More about Mother

I've had some blog visitors suggest that we just ignore my mother's mind games. Instead of typing up several replies to several emails I thought I would type one reply right here. Thank you to those who read my blog and for your thoughts. I appreciate them all! This might get pretty wordy and I'm sorry if it does. At the end, maybe you will get a chuckle out of it too.

Believe me, I've tried ignoring the mind games my mother plays. So have the nursing home staff and the psychiatrists over the years. We've all tried to ignore the games.

Have you ever seen or known a person who likes to start an argument then stand back to watch all the excitement? This is basically what my mother is doing except she remains in the center of it all.

My mother has been playing these games since before I was born so she has had plenty of practice. It's the rest of us who haven't had enough practice dealing with her ways of getting us involved. Even though I've been through thousands of these mind games over my lifetime, I still fall into the trap before I know it. Why? Well because our natural tendencies are to protect those in danger.

The problem is that before anyone realizes it's another mind game, it's too late, we've already become a participant. For ease of clarity and explaining the situation let me use last night's episode as one example of how it all plays out. I hope you see the irony in it the same as I do.

HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED:

My mother is in a geriatric facility for mentally ill patients. Some of the patients have violent backgrounds. There is a married couple (Joe and Sharon Shmo) living across the hall from my mother. Joe has violent tendencies in his mental illness. Joe's best friend for many years, George Whoisit, visits once a week.

Last night my mother tells the nurse that Joe has said he feels like killing someone. It's a casual comment from my mother. The nurse now has my mother's full attention. (first mistake and a smidgen of truth - Joe sometimes does make these type comments) The nurse has set herself on alert for a violent episode from Joe because she is fully aware of Joe's medical history. The nurse goes to check on Joe. Joe seems just fine.

Next my mother sits there and starts to show signs of fear. (the second step in the game - she starts to work herself up into a panic) The nurse, doing her job, asks Mom what is wrong? Mom says she is scared because Joe doesn't like her. She is afraid Joe will attack her. So the nurse tries to calm Mom down. (second mistake and just a smidgen of truth - Joe really doesn't like my mother much) The nurse calls me to talk to Mom. Between the two of us we get her calm enough to get her back to her room and into bed. It is about 10 pm and she should rest.

Now for the sake of visual reference lay your hand out with the fingers spread wide. This is the shape of the nursing home. The fingers represent the halls to the rooms with the palm of your hand as the station where the nurses do all the work. They have a visual of every hall and doorway.

A little later, probably about midnight, my mother is scurrying along the hall (as fast as she can do a little old lady trot on a walker) screaming, help me, help me. (the third step in this episode) The nurse looks up (from another patient she has been helping at the station) to see what is going on. Mom acts like the devil himself were after her. A full blown panic attack.

Being a good nurse, Maggie tries to find out what is wrong with my Mom. Is she hurt? Has she fallen out of bed? Is she having trouble breathing? Did she have a nightmare? Just what is wrong? (third mistake - Not one really good nurse is going to ignore a call for help from a patient and Mom knows it)

(and a smidgen of truth - you tell me this time) Mom tells the nurse that Joe is trying to kill her. The nurse looks and Joe is walking up and down the hall. (A thing he does when he can't sleep.) Mom insists that Joe went into her room and he wants to kill her. So what is the nurse supposed to believe? Joe does have violent tendencies. Did Joe actually go into Mom's room and threaten her? Or is Mom just imagining it all? OR... did Mom stand and wait inside her door for the opportunity to continue the game? Did she wait for Joe to start his habit of walking before going screaming down the hall?

I get the second call of the night so I can calm my mother down. The nurse and I both assure her that we will keep a close watch on Joe. No harm will come to her. It takes about 45 minutes for the two of us to get her to go back to bed.

A couple of hours later I get another call. Mom is screaming at me to call the police. Joe has a gun in his room and he plans to kill her. I tell her I can't call the police to send them someplace else. She insists I can call them to report someone wants to kill my mother. No Mom, I can't call the police. I ask her how she knows Joe has a gun? She says he told her he did. (I wonder to myself - did he really threaten her or is this the game?) I try to explain that the staff would know if Joe had a gun. She says to me - not if it got smuggled in by a visitor. She tells me the nurses don't check the residents belonging or what is brought in by visitors. (another smidgen of truth - they really don't check so it is possible a patient could have a gun)

So now my mother has me fully into the mind game. I'm mentally asking myself does Joe have a gun? Should I be concerned enough to go there to see for myself or report it to the authorities? I ask Mom how she can be sure Joe really has a gun? She says because Joe asked his friend to bring him one almost a week ago. I ask, did the friend bring it? She says, yes, she heard Joe tell his friend he appreciated it being brought to him. The visitor was there just the day before.

I convince my mother that I will have someone check Joe's room from top to bottom in the morning. That I can't do anything until the administrator gets there at 9 am. Between the nurse and I; we get her calmed down again.

I get another call a couple of hours later. Its the nurse and my Mother again. She's in a panic again and won't go near her room. She has tried to call the police herself. This time I'm tired and completely out of patience. With the nurse listening on the extension, I tell my mother....Mom, if you don't calm down and stop calling me in the middle of the night I'm going to have you sent to the mental ward of the hospital, SO SHUT THE HELL UP AND GO TO BED!

I hear this little giggle in Mom's voice as she says....ok, you do that, and I'll pack my bag to be waiting right here for them to pick me up. Huh? You WANT to go to the hospital? Yes, you do that and I will be waiting. This is the first indication I have that all this has been mind game. Or is it? Maybe she is so scared that she would rather be in a mental hospital than in the nursing home?

I give up on going back to sleep. I go fix myself a cup of coffee and create a blog post. Then about daylight, I call the nursing home to see if my mother finally went to bed. (I talk with a day nurse, the night nurse has gone home to a bed of her own.) The day nurse tells me...no, she's sitting right by the door with a bag of clothes she packed. I busted out laughing which totally confused the day nurse. What is so funny about a woman sitting by the door with a bag of clothes? It's a mind game and you probably wouldn't understand, just read my mother's chart from last night.

I ask the day nurse to post a message to all the staff from me. I want it to read simply: Thank you to everyone for being the angels you are. At least one family member appreciates you being who you are and what you do. signed Anita Estes, Mary's daughter.

So that's the way it has played out... should I be worried? I am. Should I get all panicked and ready to call out the authorities to check for guns in nursing homes? I don't know. I ask myself, what if I just ignore it and it's true? Can I live with it if something happens and I had blew it off as a ploy for attention? All I can do is make the best decision I can and live with the consequences. The mind game continues......I'm going to bed and get a good night's sleep....I hope.

Attention or abuse?

Today's finished quilt. Done with the Circle Lord waves template.

A closer view.

View from the back.


It was a day for my sister in law to work on her quilt projects. That is one of her quilts.

I didn't get much sleep last night. My mother was in a panic which means the nursing home staff have to call me to calm her down. I received 6 phone calls through the night because she believed one of the residents had a gun and wanted to shoot her. I had a very hard time convincing her that no one would shoot her and that the staff was looking out for her.

When my mother gets into one of these panic attacks she has every conceivable answer to my objections rehearsed in her mind. I say something to calm her down and she immediately comes back with a counter answer. She spends hours and days rehearsing the scene out in her head before launching herself into a panic attack. After doing this type rehearsing for 60 years she can produce an attack at the drop of a pin. She is very sharp minded in how she comes up with these attacks.

I know what she is doing. I have been her victim my whole life. With a panic attack she knows the staff will be calling me to calm her down. When I get the calls; I then become one of the participants in her rehearsed panic attacks. I feel sorry for the staff at the nursing home. They must really have a hard time figuring her out when she does the panic attack thing. There is just enough truth in her words to make a person pause to think. When they pause to think she gets a sly grin on her face. She knows she is winning the mental battle with the person.

Is it mental abuse or just an attention getting ploy? A little of both. She got both by having an attack last night. How does one prevent her from doing this? A medication or a therapy? I haven't a clue. If I did know how to prevent the rehearsed attacks I would do it or pay for it without hesitation!!

Now that I've vented a little its time for me to try and produce a full day of work. I hope I don't fall asleep at the quilting machine.

Christmas rush busy

This is today's finished quilt. It has designs in the solid blocks that are Diana Phillips' new book Flower Power. I've been one of several people testing the designs and the book for her. The book creates new possibilities in custom quilting designs. The flowers are easily combined with line dancing and with other types of quilting designs. I love all her books!


This is a view of the back of the quilt. It shows up better for viewing the designs. It is the yellow thread flower in the center. I combined it with a feather design for a quick custom quilting job.


At the end of the day I decided to start on a rug to test out my new rug frame. Hopefully this will get finished and become a gift for my SIL for Christmas. She already has enough quilts.


Now that the Christmas rush has me staying at the machine overtime I will be spending less time on me projects for a while.

Me days

Being a full time professional quilter doesn't often leave days for just relaxing. We worry constantly about keeping ahead of the waiting list. Every now and then we have to take a 'me day' to do something for ourselves. It rejuvenates us in the same way that water rejuvenates plants. Very often I take a 'me day' for creating a quilt for me. It will be a charity quilt or a family member quilt or even a contest quilt. But....

Sometimes a "me day" has to be for something other than creating quilts. The furkids went to the groomer yesterday. They were supposed to see the vet too but the groomer didn't finish with them in time to get their shots which is in the same place. Go figure. I have to find another vet! This is the second time this month I've set up appointments to get their shots but the groomer doesn't get them done in time. The vet won't give shots without a bath first.

Anyway, I took the time to put away all the stuff that had accumulated on the kitchen table. It was just clutter of stuff I didn't take the time to put away and it continued to pile up. It was mostly papers that needed dealing with, some books, and fabrics. There was also some packages I needed to get ready for UPS pickup. Those will be picked up today.


Then I checked on my plants. After removing all the dead leaves there is still life left in them. I've had to cut them back to almost nothing before. Actually several times, over the last 25 or so years I've had these, they appeared dead but weren't. When they get root bound its time to cut back and re pot. I put potting soil and new pots on my shopping list.


I next sorted through my books. I sent 30 of them off to the library as donations. Of course I had to look through them once more before giving them up. Most were published in the 60s or 70s.

Then it was time for some survival cooking. If I don't eat I won't survive. When I cook I try to make enough to last me two days. Two lunches and two suppers. This time it was spaghetti. Nothing fancy about it but I will not go hungry and its not cereal or peanut butter. I just take one of these out of the fridge and pop into the microwave.


So of course spaghetti needs garlic bread to go with it. The garlic spread is made with smart beat butter and mrs. dash garlic blend. It did get a little too brown around the edges but that's ok.


What about other household chores? Well other than the floors and piled up donations the chores get done daily. Dishes get washed, laundry gets done, bills get paid, beds get changed, bathroom gets cleaned, etc. each week on a regular basis. There's not a lot of dirt accumulation when most of the time I'm the only one around to get it dirty. How much dirt can one lil' ol' senior citizen create anyway? My next 'me day' will probably be for cutting the vines off the porch and more fabric donation sorting.

Blog labels

Oh how marvelous! I learned something new for my blog today. How to separate the labels and or titles so that similar posts are together. This is great! Now I can put all my helpful hints together in one place for my customers to come back time after time to review them.

Oh! and the techniques I use for creating quick quilts. Like the 10-2-? or 8-2-2 quilts.

Oh my! and another thing, I can put organizing ideas in one place too. The possibilities are almost endless. Now why didn't I learn this before? A senior brain takes longer to learn new things I guess.

Hmm...now let me think....this creates a dilemma for me. Do I create a second blog just for quilting hints, organizing, and techniques (that are my own creation) or go back and change all the past posts and keep them all in one blog?

I will give myself some time to mull over the situation before deciding to make drastic changes. This is one more thing to write on my to do list for the new year. The list is getting pretty long.

Eating in important too

I didn't go to the LAFTA meeting Thursday because the sky was getting dark and warnings were already being forecast on the news. I couldn't be out at a bus stop when a storm was approaching. The guest speaker was from Owensboro and he did give his presentation before leaving for home shortly after the storms had passed over. I'm sorry I missed the presentation. I hope everything was alright when they got home.

This is the quilt that took the last couple of days to finish. After quilting all the designs I went back to do stitch in the ditch around the rings.


A close up of the designs.


From the back.


Like several others, I make my own bread. I have to tell you the story behind my bread machine. For a long time after my daughter left home; I existed on peanut butter sandwiches and cereal. I was suffering from an empty nest and I hated cooking for one. I would buy groceries but there wasn't much point to cooking so I gave it away to the neighbors before it spoiled. It was a long time before I started eating right again.

Every time my daughter called to ask if I needed anything from the store (since she was on her way) my answer would be - bread and milk. So one year she bought this machine for me for Christmas. She put a note into the box that said; I tried to buy you a cow to go with this machine but the city doesn't allow farm animals in back yards.

I do know how to make bread without a machine. When I was a small child visiting with my grandmother we used a wood burning cook stove; even in the summer. I learned to cook the daily bread in it. Some days it was biscuits and some days cornbread and other days muffins.

When raising my kids I was always a scratch cook. I just don't want to have my daughter come over and ask where her gift went. Kids are very sensitive about gifts. So I use the bread machine.


I do save myself 'time' by putting the dry ingredients into freezer bags and then into the freezer. They are there, ready to take one out, pour it into the machine, add the water and oil, set the timer, and wait to hear the finished beeps.


The machine does all the work while I keep on quilting. It kneads, lets rise, kneads again, lets rise, bakes, and tells me when the bread is done. The machine even tells me when to add other ingredients for banana nut bread or cinnamon raisin bread. My neighbors ask me all the time to make a loaf of some kind for them. They supply the ingredients.

Today is a day away from the quilting machine. I usually use this day for away from home trips. To visit, to shop, to guild, to other places. Instead of leaving home; I'm sending the furkids to the vet and taking some time to sort through my book collection.

I love books! Frugal living books, organizing books, and quilting books are my favorite. I have books that I bought at used book stores way back in the 60's and 70's. I don't have an extensive collection, just an old one. It's time to let some of the oldest quilting books find new homes at the library.

Why don't I sell them on eBay or amazon? If the books are at the local library I can revisit them any time by simply checking them out for awhile. If I sell the books or give them away I won't ever get to see them again.

Organizing 2008 - what went wrong?

No finished quilt today. I got all the way to the end of the double wedding ring quilt and decided it needed stitch in the ditch around the rings.

While working on that quilt I started asking myself 'what happened'? How did my house get this way? I'm normally a very organized person. Before I can prevent this from happening again I need to understand where I went wrong. In other words, 'what's not working'?


This is the problem. The fabric fairies, my time management, and a love of books!



The fabric fairies visit at their convenience dropping off all the good stuff they can't use anymore. When it's dropped off I don't always have TIME for sorting and distributing it to other people or places. So it gets piled up somewhere in the house until I find more time.

I've also had a rash of 'not quilt fabric' being brought to me lately. That picture is of a bag and box full of drapery fabric scraps. Very nice fabric scraps but not really good for making quilts. The lady that dropped it off believed it was quilt fabrics. She was clearing out her mother's sewing room after the mother passed away. I can't really use it and no charity group is going to want it. Maybe I can use some of it for making rugs?

So how can I fix this problem?

Stop accepting donations - I can be more specific when accepting donations so it will be something a charity would want or stop accepting them all together.

Store it somewhere else - Since I don't have a garage, basement, or storage shed; there really isn't anywhere else to put donations until I can go through them. This also leaves me open to the possibility of bringing in little creatures I don't want in the house.

I've decided to eliminate this problem completely. I won't take any more fabric donations. I will also put into my budget to save for a storage shed. Not for storing donated fabric...just for storing other things I would like to get out of the house. Empty canning jars, Christmas decorations, garden tools, and that sort of stuff.

So I make myself a note to start checking the prices of storage sheds. I can't afford one right now but I can put it into the budget to save for one.


I thought I should also explain; I'm a tightwad, skinflint, penny pincher, greenie, or whatever you want to call someone who believes in making use of throw away objects. You will see more of my tightwad ways as I show more of my organized life.

Storms over

This is the quilt I finished early in the day. This is half the quilt sitting on a 4 foot by 8 foot table. A really large quilt. I did load another quilt on the machine and got about half way through it before the storms reached my area.


I did line dancing in the 1 inch squares of the nine patch and flowers in the alternate squares.


This is the way the sky looked a few minutes after my post yesterday. We lost power for most of the night. Nothing harmed at my house. There must have been a tree fall somewhere close by that took out the power. This happens a lot in my area during storms. Some businesses on Broadway (a couple of blocks from me) lost roofs and windows.


When I took these pictures there wasn't any lightning or rain yet just really dark clouds. I was on the porch right in front of the door.


I took the pictures then went to the hallway to keep the furkids company in their crates. The storm passed over my area fairly quick. Without power I just entertained myself with a good book, reading with light from a kerosene lamp until bedtime.

Storms headed this way

Taking the hint from Judy L., I'm packing an emergency bag, changing my shoes, getting the furkids into their crates, locating the flashlights, hooking up the non-electric phone, and getting prepared to take shelter. I sure wish I had a basement at times like this. I'm sure glad I had those tree branches cut back and off the roof a few weeks ago.

According to the news, the storms are about 50 miles from here. They are saying we shouldn't get any tornadoes but we probably will get winds between 75 and 90 miles an hour with a lot of lightning. I believe I will be safe but I may loose power. I wanted say that if I don't post for a couple of days it will be because I can't get on the computer. I should be able to receive phone calls though.

Without power I will not be able to quilt either so I'm working on the machine until the last possible minute. Time to turn the computer off and get back to the current quilt.

Form not function

The quilt on the machine is still not finished. I should have it done by lunch time and get another one started. That's my goal anyway.

So after the day's work was finished I got my Form not function entry filled out. I had a really hard time getting the photos on CD. After the rush is over I plan to take my computer to a more reputable technician.

The main quilt I wanted to enter was too wide by about 10 inches. These are the three I'm entering. This one is Jack be nimble of course.

This one is Sisters and their horses.


And this one is fan dancer.



I don't enter contests expecting to win. Especially this contest. I only want to see my work hanging in the gallery next to the work of all those artists. I've never entered an art quilt contest and I'm curious about it. So I entered to help my curiosity. If my quilts are accepted I will be happy. I'll try for a win someday in the future.

Taking the pictures let me know I need to think seriously about a place in my house for taking photos and some serious time reading the booklet that came with the camera. No one can enter a quilt contest anymore without putting pictures on a cd. I think this eliminates a lot of really good quilts from people who don't do computers and aren't willing to pay high dollars for a professional photo.

Simple tasks

The quilt on the machine is one of those that take more than one day to finish. After the day's work was done I took time to put a new cover on my pressing board.

In organizing; sometimes it's the simple tasks that get put off the longest. I've had the iron fabric for a few weeks. I just didn't seem to have the few minutes needed to put it on the board.
I use this pressing board instead of a regular ironing board for my quilting because this is more convenient. It's easy to take out and easy to put away. Doesn't take up a lot of room. I can put it anywhere on the intake table to sit and press quilt pieces.

It's made from 1/2 inch plywood, two layers of Quilter's Dream thin cotton batting, and the iron fabric. Held on by duct tape and non-skid shelf liner on the back. I have a larger one for when I'm pressing yardage fabrics. So this gets marked off the 'to do list' for 2008.

Organizing 2008

I want to first say THANK YOU to those who gave me links to find fabrics. I've located some brick fabric. Today I will do more checking for the wood fabrics.

Does anyone remember back last January when I spent so much time organizing? If not you can look at the January posts. I can't believe I let things get out of hand on me.....again. It's totally not like me to have stuff stacked up everywhere. I've always been a super organized person.

Judy L has asked what goals people have in mind for 2008, my goal is to help an internet friend get organized right along with me. So that my internet friend doesn't feel like she is the only one with stuff everywhere and completely out of hand I'm showing her (and the world) my mess.

This is the kitchen table. When things start piling up on my cutting table or the end of my machine table it gets moved here. The chairs are just for show. The legs are coming apart so they are not for sitting. I will be getting rid of these during our next junk pick up day.


When the table gets so full its ready to topple over, it gets moved to another place. This is the room I chose last January to be the quilting storage room.


This is the closet in the storage room. I had this room was so organized....sigh.



This is another view of the stuff piled up in the floor.



Remember the room that I thought would be a living room after 25 years without one? Well here it is today. This is the love seat.


And this is the couch.



Even the porch has stuff piled up. Those fabric fairies at work again.


The cubbards are bare. Looks like I cleaned it out but I didn't. It's just near time for a grocery trip. Don't worry, I have plenty still left even with an empty fridge. I could eat for another month on canned and packaged foods.


My poor plants. They looked so nice back last January. I'll see if I can save them.


So....for my internet friend....don't try to organize during the Christmas rush. Make lists! This is my little book for listing. On the left is "what I need to buy" on the right is "what I want to do". I take these with me almost every time I'm away from home. If I stop at any store I check the list. The list on the right is the equivalent of a job jar or a honey do list.


If I write it down it will stay there for me to refresh my memory in January when the serious organizing will begin. I will check the list on the right each time I am near an organizing items isle.

For example: I'm planning to move all my stacks of papers into a file cabinet. I have that listed in the one on the right. I'm on the look out for two file cabinets on sale or at a thrift store. I would like to use them as the 'legs' of a desk. I will buy plywood for the desk top. If I happen to find the right file cabinets (and buy them) I cross it off the list. I make a different note on the list to remind me to start the filing of papers.

So...my internet friend...are you ready to begin our organizing pact for 2008? Any one else want to join us? A little note of caution....no organizing (or organizer) in the world will work if you don't use it! I'm guilty too but plan to go back to my old ways.

Searching for fabrics

The fabrics I'm searching for is below. If anyone can help it will be appreciated.

These are the finished quilts from the other day when I didn't have the pictures. I used the circle lord clamshell on this one.

Used the circle lord square dance template on this one.


Ok, I could really use some help if anyone happens to read my blog and knows more about internet fabric searches than me. I must be looking in all the wrong places and I'm getting frustrated. I've had people searching through all the fabric stores in Kentucky while going on the shop hop this past week. There is one person checking the fabric stores along her way to Florida. No luck so far.

If anyone happens to see this anywhere, on any site, please send me the link so I can order it. It is "Naturescapes woodgrains by Deborah Corsini for P & B Textiles" I'm extremely doubtful either one can be found. I checked the P& B Textile site. I couldn't find it there either.


I also need a link for a red brick fabric to recreate this into the background behind my Victorian man and woman. If need be; I could over dye some fabric, if it represents the scale of the brick. The brick would be a very tiny scale.


Hmm....maybe this art quilt stuff is not going to be as easy as I thought. Finding the right fabrics is the hardest part of being creative. I could draw and paint the house but that's not the type of art I want to do. If I did that I could just use a canvas to paint on. I want to use existing fabrics in my art.

Ok, I'm going to stop blogging and start more searching.