Playing Hooky

I have not touched the little baby quilt at since I cut it out the other day. Booo for me!

But today I had an overwhelming urge to cut out one little Dresden Plate. I saw a video from

Missouri Star Quilt Company via Moda Bake Shop, and it looked so easy I thought, "Even I can do that!"

So, even though I did not have a template, I sort of fudged one and this is the end result!

Seriously, it did not take long at all. I am so impressed!

Now, what shall I do with it? I'm sure I'll figure out something. :)

Enjoy your day!

Hugs and kisses,

Beautiful Little Bunnies and Things

As promised, here is a little peek at the quilt I'm starting for my nephew-to-be. I love the Beatrix Potter pictures. They just take you back to a simpler, more innocent time, don't they?

This will be a very small quilt, just the size for a newborn. It can always be used as a wall hanging later after he's outgrown it, if Mommy likes.

Sorry about all the wrinkles. I made the mistake of leaving all my cut fabric out on the dining table when I finally went to bed early this morning. Chloe decided it needed her special touches. When Mr. Sweetie Pie and I were watching a spot of television late last night (actually Inspector Morse on dvd from the library), I couldn't help but admire again how very pretty the yellow angel's trumpet is outside the patio door. We had the door open and it was just so pretty.I tried to capture it for you, it is just so beautiful with only the patio light to illuminate. It fairly glows in the darkness of night. Alas, this is just as close as I could come to it. I tried with the patio light off and with it on, but no great success. Sorry!

We have the windows open again today, though it is a little warmer. I'm enjoying the bird song.

Enjoy your day!

Hugs and kisses,

Hearts and Flowers and Christmas

I finished this quilt last night for a very dear friend.

Yellow is her favorite color, so I put a lot of that on the back.

And she loves Christmas, so I put a lot of that on the front.

She is full of love for everyone, so I put hearts all over the place.

I bound it with polka dots just for fun because she loves to have fun.

She's very precious to me, so I put a lot of love and prayers into it. Just need to make a label and sew it on and we're done!

We're still having rain today. I don't mind at all. The thirsty earth is just drinking it in! The plants and trees and grass are washed and refreshed and storing up moisture for the days ahead.

And it gives me a wonderful reason to stay inside and sew. I'm planning to start a small quilt for a new nephew who will be born early next year. I have something fun to show you in the way of fabric for that one. Perhaps tomorrow.....

It's a bit cooler today and I have my sewing room window open. It's so sweet to look outside and see the chickens busy about their lives in their nice dry pen and to hear them gently humming as they work. That's one thing I love about chickens - they are always busy!

Have a great day!

Hugs and kisses,

Little Road Trip for Me and My Honey

Mr. Cutie Pie and I had a little road trip today. We drove down to Galveston. We hadn't been down there since Hurricane Ike roared through here last year. It looks like people down there have done a remarkable job of rebuilding and renovating. There are still a lot of businesses that have not reopened, and a lot of those look like they never will. The picture above is the Flagship Inn. I believe it's the only hotel in the country built over the water. As you can see, it is actually built on a pier that extends out into the Gulf. It's been there a long time, but it was heavily damaged. We couldn't see any sign that it is being rebuilt at all.

We took a ride on the ferry from Galveston Island to Bolivar Pennisula. It is a free ride and one of the best local excursions in my opinion. We went up on the observation deck during the ride and enjoyed the sea air and the sea gulls antics. People on the lower deck were tossing food up in the air and the sea gulls were having a great time catching it.

On Bolivar Pennisula we took a little walk around the Fort Travis Park (another free attraction).

You can see that the Fort Travis seawall had some damage during the hurricane that has not been repaired yet.

We came home a different way and found some nicely deserted roads to travel. Isn't that sky beautiful?

And then, of course, we had to have some treats on the ride home. :)

Hope you've had a good day, too!

Hugs and kisses,

Chloe Does NOT Like Being Held

No, she doesn't.

My daughter-in-law told me that it's because she is a calico, that they are "hands off" cats.

I had never heard of that before, but it's surely true of Miss Chloe.

She's a funny little girl. She likes being right where we are all the time, preferably underfoot. Just don't touch her. Or at least, only touch her when she permits. :)

By the way, tomorrow, September 19th is Talk Like a Pirate Day. There, I've done my public service for the day. Aaaargh!

The image above is at this page. And it is in the public domain so help yourself.


Enjoy your weekend!!!!

Hugs and kisses,

Little Bumps in the Road

I really hate to admit it. Hate to say right here for everyone to see how very clumsy I can be at times. Hate it. Oh well. Sunday night when Mr. Wonderful and I got home from church, in getting out of the car I somehow got my feet tangled in the straps of my bags on the floor of the car. Next thing I knew I was on the driveway, a little bit shocked and a lot in pain. Thank God, nothing is broken, just bruised. I've taken most of this week to try to take it easy and keep my knee elevated and iced. So, no sewing at all going here.

I hope to remedy that tonight. This one has been calling out to me from the cabinet where it is stashed. I still have to finish quilting it (I'm about half through) and sew on the binding.

Outside our back door today you can see that there is still plenty growing in the remains of summer. It has been cooler for the past week, and that is so nice! I've had enough of summer, thank you very much.


Don't you love the yellow angel's trumpet? You should smell the wonderful fragrance when you walk outside at night. Heaven!

I haven't had quite enough of these field peas yet,which, when shelled are so pretty, and when cooked are delicious. Just those and some cornbread and this country girl is happy!

I also haven't had enough of picking fresh flowers to put on our dining room table.

So, I guess it's a good thing that summer for us probably won't be over for another month or so.

Enjoy your day - whatever the weather!!

Hugs and kisses,

Cranberry Nut Quick Bread

I made some more of the Cranberry Nut Quick Bread today. It is SO delicious!

There is just something so satisfying about sitting down to enjoy something you've made for yourself. (Or even something the bread machine has made for you!)

I hope you've tried making some of this bread. It is SO good!

Looking outside, I saw a very small mouse scurrying all around in the old wheelbarrow outside my sewing room window. There is a suet bird feeder hanging above the window, and as the birds help themselves - some of the bird seed and suet falls into the wheelbarrow below. I am using this old rusty wheelbarrow as a planter of sorts. This is the first time I've seen a mouse there, though I have noticed that the wrens really appreciate the goodies they find there! This is not a good picture at all. The screen distorts everything and the mouse itself was so small it was hard to see anyway. All I could think of was Beatrix Potter and her beautiful drawings of mice and other small creatures. I've loved her stories for as long as I've known about them. I DON'T like mice and I really don't want to see any in my vicinity, but just for that few moments, it was nice to suspend reality and just enjoy watching that little mouse in its quest for food.

And Chloe said, "What? I didn't see anything."

Have a great day!

Hugs and kisses,

Peeved!

Iced tea in the summertime is more than refreshment here in Muddle Manor. It's a necessity!
Lipton has been our brew of choice for more years than I can remember. It's always served us well. It's just as good in the wintertime as hot tea. I don't know what their problem is, but every single bag in the last box I opened has not been sealed. Look at this mess! I can't pull one out of its little envelope without it spilling all over the counter, and the tea pitcher is full of tea grounds as well. Bummer. I did sent Lipton an email message, but so far no reply.

edited to add: I received an email this morning from Unilever, the parent company of Lipton apologizing and saying there were coupons in the mail to replace the faulty bags. Good job!


The summer heat has melted (literally) some of my pretty flowers, so I was happy to see some replacements available when I went to buy chicken feed.
And I was really happy to see tomato plants. Hopefully I'll get these planted this evening.

On a still brighter note, I received some fabric in the mail today from one of my favorite ebay sellers. One of the fabrics I'd ordered was not in the package, but another had been substituted - not a problem ordinarily but I have special plans for that fabric. After some emails back and forth, she is very kindly sending me the fabric I wanted at no charge! Don't you love it when people do the right thing. For sure, I'll keep on buying fabric from her.

Enjoy your day!


Hugs and kisses,