Happy (belated) Valentine's Day

 

 

 I hope you all had a sweet day yesterday! I've always been a big fan of Valentine's Day with all of the hearts, chocolate, flowers and hopes of love. It just seems that everyone is a bit kinder, a bit softer and a bit more caring as Valentine's Day approaches. That alone makes it special.


I usually make a treat to hand out to my friends to celebrate the day.

 This year, I got my idea from Pinterest for the Twinkie Minions shown above.

 They took maybe 30 minutes to make them for a full box of Twinkies.

I even put one in our neighbor guy's mailbox who often scoops the snow off our driveway.

For Christmas, we gave him a box of Ding Dongs with a note that said: "From your Ding Dong neighbors"!

***Hey, if you want to join me on Pinterest, I'm here: https://www.pinterest.com/duchick/

Just Friday, my follower number hit 500!!! Who will be 501?

 

 

 Another project I saw on Pinterest was a patchwork heart, so I thought I'd try to make one as use it as a pot holder. The directions were limited, so I had to wing most of it. At this stage of quilting, my knowledge base doesn't involve "scale" and how large to make squares and HSTs.

So it turned out kinda big, but it looks nice as a decoration or trivet behind my stove top.

Yes, I do remember to remove it when turning on the gas!

 

 Here's a pic of the sewing along the way....(it took a lot longer than I expected!)

 

This is a recipe I really planned on making over the weekend, but it didn't get done. It is pinned, so I'll remember it for next year...or next week.

 http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/raspberry-almond-scones/

 

 

 And finally, this is my sweet Sophie relaxing in my sewing room as I plug away on a project.

BOM #4 for Sew Sweet Simplicity

 

 

 

Back as promised...only 5 days later!

 

Making block #4 was the most enjoyable one for me. I'm not sure why, but it just flowed so smoothly and I didn't have to do any ripping out! Perhaps it's because (gasp!) I'm getting better at piecing and keeping my seam allowances consistent. Maybe it's just cuz I'm finally following the instructions! ha!

I'm still not completely sure what I'll do with these blocks once I'm done. I'll be making the 2 bonus blocks for a total of 6. I'd really like to make a lap quilt for our family room, but I want it long enough to cover my tootsies too. These colors were chosen to match our colors in that room.

Below is what Jacquelynne Steve's block #4 looks like on her blog:

 

 

 

I hope you can see the resemblance!

 

 

We are heading back into the teens this week, but no more snow expected for a while.

Have a terrific week and stay warm!



BOM #3 for Sew Sweet Simplicity

Hey there! It seems like forever since I've been here. If you're checking, it was November 30th, to be exact. Those holidays, a road trip to Florida and lots of work have kept me busy. I've certainly not had enough time to spend sewing!

Anyhoo, I finished Jacquelynne Steves BOM #3 several weeks ago, but I didn't jump to post it for a couple of reasons. One, it didn't turn out right! I'm not sure where I went wrong, but it doesn't look like the sample she has in the tutorial. I played around with it, even ripped out stitches, and finally sewed it together as shown above. (BTW, the colors are a bit off due to photographing on a gloomy winter day using only my Happy Light in the background, which usually works pretty well.)

If I have time, I'll make this a bonus block and try #3 again. Otherwise, it will just have to do!

This is what it should look like (minus the applique in the center):

 

I'm thinking I want to do some machine embroidery stitching in the center of each block when I've got them all completed and sewn together with the sashing. I've got a feathered design that I won on a blog that I'm very interested in trying. Maybe even some trapunto. Has anyone tried trapunto embroidery? I'd love some tips!

 

Soon, very soon, I will post BOM #4! Promise!