Springtime in Muddle Land

 

Of course, we start with a quilt. I had just finished this flannel half hexie quilt when our son came over for a visit. He seemed to feel that it was just the thing he needed, so he took it home with him! I love that picture with the guitar and the quilt together. He is quite a talented guitarist.

 

 

SO many pretty things to see out in our back yard, and after a very long dry spell we are getting some nice rain today. So refreshing for the plants, and for us, too.

 

 

Julie at MyThreadBear life had such an interesting and inspiring post  (as she always does) about some egg pockets she had made. I followed the link on her blog to an Instagram post showing instructions, and decided I needed to make some! 

Mine are in a totally different direction from hers, but I like them a lot. I used 1930's reproduction fabrics that look so very happy. These little happy pockets will be going to some friends of mine tomorrow. As you may be able to figure out from the pics above, each little egg pocket holds an Easter hanging decoration (thank you, Amazon), a small rolled up napkin and a chocolate bunny or two. I am very pleased how they turned out. 

 

 

As you can see, there are a few chocolate bunnies hiding in the lower part of the blue glass egg on the dining room table. Just in case of emergency, you know.

 

I was so pleased to hear President Trump unashamedly call Jesus Christ his Lord and Savior. He is mine, too!

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine 

 

 

 

 

Another One for the USO Lounge

 

But first, take a look at this gorgeous, brilliantly colored plumeria!  Isn't it beautiful! My next door neighbor gave it to me a couple of years ago, but this is the first time it has flowered. I am so excited to see it! 

 

Don't you love this backing fabric for my newest quilt for the USO Lounge at our Houston airport! From my friend Deb.

 

 

And here is the front. Very simple rail fence with a couple of nine patches in the middle. Fun quilt to make!

 

 

I read a really interesting article the other day in which a woman who is a food scientist made the case that a lot of the health decline in our country is directly traceable to the commercial milling of wheat grains starting in the 1920's. Freshly milled wheat grain spoils rather quickly because of the wheat bran and wheat germ which are both somewhat fatty, and therefore will spoil or go rancid relatively quickly. Commercial mills discovered they could profitably sell ground white flour that would not spoil IF they removed the bran and wheat germ first before milling or grinding the wheat berries into flour.  Of course this also removed the majority of the real food value from the bread made with that wheat!

 

 

So, I bought a grain mill, the one she recommended, and it worked perfectly, quickly and quietly!

I had ordered five pounds of the hard red wheat berries and I ground up all of that last night. This morning I got up early (Yes, this is a miracle!) and mixed and kneaded and waited for that to rise, cut it into three, formed into loaves and put in pans and waited for that to rise. Baked and deliciousness was enjoyed!! I also made some pimiento cheese which Mr. Muddling and I slathered on a couple of pieces of the bread. Heaven! 

I was really impressed with how easy it was. Needless to say, I've ordered more wheat berries!!!

 

It's always good to learn something new, and to go back and renew your mind to things you once enjoyed. I am so happy it turned out so well! 

 

I hope you are growing in the things you know and learning new ones! It's always good to learn and to do!

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine 

 

 

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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

 

 

 

 

 

 

Springtime Happenings

 

I chanced upon these cute little pouches and just had to make a few. And then I began to think of all the people I'd like to give one to, and the number grew.

It is a free pattern called Bit of Kindness Pouch at SewCanShe. I was amazed at all the sweet makes she has available for free.

I had bought this fabric a while back because I saw it in a quilting magazine and just had to have it. I made two baby quilts from it and had about a yard and bits and pieces left, waiting patiently for a project to come along. I ordered the fasteners and key rings recommended at amazon and assorted wool blend felt. The so sweet chocolate you can see in the first photo on the top left was Russel Stover Easter bunnies. I'm pretty sure they are no longer to be found. I spent three very intensive nights making these (and an enormous mess!) and I don't regret a minute of it!

 

Meanwhile, outside here at Muddle Manor, Springtime is really making me happy with all the pretty flowers! I was concerned how many of the amaryllis would bloom. The cold we had was much more intense than anticipated and a goodly number of those plants looked absolutely melted. But, as you can see, they made a complete recovery. Thank God! The roses and the dogwood are really pretty, too.

On the bottom row, left, is a little vignette telling you how I feel about Texas. And in the center is some delicious bacon, scrambled eggs and cranberry orange scones. Yummy! On the bottom right is the greeting of my very good boy Buddy when we returned after being gone far too long (in his opinion) running errands! I do love that big ole dog!

 

I will freely admit that I have a somewhat weird sense of humor, and this calendar page really made me laugh!

 

I have been rearranging (again) some of the storage in the sewing room and ran across some triangles left over from this quilt I made for our niece in 2017. As you can see, I had to play with them. I love leftovers!

I hope there are lots of really good and fun things going on in your part of the world. And if there are not, just create some! Life is still good and God is still good. All the time.

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

 

Little 2023 Update

 

I forgot to mention this little cutie, one of Sheryl Johnson of Temecula Quilt Company's 2023 Mini a Month collection. This is December.

 

I made a lot of these for Christmas gifts this year. Sorry, I was so focused on getting them done and delivered.....I forgot to take photos. These are some that are going to live here. I have never had kitchen towels with crochet edging. Never even thought of it, but I read a blog post by Jenny of Elefantz (reading blog posts has ALWAYS led me into new and sometimes really wonderful ideas. This was one for sure). She has blessed me with so many of her posts.

I hope to get a post up with quilts completed in 2023 next.

Until then, Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

 

Catching Up With Mrs. Muddling - That's Me

 

First of all I've finished Mr. Muddling's quilt. Yes, I know, it does seem as if he gets a lot of quilts. He does. And we like it that way. 

 

Here are some process shots. I had started with nine patches of lots of reproduction fabrics. Then it grew. What I've neglected to show is that I backed it with a mottled brown flannel. Nice and comfy, cozy!

 

 

Here are some of the pretties out in the back yard. On the lower left is a shot of one of the many bunches of muscadine grapes on the vines growing on the chicken yard fence! There are things growing in the vegetable garden, too, but no pictures yet.

 

 

And, I've been having fun playing with lots of things inside. I recently bought this pretty sewing machine on the upper right. This was made in 1953 in Japan. It is in such good condition! I cannot wait for Mr. Muddling to get it in good working order so I can play with it.

I recently discovered a blog called, Gone to the Beach, and on an Easter post she showed some of the prettiest decoupage eggs. I had to get some paper mache eggs to try my hand at it. Results lower left!

The lower center is another experiment - waterglassing eggs. Seems its a preservation idea that's been around for a very long time. Fresh eggs (of which we have a surplus at the moment) are submerged in a water/pickling lime solution. There is a very good success rate (100 percent, they say) up to eight months, and maybe even longer! There are lots of videos on You Tube. Chickens tend to lay a lot in warm weather and not so much in colder weather. 

Lower right is a mini quilt I made from another design of the brilliant Sheryl Johnson of Temecula Quilt. It has not yet been hand quilted, but I'll get there sooner or later.

You may have noticed that I like to play. A lot.

I hope you are having fun playing at whatever gives you joy!

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

 

First Finish of 2023

 

I quilted this one in December, but never got around to sewing the binding on until January, so we'll just call it 2023. This quilt started off as a pattern from Mary Johnson who is so generous with the quilt patterns she creates. I decided to add in some sixteen patch blocks for the fun of it. I like the secondary pattern they create.

 

I used a red print for the backing and a solid red for the binding. It will be going to the USO Lounge at IAH.

 

It looks pretty comfortable on the patio swing. 

The shelves behind hold plants I'm attempting to save from the cold. The arctic blast is gone, but usually we get another cold weather in February. 

 

I've been working on a little quilt and trying my hand at hand quilting. Not impressed with my needlework so far, but surely I will improve!

 

 

Mr. Muddling and I moved the little greenhouse to the other side of the back yard. New Year, new ideas for organization, and I hope more productivity out there!

 

I am always encouraged seeing the stubborn persistence of plants. That poinsettia at the top left is from Christmas 2021. I left it outside all year until the cold came, and it is still trying to produce big flower bracts. Chickens are always endlessly amusing! Paperwhites have grown from bulbs newly planted and are blooming, and the Althea (Rose of Sharon) is already putting out new greenery.

And then there are Buddy and Lady - taking it easy and trying to stay warm when it was so cold. 

 

Life is still good. God is still on His throne, and there is still always reason to hope and to move forward with courage!

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine 

 

Filmstrip and Pumpkin Spice

 

At long last this one is finished. It will go to the USO Lounge. I'm calling it Filmstrip. Can you see it?

 

It started out as just the navy blue and those darker repro colors. It seemed a little too dark to me, so I added in some neutral strips. It seems happier to me. You can see from the two outside shots that it is really not that dark a blue. It looks darker inside.

 

This is a Quilt Archeology project called Pumpkin Spice from Pam Buda of Heartspun Quilts. 

 

The colors in this one too, are much more vibrant and true when the picture is taken outside.

  

I had ordered a pack or oranges and purples from her web store and this was one of the oranges. Coincidentally it was the orange in the kit!

I had a lot of fun making this little cutie. I cannot claim to have done a perfect job, but I did enjoy making it. And that's what it's all about! 

 

We had some stormy weather last night, but today is lovely! It will be back to hot tomorrow, so we have been enjoying this cooler while it lasts!

 

I can certainly not call myself a regular blogger, but I do like to keep this online diary of some of what's going on here at Muddle Manor. I miss so many of the blogs I used to love when I first discovered blogs. To those of you who still write your blog, thank you! You are a blessing to me!

 

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend with lots of good things to anticipate in the week to come!  God is good! Always.

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine 

 

Happy Easter!

I wish you a very Happy Easter! I recently finished quilting this Lion and the Lamb panel.  We are loving seeing it hanging in the hallway. It seems to say so many things about The Lion of the Tribe of Judah, who is also the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world.

In much lighter news, I've been playing again, this time with decoupage. These are a few of my finished projects. It's fun, and I guess it keeps me out of trouble! There are Facebook groups aplenty and lots of tutorials on YouTube as well if you're interested..

This is a little "slice and dice" project I'm making for a friend of our sons. More about it later.

A block I made with a new GO! die, Goose Tracks. I like it! I'm sure there will be more of these showing up around here in the near future.

I hope you have a wonderful Easter, and that you celebrate the life you've been given!

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine. 

So Many Things

First of all, we are getting rain, which we need. It is a nice slow rain and everything outside seems to be soaking it up with joy!  There are plenty of pretty things to enjoy inside, too, even if it's just looking out the window. Outside yesterday, upper left, you can see chickens if you look closely. I have to watch them very carefully when I let them into Ruthie's Garden. They are extremely destructive! But they have such a good time, I can't seem to resist letting them in sometimes.

 

I started another quilt. This is a friendship star variation.

 

 

Here is my darling Mr. Muddling modeling a face mask I made yesterday.  As you can see behind him, the quilt grew.

 

This was last night when I quit. I fully intended to do a lot of sewing today, but it just didn't happen.

 

 

 

Instead, I did a little cooking, including these rolls. They are SO good!

 

I also made a Pumpkin Cranberry cake, and as you can see, we have already made a nice little dent in it.

 

What can I say? Stressful times call for baking. And eating said baking!

 

Seriously, there are so many things that can make you totally crazy if you let them. I am a firm believer in doing what I can and then leaving the rest to the Lord. He is much wiser than I, and does a much better job of handling all those things.

 

I hope all is well with you and that you are not letting things make you crazy! Trust in the One who is well able to help.

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

 

Playing Around in the HOT Summertime

My sister Carolyn told me she had bought a new dining table and chairs. I made her a little table topper. She likes blue! There are lots of the framed nine patches left over. I'm sure they will grow into something else one day.

 

I had the idea to make a jelly roll of neutral fabrics, make a jelly roll race quilt, and put something on it that would make it a little bit patriotic for the USO. This is my creation. Not sure how much I like it, but I'm sure it will be better looking once it's quilted. No idea how long that will be. The latest word is several weeks before my longarm parts come back home.

Amazon is always tempting me. I saw this book and had to order it. I like the idea of using those big coffee filters as backing for circle strings. I have a big box of those filters out in the garage that I bought by mistake years ago Sometimes being a packrat pays off!

It took several hours to make these two circles, so I'm not sure how long it will take to make enough for a quilt top. Those "storage containers" aka ice cream buckets. hold one inch and one and a half inch strips cut from fabric leftover from other projects. Makes it easy to grab some ready cut for a project.

I am amazed there are still pretty things to be seen outside in this heat! At the lower right you'll see my harvest of muscadine grapes that grow on the east side of the chicken yard. I remember muscadine preserves my grandmother made so many years ago.

The lower left is a box of peaches we bought recently. Mouthwateringly delicious!

 

I am thankful for a comfortable home with air conditioning! And I am thankful for the gift of sewing. I would say it keeps me out of trouble, but we both know that's not always true!

 

Hope you are having lots of pretty things to see and do where you live!

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine