It Has Been Brought to My Attention

That there have been pictures of Bruno and chickens and flowers and quilts, but no pictures of Chloe.  Sorry, Chloe.  I'll try to do better.  (She really is a bit demanding.)

And here is Miss Ru looking utterly gorgeous.  She, Mr. Muddling and I went last week and did our civic duty - early voting.  Then we rewarded ourselves with lunch at Chuy's.  Am I the only one who is seeing quilt patterns everywhere?  Take a look at that half wall to the left.  And the floor.  And the tile wall leading into the kitchen.

I finished this quilt for my young friend.  Here it is before quilting.

And after.  She said her favorite colors were light blue, green, yellow and pink.  We got those in and quite a few others.

I think she was actually more impressed with this backing.  It's a hand-dyed fabric I was given last year.  And it did fit the bill for her color wishes.  (Turned sideways it looks a lot like a sunset.  A very pretty fabric.)

Now I've started on the western/Texas themed one for Ruthie's friend who will be visiting from England in just a little over a week.  I do like to put pressure on myself, don't I?

I hope you are having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend here in the States (and remembering the ones who sacrificed their lives for our freedom) and that those of you in other countries had a great time, too!

Hugs and kisses,

Flowers and Chickens and Fabric, Oh, My!

 We are already having summer here in Houston.  But that's pretty normal.  Summer lasts a looooooonnnnggg time here.  I took the screen off the window in the sewing room so I could enjoy the view a little better without the heat.

 The old wheelbarrow you can see in the first picture has the miniature gardenias blooming right now.

 On the other side of the back yard are the pretty marigolds growing in with the tomatoes and field peas.

It's still worth going out in the heat to see the flowers.  For me, at least.

 These petunias growing in a pot on the front of the house are an almost electric purple.  There were purple verbena blooming in there, too, but I guess they are not as fond of the heat, though it looks like I'm seeing a few buds in the picture.  Maybe they will made a re-appearance.

More marigolds and impatiens in the front yard.

And this pretty girl is Esmerelda.  She's not in the best mood right now.  Poor Esmerelda has been broody for a couple of weeks.  There is no rooster, so there will be no hatching of the eggs, but she doesn't get that, so every day she sits.  This is actually a rare photo of her off the nest!

 I'm making some progress on the quilt I showed earlier with the bird fabric as the inspiration.  Still not sure exactly where I'm going with this, but at least there is movement.

AND I have cut fabric for a quilt I need to get made for a friend who is visiting here next month from England to help celebrate Miss Ru's thirtieth birthday.  I thought it would be fun to make him a western/Texas/cowboy themed quilt as a sort of thank you for making such a long trip.

I hope you're having lots of interesting things to see and do, and that you are happy seeing and doing them!

Hugs and kisses,

Wednesday

 Here it is Wednesday again.  I thought I would be obedient to a certain someone (you know who you are) who says I have not posted enough chicken pictures lately.  As you can see, the girls are busy.  All the time.

I have been very lazy with the plums this year.  Other than eating them fresh from the tree and sharing some with my sister-in-law, I have just left them for the birds.  They are enjoying them.  I saw a blue jay with one in his/her beak yesterday.  The chickens have been eating quite a few of them, too.

The plants have been loving the rain we've had lately.  Unfortunately, the weeds have been loving it, too.

I've had my minions busy clearing out the flower bed just outside the back door.  I want to completely rework it, and they are the ideal crew for that.  I do notice that one of the girls was eying the hanging basket of petunias though.

 Fortunately for me, Bruno is on duty.

I've started a new quilt for a special young lady with this fabric as the inspiration/center point.  I'm still muddling with it, so no clear idea where it is going yet, but we'll see.

We had a very nice, cool day yesterday.  I even had the doors and windows open.  It was delightful!  We're back to Houston heat today though, so thank God for air conditioning.

Hope the rest of your weeks is absolutely splendid.

Hugs and kisses,

Success!

Whew!  I finished it!  Here it is this morning right before we left for church.

This is the back.  Notice the shoes peeking out at the bottom.

Here's a closer look.  Miss Ru and Mr. Muddling were holding the quilt up for me to take pictures.  She said she bought these shoes in my honor for Mother's Day.  (Quilted, you know.) 

Here she is with her very proud Daddy, who is not at all as mean as he looks here. LOL

It was a very happy day for all of us - to have our baby girl back at home, looking wonderful and to be in church together.  Yippee!

And this beautiful lady is the happy winner of the auction for the quilt.  I am so glad she won.  She'll give it a good home!

Latest word is that the youth group reached their goal for fund raising, so a good day all around!

I hope your day has been full of good things, too.  A special blessing from me to you, especially to the mothers out there.

Hugs and kisses, and love,

Strawberry Time

I mentioned earlier that I am working on a quilt to be sold at auction at our church next Sunday (Mother's Day) along with lots of other items to raise money for a trip the youth group is taking this summer.  The theme for the day is strawberries.  The items to be auctioned will be displayed at "The Strawberry Stand" set up in the lobby of the church. 

I am using the above fabric as the center panel for the backing of the quilt I am donating. Appropriate, don't you think?

  Now, I've got a week to get it loaded on the frame and quilted.  Can I do it?  Of course I can.  

 (I feel like the children's book, The Little Engine that Could:  "I think I can. I think I can. I think I can." )

I really like all these batiks.  The quilt top is all batik.  I hope it finishes up as well as I think it will, and that it makes a lot of money for them!  We'll see.

As I was putting this top together I kept on thinking about the ups and downs in life.  We all have them, and sometimes those lows can be pretty brutal.  But I started and ended this on an "UP" note.  That's what I prefer to think on - the good times and not the bad.  I always pray when I make my quilts.  I believe those prayers can be felt by those to whom the quilt goes.  And I'm believing that this quilt will be a real blessing to the purchaser of it.

I do hope you are having a truly wonderful day (or night as the case may be)!

Hugs and kisses,

Christmas in the Garden

Believe it or not, I finally finished (oh, so much later) my sister's Christmas quilt!  Hallelujah!  

A close up of the binding.

The backing is a wonderful paisley print on fleece, but there is no batting in this one, so it's not overwhelmingly heavy.  I think she will enjoy it, and I'm glad to get it done.  I do hate to have things unfinished.  (So we won't talk about the other things that are not finished yet.  Okay?)

Note, also, the lovely tomato plant (that I need to tie to its support pole).  The garden is coming along nicely out there.  It's summer here now.  I don't care what the calendar says, it IS summer.  Early summer.  Not the brutal heat of later in the season, but still hot days and not-at-all-cool nights.  Ah, Houston.  Got to love it!  And I do.  I've lived here for over forty years.  As we transplants to Texas like to say, "I wasn't born here, but I got here as soon as I could!"

I'm also trying to finish the quilt I promised for an auction our young people at church are having to raise money for a trip they are taking this summer.  The top is pressed now.  Time to sew on the borders.  Moving right along!

I do hope you are having a wonderful day doing whatever pleases you most.

Hugs and kisses,