love is in the air

It was too cold to venture outside this morning, except to feed the birds and exercise the dogs (briefly!).  We are frozen into place with temps in the single digits.  I won't show the icicle colony that has appeared around the roof line.  It's crystalline beauty is captivating and terrifying, all in the same breath.  Think Dr. Zhivago Ice Palace scenes.  
So - it was a very very good day to sew and stay in one's warmups.  

This is my scraps Bear container which gets emptied after each project!  Valentine's Day is just around the corner and it seems to have flavored the direction of my work this morning -

I need a sensational Valentine runner for my dining room table.  It seems as though Valentine's Day is the only real 'holiday' that I don't have anything to decorate for.  Strange, because it is a favorite of mine and I look forward to its arrival each year.  While it comes in the dead of winter when the world is white and cold - the burst of brilliant red and pink inspires hearts and flowers, cards and candies.   When we were small, my sister and I always received something special from our mom on that day - a day for expressing love.  It might be a box of chocolates or a perfume.  It could be a scarf or a book.  But mom never allowed February 15th to pass without small gifts for her girls.  

Honestly, I don't know where this runner is headed.  I'm just happily piecing and allowing the fabric and paper to lead the way.  I've never been one for charts or graphs, instead, I throw caution to the wind and trust my instincts.  Sometimes this means that I 'waste' a lot of fabric.  Exercises like this one reduce the stash!

Did I mention that I am on a self-imposed fiber diet?  There will be NO NEW FABRIC PURCHASES in the month of January.  Oh, except for this one -

C'mon people.  It was 40% off.  And it features ELEPHANTS.  It made me weak in the knees.  In my defense, there were at least 8 coordinating fabrics.  And I left each and every one of those bolts of fabric alone.  Until tomorrow, when I return with my coupons! next time ...

This is what I am currently reading.  I can report, early in, that this is a book worth poking one's nose into. 

JoAnn Fabrics was having a sale on their batting and I needed some Warm & Natural for the boat baby quilt.  This is the way to purchase 90" batting - right off the roll, when it is drastically reduced!  

This post originally ended here last evening because BLOGGER SAID SO.  Everything froze and I had no access to my dashboard or photos or anything else associated with Blogger.  I had just purchased more space because this so-called 'free' service demanded that I do, so I wasn't feeling very charitable about the drop in service to begin with.  My mission today is to explore the other sites out there - Wordpress, Typecast, etc.  I'd welcome any and all input.  I'm ready to pay for the privilege of blogging in exchange for reliable service.  


Back upstairs, I found that there were a few more Christmas items that needed to be put away -

How did I overlook Andrew's stocking?  He went through an intense Eyore phase - to the extent of having a tattoo added to his arm.  I was not happy, especially when friends would ask why my son was sporting a purple ass on his upper arm.  Still, there is something very tender and sweet about a 6'4" young man with a fondness for a Disney donkey.  And no, you cannot see it when he has his firefighter uniform on!


Each year Scott brings home the exquisite hand blown glass Christmas ornaments from the Audubon Society in Connecticut.  I always save the tissue paper - how beautiful it is for rewrapping the ornaments -

I have to leave you with this photograph which keeps me company in my sewing room.  It always makes me smile and because the frame is red, we'll call it an early Valentine kiss!  Hilary - my beauty!