Spring has sprung.

Can you see the trees bursting forth in bud and bloom?  It's a good thing we've had rain for 5 of the last 7 days.  It's washing the pollen out of the air.

 Slowly, the sewing room is being re-assembled.  Bins of strips are now on the shelf.

I've worked my way through ironing/folding 2 bins of florals.  Now it's time to finish up 2 bins of browns.  Many of which are getting washed to freshen.  The cabinets are getting full.

While the ironing/folding process continues, I'm cutting the 14", 16" or 18" long fabric pieces in half along the fold line.  One half goes back in the stack, one half is starched and hung on the design wall to dry.

Jo Morton recommends cutting strips vertically, parallel to the selvage, for piecing small blocks in her books.  I've been waiting a long time to make some of Jo's patterns and this will help me get a jump start.  

If you happen to save your strings for stuffing dog shelter dog beds, the big W-M store carries these "ice bucket" containers in several colors.  I think mine was $5.00.

The opening is nice and wide to catch pieces coming off the cutting table.  I'm working on my second big bag of strings, which I'll hand off to a friend involved in the project.

If you're not familiar with the dog bed for dog shelter project going on, just look it up.  Some bloggers even have tutorials for assembling beds.  It's a great way to use up batting bits also.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .