Happy Valentine's Day!

Hearts! Hearts! Hearts! I love them......here, there, everywhere and in all colors! Several years ago, I designed this little penny rug that I call "Connecting Hearts" because if there is one thing that happens among friends and family, it is that our hearts are connected in love and friendship! I took a few photos last week so I could share these with you. This first one is made from woolfelt. Love working with woolfelt (from National Nonwovens) as it is soft and so easy to stitch and it comes in an abundance of colors. Plus you can dye it if you can't find the color you want! I took photos with my camera and with my tablet and neither one could get the colors right. This first one is close.......soft teal, with burgundy hearts............

But this next one.....oh, not right at all! Looks like it's bright blue and hot pink! Not!

It is deep blue with red hearts and a light blue floral motif in the center. The large hearts are the same as the outer hearts. 

This one is closer to it's true colors........Christmas red and Christmas green. I made two in these fabrics, one for me and one for my daughter. Each is just a wee bit different but still all the same fabrics/colors.

 I figured I needed a heart penny rug for each season of the year so this is my one for Autumn. Love the plaid and it, too, it almost true to it's colors. I entered this one in the Scott County Fair in 2004 and it earned a Blue Ribbon and a Reserve Grand Champion Ribbon. That's as good as winning a lottery ticket for me!

My favorite of the heart penny rugs that I've made is this one as I love the colors and enjoyed doing the embroidery on this one. This one just makes me smile........

Actually, anything that has hearts and has anything to do with Valentine's Day makes me smile. I remember how much I enjoyed making special Valentines, decorating those boxes and hoping for a Valentine from that special boy. My kids loved the whole Valentine thing, too. They're grown and long gone from the nest but I went on to do after-school kids classes making Valentines and then we started coloring them to donate. And so last Sunday, a group of us gathered at my church and colored and cut Valentines that were then delivered to nearby Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Homes. It was a good project all around as we all got creative..........

 mothers, daughters, sons, cousins, .........

younger members and young-at-heart members like Arline and Bert Karels who taped the candies to the cards.

 Pastor Deb and Dawn McConnell are so intent on their coloring!!

 And so is Hailey!

We enjoyed a hot dog lunch and treats and enjoyed a great day that led to a little bit of enjoyment for others. At the end of the day, we had about 120 Valentines that had been colored and another 118 that I printed by finding free Valentines on-line. In the background is my little white tree that now has red crystals on it and a giant heart for celebrating Valentine's Day. ;-)

This was just half the Valentines that were delivered. The total Valentines that were delivered was close to 250 (I colored a few extras after I got home).

The Valentines that we colored are designs that I drew back in the 1990's for miniature projects that I was making. I wanted to recreate those Valentine memories and just sat down and started drawing things that I recalled from when I was a kid. There's more to the story but for now..........just Have a Happy Valentine's Day! 

Sandi