it's groundhog day! again!

not only is it groundhog's day.... but it's my wedding anniversary. happy 2 years to us!

will i post a blog every year, like last year? should i start to repeat it, but just change the ending to reflect one of the greatest movies of all time?

i narrowly finished the anniversary present in time. i spent my lunch break monday handstitching the binding and had to finish at home before snappy made it home. i had my short accomplice hold it for photos, moments before snappy walked through the door.







what do you think of it? i've never used a panel before in my quilts and this is my first wholecloth quilt as well. i had wanted to do some piecing around the borders, but time was against me, as well as being shipped an incorrect fabric during the holidays.

snappy loves it. i had planned on giving it to him tonight after dinner, but he gave me a big bag full of "cotton" so i changed my mind and handed it over this morning. we said we were staying simple (although i already gave him his new ring) and he spoiled me with new jammies and sheets, along with pretty earrings. at first, he thought i had it made for us.... then was very confused as to when i put it together since he hadn't seen it. there were quite a few lunches spent with a needle and thread in my office.

any ways it goes... just like my childhood minister, i give this blessed union a thumbs up!

anniversary ideas...

my 2nd wedding anniversary is coming up. soon. i've got a couple ideas, but i'm still thinking... i'm not THAT much of a slacker; i did already give my hubby a gift early:

mokume gane titanium ring by johan

his original ring had gotten waaaay too big for him and i was afraid he'd lose it. i'm not really sure how he kept it on his hand during the day, so before we left for our thanksgiving visit and trip to d.c., i surprised him with it. good time for it too... it was around the anniversary of our first date.

the traditional 2nd anniversary gift is cotton. so many things a person could do for that: new bed linens, pj's, a quilt, etc. keep in mind that i can't really make him a whole quilt for our anniversary. he's home enough to notice what i'm working on. i have one item waiting at home and another that i've got going...deciding still if it's for anniversary or valentine's day (a week and a half later).

so, here's a question for all my readers: what's your ideal 2nd anniversary gift?

meet douglas...

meet douglas. he's a groundhog. douglas sleeps on my bed every night between snappy and myself. he was a wedding present from my parents and was our favorite present. literally!

today is not just groundhog's day, but my first wedding anniversary to one of the funniest guys i know and he happens to be my best friend too. we had a fantastic wedding - very unique and quite our style.

i wore red! it was a great dress - i handpicked the zipper with little iridescent beads (you can sort of see it in the above picture) and embroidered dragonflies on the sashing and one on the front hem. the dress is from a 1950's pattern and i have a red crinoline on too. red is my favorite color. i made red ties for my groom and bridal escort (my then 5-yr old son) out of similar red silk. making a tiny tie for a preschooler is not an easy feat - took me 2 tries! i made each of the bridesmaids red silk and white satin shawls with their initial embroidered on it.

the sun was shining on a cold day and warmed it up enough that we didn't require jackets. the groom had no idea i was wearing red, so it was a fantastic reaction from him and most of our guests. less than a half dozen people knew the color of my dress until that morning.

the entire bridal party and our guests were wearing any combination of white and black. the inside was decorated the same way too, with touches of red on the tables and the cake. i loved it!!

so here we are.... our first wedding anniversary. funny thing - this morning as he opened up part of his anniversary gift, he told me he has to exchange some of mine. we both got each other the movie groundhog day. i'm surprised no one did that for our wedding gift.