Happy Valentine's Day

Here is a little Valentine Day Puzzle I found on the internet for you to work - hope it really does work! Just click on the arrow. Enjoy!

Hmmm, Planning my 5 of Hearts

Pretty much decided on this fabric - pretty stuff. Have made up my mind several times as I considered four different options. This is it.

Wonder where this will go in the big picture? Hope I can make this do what I am hoping it does!

Here is the lovely little lady who will be the star of my 5 of hearts. I actually have let her out of her "file" where she has been for 21 years. See, it's good never to throw anything away - well, almost anything. (Click to enlarge)

Fun-Filled February Q2 Meeting

On a very springlike evening (what a nice break after all the cold snowy weather here in Michigan) we had our guild meeting. First up was a guest speaker, Ron, demonstrating the routine cleaning you can do on your machine. Four people brought along a machine so there would be a mix that would represent what most of the members were using. The above picture with all the smiling faces shows Ron demonstrating on Melissa's Janome - Melissa was the recipient of some good natured teasing for the lint Ron found. One of the girls brought in a Singer Featherweight that she bought at a garage sale for $2.oo! It was in wonderful condition but needed to be gone over. I think they figured it was made in about 1967. She didn't realize what she had when she bought it - just thought it was a cute little machine. Jewels can still be found!! The four of us who exchange ATC's did "Shoes" for February. Deb wasn't there, but Claire was back and brought along her January card also. Above are the cards made by Carol and Claire.

Here is Julie's pretty little girl and Claire's "Time" ATC for January. Next month we will be doing "Bling" - gotta think about that one.

And, our grid game round robins are all back with their original makers. They all turned out to be really great. Here is my very pretty Colorful Christmas! We certainly have talented ladies in our guild. This really turned out super! I am having a problem figuring out who the fourth person other than me worked on my piece. The label is signed by and notes left by Emily, Julie and Lori (thank you, thank you!!) Actually Lori forgot to sign the label but I will get her to do that later. I can't make out who the fifth one is. Have to do some detective work on this one. Loved Julie's account of her adventures in adding her part to my piece, and Lori left me a cute note about deciding what to add for her share. Am wondering if she has a sketch of that reindeer she mentioned! Plan to have this together and quilted for our show. (Click to enlarge)

Red Delicious Blocks 2 and 3 Added

The last couple of days I have done blocks two and three of this block of the month from Esther's Blog http://estheraliu.blogspot.com/. Really loving the reds together. The bottom block is to have circles at each of the points on the flowers and I probably will use little red buttons. On the sketch of the layout for the quilt, this block does hang down. On the fifteenth of each month a new block will be posted - they are a delight. The blocks are stuck on a really old piece of mounting board that I covered with flannel many years ago to use as kind of a portable "design wall" long before I had even heard of design walls. I have used this for countless projects and it is getting pretty shabby!

By the way, this is my post #200. I really enjoy doing this and hope you enjoy it, too.

Now I really have to get my playing card wallhanging for Quilters Squared Quilt Show in the works!! We have to have them all done for the March meeting which is right before the show.
I think I know what it will be - had better be sure pretty soon! (Click to enlarge)

Have a Heart

I found the pattern for this little wool heart in a magazine a couple of years ago. It needs a pretty little ribbon on it for hanging. I so love the "cottage look" that is featured in so many of the blogs - this would go well with that. (Click to enlarge)

A Potpourri of Posts

Blogging is truly lots of fun. I had no plans to do any blogging this afternoon - I had an appointment for a haircut and it's time for a trip to Kroger. The snack drawer is empty and I can't have that! But---when I went to start the car, it just growled at me and I knew it was not going to take me anyplace today. Poor old thing, it's about 10 and a half years old with give or take 31,000 miles - probably rusting to death or dying of boredom. It is the battery, though, and it's also in need of sparkplugs and a "flushing" of the coolant system - plus an overdue oil change and new wiper blades. I am hoping they also wash the dirty little thing for me. Someone will come get me and take me out to pick it up and we will be back together again. It has been a good little car and gets me where I want to go. Will make a new appointment with Rose and go to Kroger tomorrow so today I will blog a little bit.

Yesterday afternoon, I took this picture of the side of my carport. The warmer weather on Sunday made the snow on the roof slide down and it left this arch of snow resting on the snow below it. This is next to my neighbor's porch. The tracks in the snow I am sure are turkey tracks. We have three of them scrounging around looking for food. They always visit all the folks who have bird feeders in their yards. A couple of years ago there were fourteen or fifteen turkeys visiting all the time. They can really mess up the street and sidewalks - have to watch where you step.

This is the blue circle quilt that I started last summer or fall - it's ready for quilting. I have several in need of quilting now so will have to get to that, also. After I looked at the picture, I saw something I would like to undo but will not, of course - I have two light blocks right next to each other. I have really been spending a lot of time quilting but figure this is the perfect time of year for that. As I get older, I feel that it's so much more important to enjoy doing what you enjoy while you can. Therefore, there is not much cleaning or cooking going on at my house! (Click to enlarge)

Red Delicious Block of the Month

Some time ago, probably in November, I found a free block of the month designed by Esther Aliu, a designer from Australia, on Esther's Blog and I have been downloading each one as they are made available each month. So far there have been three. As a new one is put up, the old one is taken down. Number 3 is up there and the fourth will be posted on the 15th of the month. The idea is to make the blocks from your stash without buying any new fabric. The original is done in red but any color or colors can be used. Since red is one of my favorites, the other day I gathered my reds and today did the first block - machine buttonhole, of course, instead of hand applique. There is a link to her blog on my sidebar if you are interested. The blocks are cute and the arrangement she shows for them is really nice. (Click to enlarge)