Happy Valentine's Day!

I started the day off with some friends - we took a little field trip to Carnegie Natural History Museum in Pittsburgh.  We enjoyed a visit in the gems and minerals room, highlighted by the exhibit of Madeline Albright's pin collection.

The exhibit runs through March 4th and is a fascinating glimpse into the diplomatic world and the subtle ways that diplomats have of communicating.

After a few hours of relaxation, my Sweetie took me out to dinner at Red Lobster... for this....

  

and this....

  

and altho I didn't get a huge bouquet of flowers... I did enjoy browsing through the selection at 1800Flowers... and found this:

 

and I didn't even have to clear a space on the coffee table to display it!

I hope you all had a lovely, loving Valentine's Day as well.

Although I did not make a special Valentine's Quilt this year, I do have a sweet one that I made a couple of years ago that I still have a picture of...

Goodbye to DeeDee

We have been blessed with a wonderful companion for 18 years, 7 months, 3 weeks, and a day...

Our little one has crossed over the "Rainbow Bridge" to lick the toes in Heaven.

Delilah - affectionately known as DeeDee - passed away in her sleep last night. 

It was not totally unexpected - she had been declining gradually over the past few weeks. 
Still, it's hard to express how much she will be missed. 
She was a great little traveler, and she loved the Evergreen Drive-In.

Goals for 2012

I have a lot of 'UFO' projects from past years... I found another one this morning - thankfully, with all the backing and binding fabric in a tidy zippy bag - the date on the backing fabric is 1995....

UFO from 1995

UFO - current decade...

backing fabric of UFO - another current decade

UFO - a mystery quilt started in early 2000's

Scrap buster from 2011 ready to quilt

Now, I'm not sure where they are hiding... but I think I have some blocks waiting to become quilts - or possibly tote bags - such as this one I did recently:

....proving that there's more than one way to 'finish' an 'unfinished object'!

It's a good thing to take inventory once in a while - I wonder what else I'll find?

Happy New Year - 2012

I honestly don't know how the years go by sew fast... but here's a little review of what I accomplished last year:

I finished this . . .

Made a bunch (5 or 6?) of these kitty beds . . .

took a few trips... mostly to quilt shows, one to a Bead Fest and sometimes just to see the ones I love.

In short, I enjoyed my family, my friends and my sewing, art and crafty projects.

I taught others to craft, dye, sew and quilt.

I thrived in the love of a wonderful husband.

I traveled - to NY, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia -

not far from home, but far enough to appreciate home when we returned!

I invite you to form a list of all the places you went last year, all the things you made (besides $) and most of all, all the people who love you.  It's amazing how good life is when you see it from the right angle!

sew on!

 

Merry Christmas to all - God Bless Us, Every One, whatever we celebrate!

One of the many blessings of living near Pittsburgh, PA is the opportunity to visit the Heinz Memorial Chapel, where some of the most amazing stained glass windows are installed.

Here is a link to the chapel, so you can enjoy your own tour of those famous chapel windows.

Many of the windows depict inventors, musicians, authors, scientists, and other inspirational people from Pennsylvania's history in addition to biblical and religious history.

If you have a chance to visit Pittsburgh, stop in the chapel for a dab of inspiration.

....and for those who are not celebrating Christmas, here are some other 'holiday wishes' for you.

I have always wanted to visit Stonehenge...

and if you are curious about Kwanzaa, I found an excellent explanation here.

Blessings on all those celebrating the feast of lights.

....and for those who are not celebrating anything in particular while the rest of us are singing and lighting candles and exchanging gifts....my sympathies.

Now, excuse me while I wrap that last homemade gift and put some cookies on a plate.

Free Holiday Printables available now through 12/25

Free Holiday Printables

available now til Christmas - a new one every day!  aren't these kiddos just too cute?
use them for paper crafts, holiday decorating...  I wonder what will be there tomorrow?