Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to all! Waking up to such an auspicious day as a single woman, I felt the need for friendly support, so the first thing I did was put on the tie-dyed t-shirt VickiW made me last fall. On a day like today, I like to be surrounded by the support of my friends and/or their gifts!

I started the day at Sewing Guild, where Audrey brought in her muslin and finished blouse she blogged about here. Seeing the two versions in person, along with the pattern alterations she performed was amazing, and I realized I need more classes in the subject of fitting. I have several books, but I'm thinking pattern alteration and fit is something someone has to show you to really get it down.

I wanted to stay and ask Audrey some questions (when she made the dart wider to take the blouse in and make it more fitted, how did she know how much to add to the sides?), but I was off to Glen and Tammy's to help them bury a St. Joseph statue to help them sell their house. They are moving to Chicago as soon as their house sells, and it is going slowly; they were advised by several people (one of them may have been me!) to get a St. Joseph's statue, and in this market, they are willing to try anything. They were concerned about whether it would "take" since they aren't Catholic, and I assured them all they needed was faith, but they still wanted me there for the installation of St. Joe. So I read the prayer that came with it and added an extemporaneous prayer to the Lord asking for blessings on Glen and Tammy as they move, and also for blessings on the new family that buys their house. There, we've done all we can do: it is up to heaven now.

I worked on the placemats this afternoon (and Tammy ran my sewing machine for the first time, helping me) and I worked on the DWRQ quilt blocks. Nothing finished, but as I was sewing this showed up at my door:

BEAUTIFUL roses from Eileen! Really lovely. I was gobsmacked by such a generous gift. As a single person, I wasn't expecting any flowers this Valentine's. This was a real treat because I am one of those women that starts to crave flowers this time of year inasmuch as winter has been going on for months, and no flowers are in sight for another couple of months. In the middle of February, I want flowers like heroin. Thank you, Miss Eileen.

And Mother sent me this Valentine:

It is one of those pop-up cards she loves (and I love too). She signed Daddy's name to it, but she has assured me that Daddy sent a gift of his own, separately, so I'll have to wait to see what arrives in the mail.

And last, but certainly not least, Aimee gave me this for Valentines:

This little tome, "Porn for Women" has made the rounds on the internet, but basically it is full of photos of men doing housework and saying things like, "As long as I have legs, you will never take out the garbage" and other things women really want to hear.

So my prayer for the support of friends this Valentine's was answered and I thank everyone for their thoughts and gifts and cards. Y'all have made this a Valentine's to remember!