Friday news roundup

Working away on quilting the sandy background for the glass float piece today.I like the way it is shaping up. I probably won't show it again until it is finished.

It was a day of odds and ends and catching up and moving forward. It was a good luck sort of day too. I found my Dr. Slick scissors that I have been searching for for weeks. Of course I wasn't looking for them when I found them. I was looking for a spool of thread, which I found, and there were the scissors in the bottom of a plastic box that I'm pretty sure I searched last week. I think gremlins move things around in my house. Do you have that problem?

I know I have written here about these scissors before, but they are so great and I am so glad to have found them, that I have to say again how perfectly useful they are. They are made for fishermen and fly tying, but they are perfect little scissors for trimming threads when quilting and doing needlework. The blades are curved, making it less likely that you will snip into your quilt when you trim close. The tips are wonderfully sharp and will pick up the tiniest stitch to clip. They are pretty besides, smooth and beautifully made and the finger loops are roomy and very comfortable.

I also got a nice little package today from Deb Lacativa. It was a wooden printing block from India. She had picked it up at a yard sale, didn't find that she used it, so she sent it off to me. It will join my growing collection.  I love them. I use them for printing directly on fabric, or rubbing. They can also be used to apply wax for batiks. I made a quick little rubbing just to show you how nice it is!

 These are the other printing blocks I have.


What a nice thing to share a tool or material with another artist. I have a piece of African fabric that I have had for a long time. I'm not sure I would ever use it, but it looks like something Deb might use. I know she sent me the block with no expectation of anything in return, but I'm sending her this fabric. I can't wait to see if she finds something to use it for.