Springtime in Muddle Land

 

Of course, we start with a quilt. I had just finished this flannel half hexie quilt when our son came over for a visit. He seemed to feel that it was just the thing he needed, so he took it home with him! I love that picture with the guitar and the quilt together. He is quite a talented guitarist.

 

 

SO many pretty things to see out in our back yard, and after a very long dry spell we are getting some nice rain today. So refreshing for the plants, and for us, too.

 

 

Julie at MyThreadBear life had such an interesting and inspiring post  (as she always does) about some egg pockets she had made. I followed the link on her blog to an Instagram post showing instructions, and decided I needed to make some! 

Mine are in a totally different direction from hers, but I like them a lot. I used 1930's reproduction fabrics that look so very happy. These little happy pockets will be going to some friends of mine tomorrow. As you may be able to figure out from the pics above, each little egg pocket holds an Easter hanging decoration (thank you, Amazon), a small rolled up napkin and a chocolate bunny or two. I am very pleased how they turned out. 

 

 

As you can see, there are a few chocolate bunnies hiding in the lower part of the blue glass egg on the dining room table. Just in case of emergency, you know.

 

I was so pleased to hear President Trump unashamedly call Jesus Christ his Lord and Savior. He is mine, too!

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine 

 

 

 

 

Nearing the End of March

 

Well, let's see. What have I been doing over here since last I posted?

For one thing, I've made up a new batch of laundry detergent . I've had issues with allergies and this one does not bother me. Thank God! 

 

Another thing I've been doing is enjoying all the beautiful springtime flowers. I love them all so much. And.........I planted an orange tree - I think it was last year. Anyway, there are two blossoms on it today!!! And what they say is true, the blossoms smell delightful! Makes me so happy.

 

That beautiful red rose is growing  behind the greenhouse, and has been there since long before the greenhouse. It was one of those deals to entice you to subscribe to something or other. I don't remember what exactly. But I do remember that they asked for five cents, yes - a nickel! - for my very own Blaze rose. Best nickel I ever spent! The plant I received was about the size of a short pencil, but it has grown and grown and bloomed and bloomed. Year after year after year.

On the top left are two of the lovely Peggy Martin roses blooming their little hearts out! Next to them is an amaryllis - a picotee, then the dogwood flowering into the sky and a pink hydrangea I have babied for years.

On the bottom row on the left is Buddy, my funny little dog. He is growing 

up now but still very much a puppy. He is a character!

 

 

Mr. Muddling and I were able to get my Tin Lizzie (the longarm quilt machine) back in working order!!! I am so thankful for that. Thankful, too, for facebook groups that share their knowledge!

So. I got this quilt finished for the USO Lounge at our local airport. I need to make more!

 

The backing is this red flannel plaid, and don't you love the red and white stripe for the binding?

And of course we must have a label!

 

I am so thankful for so many things. If you've managed to stick around through all my blathering, I'm thankful for that, too! Blog friends are the best!

There ARE so many good people and things in this world of ours, it is silly not to be as happy as you can. Yes. I know there are a lot of bad people and bad things in the world, too, but I refuse to give much of my attention to them.

 

I hope you are having a lot of fun and happy things in your part of the world, and I truly hope you take time to thank our good God who only gives good gifts.

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine
 

 

Making Things Work

 

Hi, there! I thought it was time to drop back in and show what I've been doing since my last posting.

 

I had some snowball blocks my friend Deb sent me, so I alternated them with 16 patch blocks to make a quilt top for the USO Lounge at our local airport. I gave the sixteen patches some extra movement by adding some half square triangles from a quilt I had made earlier to the upper right corner of most of them.

 

Here it is on the quilting machine and down to the last two rows. Suddenly there was a terrible noise. I shut the machine off and put it in time out. I think Mr. Muddling and I can get it back in working order again, I just haven't quite worked myself up to doing it yet. But. I will!

 

 

My friend Sandy needed another project to work on for the USO, so I put these blocks and strips up on the design wall for her to see, and she liked it. We took them all down and she took them home to complete. I think these fabrics all came from Deb, too!!! I have some really good friends!

 

Some of these rail fence blocks were leftover from the Hard Crackers quilt I showed in my last post. And a lot more I made and added to the mix. I plan to get these blocks sewn together later tonight.

 

 

Isn't this a gorgeous amaryllis? I cut it a couple of days ago, and there is another stalk from the same bulb about to burst into bloom now!

 

Behind the beautiful flowers are eight little pans ready to be filled with batter to make Everyday Fruitcake. It is made with dried fruit and not the syrupy sweet glazed fruit in regular fruitcake.  I took some of those completed little loaves to our ladies prayer group on Tuesday morning to share with my sweet friends.

 

 

The irises and roses are showing off in Ruthie's Garden and proving that Spring is truly here! (Don't look at all the weeds. I know it's bad. I'll get them cleaned out soon!)

 

Sorry, I don't have a fresh picture of my darling Buddy. He's been so busy all I have are blurry videos! Constant motion. But I do love him!

 

I hope you have lots of things in your world to give you joy. It is important, don't you think?

 

Enjoy your weekend and try to have lots of fun!

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While I Was Absent

 

I made three small quilts. This one, "Bethlehem is about 18 by 18 inches. It will live here and be displayed during the Christmas season. I saw it online and had to have it. 

 

This very colorful little cat is about the same size. It has gone to live with our friend Cass in upper New York state. She loves it!

 

 

This one is a bit larger and lives here as a utility quilt. It is made of 1 1/2 by 2 1/2 inch pieces sewn together to make 2 1/2 inch squares. I had a bag of that size and used them!

 

 

I said in this post that I wanted to enlarge a small quilt I had seen in The Big Book of Civil War Quilts. Well, I did! I figured out what I needed to make it a full size quilt.

 

 

Hard Crackers, biggie sized, is now hanging in our hallway.

 

 

And Miss Lady who was a Christmas gift from me to Mr. Muddling in 2012 has moved off and left us. I really hope it is true that all dogs go to heaven, because there are a lot of them I've love to see again. Lady loved Mr. Muddling and followed him everywhere she could. She was always such a good girl. We miss her. My husband especially has a big hole in his life right now. Good thing Buddy keeps him just aggravated enough to ease that pain!

 

 

Yes, this is my life. Flowers, chickens and Buddy and his toys! And of course, my darling Mr. Muddling! I love it all. The picture on the top left is a lantana plant I grew from seed sent me by my friend Deb. Thank you, Deb!!!

 

I hope all is well and happy in your world. As a neighbor of ours, long ago deceased used to say, "It's a great life if you don't weaken." He was a character! And a lot of life is just about as good as you decide it will be. 

 

Love and hugs and kisses,

Elaine 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flannel Quilt

 

Our daughter came for a visit recently. She was here for a week and I took advantage of that to make a flannel quilt for her to take back to Upper New York State with her. She is back there now and enjoying the warmth and the love of that quilt!  I think Buddy had an idea the quilt might be for him. Doesn't he look heartbroken? He is such an entertainer!

 

 

The backing is also flannel, and yes, Buddy had to supervise this shot as well.

 

We've had a bit of colder weather here, too, so vegetable beef soup and a pan of Southern cornbread were the menu, and mighty good it was, too!

 

 

 

Before our daughter got here, I completed this rather masculine quilt for a friend of ours. He (and his wife!) were very happy with it. I like it a lot myself!

 

 

My sister sent me such a pleasant surprise this week! This live evergreen candle arrangement is so pretty. We are really enjoying seeing it on our table every day.

 

 

 

And here is Buddy watching television with Mr. Muddling. Would you like to see what has him so interested?

 

 I think he might be a John Wayne fan. The movie was Donovan's Reef, and he was just mesmerized by it.

 

I cannot tell you how very thankful I am for this little boy. He has really made our life interesting, and a lot more fun (and frustration, too!). Buddy really does want to be a good boy, and I'm sure he'll grow into it soon.

 

Till then, we'll just enjoy his antics, and there are quite a few of them!

 

I do hope you're having an interesting time of it as well. Christmas will soon be here. We've had several family gatherings while our daughter Mary was here and it was so good to have our family around us.

 

May God bless you and keep you and make his face shine upon you! Life is good.

 

Until next time

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let Us Do A Little Catch Up

 

This little darling boy, Buddy, is taking up a LOT of my time. Think 2 year old boy child into everything and everything goes to his mouth and you have a pretty clear picture of life with this new addition to Muddle Land! But I do so love him. And it's a good thing for him that I do!

 

I know that we are near the last of this year's gardening season, but it is just so beautiful right now you'd never think it will all be gone soon. So, I will enjoy it now!

Those are mustard greens in the upper right. I grow them for the chickens. They love them, and so do I! Mr. Muddling? - not at all. 

 

 

 

I recently finished this one for a lady at our church who suffered a major stroke.  She told me this bright yellow is her favorite color. I backed it with a soft flannel. I truly hope this bright colorful quilt will bring her joy and healing. 

 

 

I was intrigued with this small quilt I saw in Martingale's (Oh, how I miss them!) 

Big Book of Civil War Quilts. This one is a small quilt design by Carol Hopkins. It is called Hard Crackers! I love it. I'm going to try making a lap size quilt by making these blocks larger. We'll see how that goes.

 

 

In the meantime I've been working on this framed four patch + nine patch. 

 

 

This is my friend Terri, whose favorite color is purple. She looks happy with her new quilt, doesn't she!

What a sweet person she is.

 

I think this brings us up to speed together. I'm sorry I let myself get so far behind sometimes. I am really impressed with people like Wanda who blog every day. 

 

Until next time, I wish you the very best. I pray you are well and happy and that you are finding lots to do to help yourself and others!

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally Fall

 

 

I have been more than ready for some cooler weather and it has finally arrived, along with some much needed rain! This Summer has seemed to me even more brutal than others. I have found it a challenge to make myself do things that need doing. But at last we have a break from the heat and the scorched earth, and for that I am very thankful! 

 

   

And here is the little guy who has been keeping me busy! The first four photos were taken in July. The bottom two this month. On the bottom left, you can see he is so proud of the banana leaf he brought in from the back yard! (And he is in Lady's bed!) Bottom right is in his crate with the new mattress cover/quilt I made just for him.

 

 

As you can see in these photos, it is really red, not pink as it looked in the other picture! I spent a LOT of time doodling with the quilt machine to make this crate mattress cover for young Buddy. I wanted to make something a bit more difficult for him to destroy. So far, so good!  

 

 

I made this one for a lady whose husband attends our church. I've never met her, but I was pretty sure she needed a quilt. It is colorful and happy.

 

 

This is the backing fabric by Tina Givens. Definitely a playful, happy quilt!

 

 

 

My friend Kathleen recently sent this beautiful stitchery she made. I immediately framed it, and now it sits right on my cutting board amid other treasures (including snacks)!

 

I hope it's happy where you are and that you having lots of fun. I am working on a tumbler quilt for a friend now. More on that later! Isn't it fun to have lots of fun projects to keep busy? I love it!

 

Hugs and kisses and love,

Elaine