I received notice yesterday that my most recent Kiva loan has been repaid in full. There is a link on my sidebar to Kiva's web site, where you too, can loan money to a deserving individual or group to help them better themselves, their families, and their communities.

Tonight, I helped fund a loan for a woman from Kenya that needed extra help to buy carrots and potatoes to sell at market.

This is my sixth loan and it has only cost me $25 for all six loans because you re-loan the same money, over and over, after the loan is repaid. The system is wonderful and I highly recommend it.

Click on the link and see if there is someone that you would like to help!

I just finished another batch of little log cabins. 27 in this batch, the same as the others, for a total of 81-4" blocks. I still don't have a specific design, although I have several ideas circulating in my brain. Right now, I'm a little tired of making log cabins and could stop at this point and make a small table cover. We'll see.......

Meanwhile, I've joined another swap which I will tell you about when I post my finished projects. Don't worry, the swap is closed, so I'm not deliberately leaving you out. Now that the Christmas holidays are over, I felt like I could commit to a small swap, one that wouldn't take too much time. I've got my design and my fabrics picked out from my stash, so it's time to begin!

I needed a little shopping therapy yesterday and took advantage of the coupons that I had received a few months ago for entering a challenge at a local quilt shop. I had been hanging on to the coupons, keeping them as something to look forward to on a dreary day. I picked up the jelly roll at half price and the yardage of batik fabric was free. The charm packs came from an online store, at 40% off, so they were a great buy. It was fun to shop, knowing that the bill would be minimal. Yippee!

And now, for the

BLUE LIGHT SPECIAL!

Can you guess what this is??..... Give up?.....


Last night, I was having trouble sleeping so I went out to the kitchen for a glass of milk. The blue light from my coffee maker is bright enough that I don't turn on a light when I go on a midnight raid. With my head tipped back as I finished the last sip of milk, I saw the blue glow from the coffee maker through the bottom of the empty glass. I wondered if I could capture this glow with my camera in the darkness. It worked!

This view is the exact same picture with a flash. Still in complete darkness, but with the added flash. Interesting, huh? You just never know where and when you'll find good subject matter. Keep your eyes open for photo ops!

And if the last free Block of the Month series didn't appeal to you.....here's another! Be sure to read the story behind the squirrel (under "general instructions"). Enjoy!

Here's a link to a new (free!) Block of the Month series. It combines a super simple block with some hand embroidery for darling results! It just started.....so click on the Birdie and jump in!