Wrinkle Free

The creators of Downy Wrinkle Releaser undoubtedly had teenage boys in mind when they invented a product that not only eliminates the need for ironing, but in a pinch, can stand in for laundering as well. When James went off to college, we sent a bottle along with him. Judging by the piles of laundry lying on his dorm room floor, he had ample opportunity to use it.

William just came home from a week at camp. Naturally, the last thing on his mind was the status of his laundry. When he needed a clean uniform for work this morning, I heard him grumbling as he rummaged through closets and dresser drawers, looking for the requisite plain polo shirt. Apparently, the one he found was wrinkled.

First, I heard it…a telltale spritz, spritz, spritz…spritz… spritz, spritz… spritz, spritz, spritz…SPRITZ…SPRITZ, SPRITZ, SPRITZ. He must have nailed each individual crease in the shirt!

Then I smelled it: a fresh, clean scent wafting down the stairs. Let’s see, would that be the “light freshness” or the “vibrant freshness“ variety? Actually, it was the nose burning, eye tearing, headache inducing freshness and an hour later, I can still smell it. I wonder what his poor co-workers and customers are experiencing right now!

I give the boy credit for caring about his appearance and smoothing out a wrinkly situation on his own, but I’ve got to introduce him to an iron!

A Rompin' Stompin' Cowboy Quilt

Our son, Will, adored cowboys as a kid, so I wasn't surprised when he pointed out these retro-style cowboy prints at the quilt shop and begged me to make him something. He was ready for a "big boy" quilt anyway, so why not?

I started pulling fabrics -- blacks, browns, reds, checks, stripes, and paisleys. Yee haw, this was going to be fun!

Choosing a quilt design wasn't as easy. Standard blocks like nine patch, log cabin, and churn dash left me uninspired. I wanted something unique, something to really showcase the fabrics, something quintessentially COWBOY!  It took months, but I finally came across this "Cowboy Boots" pattern in a magazine. Yippee ki-oh ki-ay!

The most fun I had was mixing and matching fabrics for the blocks. Fussy-cutting the sashing and cornerstone was more tedious but well worth the effort considering how much interest they added to the quilt.

Believe it or not, the "barbed wire" border was an afterthought. I'd seen it on a quilt somewhere and thought it would be a great way to use up those precious scraps.

A year later, while vacationing in Montana, I found the perfect backing fabric. It's a Native American-style blanket print by Alexander Henry. He must have designed a whole western themed collection because it coordinates with another fabric I bought for window valances. 

More time elapsed at the machine quilters: Stover Quality Quilting, Stover, Missouri. 

All in all, it took three years to finish the quilt and decorate Will's bedroom. Guess what he had to say when he finally received the quilt. “Mom, I don’t really like cowboys anymore!” 

 

And here's the room he'll be sleeping in until he heads to college!