Pink and Red

My quilting buddies met last week

and we decided to share some

Valentine projects we had made.

I shared two,

one pink and one red.

 Cupid's Arrows

2001

41" x 61"

I'm not sure where
 this sweet Valentine quilt pattern came from. 

The fabrics are at least 15 years old.

Like any scrap quilt it was fun to dig in the stash
and find long forgotten
pieces that seem to just fit into the present project.

Cupid's arrows and hearts

just say love and Valentine's Day.

****

The second quilt I showed
doesn't have a Valentine theme.
But I wanted to share it because
 I still "LOVE" this quilt,
despite the fact,
that it's already 14 years old.

 

"Looking Back"

2001

51" x 51"

This quilt was in an early
American Patchwork and Quilting
magazine

The quilt was inspired by a
crib quilt dated 1865.

It's whimsical folk style

just makes me smile.

I think it was the cheddar and
turkey red together
that first drew me to make this.
It reminds me how much I like
cheddar in quilts.

The appliqued flowers

added to the sweetness.

The bright bold colors

are such a contrast to

our present day pastels for babies.

These colors just make me think that 

someone was very excited about 

the birth of a new baby.

 I hand quilted it,

which I did mostly back then,

at the turn of the century!

I really liked the red sawtooth border on the outer edge.

It was a strip cut into at regular intervals,

the flaps folded back and underneath 

to create triangles and then 

appliqued onto the green border.

I just had to pick a bright backing too.

I love the chrome yellow and orange along with

the turkey red flowers.

Roses are red,

and violets are blue,

Share some of your

Valentine's quilts 

with us too.

Until Next Time-

Vintage Valentines

 Valentine themes
can define what's happening
in the culture.

Right now there are plenty of  princesses

and

plenty of super heroes

About 15 years ago
I began collecting off of Ebay
Valentines from the 1940's
that reflected
America during the war years.

They are very
patriotic

and full of hope.

They showed women

serving their country

 in  all the different branches of service.

And, of course, guys

as soldiers and sailors

were represented

on Valentines

They showed the reality of 

war

and what was happening

on the battle front

but this was shown in a 

mild cartoon way, but

still expressed the feeling of love

and the desire to have
someone as a Valentine.

Some  showed the countries past times

and funny slang words

yet, were strongly patriotic.

They showed life in the military

 and what life was like

on the home front.

I love the

sentiment.

Until Next Time-

Kyle's Kupcakes

 One of my favorite ice creams as a kid was

 Neapolitan.  It's made up of chocolate,

strawberry and vanilla side by side in a block shape.

All of my favorites together.

Its origin was said to be Italian

from the area of Naples in the late 1800's

where the ice cream dessert would have been spumoni

with the tri-flavors being, cherry, chocolate and pistachio.

This sparked Elizabeth and me to be looking for the

perfect Valentine cupcake to make for her co-workers.
 

We found the ideal combination with a Neapolitan inspired cupcake, 

chocolate, strawberry and vanilla all together.

We liked the recipe from the blog, Six Sisters' Stuff.

 I did feel a bit guilty not making everything from scratch,

but time was more of a motivator.

The cupcake has a great brownie base and

a light strawberry cake baked on top.

Add a vanilla buttercream frosting and sprinkles and

it's Neapolitan flavors all in a cupcake cup!

The right colors and the right flavors

for Valentine's Day.

 It was a hit!

Until Next Time-

Love Not War

One of the items I first began collecting
on E bay were old valentines.
There are all kinds to collect depending on the time period.

I collected some sweet Whitney valentines

 from the turn of the century .

And then some funny ones from the 50's
which were the kind I shared with my friends at school.

But then I began to notice some interesting themes
on valentines shared during WWII.
There was a prevalent theme of soldiers, the military, patriotic and
even everyday situations like rationing.

Here are a few of the many I've collected.

Even the women soldiers were represented as "WAACCY"

All branches of the service are represented.

Here comes the Marines.

I love the valentines with moving parts.  

On this one the heart opens into a lace paper valentine.

These next two are very big. 

The soldiers in the back have a tab that can make them move.

This one has the soldier's sweetheart popping out

of the bushes.

These valentine's were just part of the history 

of the 1940's.

It's interesting to look back and see how things have changed

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!

Until Next Time-

Ebay=Valentine Hankies

In January, 2000 I found Ebay. I loved the search, finding cool stuff, and the cut throat tactic of bidding.  I didn't have much $ to spend. But I discovered there was a lot of neat stuff out there and you could find good deals.  I started by investigating the vintage hankie category.  I didn't know there were so many different types of hankies.  Now women hankies are pretty much collected and not used. Actually, thank you for Kleenex. (invented in the 1920's)

Some hankies are quite collectible.  My first purchase was a "K" monogram hankie.  I was pretty nervous making that first bid.  That's another story.

Anyway, what I did find was all the different vintage Valentine designs out there in Ebay land.

With Valentine's Day fast approaching I thought I would share a few of the fun ones I've collected. 

Don't you love them?

Small and cute

The red and white patterns are so sweet.

Some patterns are small with lots of roses, hearts and cupids.

Some added another color.

I love the scalloped edges.

Hankies may not be popular for practical use, but they are fun to collect.  Maybe they're a symbol of comfort and style all wrapped up in one small square of fabric.

Until Next Time-Kyle