Mail call! Look what arrived yesterday.......the mug rugs from my secret swapper, Cindy!

I had not requested a specific theme or color, just "surprise me". The first one is a very simple one with a great use of fussy cutting to highlight the cup and the side wording. It's really cute and effective!




The second mug rug is pieced in pink, gray, and white. The colors look a bit off in the picture, but the white is crisp and bright.

Thanks so much, Cindy, for participating and sending such cute mats!

Yesterday was also a great day because my Aunt Dottie and Cousin Lisa came for a visit. I haven't seen them in ages and it was great to shop, lunch, and catch up. Lisa gave me this group of batik fabrics that came with a paper foundation pattern to make two leaves. I love batiks!

And she also brought along this fabric applique sheet with cute blackbirds, cherries, and watermelons. Very sweet! Thanks, Lisa! (Come back soon!!!)

Last Thursday, it was 13 degrees below zero. Today, a week later, it is 57 warm degrees. My crocuses seem to think it's time to make their spring appearance. It's too early for them to be above ground, but they always seem to be OK, even when more cold temperatures, frosts, and snows will be coming their way. In any case, it won't be long before spring really is here and these little guys will be soaking up the sunshine.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

(Thanks to all of you that sent Valentine's Day

cards and messages!)

I joined a mug rug swap recently and finished them today. I mentioned that I had joined this swap in an earlier post, but didn't give any details since the swap was closed. Oh, there were 330 swappers from 25 countries.....that's one HUGE swap!

The swap instructions were to make two 6" x 10" mug rugs for a secret swap. In a secret swap, I send these to ???? and I will receive two mug rugs from someone other than ????.

I made two coordinating mug rugs to match ????'s kitchen colors.

Here's a shot with a mug in place. These are large enough for a mug of coffee or tea, joined by a cookie or snack. They are washable, of course.

Another "action" shot. I used Insul-Bright for the batting, so these would also work well as trivets.

I enclosed a little goodie in the package too, a Simplicity mug cozy pattern. I bought a pattern for myself too, thinking these would be great for storing small items.

And finally, I made a third one for myself (or maybe it will become a gift). It ended up being a tiny bit smaller than 6" x 10 ", so I decided not to send it along. I paper pieced this one, as the tree blocks are only 4" square.

These were fun, quick projects that didn't overwhelm me to meet the deadline. I'm planning on making several more for myself and for gifts. They are a great way to use up your fabric stash.

OK, now on to real life, where I am nursing a leaking roof in my den. My gutters are so full of ice and snow that as they melt, the water seeps under the shingles. It has been cold enough over the past 3 days, that the dripping has stopped, but we are expecting very warm temperatures over the next several days. I have the furniture covered with tarps and pray that there will be minimal damage. Thankfully, there is a ceiling fan in the middle of the room and that is where the water is dripping from. If it weren't for this place to release the water, I'm sure my ceiling would have collapsed! Hopefully, a few more days of monitoring the water will end this latest winter saga!

Yesterday started off pretty sadly with frozen main water lines in my neighborhood after the bitter cold day. We are so spoiled and expect to go to the faucet for a drink or to wash dishes and when nothing happens, it's no fun at all. After several hours of this, the postman knocked on my door with a package. In a heartbeat, my day improved dramatically!

It was an early Valentine's Day for me. I was fortunate to have won a drawing earlier in the week for a wonderful felted mouse created by Robin Andreae. Her blog is listed on my sidebar, "Needle Felted Art", and her creations are spectacular. There were 209 entered to win this latest creation, and my name was drawn!

Presentation is everything, right? I'm not showing pictures of it all, but the box contained a photo Certificate of Authenticity, and the the whole box was tied up with ribbon and roses in pink bubble wrap. Under the bubble wrap was this Valentine box.



Inside was "Lucky and His Cheese". I think I'm the lucky one! Lucky is a pretty large mouse and quite handsome. He was also very cooperative as we began our photo shoot. I took lots of pictures and he stood tall for all of them.



I thought that he must have been pretty tired from his cross country trip, but look what I found in the cabinet a few hours later! I can see that I'm going to have to keep a tight watch on him. I guess he wanted to sample the almonds and sunflower seeds, along with his cheese. Who can blame him after being cooped up for days in his little Valentine box?!



As a thank you to Robin for her generous give-a-way, I'm sending her a lampwork bracelet that I made. I attached the paw and heart charm, as she is an avid animal lover. I haven't done any torch work in awhile, as my garage studio is cold and snowed in, but I had already made these beads and they needed a worthy home. I hope she likes it!

Oh, and my water was restored after about 20 hours. The street is a dirty mess, the ice is thick from the water spills, the snow is piled high.....but.....I have water!

Now, I have to face another round with the shovel. More and more snow keeps falling and I simply can't keep up with it. I have always loved the snow, but I'm just so weary after so much. OK, it's pretty and bright, but does it have to be so deep? Enough, already!!!