February 15 the day after Valentine's Day

I hope you'll allow me a few moments to reminisce. Yesterday, Valentine's Day, was always special to me as a young girl. I've mentioned this before; making Valentine's, giving candy, decorating paper doilies, and hoping to someday finding my prince charming were all part of that day. What could be more important than this?

USS Maine  Havana Harbor 1898

It is no longer Valentines!  February 15th was always a special day for my father a former navy man. As a naive young girl I was appalled because he always wore this little metal pin that he found in an antique store. It was red, white and blue and had a very old ship pictured in the center. It said "Remember the Maine" in big letters. This was the day that the Maine sank in Havana Harbor in 1898, a huge naval disaster. It may have been an event that precipitated the Spanish-American war.

The mast may still be at Arlington Cemetery.  When my sisters and I were kids we climbed on it.  I wonder if it is still there?

For years now, every Feb 15. I think of my dad. On this day, so long ago, the world changed its view of American Naval power, and America gained more respect. Today will always be "Remember the Maine Day." It always started the same way;  Daddy always came down to breakfast wearing his pin. We would roll our eyes, knowing that we'd get his little talk about the Maine. And of course we did.

Now you know what is special about this day. I like to ask everyone I see, "Do you know what happened on this day in 1898?"  And of course I tell them the story.

Thanks for listening. I promise to get back to blogging about quilts tomorrow...........

Ann

My Official Valentine's Day Blog!

Since I was a little girl, Valentine's Day has always been special to me. Maybe it was a little girl's dream, prince charming, fairy tales and all that stuff. Or perhaps it was because I have always loved candy, especially chocolate.   I always looked forward to decorating pieces of red construction paper with lots of paper cutting, glue, paper doilies, crayons and scotch tape. I could spend hours and days making decorations for the house! Then I made little bags of candy to give to my special friends. It was all part of the my personal tradition.

The sad part of all this is my husband and two grown sons have ZERO interest in this special day. In the past, this crushed me, I gave up on them, and then decided to continue to celebrate the day in my own way. So...............instead of sending Christmas cards I began sending Valentine's. Think about it, how many Valentine's do you get these days?  Not many huh? Everyone seems to appreciate them. As soon as Christmas is over, I begin my Valentine plans.

Hearts and Trillium,    quilt by Ann Fahl

This is a slow process.  Making cards is faster with a computer and printer, but before I begin that part of the process I make a special small quilt to place on the front of the card.  My Hearts and Trillium is 17 x 17 inches, so it was completed relatively fast.  It's quilted with little hearts all over the surface to carry out the Valentine theme.

Valentine and Ginkgoes  quilt by Ann Fahl

This is last year's quilt.  I love the green quilting on the mottled black background. For me it is the highlight of the quilt.

Beaded Valentine  by Ann Fahl

The year before was Beaded Valentine. This one took lots of time because of the hand beading. Those of you with a copy of my  book, Dancing with Thread, will recognize this from the segment on quilting embellished quilts. I love the beaded border around the heart.

Now you've seen 3 years of quilts from my personal Valentine tradition. I wish you many quilts to warm you with colors, pattern and stitching. And no Valentine would be complete without those little heart candies, and a big chocolate heart with caramel in the middle. Of course I will wear my red socks with white hearts and a little black cat on the top.

Have a great day.

Ann