For the Marine's Mom

I have a friend whose son recently graduated from Marine boot camp.  She is so proud of him.  Now he is in more training and she will not have much contact with him for a while.  This is going to be a real sacrifice for her because she's close to her son and will miss him. A lot.

As I was making this quilt, she came up in my spirit and I knew she was the one who needed this quilt.  I believe it will give her a little extra comfort and a reminder that God knows exactly where her son is and will be watching over him.

Here it is before I started quilting it.  I've had a lot of fun making this one.  It just sort of "came together" as we went along.

The backing is this cheddar print, and since I had three blocks left over, I let them play around on the back.

Here's the beautiful Miss Ru yesterday at her doctor's appointment.  She's not where she wants to be yet, but she is making steady improvement.  Glory to God!

Of course I'm already playing with more blocks.  My friend and fabric facilitator Deb, aka Wonky Girl, posted a while back about a quilt shop on ebay and the great deal she had won.  Naturally I had to go and check it out and naturally I bought something.  We won't talk about how much or about the second pass I made through there this week.  Anyway.  There was a really good buy on a lot of sample fabrics.  These are not big pieces, but representative of different  fabric lines to entice shop owners to purchase.  I used my Go! cutter to cut a lot of tumblers and here they are on my design wall ready to sew. I love bargains, don't you?

 I do hope you are staying out of trouble, but still having a lot of fun!

Hugs and kisses,

Can't Take Any Credit for These

This is another quilt made for the Quilts Beyond Borders by my friend Sandy.

She quilted it, too.

Don't you love this Eiffel Tower print on the back?

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Sandy pieced and quilted this one, too.

Lots of happy fabrics in a fun design.

And look at this Ikea fabric backing!  Isn't it just perfect?

I think some little children will be very happy with these two quilts.  That makes five we've completed.  We're working on a couple more and then we'll get them shipped off.

I don't know about you, but making quilts just makes me happy. And to give them to someone who will really be blessed by them and enjoy them makes it that much better.

It's another hot day here, no surprise - it IS Houston in August after all.  I have my sixteen patch snowball quilt top finished. Yippee!  I plan to get the backing sewn and get it loaded on the quilting frame tonight.

I do hope you have had a lovely week.  I had a really nice surprise the other day - a postcard from my friend Margaret in Australia.  She is one of the sweetest people I "know"!

Hugs and kisses,

And So It Grows

I sewed strips on two sides of each of the snowball blocks last night.

It always makes me happy to see a pile of blocks ready to put together.

And here they are up on the design wall.  There may be some shifting around, but it looks pretty good to me right now.  Maybe I can get them all put together later today.

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

Hugs and kisses,

I Really Need to Go to Bed

I did not have a wonderful day today.  Turns out I have a referral for a root canal. Yuck! So. Tonight I had a little sewing therapy.  I had a pile of scrappy 16-patches I've been putting together in between other things.  Tonight I added corners to make them snowball blocks.

They don't look too impressive here.

But, doesn't it look better now with sashing pinned in place and another snowball block with a bold piece of fabric?  I think this could well grow into something pretty.

I have more fabric lined up waiting to be cut and "snowballed".

I've really been inspired by the books I showed the other day.  I can't say that I'm making anything in either of the books, they are just a jumping off point for me, and that spark is what we all need, isn't it, to fire our creativity.

Now, I really do need to go to bed.  I have to call the root canal guy for an appointment in the morning.  Or I should say, this morning.

Hugs and kisses,

Miss Ru's Batman Quilt

Finally!  I finished the quilt for Miss Ru last night and she immediately wanted it put on her bed.  

When she got her new, bigger bed, I told her I would make her a quilt.  (Of course.) She said that she wanted a Batman quilt, which threw me for a bit of a loop.  What is a Batman quilt, and how would I make it?  She said, "No, not of Batman, but with the colors in the comics."  Miss Ru is a huge Batman fan.  You don't even want to know how many videos there are of him in her collection.  Anyway, this is the color scheme I came up with, and Mr. Muddling provided the finishing touch.

He cut out all those bats flying on the quilt top.  It might not be the choice a lot of people would make, but I do understand his attraction for Ruthie.  Batman is a mere human who has withstood devastating losses, yet continues to battle evil without super powers, just a lot of determination.  (And a LOT of marvelous toys!)

The backing is a Jinny Beyer print.  It looks gray, but is actually a soft violet.

Miss Ru's dog Ariel approves.

This picture is just for the fun of it.  I had to take a break while quilting this one and lay down on the floor.  Looking up I noticed how pretty the quilt looked from the bottom with the light shining through it.  I used a really thick polyester batting, which I guess is why you can see right through it.  Funny.

Not a lot going on out in the gardens in all this heat.  Mr. Muddling's outdoor construction project is still in progress, hence the ladder, etc. still out there.

I've had enough of Summer now, thank you very much.  I'm ready for Fall.  How about you?

Hugs and kisses,

Christmas?

After my remarks here yesterday that I needed to make a new Christmas quilt, look what arrived in the mail.

Oh yeah, I can feel a Christmas quilt bubbling up.  Truly, I had bought these with the idea of putting them into children's quilts for charity, maybe the Quilts Beyond Borders, but I think this one might just decide to stay here.  The Grinch is one of my favorite stories, because Christmas really is not about the things that are given or received.  It's much more important than that!

I got the new Kathy Doughty book, Making Quilts this week and have been enjoying that feast for the eyes, then yesterday I got notification from our local library that the Kaffe Quilts Again book had finally come in.  I've been waiting for it a long time.  I think I may have to buy this one, too.  The inspiration in both these books is just amazing.  Aren't you inspired by people like this?  I am.  There are so many truly talented people out there doing beautiful work.  

I have Miss Ru's quilt top about half way sewn.  I'll be working on that some more tonight.

I do hope you are having a wonderful, inspired, productive day!

Hugs and kisses,

Eva's Quilt

We have really good neighbors where we live.  We've lived here in this house for almost thirty years.  One of our favorite ladies, Eva, lives right across the street.  She has been a blessing to us so many times and in so many ways.   

Another really good friend and neighbor, Sandy, made this quilt for Eva.  I love it!  She did such a great job choosing the batiks and putting them all together.  She used the pattern from Moda Bake Shop found here.

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I added the backing and quilted it.

Another view, just because I like looking at it.

And a little better look at the back.

It's all about love.  And that's a good thing!

Since Lady first got her adult teeth I have joked about her big white teeth.  Mr. Muddling doesn't like it, but it's funny to me.  Yesterday she had to have a baby tooth surgically extracted.  Mr. Muddling took a day off to take her to the vet.  As you can see, she is back in the bosom of her family now and quite content, thank-you-very-much!

And the pretty quilt she and Bruno are enjoying?  Yes, those very same big, white teeth enjoyed chewing some holes in it.  Oh, well.  I guess I'll have to make a new Christmas quilt this year.  

I really am not mad about it.  If you're going to have pets, you just have to expect things like that once in a while.  And she has been a very good baby after a very rough start in life.  AND, Mr. Muddling loves her dearly - which covers a multitude of sins.  Sort of like us with our Father God.  His love, and the blood of Jesus, covers our sins.  Thank God!

I hope you are having a really good week.  It's hot here in Houston, but it IS summer, and that's just what we have here.

Hugs and kisses,

Here in the Land of Muddle

I think there are enough blocks made now to begin assembling the quilt for Miss Ru's bed.  The blocks finish at 8 1/2 inches.

My friend Phyllis came over yesterday and quilted this beauty she made for her granddaughter.  You should see it in person.  It is gorgeous! 

Our younger daughter Mary was here for a week visiting from New York state where she lives, far from the warmth and humidity of MuddleLand.  I helped her construct this bag from the blanket of her friend's horse, Stalwart Member, "Stally", who recently ended his colorful and at times tragic life.  Mary wanted to commemorate his life and made this and a video you can view here.  Our baby girl has a horse of her own, another rescue, whom she loves more than life itself.  He and Stally were best friends at the stables where they lived previously.  It is Mary's horse, Liam, in the video with Stally.  (Stally is the big one!)  

I've never understood how anyone can mistreat an animal.  As you may have noticed by now, we love our pets.

Outside, there is rampant growth.  I had to almost totally clear one of the vegetable gardens last night.  Too much time spent in the hospital with Miss Ru and then in follow up care left our tomato and cucumber plants at the mercy of various and sundry varmints who love to feast on those veggies.  I'll have to get something else planted out there. We still have months of growing time left here (if the plants can survive the heat, and if they get enough moisture!)  The excellent news is that Miss Ru is making steady progress.  She is a miracle in the works!  

 I do hope you have a wonderful weekend.  Tomorrow is my birthday and on Sunday we are having a little family day to celebrate this milestone and also our son's birthday, which actually takes place next Wednesday.  I tell him all the time that he is still the best birthday present I ever received.

  Mr. Muddling has promised to cook good things on the grill.  I can hardly wait!

Hugs and kisses,