Roses are beautiful but they eventually wilt, Chocolates are yummy but I gobble them up in no time, I'll always treasure cards with special messages, but my latest love is.... 


 Valentines hankies!


All those pretty hearts, cupids, ribbons and lace make them so romantic. 


Since Medieval times, knights in shining armour have carried their loved ones fabric token in tournaments or into battle. 
Hankies are a handy size to carry from far away places. making them a popular gift from sailors to their loved ones. How wonderful it would have been to receive a square of embroidered silk from an exotic far away land. . 
Marie Antoinette was such a trend setter. She apparently thought the square was the most elegant shape for a hankie and so it was decreed by her husband King Louis XVI of France, that all hankerchiefs should be square.

Squares may be elegant but one of the things I enjoy about Valentines Hankies is their creative shapes.



In Victorian times women used hankies to flirt. If a woman lightly swiped her hanky across her cheek she was signalling "I love you".  We've all seen movies where heroines drop their pretty lace hankies to attract the handsome star.  


I haven't been collecting very long and I've probably won't become a serious collector but it's lovely to have a few of these sweet hankies around. Besides the quilter side of me has been thinking... 

...and flirting with my design wall

Maybe I should have have a date with my sewing machine?


Wishing you all a wonderful Valentine's Day!!!