Here in the Land of Muddle

Lots of pretty flowers, tomatoes and cucumbers on the way, and if you look at the lower left photo, you will see that once again this year we have "Hairy Cluster Vines" cavorting among the cucumber vines. That name makes me laugh every time I say it. 

"hairy cluster vine"

My friend Kathleen sent me seeds of her moonflower vines and today one of the beautiful flowers opened!

Looking into the yard behind us last week, I spent way too much time trying to figure out how that bird was balancing on the tree. Eventually I figured out it is not a bird, it is a broken off branch.

On the design wall is my version of Bonnie Hunter's Blue Ridge Beauty from her book, Adventures with Leaders and Enders. I have always loved her creativity in using all the pieces! This one is one very simple block that is turned different directions to create the pattern. Hopefully I can get this one quilted soon.

Wishing for you the very best from our very generous God! He is always so good.

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

 

Making Things Work

 

Hi, there! I thought it was time to drop back in and show what I've been doing since my last posting.

 

I had some snowball blocks my friend Deb sent me, so I alternated them with 16 patch blocks to make a quilt top for the USO Lounge at our local airport. I gave the sixteen patches some extra movement by adding some half square triangles from a quilt I had made earlier to the upper right corner of most of them.

 

Here it is on the quilting machine and down to the last two rows. Suddenly there was a terrible noise. I shut the machine off and put it in time out. I think Mr. Muddling and I can get it back in working order again, I just haven't quite worked myself up to doing it yet. But. I will!

 

 

My friend Sandy needed another project to work on for the USO, so I put these blocks and strips up on the design wall for her to see, and she liked it. We took them all down and she took them home to complete. I think these fabrics all came from Deb, too!!! I have some really good friends!

 

Some of these rail fence blocks were leftover from the Hard Crackers quilt I showed in my last post. And a lot more I made and added to the mix. I plan to get these blocks sewn together later tonight.

 

 

Isn't this a gorgeous amaryllis? I cut it a couple of days ago, and there is another stalk from the same bulb about to burst into bloom now!

 

Behind the beautiful flowers are eight little pans ready to be filled with batter to make Everyday Fruitcake. It is made with dried fruit and not the syrupy sweet glazed fruit in regular fruitcake.  I took some of those completed little loaves to our ladies prayer group on Tuesday morning to share with my sweet friends.

 

 

The irises and roses are showing off in Ruthie's Garden and proving that Spring is truly here! (Don't look at all the weeds. I know it's bad. I'll get them cleaned out soon!)

 

Sorry, I don't have a fresh picture of my darling Buddy. He's been so busy all I have are blurry videos! Constant motion. But I do love him!

 

I hope you have lots of things in your world to give you joy. It is important, don't you think?

 

Enjoy your weekend and try to have lots of fun!

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While I Was Absent

 

I made three small quilts. This one, "Bethlehem is about 18 by 18 inches. It will live here and be displayed during the Christmas season. I saw it online and had to have it. 

 

This very colorful little cat is about the same size. It has gone to live with our friend Cass in upper New York state. She loves it!

 

 

This one is a bit larger and lives here as a utility quilt. It is made of 1 1/2 by 2 1/2 inch pieces sewn together to make 2 1/2 inch squares. I had a bag of that size and used them!

 

 

I said in this post that I wanted to enlarge a small quilt I had seen in The Big Book of Civil War Quilts. Well, I did! I figured out what I needed to make it a full size quilt.

 

 

Hard Crackers, biggie sized, is now hanging in our hallway.

 

 

And Miss Lady who was a Christmas gift from me to Mr. Muddling in 2012 has moved off and left us. I really hope it is true that all dogs go to heaven, because there are a lot of them I've love to see again. Lady loved Mr. Muddling and followed him everywhere she could. She was always such a good girl. We miss her. My husband especially has a big hole in his life right now. Good thing Buddy keeps him just aggravated enough to ease that pain!

 

 

Yes, this is my life. Flowers, chickens and Buddy and his toys! And of course, my darling Mr. Muddling! I love it all. The picture on the top left is a lantana plant I grew from seed sent me by my friend Deb. Thank you, Deb!!!

 

I hope all is well and happy in your world. As a neighbor of ours, long ago deceased used to say, "It's a great life if you don't weaken." He was a character! And a lot of life is just about as good as you decide it will be. 

 

Love and hugs and kisses,

Elaine 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let Us Do A Little Catch Up

 

This little darling boy, Buddy, is taking up a LOT of my time. Think 2 year old boy child into everything and everything goes to his mouth and you have a pretty clear picture of life with this new addition to Muddle Land! But I do so love him. And it's a good thing for him that I do!

 

I know that we are near the last of this year's gardening season, but it is just so beautiful right now you'd never think it will all be gone soon. So, I will enjoy it now!

Those are mustard greens in the upper right. I grow them for the chickens. They love them, and so do I! Mr. Muddling? - not at all. 

 

 

 

I recently finished this one for a lady at our church who suffered a major stroke.  She told me this bright yellow is her favorite color. I backed it with a soft flannel. I truly hope this bright colorful quilt will bring her joy and healing. 

 

 

I was intrigued with this small quilt I saw in Martingale's (Oh, how I miss them!) 

Big Book of Civil War Quilts. This one is a small quilt design by Carol Hopkins. It is called Hard Crackers! I love it. I'm going to try making a lap size quilt by making these blocks larger. We'll see how that goes.

 

 

In the meantime I've been working on this framed four patch + nine patch. 

 

 

This is my friend Terri, whose favorite color is purple. She looks happy with her new quilt, doesn't she!

What a sweet person she is.

 

I think this brings us up to speed together. I'm sorry I let myself get so far behind sometimes. I am really impressed with people like Wanda who blog every day. 

 

Until next time, I wish you the very best. I pray you are well and happy and that you are finding lots to do to help yourself and others!

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jungle Jubilee

 

I have a friend, Peggy, who is such a sweet lady. I just love her, and I decided to make a quilt for her. I know, big surprise! I asked her what was her favorite color in the whole wide world, and she said, "BLUE - all shades of blue".

 

 

I ordered some Kaffe Fassett fabric, and I knew I wanted to focus on that gorgeous banana tree print. 

 

Then I added some of the other KF fabrics, in blues of course. And then I thought of how much I also love the Tilda fabrics, especially the Jubilee line. There is so much to see and discover in each of them.

 

 

The Wallflower in blue and also the Sunday Brunch in blue had to be included.

 

 

I really love this quilt. And the royal blue flannel for a backing just finished it perfectly.

There are so many elements in this quilt that shouldn't maybe be together. I don't care. They are all playing together and having such a good time that I am sure she will enjoy it herself and have fun finding things to see with her grandchildren!

 

 

Meanwhile, here at Muddle Manor young Buddy number two is still wreaking havoc, playing 24-7 (with short times off for naps) and generally being a frustrating and adorable bundle of puppyhood. I love him. (The other inhabitants of the manor - not so much.) 

 

 

From a recent daily page of my Mary Engelbreit calendar. 

 

Life is such a mix of good, bad, terrible, wonderful, exciting, boring, inspirational and depressing. It's sort of up to each one of us to choose upon which we focus!

 

Hope you are having an absolutely terrific time in your spot on the earth!

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine 

 

 

 

 

    

 

Tilda and Summertime

 

Oh, I love this quilt so much! All the beautiful Tilda fabrics from several collections all playing together so nicely and backed with a hot orange batik fabric.

This quilt was just a joy to create, and I am sure it will remain a joy around here for years to come!

 

 

Does it look like Summer? Well, it definitely IS!!! All the brilliant colors, the one white chicken strolling around out there, the coleus ,the bright pink zinnias, lots and lots of figs ripening on the tree all combine to make me happy, even in the heat.

The lower right picture in the collage above is a couple of gifts for our great niece's baby girl set to make her appearance in August. I only had a Christmas gift bag, so I used a colorful napkin or two and trusty Mod Podge  and turned it into a Summer bag! 

 

I hope you're seeing lots of things that make you happy! The world is so full of beautiful things. We just need to notice them and it will make our life so much more enjoyable!

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine 

 

 

Three Cheers for the Red White and Blue

 

I finished this one. Just got photos taken. It will be going to the USO Lounge at IAH Houston. I am so glad to have another one ready to go. My friend Sandy has some ready as well. Three Cheers!

 

 

In other news, Mr. Muddling's darling baby girl Lady had surgery this week. It went well and we expect a full recovery, but she does NOT like her new wardrobe. Life is just full of challenges for all of us, isn't it?

 

 

This one is getting closer to completion. Maybe a couple of borders. It will be going to the USO Lounge, too. We are behind in what we want to give them, so once we get this latest batch there, we should be caught up. YAY!!!

 

 

How cute is this pin cushion!!! A friend from our prayer group at church gave it to me. I love it. What would we do without our friends?

 

My very good friend who has been our across the street neighbor for over forty years moved to heaven this morning. She was in the her nineties, and has had a long, good life. But I will miss her.

 

I am so glad our good heavenly Father knows all our joys and sorrows and is with us through them all.

 

I hope your week has been wonderful so far!

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

 

 

 

 

Glorious Spring - No, It Is Summer

 

Left to right, starting at the top row: Four o'clock, Daylily, Coleus seedlings, Nocturnal Spider, Rose of Sharon (Althea), Tommy Toes tomatoes, Zinnias, Mother of Thousands, Summer Personified.

 

I think we may have had a couple of days of Spring here in Houston. Maybe. But we for sure have SUMMER now! All the wonderful growing things are compensation though.

My blog friend Deb very kindly had her husband dig up and send me some Mother(s) of Thousands after I told her mine had died off long ago. Blog friends are the best! 

I potted up some of them and shared with the ladies at our prayer group, along with some of the coleus seedlings I had started. I love it!

 

 

Our great niece is expecting a baby girl soon, so of course she needs a quilt. I am really pleased with how it developed!

 

 

The top picture is before its trip through the washer and dryer and the bottom one is after those voyages. Don't you love that crinkly-ness? It is so soft and cuddly. The green backing is a thick flannel. I think it will be a wonderful floor quilt as well as a bed quilt.

 

 

After all that sweetness, I had some green flannel left on the frame, so I quilted this little panel and got it bound. It is so vibrant! And now it will be ready for display when Autumn rolls around.

 

This red white and blue has now had borders added and is on the frame ready to be quilted. It will be going to the USO Lounge at Houston's Intercontinental Airport.

 

I DO try to stay busy. It tends to keep me out of trouble. Sometimes anyway! LOL!

 And seriously, there are always so many things I want to do and see and learn. 

 

Our God is infinitely creative, and I think He's made us creative, too!

 

I hope you're having a wonderfully creative time in your part of the world!

 

Hugs an kisses,

Elaine

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abundance

 

There are so many beautiful things outside it is hard to know where to start. I'll start with the flowers - my favorites. I love Springtime when all the flowers start to burst into bloom. It feels like the earth is waking up from a long winter's nap.

 

This is one of my favorite trees - the mimosa. Lots of people call it a "trash tree". They don't like it at all. I grew up seeing mimosa trees every spring and summer. Their flowers have a sweet gentle perfume, and they hold a special place in my heart.

 

 

This is the front on the left, and the back on the right of the quilt I had to make after seeing it on the Jo's Country Junction blog. It is called Brick House. It was super fun and easy to make and will be going to the USO Lounge at our local airport. 

 

Most of this green mass is mustard greens. I grow them mostly to feed our chickens. They love them. I am trying to get them all picked and eaten by said chickens soon, because there are also tomatoes and cucumbers growing in there!

 

 

AND.......this Celeste fig tree I am growing from a cutting from our old tree that was destroyed by a hurricane! I love figs. Mr. Muddling - not at all. But I am excited it is doing so well. I have another variety I bought online that is also doing well!

 

 

The queen sized log cabin is getting closer to a finish. I sewed the last strip of log cabins onto the center part of the quilt, and I have sewn the first two inner border strips on. Two more inner border strips to sew on and then an outer pieced border and the final outer border. Then quilting! I knew it would be a long term project, and it is, but the couple I am giving it to deserve the very best. So I'm trying to make sure they get it!

 

I hope someone is making sure YOU get the very best! I know our good God has you on His mind for good. I would certainly not want to be here without Him!

 

Hope your week ahead is full of only good things!

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

 

 

 

Cats and Flowers

 

I cannot even tell you how much I love these cats! Cats are such stinkers anyway, and these look full of personality! Our Miss Dinah is a beautiful girl who belongs still to our daughter Ruthie. Dinah does not acknowledge any other owner, though we do qualify as servants!

 

 

Just look at those faces. They are not going to be good kitties. You can tell just by looking. The beautiful fabrics in this quilt came to me from a dear blog friend. (She sent such a box of delights! I am so happy!) Thank you Deb!!!

 

 

And look at all that crinkly-ness! Yummy!!

 

 

 

Meanwhile, outside, things have been simply beautiful! Roses outdoing themselves blooming, amaryllis dazzling in their beauty, iris in all their purple glory bursting out everywhere, dogwood covered in blooms, azaleas blooming with super abundance! AND, in the lower left, you can see the little lemon tree we bought in the fall blooming its little heart out. What you probably can't see is all the little lemons on there! I do so love Spring!

 

 

There are over 100 of these log cabin blocks here. I think there are enough for the center of a quilt I'm making for a sweet couple we know. They are such a blessing to everyone, I wanted to make something special for them. Still a very long way to go, but Lord willing, I'll get it done!

 

I hope all is going well in your world. It does seem sometimes that there are just too many challenges, but you know, maybe they are what we need to make us stronger and to make us what God wants us to be! I choose to believe that anyway.

 

Thank you for being my friend. I wish you lots of good things only!

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine