Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Flowers From Here and There


I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world.  This makes it hard to plan the day.  
~Elwyn Brooks White

It's leap year!  That gives us one extra day this year.  An extra day of sewing and crafting.  This is exactly what I've been looking for!  But it just feels like any other day.  Will I notice that we had an extra day once the end of the year rolls around?  Probably not.  Will you be using this day in any special way?  I guess we will be celebrating it by going grocery shopping this evening.  Oh boy!  I can hardly wait - lol!

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LITTLE FACT OF THE DAY

Leap Year


2012 is a leap year, with 366 days instead of the usual 365 days.
Why?
It was the ancient Egyptians who first figured out that the solar year and the man-made calendar year didn't always match up.
That's because it actually takes the Earth a little longer than a year to travel around the Sun — 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds, to be exact.
Therefore, as the hours accumulated over the centuries, an extra day was occasionally added to the calendar, and over time the practice became more or less official.
Leap Day traditions - no man is safe!
As the story goes, the tradition of women romantically pursuing men in leap years began in 5th century Ireland, when St. Bridget complained to St. Patrick about the fair sex having to wait for men to propose. Patrick finally relented and set February 29 aside as the day set aside allowing women the right to ask for a man's hand in marriage.While leap day helped official timekeepers, it also resulted in social customs turned upside down when February 29 became a "no man's land" without legal jurisdiction.
The tradition continued in Scotland, when Queen Margaret declared in 1288 that on February 29 a woman had the right to pop the question to any man she fancied. Menfolk who refused were faced with a fine in the form of a kiss, a silk dress, or a pair of gloves given to the rejected lady fair.
A similar modern American tradition, Sadie Hawkins Day, honors "the homeliest gal in the hills" created by Al Capp in the cartoon strip Li'l Abner. In the famous story line, Sadie and every other woman in town were allowed on that day to pursue and catch the most eligible bachelors in Dogpatch. Although the comic strip placed Sadie Hawkins Day in November, today it has become almost synonymous with February 29.

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FUN FLOWERS

Today is One Flower Wednesday and I made exactly one flower this week.

I am calling this flower "The Day In The Life Of A Sunflower".  Pretty long name for one small flower but that's exactly what I thought of while stitching this flower.  It goes from happiness, to despair, to being, to embarrassment, to being, to making a statement, and back to happiness.  That pretty much covers a days worth of emotions.  
For more hexie flowers out there in blogland, the lovely Karen has provided a linky to make it easy to do some blog hopping.  You can go HERE to check out more flowers.

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FUN SWAP FLOWERS

Earlier this week I received two fun flowers from my February swap partner in the Inchy Hexagon Flower Swap.

Lara made these wonderful hexie flowers for me and they traveled all the way from Perth, Australia.  Lara said "It's the first time I've done fussy cut" - can you believe it?  They are perfect!  She also included a precious crocheted heart.  Thank you so very much, Lara!

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TODAY'S GOAL

I hope to finish quilting the quilt I've been working on.


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GIVEAWAYS

Favequilts is having a giveaway.  You could win a Pat Sloan Starter Kit of Aurifil Thread.  This giveaway ends Tuesday, March 6.


Quiltville's Quips and Snips is having a giveaway.  You could win a copy of On Track!  This giveaway ends Friday, March 2.


McCall's is having a giveaway.  You could win thirty-eight 7" x 18" cuts of fabric of Moda Swirl.  This giveaway ends Tuesday, March 6.


Kool Benz is having a giveaway.  You could win a fat quarter bundle of Fresh Cut by Heather Bailey.  This giveaway ends Saturday, March 3, at midnight EST.


Annie's Ruby Slipperz is having her weekly Mystery Monday giveaway.  You could win 5 fat quarters.  This giveaway ends Saturday, March 3, at midnight MT.


Marcia's Crafty and Sewing Blog is having a short giveaway.  You could win a set of Photo Note Cards.  This giveaway ends tonight, February 29, at midnight.


Vrooman's Quilts is having a giveaway.  You could win one charm pack of Sassy and one charm pack of
Bella Solid.  This giveaway ends Friday, March 2, at midnight.


Lavender Dreams is having a giveaway.  You could win a Mystic Knot bracelet.  This giveaway ends Friday, March 2.


PickleDish is having a giveaway.  You could win American Summer: Seaside-Inspired Rugs & Quilts by Polly Minick.  This giveaway ends "sometime later this week".


Cosmo Cricket Blog is having a giveaway.  You could win a Salt Air layer cake from Fat Quarter Shop.  This giveaway ends ?

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FINAL THOUGHT




20 comments:

krisgray said...

Pretty hexies! Thanks for the explanation of Leap Year - knew I could count on you! I'm taking DS to the children's museum this afternoon and I'm sure I will have to explain what Leap Year is...we'll see if I do a good job of it.

sunny said...

Ooh - Live it up! Go grocery shopping. hmmm... Your flowers are beautiful. Of course I love the sunflower, and the fussy cuts are perfecto!

Lee Prairie Designs said...

Cute Hexie! Thanks for the explanation regarding "Leap Year!"

Carolyn :)

rubyslipperz1052 said...

Leap year and Sadie Hawkins...these both have some great memories for me.
--Leap Year...one of my DDs was born just barely on the first of March. When I was prego, my DH told me I had to at least wait until the 1st. =P
--Sadie Hawkins dance in my high school years was one of the most fun dances of all of them.

O!! I LUV that leeetle girl picture! I would luv a poster of her!

hugZ,
annie
anniesrubyslipperz.com

Quilting Chemist (Danette) said...

I love your Hexie! The sunflowers are so dramatic - they remind me of some of the old cartoons which would exaggerate emotions in the same way. Too Cute!

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Love the opeing quote. I remember Sadie Hawkins Dances when in school - usually everyone just stood around, the guys on one side and the girls on the other - lots of fun! It is snowing here - our first winter storm! So I am going to stay home and sew.

Needled Mom said...

I'll bet the men all went into hiding on Feb. 29th in Ireland back then!!!!

I love your Life of a Sunflower hexie! It is so sweet and has such a appropriate name.

I'll be out shopping with you today. The cupboards are bare, but it is a nice day for it.

Needled Mom said...

I'll bet the men all went into hiding on Feb. 29th in Ireland back then!!!!

I love your Life of a Sunflower hexie! It is so sweet and has such a appropriate name.

I'll be out shopping with you today. The cupboards are bare, but it is a nice day for it.

Raewyn said...

Oh I love your sunflower hexie!! Unfortunately Leap Day was just another day for us... but it did mean I had an extra day to buy my husband's birthday present, which is today!

Staci said...

LOL! I celebrated with a grocery store trip, allergy shots and a stop at the post office! That's about as exciting as it gets! Wonderful happy flowers.

elizabeth said...

I had forgotten about Sadie Hawkins Day : ) That brought back some fun memories from long ago.....dances where the girls invited the boys!

Quiet Quilter said...

Love the way you find and display the pedals on your flowers. Nice placement.

Lots of Fabric 2 said...

Your sunflowers hexie is beautiful,with just a touch of green happy quilting jinnie

Birdydownunder said...

cute sunny hexie flowers that make me smile :)

Karen said...

Fabulous, fabulous flower! My eyes just keep going around and around the petals.

Anonymous said...

Love all the flowers, but your sunflower one is so adorable!

Maria said...

Love the pretty hexie flowers.I like the way the grass grows from the centre.
Cute little girl in the photo

Miss Hillbilly said...

I never knew that about Leap Day. Glad my husband called into work yesterday. Some of the women may have tried to take him from me otherwise.:)

Becky G said...

Oh, how much fun! Love your hexi's as always & the fond memories... Sadie Hawkins day! I did a double take of the little girl in the poster, she is a dead ringer for one of my granddaughters. Nice! See you next week. B

Larissa said...

Hi Linda - thanks for the lovely words about my fussy cutting :) The hexies look fab in the photo!! I love the little girl at the end, she looks a little like my niece, made me smile - and of course the message is so precious. Lovely xx

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