It's Wednesday!

Oh, wouldn't the world seem dull and flat with nothing whatever to grumble at?
~W.S. Gilbert

Last night I cut my finger.  Not badly but just enough to sting like crazy and to require a bandage.  And this had nothing to do with quilt making or stitching.  I received the cut from one of those infernal, tough plastic wrappings that so many things come in these days.  I think they should be outlawed!!  Or at least they should provide some sort of tear strip to allow the consumer to open the desired plastic to get to the item they purchased.  I know they super glue these packages together to prevent theft, but come on!  It took me ten minutes to get a package of razors open (multi pack from Costco) using a pair of scissors and lots of muscle.  It's just ridiculous that it should be almost impossible to penetrate.  Okay.  I feel better now.  I've had my rant for the day and now I can go sew :)

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LITTLE FACT OF THE DAY

Hands

Hands.  Where would be without them?  We probably wouldn't be doing much sewing or crafting of any sort.  However, I have seen some art work created by those who use their feet and I know of at least one quilter out there who uses her feet to create beautiful quilts.  Here are a few facts I dug up about hands:

* The skin on the palm of the hand has no fingerprints, hair or color pigmentation.

* Fingernails grow an average of 1/10 of an inch each month. Fingernails grow 4 times faster than toenails.
* There are no muscles in your fingers. The muscles that move your fingers are located in the palm and up in the mid forearm. They're connected to the finger bones by tendons which pull and move the fingers like the strings of a marionette.

* The Hand has been used as a symbol of protection since ancient times

* The longest Fingernails ever belonged to Shidhar Chillal. They were 20 feet, 2.25 inches! It took 48 years to grow them (GROSS!)
* 12.6% of all men are left-handed, while only 9.9% of all women are
* About a quarter of the motor cortex in the human brain (the part of the brain which controls all movement in the body) is devoted to the muscles of the hands.
* Structurally, fingernails are modified hairs.
* Each hand contains: 29 major and minor bones, 29 major joints, at least 123 named ligaments, 34 muscles which move the fingers and thumb, 48 nerves and 30 named arteries.

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WEDNESDAY'S FLOWERS

I  had the best intentions of 1) Putting some flowers into my garden, and 2) Making two new flowers for my garden.  Neither happened.  But today I can share two flowers I made for someone else......

Lara G is my swap partner for February in the Inchy Hexagon Flower Swap.  Lara requested purple/red - the more colorful the better.  I think these two flowers fill that request.  These will be making their way across the ocean to Australia in today's mail.

If you would like to check out more hexie flowers, be sure to visit Karen's One Flower Wednesday.  Karen provides with a linky and you can 'one stop browse'.  Thank you, Karen.

A few of you have asked how I am able to create my fussy cut flowers.  Without a see-through template, it would very difficult.  The company I bought my tool from is located in Australia and had to increase their shipping rates so it has become a rather pricey purchase.  However, my friend Mary, found a company in Ohio that has a hexagon template available.....

This allows you to see exactly what will appear on your flower petal.  With the cost of shipping, you can purchase this template for just over $10 (USA) from Schoolhouse Quilt Shoppe.  If you scroll about half way down the page you will find the 1" hexagon template.  There are other templates available too.  I'm not advertising nor endorsing this company, just putting the information out there for those who wanted to know.

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LITTLE BLOCKS

I'm a member of the 6" Block Swaps Australia.  I received these beautiful blocks from Ann.....

Ann said "I have just finished by Dear Jane quilt top so I enlarged 2 of the blocks and foundation pieced them for you".  Aren't they beautiful?!?   It  looks like they are different sizes but I think the color causes an optical illusion because they are both 6.5" square.  Aren't they gorgeous?  Thank you so very much, Ann.

Ann requested any star block in blue and white.  This

is the Go-Along #2 block from Quilter's Cache.  They look like they are made from the same fabrics but the only fabric that is the same is the white background.  I hope Ann enjoys these blocks.

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TODAY'S GOAL

Today I plan to start working on 2 Loving Hands quilts.

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GIVEAWAYS

Smashed Peas and Carrots is having a giveaway.  You could win a $100 Olive Garden gift card.  This giveaway ends Sunday, March 18.

KoolBeenz is having their weekly giveaway.  You could win a $25 shoppe credit to The Quilted Castle.  This giveaway ends Saturday, February 4, at midnight EST.

SewCalGal is having a giveaway.  You could win a set of buttons from Incomparable Buttons.  This giveaway ends Thursday, February 2, at midnight PST.

My Patchwork Life is having a giveaway.  You could win 3 fat quarters.  This giveaway ends Friday, February 3.

Cat Patches is having a giveaway.  Barbara is ready to send the Traveling Stash on its way.  This giveaway ends Friday, February 2, at 5:00 pm PST.

Quilt Inspirations is having a giveaway.  You could win a copy of Passionate Patchwork autographed by KaffeFasset, or a $10 gift card from Joann's, or a Modern Robe pattern, or a 1/2 yard each of "Aurora" and "Splash" batik fabric from Hoffman California International, or a copy of  Red and Green : An Applique Tradition by Jeana Kimball, plus red fabrics.  This giveaway ends Monday, February 6.

Leona's Quilting Adventure is having a giveaway.  You could win 2 pouch patterns from Flutter From Kat.  This giveaway ends Friday, February 3, at midnight EST.

Linda's Quiltmania is having a giveaway.  You could win a Bali Pop.  This giveaway ends Friday, February 3. 

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FINAL THOUGHT

This could be my house - lol!!  Have a wonderful Wednesday!