Happy Groundhog Day - Happy Groundhog Day

Hello and thank you to the ladies of the Harvest Quilt Group of New Jersey who took my Hex Vex workshop on Saturday.  The potluck was delicious and I had a great time meeting everyone.

Here is a little doll quilt about 8" x  12" that I made as a Birthday gift for my friend, Sheila. 

One of the swappers sent me a cute little pack of 2 1/2" french prints.  I'm so sorry I forget who - tell me and I'll amend the post.  I made half square triangles, then more with the trims from the first until I had a little quilt.

The backing fabric is decorator weight and I found it on a "free table" somewhere or maybe a quilt show boutique.    I was in the Advertising world for over 10 years so I just loved it!    That Deviled Ham dude is scary.

Today I'm sharing a soup recipe that I found on Pinterest and that you can find by clicking here.

Tortellini Soup with Sausage and Spinach.  Easy Peasy.  I love a recipe that has under 10 ingredients.  (I removed the sausage from the casings)

 The prep is quick and the house smelled delicious.

I had some frozen french bread in the freezer so made up some quick cheesy crustinis too.

Topped with a little cheese (who can resist) and abbondanza.   Mr. Fun and I loved it and it made great leftovers and heats up well.

Hooray!  I have finished hand quilting my second block and I'm on my third. 

Don't you love a town where prominent, grown men dress in top hats to hold a furry woodchuck who goes by the name Punxsutawney Phil?    We are to have 6 more weeks of winter here in New England.  But it has been so easy - who cares?

I just love his little paws.  He looks like he is wearing leather gloves.  I wish he had a top hat too.

Ask me if my Dickens Village and Angel Tree are still out in Living Room.....I dare you......where did January go?

Happy Groundhog Day.  Happy Groundhog Day.   (see what I did there?)
xo

Land Ho

Most of me is back from my Caribbean vacation, but it's going to take a few days to stop looking for the Lido deck.....

Before I went away, I sent this Birthday gift to my friend, Sheila in Illinois.

It was one of those "big" Birthday's so I decided to make a red and white in remembrance of her visit to the exhibit, just about a year ago.

Here you can see the scale better.  The blocks are 4" finished and there are 70, hhhmmmm, coincidence?  

I used this red and white toile' on the backing and apparently it goes with Sheila's dining room.

My favorite home away from home:  Holland America Line.
We were aboard the newest ship:  The Nieuw Amsterdam.
It was beautiful.

Top picks from the trip:

The Crow's Nest, we came everyday after breakfast, and then for team trivia.  The views are beautiful.

On Grand Cayman we took a submarine tour - it was incredible.  We went 115 ft. down, and hey, I didn't even have to get wet :)

There are some bright blue fishes near the bottom of the shot.

Here is a hut that we "owned" for a day at Mahogany Beach, Honduras.

One of our favorite activities on board is sitting on Deck 3, Promenade deck, and watching the ocean go by....

And now there are dishes to do, laundry to fold and a dog to be walked.  I guess I'm back in Jersey all right!

Hope you all had a great week and I look forward to catching up on my blog reading.