February Monthly Mini and the Month in Review

Has it really been a month since my last post? And I have so little to show for all the days that have passed. In fact, my Monthly Mini is hardly worth mentioning. But I must, so here it is.

This is truly a little thing--5" square. That means the blocks finish at 1 1/4". It is a mug rug I made for my retreat buddy. Her name is Kim, so I made this from Kim Diehl scraps.  I'm linking with Wendy, (The Constant Quilter) the organizer of our monthly mini roundup. Check out her blog to see what the others have made for February.

Aside from this bitty thing, I have spent a little time here and there continuing to assemble my Sentimental Stitches Heartfelt top, from a BOW with Gay Bomers last year. I left out the appliquéd medallion center, and any other appliqué blocks. These are 8" blocks. I've set them on point and added my favorite sashing and cornerstones. It's coming along. 

The top left side is sewn together. The middle row needs the sashing attached on either side before it is added to the mothership. The lower right side is all still separate blocks, sashing pieces and cornerstones. The fabric hanging on the right side will be the outer border. I am trying to decide whether or not to put a narrow cream strip between the setting triangles and that outer border.

I hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day--two weeks ago. Hubby and I decided not to brave the crowds to eat out that night. Instead we had a pancake brunch at a small local pancake shop that has yummy gluten free pancakes on their menu. I had mine smothered in strawberries and cream.We sat in their loft, and  I tried to get a selfie of the bright red wall behind us, which seemed so appropriate for Valentines.

After brunch we shopped for strawberries. We found lovely ones at the FIFTH store we tried, and I bought 9 pounds of them. Came home and dipped most of them (I love everything about dipping strawberries), and delivered them to widows, elderly, family, and friends. It is my favorite Valentine's Day tradition!

I have talked before about the Tiny Club at the quilt shop over the mountain. It was a 3 session class that ended in January. But happy news--there is a "Part II"! We get three more months of tiny blocks, with 3 new rulers to go with the patterns this time around. Below, left you can see Lynn showing what we could be making with the next group of patterns. If you are interested in Lynn's patterns and rulers, you can click the link above to contact the quilt shop for info.

Well, I actually joined a guild in January--it is called Sew Small, of course, and focuses on small and miniature blocks. Lo and behold, at the February meeting there was Lynn again! (Photo above, right.) It is amazing what he can figure out with those tiny pieces. 

I haven't started on the second series of blocks yet, but this shows what I have made so far. First look at the photo on the left. Then look at the right to see a size perspective with my hand in the photo. These all finish at 2".

These three blocks at the bottom are ones I had made from my own patterns. 

I finished up the month with a fun evening Zooming with friends from around the world, with Chookyblue of Australia playing host. What fun we have, even if the Australians got pretty excitable this time about their many frustrations with American spelling. (Don't bring it up with them. It's a touchy subject.)   ;)

There were several more participants than this, but my iPad mini only shows 9 per screen.

What a joy it is to be able to visit across the continents and talk about things that matter most, and things that really don't matter at all, in the grand scheme of things. It can be one of the worst days, but I come away from these sessions uplifted and smiling. Thanks, gals! You are wonderful tonic in these crazy times!

My hopes and prayers are for a quick end to the invasion of Ukraine. My heart is with those who have had to evacuate, those who have been separated from loved ones, those who are taking up arms to defend their country, and those who have family in Ukraine. May this be over soon!

Janet O.