The Nicest Things Come in the Mail Sometimes

Now, of course, the real wonder is that I thought to take a picture of this before I tore into it.  Is this not a gorgeous package?

A short while ago in one of my periodic attempts to shovel out organize my sewing room, I came across a book I had purchased long ago with line drawings, or motifs, of many things.  Much as I had dreamed that I might actually do some embroidery of some of those drawings, it just did not happen, and really never would.   I thought immediately of Kathleen.  She does such beautiful needlework, and while I know that she designs her own pieces I thought she might still enjoy at least seeing the book.  So I asked.  She did, and I sent it to her, receiving such a sweet email thanking me.  Then today I got this so attractive package in the mail from her.  Included was a much appreciated note that is now on my bulletin board where I can see it and be encouraged often.

And would you just look at this gorgeous hand towel she designed for me!  I was, and am, so touched.  This was a totally unexpected blessing for me.

  Kathleen is so talented and has an etsy shop where you can see more of her original and vintage designs.

Her stitches are just exquisite!  Thank you so much, Kathleen!  You made my day!

Speaking of days being made, Bruno's was this morning when I let him ride along with me to drop off a birthday card for a friend.  Doesn't he look like big stuff?  I assure you, he was very sure that he was exactly that!

I hope your day has had only good surprises and that you feel at least as happy as Bruno was this morning!

Hugs and kisses,

Playing With My New Toy

My treadle machine is up and running. 

Isn't it pretty?

Mr. Muddling really outdid himself on cleaning, repairing and refurbishing this for me.  I'm pretty sure I have one of the best husbands on the planet!

The quality of this video is not great, but you can see it just hums along. That is a double layer of canvas it is just skimming through.  Yippee!!!

Just had to share my happiness with you.

Hugs and kisses,

Just a Few Finishes

I finished Miss Ru's string quilt last night and put it in the washer, then the dryer.  This morning it came out of the dryer and went right on her bed. 

She was really happy with it and with this fleece backing.  Can you tell that she likes purple?

Somehow I ended up with six of the string blocks left over.  And for some reason they were smaller than all the rest.  How could that have happened?  

Anyway, I turned them into three mug rugs for her.  These are the fronts,

and these are the backs.  A girl has got to be coordinated, you know?

Only one of the flower appliques actually made it onto the quilt.  But it IS purple.

It just is a happy quilt.  There are lots of fun fabrics in here, lots of bright colors and lots of love sewn right into it.  Miss Ru has had a rough month, so maybe this will take a little of the rough edge off.

I do hope all the rough edges are being taken off for you, too!

Hugs and kisses,

Might As Well Just Tell The Truth

I had all the colorwash vertical rows sewn together and was taking them down one row at a time and sewing them all together side-to-side.  Problem was, I started on the right side instead of the left side.  The first two rows went together correctly, but then I was sewing them to the wrong side.  I did not notice that until I was over half way through.

So now, what was on the right is on the left and what was on the left is on the right.  You can see the first and second rows on the left need to be interchanged.  I don't even know if I'm going to do it.  To tell the truth, I kind of like it that way.  I'll look at it again later this morning when I return to consciousness and see if I still feel the same way.

Bruno is ready for bed.  He is working FAR too hard!

These little pretties came home with me from the store yesterday.  I could not resist them.

And.......here are some progress shots of another of Mr. Muddling's birthday presents to me this year.  I've been wanting a treadle machine for a while now.  I don't need one at all, I just wanted one.  And now I have one.  It is almost all back together now and soon I will be playing with a new toy.  I have sewn on a treadle sewing machine before, but it was long years ago.  I'm looking forward to the challenge.

Are you challenging yourself?  You'll never know until you try.

Hugs and kisses,

At LAST!

I've played around with the colorwash some more.  But I'm getting there.  I think.  

I've added several more rows to the string quilt.  You can see that Bruno is just worn out with all his hard work contributing to the project.

And......after all these scenes that have been pretty frightening to me, my piano is once again all put back together and in tune!!!  I had a good time playing it for a while last night.  Bless their hearts, the Stosich couple - Howard and Sarah did not finish until a little after ten last night.  He is a perfectionist, which is definitely what you want working on your precious piano.  It was a long drawn out process, but well worth it to me.  Mr. Muddling spent a lot of money on my birthday present this year.  He's the best!!!

I woke up very early (for me) this morning with a terrible headache.  It's lifting now, thank God, so I'll get on with my day.

I do hope you are having a lovely one!

Hugs and kisses,

Playing and Waiting

I've put all the squares from Wanda up on my design wall.  It is not nearly as easy as she makes it look, and I am positive I will be rearranging these as well as adding to them.  It IS an interesting exercise though, and surely I'll learn something from it.  Hopefully I'll also end up with a piece of wall art I'm not ashamed to hang.

This is what it looked like here yesterday.

They were very methodical, which of course would be a necessity.  Every part was numbered as it was removed from the piano.  Then the plastic parts were removed and replaced with new wooden parts which should last longer than I'll have need of them.  There are still some ordered parts that have not arrived, but soon.  Soon It will all be back together, tuned and I can play it.  I can hardly wait!

Hope you're having some playtime.

Hugs and kisses,

Trying to Get Some Work Done Around Here

This is my progress so far on the latest string quilt.  I've got 45 blocks made, each is 9" unfinished.  I figure I'll need another 45 blocks to get it the size I want it.

Last night I got the three center strips sewn on 32 more blocks, but did not get them pressed until tonight.

Now they've all been pressed and trimmed.  Maybe I can get a few more strips sewn on tonight.  Or maybe not.

This little package of prettiness came in the mail today.  I ordered this from Wanda.  She makes the most exquisite colorwash quilts and I've been really afraid hesitant to try making one, but I figured if I got one of her kits I would at least have a good start.  There are 100 - 2 1/2 inch squares here and she recommends that many more be added from your own stash.  So, there will be some hair pulling pleasant playtime ahead for me.

Edited to add:  I knew I should have gone back and looked at the description of the squares I ordered.  There are 200!

But my best news by far is that a husband/wife team is coming tomorrow to repair my piano.  I've owned this piano for over forty years, and it was twenty-five years old when I bought it from a large music store in downtown Houston all those years ago.  Over time a lot of the very important plastic parts holding the things that make the music have worn out, leaving it not very playable.  I love to play the piano.  I don't play that well, but I like it, and more importantly - Mr. Muddling likes to hear me play.  So for my birthday this year (which was last Friday) he decided to get the piano fixed for me.  I am so excited!  It is supposed to be a full two day job, but I will soon have my very own piano back in service again.  

And yes, that is Chloe skulking around there underneath the piano.  There are scratches on top from her very exuberant kitten days.  We'll work on getting it looking better after the sounding better part is completed.

Things are looking up around here.  God is still on His throne and all is right in the world (or at least it will be).  I hope things are well in your world, too.  Because I love you, you know.

Hugs and kisses,