THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 28, 1996 TAG: 9601260096
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G1 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: AROUND THE HOUSE
SOURCE: BY MARY FLACHSENHAAR, SPECIAL TO HOME & GARDEN
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
YOUR HOME-SWEET-HOME can be turned into a quilt-sweet-quilt by a California company dedicated to keeping the old-fashioned art of quilting alive.
For 1 1/2 years, The Quilt Finder, a 6-year-old nationwide network of quilters, has been producing ``home quiltraits,'' custom-designed, quilted portraits of homes.
``We might have a family order one for older parents who raised all their children in the home and are now about to move,'' explained Stacy Shaw, co-owner of The Quilt Finder.
The style of the home and the personal style of the customer are matched to a quilter in the company's network. Company artists sketch the home from photos, reproductions and blueprints of the house supplied by the customer and then submit the sketch to the customer for approval. The company prides itself on maintaining close contact with the customer, by phone and mail, to learn the details of the setting - such as the colors of the garden, the favorite napping spot of the family dog, the style of the front-porch furniture.
``We get to play architect and family historian at the same time,'' said Shaw.
Typically, the finished product is about 3 feet by 4 feet and used as a wall hanging, said Shaw, although customers may designate any size and display style. Prices range from $500 to $1,500, depending on size and difficulty. A quilt is usually ready in four to six months.
For info, write The Quilt Finder, P.O. Box 3717, South Pasadena, Calif. 91030 or call (800) 642-3312. LOW-DOWN ON WOOD FLOORS
Being a hardwood floor is hard work. Not only do people walk all over you, you get scratched, scuffed and spilled on. And yet you're expected to shine through all this shabby treatment.
Here's the formula for extending the life of wood floors offered in the Home Tips column of the January Southern Living magazine:
Use doormats to keep as much dirt as possible outside. Dirt, mud and sand tracked in on the soles of shoes act as abrasives on the finish.
Add an area rug inside each exterior door, a small one that can be easily cleaned.
Use area rugs and runners where there is heavy foot traffic.
Use felt pads under furniture legs to minimize scratches.
Vacuum regularly to pick up loose dirt before it can damage the floor. If necessary, damp mop the floor to get rid of dirt the vacuum misses. Never use a wet mop. FANCY 'FRIDGES
If you haven't bought a new refrigerator since the days when it was called an icebox, you're in for some surprises. Today's top-of-the-line models boast exotic features such as fuzzy logic automatic defrost, flexible shelves and compartments where humidity and temperature can be regulated by separate controls.
But a refrigerator with those cutting-edge features could cost several thousand dollars, according to the January issue of Food & Wine magazine. The less flashy models start at about $1,000, says F&W's refrigerator buying guide, which recommends that the consumer buy the 'fridge that offers the largest capacity for the space.
The guide also advises consumers to reject models that lack the following features. These used to be luxuries, now they're necessities:
Automatic defrost.
Glass shelves. On wire shelves, jars and bottles tip too easily. Make sure glass shelves have raised lips to contain spills.
Ice maker.
Front-mounted controls.
Meat, dairy and vegetable bins. Select ones that are clear, high-quality plastic so that you can see inside without opening.
Deep in-door storage. Some door shelves can hold a gallon-size jug of milk.
Energy efficiency. Look for a sticker on the refrigerator that tells the approximate cost of running the appliance for a year. The lower the cost, the greater the efficiency. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
THE QUILT FINDER
Quilters talk to customers to find out details about such things as
pets and gardens.
by CNB