Stepping it up for strips!

Karla Santoro of Stanley, NY, sent us this wonderful tip.

"My son, at age 15, added an antique business to his already thriving bike business. Before his interest bloomed, I had never stepped foot in an antique shop, but since he didn't have a license, I was his taxi for many weekends as we hopped from one antique sale to another searching for bargains. At one such fair, I saw several beautiful antique wooden ladders. In speaking with the seller, I learned the new reason for buying them was to hang quilts on. That got my interest! I didn't buy one that day, but my son found several in his wanderings and gave me my first one for a Mother's Day gift. At the time, I was making many quilts of an original design and needed many many strips handy. The ladder was the perfect answer. Just recently, my ladder ran out of room and I was piling strips on strips to add more from new projects. I panicked because my son, now a 20 year old college student, had sold most of his antiques to a dealer. My husband checked the barn and sure enough there was one there! It was perfect--it has even wider rungs than the first one. I called my son to see if it was okay to take and he happily gave the okay. I did have to put it in the tub for a scrubbing, but it came out beautifully clean. To protect the strips I drape a piece of muslin over each rung before hanging anything on it.

Note -- a girlfriend just had a very tall wooden ladder put in her home -- one that has a loft affect--and she hangs many little pieces on it. For her it's a decorative piece, rather than an organizer to keep a quilter sane."