What CFLs are you using that require "warming up"?

Replace them with the "instant on" kind.

None of the CFLs we currently have in the house do the multi-step brightening that I experienced early on with them. And all the stuff I've read has said those problems have mostly been solved.

I wonder if it is a brand thing.

They're "instant on", but not all the way. There's no pause while they figure out whether they're really turning on or not, but they take considerable time to get to full brightness.

We recently replaced our kitchen flood bulbs with CFLs. Those do take a while to warm up, but are a much better quality of light once they are warmed up than we got from CFL flood bulbs a few years ago.

Quilting is what old ladies do in groups.

Knitting is what old ladies do by themselves once they've been abandoned by family into poorly run nursing home.

Crocheting is what old ladies do when they realize that no extra roll of toilet paper should ever be left without the protection of a doll outfitted in an antebellum dress including large hoop skirt.

Macrame is what quilters, knitters, and crocheters make fun of.

Or so I've learned from my family experience.

My grandmother's toilet paper protection doll wore a lovely crochet of white and pink.

"Instant on" ones don't do that. They are full bright the instant you turn them on. We have several.

My great-grandmother's were generally red. She made them throughout the year (among other crocheted treats) and then toured the Christmas craft shows. How I hated the Christmas craft shows. Though the crocheted pot holders were actually pretty useful and durable.

My mother knitted and crocheted. Fortunately, her crocheting was limited to bedspreads and afgans (and one scarf).