Hello James,
We had a hurricane watch here in Long Island, New York today, and I raced home with my kids relaxed, knowing we had food and water for a month minimum. That is because of your blog.
I was thrilled to read Jean’s article on how to make a quilt. My mother is a master quilter. I am writing to let people know that dryer lint is an excellent quilt filler. If you hang you out your clothes, terrific! But if you use a dryer, do what I do, and put your dryer lint aside in a bag. You can use your long strips of dryer ling as quilt filling. But you can also use it as a last ditch cotton swab (dryer lint is mostly cotton, with some polyester and hair. It is made of whatever fibers your clothing are), and as a fire starter. Just shove some dryer lint into a toilet paper tube, and melt the drip from old birthday candles on each end, and you have a terrific fire starter. iI store mine in freezer bags. One thing I would add about the quilting is that is is best to use a combo cotton/poly thread. Pure cotton thread will shrink with each washing, and create a clumped quilt after time. Also, discarded tube socks are a great filler layer. Just cut off the tops, baste them together, and you have filler! – K.O.L.