Stripes and Spots

I finished another one that will be a Christmas gift, but it will be a late one. It's in the mail though!

This is another one made from a tutorial from Jordan Fabrics. For this one though, I changed the layout. Really fun and easy blocks to make.

Got to love that crinkly fresh from the washer and dryer portrait!

The spots are the fleece backing. I used a thicker batting (Warm and Plush from the Warm Company) on this one, too, since it is going to upstate New York to a dear friend.

Another friend all the way from London sent the lovely floral arrangement to us. I do love flowers!

 I have two little Christmas cacti blooming out on the patio. We had to retire the porch swing out there that I have enjoyed for so long. It had a long run, both out in the back yard and on the porch, but the canvas seat just got too tired!.  We decided to put a table and some chairs out there this time around. Seems like a good idea to have a sheltered outdoor place to enjoy a meal or snack sometimes.  We'll be getting those in place sometime soon.

We are having a bit of colder weather here for Christmas. That always makes it seem more like Christmas. We had family here today for a meal and will be sharing Christmas day with our son's family. He and his darling wife were part of the family here today, but we get to spend two days (and share two meals) with them this Christmas.

I hope you have a really good Christmas. Jesus IS the reason for the season!

Hugs and kisses,

This little cutie got finished last night.

I do love that crinkly look after it's been through the washer and dryer.

This is before any quilting. I had these Winding Ways blocks done for a while. I had a specific place for them to go, but somehow the desire to work on them just left me. It turned out that the couple for whom I was making the quilts suffered major damage in Hurricane Harvey. They lost their home. If I had finished the quilts when I'd planned, the odds are good that they would have been lost, too. Isn't the Lord good to let me finish the first one now that the flood is over! I do still plan on making the other quilt, which will also be a Winding Ways for the wife, but this one goes to the husband. He needs one now.

Here it is getting quilted. I don't remember if I've ever shared the design I like to use. A lot, if you haven't noticed. For some reason it is really easy for me, and so I use it again and again. It is called Loopy Clams and is a freehand design by Lyn Durbin. Here is a link to your YouTube tutorial.

The weather here today has been dreary, so I did not even attempt to get any outside photos, but this is last night before it took a dive in the washer.

I hope all your preparations for Christmas are going well, and that you have lots of joy in store!

Chloe and all of us here at Muddle Manor would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Hugs and kisses,

Lisa's Quilt

This quilt is finished now and will hopefully be delivered tomorrow to our so-sweet Lisa, our son Larry's wife. She is such a blessing to us! 

The backing is this pretty rose print fleece. Since it is cold here right now (Don't laugh, Anna!), I'm glad it has this warm backing.

I picked a jelly roll of  2 1/2 inch strips from my batik strip bin and used a pattern called Teatime (Not in Bali) from a video tutorial done by the wonderful Donna Jordan of Jordan Fabrics. I changed up her layout a bit, but this is what it looked like when I first started putting it up on the design wall. It is always interesting to me to see how the quilts grow and develop as I go along. Muddling, you know!

It was fun and pretty quick to quilt after I figured out its final layout. I hope she likes it!

Now, I'm playing again with the quarter square triangle and 6 1/2 inch floral block layout I started a while back.

And, I've put some Winding Ways blocks up on the other design wall. I may just add a couple of borders and quilt this one. I have someone in mind who needs this one!

Here is an exciting to me picture of the beautiful variety of colored eggs our pretty chickens have started laying. 

I took this picture last month of our chickens apparently trying to bury themselves out in our garden! LOL! 

Believe it or not, we had snow last night and early this morning here in Houston! That is a very rare occurrence. Buddy and I stayed up to see the beginning of the snowfall, then we went to our cozy warm beds. We did not get a lot of snow, but there was still some on the ground and rooftops when we got up this morning. 

I hope there are lots of beautiful and exciting things going on in your part of the world. There is always so much to see and to be thankful for, isn't there?

Hugs and kisses,

Under the Sea

I finished this one this week, and I'm calling it Under the Sea. So much fun to make and FAST!  Jordan Fabrics has posted some really good video tutorials lately and this is one of them. I bought the main fabric from them. So pretty!!!

Mr. Muddling claimed this one for himself, and with all he puts up with from me - I think he deserves it!  I used a fleece fabric for the backing. That's it on the right above. I would have never thought he would like this, but he's the one who chose it and it is perfect! He's turned into a very good quilt adviser!

I learned about using fleece for a backing from Jordan Fabrics years ago. The first quilt I did this on was back in 2011. I had a bit of trouble with it and complained about it, but all these years later it is still on my favorite chair and used every day. Matter of fact I bought that first fleece from Jordan's, too!

The little green egg in the lower right is the first from our latest batch of chicks!  The top left picture is the view from the office looking out at the chicken yard. Because you know I like chickens!  As you can see on the right, Miss Lady is enjoying the new quilt in Daddy's lap already. Buddy and the bowl of chili made it into the collage just because. Life is good!

I've had what to me is very good news. I had been told by my primary care doctor that I would have to have knee replacements from both my knees due to arthritis.  After looking at a video of that actual process, I decided I'd rather not.  I saw an orthopedic sports doctor last week and she told me we could work on avoiding that! I had a cortisone injection in each knee and the relief was immediate.  I'm now back in physical therapy and with their help I fully intend to regain my strength and mobility. God is good and I am so thankful!

It is a beautiful day here today and there are always so many things to enjoy. I do hope you are finding some of them where you are!

Hugs and kisses,

Another Rail Fence Quilt for the USO

This quilt top has been finished for a while, I just needed to get the binding sewn on it. And that is now finally done! Yay!  This one will also be going to the USO Lounge at the local airport, but it does look pretty happy right now on that patio swing, doesn't it!

Here are views of it in all its cuddly-ness. The backing is a Waverly home decor fabric, a paisley, and the binding is a diagonal brown and white stripe. I'm pretty sure someone, or maybe lots of someones will enjoy napping under this one.

For some time now, I've been seeing the beautiful work done by Sheila at SewCookandTravel. I love how she uses the tiniest scraps of fabric to made pot holders. Yesterday, I got one of the beauties in the mail from her for my very own! This is the front and back sides of the same pot holder. Is it not gorgeous? Thank you so much, Sheila. Your kind, loving heart just blesses me!

Our son came by for lunch today and brought me these so cool Rottweiler socks! I do love happy surprises!

And in the sewing room, there is some sewing together of quarter square triangles happening. We have a cold front coming in tonight (not cold by some of your standards, but  by Houston's!).  

I do hope you're having a good weekend, so far. Even in times that are not always the most fun, there are always so many things for which to be thankful, and I am!

Hugs and kisses,

Don's Quillt

Don is a friend of ours from church. He is one of the bravest people I know.  Don has been battling ALS (Lou Gherig's Disease) for a while now. It is a fight each and every day. 

In his former life, Don was very active physically. He enjoyed climbing mountains, among other things. I wanted to convey the sense of mountains somehow in this quilt and this is what I did.

His sweet darling wife Betty told me he is also fond of bears and dogs, hence the backing.

In my book, he is still a mountain climber, even if the mountains are of a different kind.

Here is the quilt after a run through the washer and dryer.

And the bear!

This is just how it started. I had some fat quarters of a McKenna Ryan line which I cut in strips and sewed back together, along with some batiks, to form a sort of landscape for the background of the many strips portraying the mountainous landscape with only a little bit of sunshine thrown in for happiness. 

Don has just completed rehab and is back at home now after a fall and a broken hip. Yes, more mountains to climb. And by the way, he loves his quilt!

With Hurricane Harvey and all the extra rain we got, the fig tree decided it might be Spring again and put out a lot of new fruit. Most things, though, just had so much water they retreated to rest until a new day.

On the plus side, the African violets in my kitchen window has gone wild with the blooming! I love it! Oh, and the vegetable beef soup was mighty good, too! Not soup weather yet, but we're getting there.

I know I've been absent from here for far to long. I've been struggling physically and having a hard time even getting around. I'm seeing a new doctor and have started a medication that shows promise. There is hope! And that's a very good thing. I'm thankful.

I do hope all is well with each and every one of you. We are all mountain climbers in our own way.

Hugs and kisses,

Patricia's Quilt

Patricia is a very sweet lady at our church. I've been promising her a quilt for some time now, and it is finally finished!

The backing is this delicious bright pink! I used more of it for the binding.

Our friend Patricia likes bright colors and lots of them! I think she will really enjoy getting acquainted with this quilt.

After its trip through the washer and the dryer. Doesn't it just look so cuddly? It is!

The pattern is one I've made several times before. I make four patch units all the time. Some, like these I join into sixteen patch units. I used the Go! Cutter to cut half square triangles (die #55031 4 1/2 inch) out of Kaffe Fassett and Philip Jacobs fabrics. I alternated white-on-white backgrounds with beige tone-on-tone backgrounds. The sashing is a Kaffe Fasset print and the aqua cornerstones ( 2 1/2 inch square) are mirage fabric from Connecting Threads. The outer border is also a Kaffe Fassett print. I am very pleased at how this one finished!

Pretty flowers outside are in short supply. All the heat followed by lots of water, followed by more heat has just about done it for a lot of them. The chickens, however, are still having a wonderful time!

I lost a little bit too much weight, so I am trying to get at least some of it back. Ice cream always helps.

That look on Buddy's face when I tell him he's not getting any of it! LOL!

With all its trials and struggles, life is still good, and there are always so many things for which to be thankful! I do hope you're having a really good week!

Hugs and kisses,