Friendly Lint

I went to a friend's house the other day and we were talking about lint (among other things). She said she'd washed and dried a white cotton blanket that really had a lot of lint on it when it came out of the dryer. And it left a lot of lint in the lint filter.

See? That's the lint in her trash can. The brownish lint was already in the lint filter she said then she added the blanket. The white was all from the white blanket. I think it's interesting how different fabrics throw off more lint than others. It makes sense that natural fibers like cotton would offer up more lint. Because have you ever seen a  polyester lint wad? Me neither.

Have any lint stories to share? If so, please do!

Lint Dough

This is a new one to me. Have you ever made modeling dough using dryer lint? Me neither, but this cute feller was crafted from a lint (and a few more ingredients)! Yes sir, this cute elephant was made using dryer lint, water, flour, and vegetable oil.

To get the exact recipe, because if you're going to make a lint elephant, you really should get it right, go to RealSimple's page explaining the easy enough process.

When you think about it, elephants are gray, and dryer lint is gray, unless you just dried your son's orange Denver Broncos fleece blanket (then it is orange, very orange). Elephants are cute animals with nice features (trunk and big ears) that would lend themselves to be crafted out of a sticky lint mess.

So, the next time you have a wad of dryer lint in your hands, what are you going to do? Throw it in the trash? Toss it in the compost pile? Or maybe make a fun elephant?

Please share any stories of dryer lint dough. We'd also love to see pictures!

Photo credit:  Aimee Herring from RealSimple

Lint in Literature: The Widower's Tale by Julia Glass

I'm reading Julia Glass's latest novel The Widower's Tale and must say I'm loving it. She is an excellent writer, tells a good story with wonderful character development. If you haven't read any of her books, I'd suggest starting with The Whole World Over, my favorite.

Last night I was reading along in bed when this line made me tear off a piece of the crossword puzzle I was using as a bookmark to mark the page:

Yet divorce and stained-glass willows and gadabout NPR celebrities were relegated to the virtual lint filter of my consciousness as I focused on the lump I'd felt in Sarah's breast.

It's interesting to think that we have virtual lint filters for our consciousness, isn't it? But we each have one. That place we put aside the "stuff" we should be dealing with to think (worry)  about what's at the forefront of our minds. I know my virtual lint filter can get clogged, making me slog along. If my head clears, I usually write down a list of what I need to do. This is essentially like grabbing the lint, wadding it in a ball, and throwing it away because when my mind is clear, I may not actually get all those things done but at least I know there is a reminder of what they are. Then I can resume focusing.

Snopes and Lint: The Real Dirt

I did a quick search for "lint" on Google and didn't see much interesting but on the third page found info from Snopes regarding lint. Yes, Snopes, the Web site subtitled "Rumor Has It." Snopes verifies or nullifies gossip, emails, and the like.

The Snopes lint entry is regarding the claim of lint filters on clothes dryers getting clogged when you use dryer sheets. Turns out, it's true. Dryer sheets can clog the mesh screens on dryers with a film that causes the heating element on the dryer to overheat and go out.

I personally don't use dryer sheets, so I guess my dryer's good to go. Do you use dryer sheets?

A Copy of a Masterpiece Done in Lint

You won't find this medium at art supply stores. Lint. The versatile medium of choice for artists! Yes, that's right. According to NPR, a Michigan woman has re-created Da Vinci's Last Supper in lint from her clothes dryer.

A few facts about Laura Bell's linty project:

• It took Laura 7 months to collect enough lint to begin The Lint Supper, I mean The Last Supper.
• Laura bought towels all the same color, washed and dried them separately to get enough lint. 
• Orange towels the right shade were the hardest color to find to get lint the right shade.
• Laura's finished masterpiece is 14 by 4 inches and took her 200 hours to complete.
• Ripley's Believe It or Not bought Laura's finished lint painting for their collection!

Okay, so maybe I should start visiting laundromats, gathering up bags full of lint and selling it online. Think of all the Lint Elvis's there would be collecting dust in the rec room. At least the dust wouldn't show

Lint's Favorite Candy for Christmas?

Maybe I like lint so much because we both like Lindt candy so much. I only buy this delicious treat once in a great while because I'd just eat it. It's so delicious, creamy and smooth and so tasty.

What is your favorite Christmas candy? Or other candy for that matter?

Merry Christmas to all.

A Man and His Navel Lint...

Yes, you read right. An Australian librarian has been collecting the "navel fluff," as he calls it, from his belly button since 1984.Thanks go to my niece, Trista, for sharing this tale with me to share with you.

Collecting navel lint.

Saving belly button fuzz.

What a gross hobby, you may say. Yep, I'd say. But Graham Barker has picked himself the honor of a Guinness World Record. How much navel lint has he collected in 26 years? Just 22.1 grams, that's .77 ounce. Not even 1 measly ounce. Graham may not be the only person to have had this much navel lint, but he is the one who saved it for all to see. And he was brave enough to admit he saved it. And from what I understand, admitting you have a problem is the first step....

Check out the jars by decade of his navel fluff here. 

What I thought of when I first saw the three jars lined up was did he wear the same shirt the entire time? I mean look at the colors. Weird. And here is picture of the Navel Lint King and his jars.

Do you have belly button lint? Do you save it? We'll have our own poll and see who among us plays on Barker's team.