One thousand five hundred thirty six

That's how many two inch squares there are in this quilt. But it wasn't a hard one at all. It's Bonnie Hunter's Scrappy Trips pattern. I altered the pattern to use two inch strips instead of the 2 1/2 inch strips the pattern calls for and upped the strip sets to eight instead of six.

I've seen these made in many colorways and totally scrappy. I like all of them. I had a lot of purple that I wanted to use, so that is the reasoning behind this one. I had no one in mind for the recipient of it.

After many days of self-sacrificial watching of the making of it, Miss Ru finally told me that she'd really like it. So. This one stays here.  I should have known. All that is purple just naturally belongs to Ruthie!

Of course Dinah is of the opinion that everything belongs to her, but I'll let them fight that one out.

Meanwhile, out in the back yard there is plenty to make me smile. I do so love this time of year. It is not really hot yet, though it is definitely warm. Quite warm. But, oh, the beautiful flowers and edibles! Happy. Happy. Happy!

I do hope there is plenty in your world to make you happy!

Hugs and kisses,

Lunar Eclipse, Flowers and Purple

On Monday night, I stayed up to see the lunar eclipse. Please forgive the very poor quality of the photos. It was amazing!  The weather here was clear and cold. I went outside at 1:45 a.m. (That would be Tuesday actually.) The eclipse was already well in process and by two o'clock it was totally dark. The bottom right photo I took at three a.m. As you can see it was still mostly in eclipse and quite red. It is called a Blood Moon. There will be another one this fall with a total solar eclipse a bit later and then in 2015, two more of the Blood Moons. That series of four lunar eclipses in the space of two years with a complete solar eclipse in the middle is quite unusual.  There have been some significant things that have happened when these occurred in the past.

The roses are showing off quite a bit here in Muddle Land, and the jasmine in the upper left is just full of buds. Soon we will be perfumed quite nicely from that.

I've been playing with purple 2" strips. I've wanted to make a Scrappy Trips quilt for some time now, and I finally went for it. I decided to use 2 inch strips instead of the 2 1/2 inch strips in Bonnie Hunter's instructions. I just wanted to do something a little different.

I have one more border to add.  I thought I might do it today, but that is not going to happen. I had a very uncomfortable night last night with very little sleep. Suffice it to say my stomach was not happy and kept telling me about it all night!  I'm almost back to normal, thank God, but not really wanting to do anything I don't absolutely have to do.

There is so much that needs to be done out in the yard and we won't even talk about the dismal state of my housekeeping.....

But, after all, as Scarlett O'Hara taught us, tomorrow IS another day!

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend.

Hugs and kisses,

Finished!

The Exploding Blocks quilt is finished at last.

The fabrics in this one were a bit different for me. I don't think I've made a quilt before using mostly Civil War reproduction fabrics.

I do have to say, though, that I love how this one turned out - so cuddly. 

It's for a man in our church who has been going through a health battle. I believe it will provide him some comfort. I hope so anyway.

It's hot here again, in the eighties for the next day or so and then a bit cooler. I'm thankful we have not hit the really hot temperatures yet.  The dogs and cats enjoy having that patio door open so they can keep an eye on whatever might be in the back yard. In this case, it looks like they're keeping an eye on each other!

Hope you're having a great weekend!!!

Hugs and kisses,

Not Even Close. Not yet.

I really thought I would have finished this exploding blocks quilt by now, at least the top of it. Some of the rows are connected, but not all, and there is a whole row whose blocks are not joined.

But. I had to spend a bit (a lot) of time unsewing rows that I had sewn upside down. Bummer. I will finish it. At least I had a nice day yesterday to do the seam ripping, a comfortable swing on the screened in patio, and bird and chicken voices to keep me entertained while I worked.

The azaleas have just about finished their grand finale for the year, but there are a few roses and iris, and would you look at that dogwood!  It is just outside our kitchen window and makes such a pretty backdrop for the usually pretty boring job of dishwashing.

Lady says it's just too tiring to think of all that. She'd rather take a nap. Look at those sleepy eyes. I'm right there with her!

Bruno, on the other hand, is always up for an adventure.

 I hope you've had a good weekend and found pleasant things to occupy your time.

Hugs and kisses,

Working or Maybe Playing

Lots of the exploding blocks have been cut, parts assembled,

and more going through the machine.  These blocks are a lot of fun to make.

My friend Phyllis came down today and sewed some two patch blocks for me. These will at some point go into a quilt we give away.  It's always fun to have a like minded helper.

The azaleas are finishing up their run for the year, but they're still mighty pretty.  It's good to see colorful blooms.

I hope Spring has shown up at your house.

Hugs and kisses,