And polka dots.  More specifically - Polka Dots & Paisleys by Polly & Laurie, Minick & Simpson.  (That's three ampersands in a single sentence - that's gotta be a record.)

(That last part reminds me of a line in a John Wayne movie.  Do you know which one?)

I think John - and Marion - would have liked this collection - it's red, white and blue.

The quilt?  That's Faithful, the quilt project for Frivol No. 2.  If you're Frivoling, you probably have yours by now.

From the beginning, we wanted this quilt to feature the signature cream, red and blue color palette of Polly Minick & Laurie Simpson. We also wanted it to reflect Laurie's style of quilt - a lot of pieces and very scrappy.

The name of the quilt comes from Polly and Laurie's family - if you didn't know, they're sisters.  Polly's oldest son, Jim Minick, served in the Marine Corps and retired as a Colonel.  Semper Fi - semper fidelis - always faithful.  It just seemed right.  (Jim is now the Director of Football Operations for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.  Go Blue!)

This is it - and this is what's in it.

Isn't the quilt label terrific?  It was designed and printed especially for this Frivol, it includes Laurie's favorite quotation - from Will Rogers - and the design on the side uses the blocks from the quilt.  It's the "cracker jack".

I have to share that the term "cracker jack" has been a funny point of discussion in the office.  I'm sure it won't surprise some of you to learn that if something comes up that I don't know the answer to, I pull out my smartphone and look it up.  (And yes, I use my phone a lot!)  So when someone asked where the term "cracker jack" came from, I went online.  I already knew that it came from the Cracker Jack, the box of caramel-coated peanuts and popcorn.  Got it.

But I learned that while the company - F. W. Rueckheim - created the candy-part of Cracker Jack in 1896, and developed its foil-sealed boxes in 1902, it wasn't until 1912 that they decided to put small prizes right in the box rather than enclosing coupons that had to be redeemed by mail like other companies did.  That's how the the phrase "cracker jack" entered the lexicon as something "extra".

I also like that cracker jack means "a person or thing that shows marked ability of excellence, exceptionally fine".

I sometimes wonder how I survived before Al Gore invented the internet.  (I used dictionaries and encyclopedias a lot.  A LOT.)

I'm also having fun finding ways to use one or two individual blocks.

For example, a single block is a nice addition to a little zippered bag - and don't we all love zippered bags!  Come on... I know it's not just me!  I might be just a little obsessed lately but I see too many cute little bags to believe I'm the only one.

I've included these links before but I'll do it again because simply put, these are one of our - my - favorite bags to make.  (Yeah yeah... you already know this.)  The Open Wide Zippered Pouch by Anna Graham of the Noodlehead blog.  Anna has an outstanding tutorial for a simple zippered bag - the links are included here:

• Open Wide Zippered Pouch
• Open Wide Zippered Pouch - Size Chart

(This bag was made using two pieces of Grunge - Royal - #300 and Raspberry - #253.)

A few more things to share...

It's been so much fun to see finished Kindred quilts and Maker blocks popping up in social media - Instagram, Facebook and on Pinterest.

The funniest thing I've run across is how many people don't want to open their tins, they want to keep the Frivol intact, complete with it's original shrink-wrap.  A few folks have even 'fessed up to purchasing two tins - one to open and make, and one to keep on the shelf un-opened.  Like I've ever done anything like that... uh, no comment.

Okay, second funniest.

This is the funniest.  One of my sweet friends sent this to me - she plays Words With Friends.

With this as her opening word, I'm sure she won.

Before I bid you adieu for today, I'll be back tomorrow - Saturday - with something about a really cool new book, machine quilting, and maybe even a giveaway of some kind.

Happy Friday!