Krista, of KristaStitched, challenged a few of us bloggers to answer some questions:

1.  Starch or no starch?
I always think of our clothing and textiles teacher who warned us about little bugs who would come to feast on the starch in our fabrics.  So I rarely use starch on fabric I’m going to store away, but do use it occasionally as I’m appliqueing, or assembling a quilt.

2. Prewashing or not?
Didn’t used to, until a bunch of reds (shown above, along with my Japanese toys) wouldn’t stop bleeding into the rest of the fabrics (I think it was right after formaldehyde was banned as a fixative).  Now I like to throw them in the washer right as I come home, dry them until damp and press them up.  I lay them out on the guest room bed until they are fully dry, then fold them into 12″ squares (approx) for storage. I guess it’s a way to get a jump on playing with the fabric.

3. Solids or prints?
Done both.  I’ve made a lot of Amish quilts, so have had my love affair with solids already.

4. Dogs or cats?
A cement rabbit, who sits under the end table in the living and doesn’t poop, eat, or move.  I visit a friend who has two cats.  I have to throw my clothes in the dryer when I get home to remove all the cat hair.  Had a Golden Retriever once.

5. Big quilts or little quilts?
No preference really, but not a fan of king-sized quilts.

6. Thrifting or buying new?
Both, but probably buying new, because at this point in my life, most of my stash might be considered vintage.  Kidding.  Sort of.  I used a scrap of my very first quilt in my Scrappy Stars.  It’s that blue/white piece of fabric on the right, above, and was purchased in 1973, and is over thirty years old. (Gosh, I sound ancient.) In that same quilt, I used some sheets, too, but I don’t have any scraps of that, but if I did, that would be something.

7. Wood floors or carpet?
Both.  And tile, too.  And I’m always cleaning up spots in the carpet.  What is it with this?  Where do they come from if you don’t have pets or grandchildren hanging around?  I’m always accusing my husband, but really, I have no idea.

8. Beer or wine?
Neither.  Chocolate. Heck, yes. (I’m just quoting the chocolate bar in the photo above.)

9. Staying in or going out?
Some of each.  Sometimes if you’ve been in too much, you’ve just got to bust out and do something a little different, like when we went to see the Big Rock being moved from out our way into Los Angeles.

10. One fabric line per quilt or mix and match?
I love how the bundles of fabric look when one line is displayed, but haven’t ever made a quilt where I wasn’t rummaging in my stash, looking to add a piece or two of something else.

11. Watching tv or listening to music?
I like watching movies so I can sew on my EPP.  I like listening to tunes while working in the sewing studio, but also like listening to books. My 84-year-old mother chooses the books.  She nails ’em, as I love everything she picks. And oh, BTW — I totally look like this when I’m listening to my music, complete with the pink lights in the background.

Rachel, over at The Life of Riley, is playing along too.  Hop over there and see what she’s written.

If you’d like to answer Krista’s questions, drop me a note in the comments, and I’ll update this post with your blog address.  I had more fun answering these than I thought I would–thanks, Krista, for some great questions!