My Sweet Valentine

This was what my husband made me for Valentine's day! He's so sweet. He made me a heart-shaped swivel box out of wood. But what's even sweeter is what he put inside:

My man, who does not cook except for his own breakfast (because I just can't handle the sight of food too early in the morning), made these chocolate dipped almonds just for me. He made them from roasted almonds and sugar-free dark chocolate because he knows I'm on a diet. What a guy I married twenty-three years ago!

And he doesn't just make me chocolate, he kills bugs for me, too!

Unbeknownst to me, this centipede had made himself very comfortable napping in my quilt frame while I was hand-quilting. I'd been quilting for thirty minutes before it decided to make its presence known. I screamed and did the standard centipede dance (quite hilarious to watch) and my knight in shining armor showed up to rescue me with his leather gloves and centipede whomping mallet.

I was bit by a centipede for the first time last year, and let me tell you, it hurts. A lot. The swelling didn't go down for a couple of months, either. The worst part? It bit me in bed. That's right, it was in bed with me. Centipedes like cozy places like bedsheets and pillowcases. Since that night, I check my bed thoroughly before I get into it. Hawaii is not for wimps, let me tell you.


My sweetie makes me stuff all the time. Practical stuff, like this spool holder. I use this thing almost every day! It's a coat hanger stuffed into a block of wood and I've had it since 1990. I could get a nice stainless spool holder, but I love this one. Every time I use it, I just have to smile. I'm a lucky woman.

Okay, enough about family. Let's get to the quilting stuff, eh?



I wanted to make a knitting bag, so I bought this pattern at Ready-to-Sew Bernina in Round Rock, Texas last June. (My good friend Karen works there and was kind enough to show me around Austin and Round Rock last year. I loved Texas.) I bought the pattern not realizing that I needed pre-quilted fabric to make the bag. When I got back to Kauai, the only pre-quilted fabric on the island was dark green solid. Bleah. So I decided to make my own quilted fabric, and then make the bag from my own pre-quilted fabric.

I love the way the bag came out, but let me tell you, I sweated and cursed my way through the construction of it. I didn't realize that commercial polyester pre-quilted fabric is much, much thinner than quilted fabric using a cotton blend batting. Argh! My machine could barely sew through the french seams the pattern called for! But that's okay. I like it anyway even though my french seams are too chunky.

The back side. Lots of pockets for knitting notions and a sturdy handle construction.


This is the inside of the bag, obviously. This picture makes me laugh. It reminds me of "Jaws." Do dee do deee do deee....it's coming eat your sock yarn!!!

Heh heh...a predatory knitting bag. You saw it here first.

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