Three Finished

The three quilts I've been working on for the Hurricane Sandy survivors are complete!  I was boxing them up last night and realized - I need a bigger box.  And then I decided to start another quilt to add to the number.  I got it cut and the individual blocks assembled last night.  Maybe I can get them put together tonight.  We'll see

This is the latest one I finished for that project.  It is Bonnie Hunter's free Trip Around the World pattern.  It was easy and went together pretty quickly, but not nearly as quick for me as it was for her.  I don't know.  Sometimes my brain kind of jumps the track with instructions.  Anyway, I did finally finish it and it turned out pretty well, I think.

Here's a look at the backing.  I hung the quilt on the chicken yard fence to take pictures and of course the gate was closed.  Hetty was NOT happy.  She wanted to get out and kept bumping into the gate.  Funny chicken.

We don't get a lot of fall color here usually, but I was struck the other day by how pretty these vines on our neighbors' house are.  I missed getting them photographed before the wind blew a lot of the leaves off, but they're still mighty pretty.

 

If you're looking at this post on my web page, you may notice that I've added a button on the right side for Bonnie Hunter's Easy Street Mystery.  I've never done a mystery quilt, never had a desire to do one, but I thought I would try this one.  The above blocks are my first step.  I really hope I like it, but they could always morph into something else.  (That is something that happens in my sewing room a LOT!)

 

I am so behind in posting.  I really have no excuse except the general busy-ness of life.  I'll try to do better!

 

I do hope you're finding plenty to keep yourself busy!

 

Hugs and kisses,

Finished Double Hourglass, More Quilt Festival

The sun finally peeked out here, so I thought I would show you the latest finish.  This double hourglass will also be going to Sandy Survivors.  I'm working on the third and then I'll get them all in the mail.

If you look above the quilt you can just make out the black figs.  The Petite Negra fig tree decided to have a second crop.  (It is called "petite" because it is supposed to be a dwarf tree.  Note to self:  nothing growing along the border of the chicken yard will be dwarf.)   I guess it felt sorry for me since the first crop was a dud.  We had no rain and then too much rain and all the figs the first time around were totally inedible.

Here you can see the backing and binding.  It is a colorful quilt and hopefully someone will be blessed by it.

 

Now for a couple more of the quilts we saw at Houston Quilt Festival.

I liked the order and yet the variety in this churn dash.  I want to make one.  I've been so inspired seeing the ones Wonky Girl has made over the time I've been visiting her blog.  I noticed she comes back to this block as it is a favorite of hers.  Curiously enough, I've never made this particular block.  I need to expand my horizons! 

And this one is just spectacular on so many levels.  Not even going to pretend that I'll try anything like this anytime soon!  It is a beauty, though, isn't it?

 

Outside I can hear birds singing their little hearts out.  I love that.  It's a pretty day after several gloomy, gray ones.  I'm glad to see the sun again!

 

Hope you're having a wonderful day.

 

Hugs and kisses,

Leftovers and Orphan Blocks

I was watching Bonnie Hunter on Quiltcam the other night and she suggested that we could take some of the unfinished projects and leftover blocks for other projects and make a quilt to send to the Hurricane Sandy people who have lost so much, if not all.  That struck a chord with me, having been through a hurricane or two myself.  This little quilt is the result of taking some of those leftover blocks and adding sashings and borders.  I think it turned out very pretty, and I like the thought that it will comfort someone.

This is the backing, and while it doesn't seem that it is exactly the right one, it is!  Don't you love those happy surprises?  There are two different places to send the quilts in the paragraph above.  The first prefers twin/full size quilts and the second prefers child-size.  This one really took no time at all to make, and since it used up some things that I had already, it was really inexpensive to make.

 

I've got another one that I finished quilting last night that will go as well, then one more.  Three seems like a good number!  I'll just have to get them all finished and on their way.

 

It is a beautiful day here today.  The air is so clear and bright that everything seems to sparkle.  And don't these colors look a lot like the colors in the quilt above?

 

Even in November, there are still some pretty flowers to be seen around here.

 

This little old fashioned climbing rose is one of my favorites.  It blooms virtually year around, if I remember to prune it back pretty hard when the blooms stop.  It's nicely fragrant, too.
 

My first "real" job as a teenager was in a drug store in the little town where we lived.  The owner/pharmacist was a character.  He would often tell us girls who worked there, "Watch out, you'll step on that egg!", which would make us jump, which he loved. 

 

Here at Muddle Manor that is a valid concern.  You might remember that Hetty, one of our chickens, was blind when we got her as a day old chick.  Reason would tell you that I should have euthanized her at the time, but I didn't.  I just couldn't.  And I'm glad I didn't.  Hetty doesn't seem to realize there is anything even slightly different about herself.  She's a happy little girl, and she lays an egg most days.  Only problem is, you never know where you'll find that egg.  For sure it will be on the ground somewhere out there, but if the other chickens have been scratching around - which they always are - the egg might get covered.  I've stepped on a few over the time she's been here!  Just another thing to keep life interesting.

 

I do hope there is plenty interesting where you are, and that you're having an absolutely wonderful time investigating those things!

 

Hugs and kisses,

Playing and Seeing

I took Miss Ru shopping this week.  She got some new clothes and I got a couple of necklaces.  After looking at them for a while I decided that I could make some myself.  So I bought a few more ingredients and came home and put these three together.  It was fun.

Today Mr. Muddling and I took a little tour of the Houston International Quilt Festival.  There are so many beautiful quilts there (but you already know that, don't you?) - too many really to pick just a few, but I will show you a few that I especially liked.  This one is pretty simple, but each of the stones in the artwork is a piece of batik.  Each piece is just top stitched on to make this wall with a window.  Details are added with machine stitching.  Very striking in person.

I think this simple threesome of zinnias was my favorite of all we saw today.  I just like everything about it.

And would you just look at these orchids!  It doesn't even look like a quilt, does it.  But it is!

And this not-so-striking picture is my feet on the way home.  Glad My Sweetie Pie was driving and I could rest!  All that looking is hard work, especially the walking that gets you to where you can look.

 

It's been raining here off and on for most of the day.  Not complaining.  We need it, and it makes me very happy that there is no where that I have to go tonight.

 

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

 

Hugs and kisses,