BIRDS' NESTS AND VALENTINE'S DAY

 

Watercolor flowers inside heart-shaped cookie cutter

Valentine's Day began in Ancient Rome as a celebration of Valentine, a martyr. Quite a dark start for a day we think of as a time to honor our loved ones. By the Middle Ages though, Chaucer and Shakespeare helped to turn Valentine's Day around. They believed that February 14 was the day that male birds began to chirp to attract females, built nests, and showed off grand displays of feathers. With these writers' influence, the day became a way to celebrate love instead of martyrdom.

Hearts are a design that people frequently use. A heart may be in place of a dot of an i or as sunglasses or as a pattern on a shirt. We use heart stickers and stamp hearts on envelopes. At this time of year, hearts are everywhere, including  the small cookie cutter shaped as a heart at the top of this post. I have used hearts in stitchery designs too.

I enjoy participating in art challenges when I can. A friend recently showed me the results of an embroidery challenge she did over a year's time. She made a small embroidery piece each week and the results were stunning. Her book made me think of the challenge I had teaching embroidery to middle school kids, which I did for a sewing and stitchery class that I had created. For an example for my students, I made a quilt with six different heart designs, using embroidery stitches, ribbon weaving, needlepoint, and quilting. Looking at my friend's book brough back the memory of working on the quilt and successfully teaching my students some of the techniques.

Valentine's Day in the 21st century is so commercialized and super-hyped that it is hard to find its meaning in all the detritus found in stores during the Winter holidays. Instead, I take the time to make a card by hand, which gives me the chance to reflect on the days spent with that special person.

Here is a simple card structure to make an accordion card:

Accordion Hearts before decorations

Here are some suggestions from my blog in previous years. Click on the link above for Project Directions for more information.

Quilted hanging with stitched heart details

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"Many people are not lazy.

Many people are simply tired.

Many people simply are not okay."

Jonathan Jackson, at the National Prayer Breakfast