Does this little guy look cold?

This is some stuff we put out in the alley for pick up -- without a lot of thought.  And then -- it snowed and we realized he was a different kind of 'snowman' (or mouse or cat or animaniac or something!).        

Windchills coming to Chicago in the "minus" degrees which is never a good thing.  I think of those that have to work out in it -- the homeless -- farmers -- and kids whose parents don't dress them warmly enough.   

The quilt that follows is the warmest quilt in our house -- by far.  It's made with felted wool that was reclaimed in Goodwill Stores, resale shops, and my closet!  The leaves were appliqued with buttonhole stitch using perle cotton or variegated specialty floss.  Many of them are outlines of leaves from our home in KY before we moved to Chicagoland.  The batt is wool (of course) and I hand quilted with big stitch before it was too popular. I didn't have the dexterity to do a finer stitch.  It's my husband's and is actually the only "real quilt I've made him.  I did make him a rag quilt one year (the year I made 11 for Christmas) but this is his quilt and the corner block is a heart.

I hope you're staying warm - wherever you are.  There  is nothing like a cuddly (or wool!) quilt to take the chill -- and wind chill -- off!

Keep piecing, Jan