Pretty Pink

 

A couple of weeks ago I delivered this sweet pink basket to our Pastor's wife Jennifer. 

 

 

When I told her I would like to make a quilt for her, she was flatteringly pleased. I'm glad I asked what colors she would like, because these are not my usual suspects! She wanted pastels - pink, blue and green. So this is what I did. Isn't it sweet!

 

 

Here it is freshly quilted and bound.

 

 

And now after a run through the washer and dryer, in all its crinkly, cuddly wonderfulness! I am so happy that she likes it. It was a privilege to bless someone who is such a blessing to us and all our church.

 

Our next door neighbor is a manager at our local hardware store. Recently they got in two chickens the owner did not want to sell in their store. Our neighbor thought I might like them, so sent them home with Mr. Muddling.

Of course I want them! The are so delightfully chickenish. I'm still laughing every time I see them.

My little darling chickens on the other hand make me so angry some times that I could wring their little necks. I don't, but......

Yesterday they decided they did not want to go back into their pen, so we had a not too fun for me game of chase the chickens all over the back yard! Today they are grounded!!!

 

 

This is Gloria's quilt I'm working on right now. It has grown quite a bit since these pictures. I have been happy with one design wall for a while now, but this one is going to require two. So. We bought a 4 ft. X 8 ft. one inch thick panel of foam insulation board. I had to cut a couple of inches of the top off, and now I need to get it covered and to work! 

Tomorrow will be October, which will mean absolutely nothing here in Houston, Texas. Still hot!

Hope you're cool and comfortable where you are!

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

 

 

 

 

 

Hot Time in the Summertime

 

 

Really, I am not even going to start about how hot it is in Houston, Texas in the summer. But it is!

Instead, let's look at this pretty blue and white quilt top. It is from the very talented Helen Philipps. I love visiting her so pretty blog.

I have since this picture added borders and it is ready to quilt, but I put it aside to start another quilt. I know. Big surprise.

 

For those of you who have been following my muddling for a long time, you may remember Mr. Muddling's sister Gloria who gave me LOTS of fabric. She was working at a donation thrift store and they were throwing fabric donations in the trash bin. I KNOW! Sacrilege!!! 

She asked her manager if she could have the fabric instead of throwing it away and they agreed. What a blessing to me! I was just starting out making quilts and as you know, fabric is very expensive.

Fast forward and Gloria asked if I would  repair a quilt I made for her years ago. It was in poor condition, so I said I'd much rather make a new one for her. 

 

 

Gloria is a lover of purple, so I started there, of course. (I am so thankful for my die cutter - Accuquilt Studio2 - makes it SO much easier to cut many pieces.)

 

 

I added in some colorful Kaffe Fassett and Philip Jacobs fabrics 

 

and some neutrals and got started putting half square triangles on the design wall.

 

 

And here we are so far. I have lots more cutting to make a queen sized quilt, and I would like to put more variety into this. Ah, the joys of a bountiful stash of fabrics! (And the gratitude for a husband who encourages me to add to it!)

 

So, at least I don't have to stay outside in that heat for long at a time. I can come back inside and enjoy a dive into purple!

 

I hope you're enjoying lots of wonderful things where you are. The world is so full of good things the Father has provided for us to enjoy!

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

 

 

Quilts for the USO

 

 

My friend Sandy made this one for the USO. She and her husband have moved from our neighborhood now, and I miss her terribly.

 

All of the ones below were made by me. 

It is such a joy to me to make these quilts for the service men and women to enjoy when they visit the USO Lounge at IAH here in Houston. 

They give up so much to serve our country, and let's face it - they don't get much respect for it.

This is not a huge thing, but it is something I can do to give them a little spot of comfort.

 

My friend Deb sent me a huge amount of Patriotic fabric to help with the materials. I so appreciate her and the many wonderful people I've "met" in my years of blogging. 

 

 

Mr. Muddling and I delivered all these quilts to our good friend, Robin, who is the volunteer coordinator at the USO Center there at the airport. She is such a sweet lady and so diligent to help the service men and women there. 

 

Robin takes every quilt home with her to wash and dry after one person has used it. 

 

She likes the quilts we've made for them because they hold up so well after many washings.

 

Personally, I consider it an honor to give back in such a small way to the people who have given so much.

May God bless them and protect them. 

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine 

 

 

 

Boardwalk

 

This is Boardwalk by Betsy Chutchian in Moda Allstars Snuggle Up. I used her pattern, just changed the layout a little. Because I can, and I like it.

 

 

 

Here it is out on the patio. I just love it! The design, the red print borders, and the striped binding all go together to make it a winner! And I am glad it is, because I gave it to our pastor's family. And they like it a lot. I am so glad!

 

 

You know, sometimes you just have to take a pot of tea with you to the sewing room when you're really serious about a quilt.

 

AND.... I was delighted to see a new softie fabric panel. I had to buy one. I had to, because I've loved those characters since my son was a very little boy. I  bought him the boxed set of books, and they were so beautiful and so perfect.

I may have already made one of the little softies for myself. Maybe.

 

I do hope you are having a lot of fun in your place! I believe in having fun. It's Biblical. You know, the Bible says, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine."!!! So. It's good to have fun.

 

Hugs and kisses, and lots of love,

Elaine 

Moving Along

Greetings from Houston in the very hot summertime!

 

 

First of all I'd like to show you this baby quilt. It is made from the generously provided instructions of Mary Johnson. I have learned so much from her over the years, and I really appreciate how she shares with others. I left off the outer borders to give it a more modern look. It is made primarily from half square triangles which I cut with my Studio Cutter.

 

This one goes to our great niece who has a little boy due the end of this month. The green backing is a very soft flannel. These are the colors she wanted and I hear she likes it a lot!

 

 

 

Little glimpses of what is happening at Muddle Manor. Slowly but surely we are getting things repaired and all the mess cleared. It is a big job! In the meantime, there are always pretty things to see and quilts to be made. The one on the lower left is on the quilt frame now, and I should finish it soon. The wooden fence on the east side of the house has been replaced and the chickens are enjoying its shade. Their house is a long way from where we want it, but they can be closed in safely at night and they have the back yard to roam in for now.

 

I haven't shown Buddy lately, but here he is, smiling to say hello! I do love this big ole dog! He is a blessing to me.

 

I hope there are blessings aplenty where you are living! God is still on His throne, and He is still good!

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

 

 

 

Hearts and Flowers

 

 

I finished this one last night and here it is for its "glamor shot". I love it so much. It is so interesting to me that two totally different styles of fabric - the boldly colorful large prints from Kaffe Fassett and Philip Jacobs and the more muted colors from many different designers of the Civil War type reproduction fabrics are playing together so happily in this quilt!

I backed it with a Grunge flannel, and surprisingly enough the quilt is not heavy at all.

 

Mr. Muddling (of course) has done a quality check on this quilt and so it is going to live here and make us happy!

 

 

This one started off as a Betsy Chutchian design, "Boardwalk", from the book Snuggle Up by Moda All Stars. I used her blocks, but changed up the layout, and it has changed more since these pictures. It is now ready to quilt and hopefully I'll get to it soon - since I have MORE that need to be made. 

 

 

And finally, just to encourage me, this little gardenia bloom appeared last week. It made my day! So much of our beautiful back yard was completely demolished by that huge tree that fell across our fence. But, there were things that needed to be changed, so this is a good opportunity to do that!

 

We are still far from done with clean up and renovation from Hurricane Beryl, but one bite at a time, as they say of how to eat an elephant, we are getting it done.

 

Today the county clean up truck cleared most of the stacked up tree debris from our front yard. We were so glad to see it go!

 

I hope all is well in your world. You know, we all have trials and struggles, but with the Lord's help, we will get through them!

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

 

 

 

 

News from Muddle Manor

 

First I'd like to show you this fun "potato chip" quilt I finished for the USO. It was so easy and so much fun to make, and I think it turned out to be a quilt the USO Lounge at our local airport will enjoy.

 

This pretty one was made by my friend Sandy for the USO as well. I love the little extra zip she put on the backing!

 

This little cutie is a freebie from Taryn at Reproduction Quilt Lover.

Clicking on her name should take you to the free pattern if you're interested. It was fun. I cannot even pretend that I did a wonderful job, but I like it anyway! 

 

 

And now for the not so fun news. Perhaps you heard about Hurricane Beryl visiting our city on Monday. This is the aftermath in our back yard. The picture in the far right center shows the culprit - our neighbor's huge pine tree fell into our back yard, bringing with it parts of his pecan tree and doing a number on our fence, our chicken yard, and the greenhouse. We don't even have any trees in our back yard, so all that you see is storm damage.  That was Monday. 

We had a wonderful tree crew come in on Tuesday and clear all of that out. Now we just have to do repairs after the adjuster makes his report. We are still without electricity, but so thankful to have a whole house generator. And really thankful that tree didn't fall across our house instead! 

Our friend Sandy's house got a branch through the roof. It was right over their bed and had they still been in it, I do not want to think about. 

Through all this, God had been good. As always. There are many people here still without power. And it is really hot as it always is in Houston in the summertime (and lots of other times as well!)

But, we are a resilient country, I believe. There will always be challenges, but I believe our good God will help us to overcome them.

 

I really hope all is well for you and that you are finding fun things to do!

 

Hugs and love,

Elaine