New Machine on the way!

I bought a new machine this morning. Online. Joel came out of the shower and I announced what I had just done. He asked if he could then buy a new car. I said, "sure.... if it's $386 Canadian with shipping."
This is a spur of the moment purchase. Slightly. My Elna is super but it doesn't have a monogram stitch and when it needs to be repaired, the old Singer really clunks along. This is a Janome but looks exactly like the ones that company's been making for Kenmore which have been a great deal. A Janome of equal value would be approx. $1000. Apparently Kenmore is now going over to Brother. Found this one through www.overstock.com
On another topic: I "won" a snow shovel today. Was coming back to our community from a meeting in another when a shovel came flying out of the flatbed truck in front, heading right towards me. I slammed on the brakes, the snow shovel hit the pavement and I avoided it. I honked for the truck driver to notice but he disappeared over a hill. So I threw the shovel in the back seat and if I would have found the guy in town ahead, he would have got his shovel back. But he was long gone. So, whoever you are, Thanks. Although I don't think you'll be reading a sewing blog!

Sunday Valentines

What do you do when Valentine's Day falls on a Sunday? Make Valentines for your congregation, of course!
Don't know how I came up with this crazy idea -- but it was fun and the folks seemed to appreciate the thought and effort. Each Valentine has the Scripture passage that's key to the congregation's mission.
I used leftover red fleece and stiffened that fabric with scraps of interfacing. I sewed on the strips of paper with gold rayon thread I got at a garage sale. I've a bunch for promotional magnets that I cut up for magnetic strips that were then glued to the back so that people could put them on their fridge.
I am finding these tangible symbols seem to be helpful to people. A few weeks ago I gave out scrolls, one to each person, and each had a single word from the Scripture passage for that week i.e. "Release" "Freedom", "Recovery", "Sight", etc. Surprised me that weeks later, some folks had still held on to their scroll.

Animal Comfort

Love this zoo animal fleece that I found online from Fabric Mart years ago. It's been waiting for something special. I pulled it out a year ago and J, about three years old then, said it could be a blanket. But she was well blessed with many baby and small child blankets made by wonderful church ladies so there was no need for another one. The fabric went back into the stash, awaiting inspiration. But a year later, J will graduate to a "big girl' bed soon and will need blankets for that. With a bit of serging, the two yards quickly turned into a blanket that yesterday morning we made into a tent. Very early this morning when she awoke sick and uncomfortable, I tucked her back in, telling her the animals would cuddle her. They were, fortunately, comforting enough for her to fall back to sleep.