Get busy outside

Before you get too busy outside, get busy inside. Give your houseplants a quick shower to wash dust that might have accumulated over the winter. Transplant any houseplants that have outgrown their containers, choosing a pot only one size bigger than the current one.

Even if you've never gardened, you may want to put in a few tomatoes and herbs to cut back on your grocery bills. We tell you what you need to know to get growing.

If you love quilts, check out the free-admission "Project Patchwork" benefit and juried show at 6 p.m. Saturday. About 50 fiber artworks by Twin Cities-area quilters are on display at the Ikea store in Bloomington. In August, the store challenged local quilters to design hanging pieces using 4 yards each of its modern textiles. Proceeds from the sale of the quilts, priced at $250 to $500, will benefit the Minneapolis Textile Center's summer youth fiber art programs.

Forging ahead in a financial environment where the bodies of shuttered shelter publications are stacked like cordwood, publisher Readers Digest Association has debuted Fresh Home magazine. The quarterly $4.99 glossy is aimed at the budget-conscious, DIY crowd (women and couples ages 25-50) and is being sold at Home Depot and Lowe's stores as well as on newsstands. The 136-page premiere issue includes regular features on new tools, a pull-out guide (this time: painting), a time-sensitive tips calendar and problem-solving, among others. Instructions for 15 do-it-yourself projects ranged from how to make a console, coffee and end table to a mosaic pot to a photo screen room divider. The most interesting was for a tall, padded headboard-storage combo. A plus: Each project lists cost, a comparable cost for purchasing a similar item, the skill level required and the time it will take. One nit: Some of the projects, such as the spice packet organizer, seemed out of sync with a younger, design-savvy crowd. The photography is plentiful and colorful; charter subscriptions are $10 for four issues at www.freshhomemag.com.

• As its owners continue to work toward retirement, Durr Ltd. has closed its Hopkins warehouse and has extended its stay at 44th St. and France Av. S. in Edina. The furniture and accessories business had opened a temporary holiday boutique there, its former longtime retail location, and is now discounting by 80 percent many of its antiques, lighting, accessories, art, fabrics and other items. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.; 952-920-8224.

• Style Minneapolis, a fixture in the Lowry Hill East neighborhood of Minneapolis, has relocated. Owner Shayne Barsness said her new spot, at 4501 Nicollet Av. S. in Minneapolis, doubles the space and stock of her "classically reinvented" furniture, home accessories, gifts and vintage jewelry. Barsness continues to offer hourly design services and classes in finishing techniques. Open noon to 7 p.m. Wed.-Sat.; 612-377-3331.

KIM YEAGER, CONNIE NELSON