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 

 

Where Have I been

Most of the time I've been right here. I have been doing most of the things I usually do, except for getting out and about much.

I spent a lot of time working on this quilt for our daughter Mary. As I mentioned before, this is the third of these quilts I've made from the Sew Many Strips sewalong, a Tara Baisden pattern from American Patchwork and Quilting. I made a queen size first for Mr. Muddling and me, then a king size for our son and daughter in law and now another king for our baby girl. 

This is the original size.

Lots of pretties outside and inside. Flowers just make the world a better place, don't they?

This is Mr. Muddling's birthday cake. We had a sweet celebration with family enjoying barbecue and cake. Delicious!

Next, the figs ripened and I canned enough fig preserves to send some to each of my siblings and still have plenty for myself. Mr. Muddling does not like them.

Next, back to Mary's quilt and another couple of borders added to bring it up to king size.

Here it is after quilting.  I do love that wavy line quilitng. On pieces this small (each strip one and a half inches wide before sewing!) I want a lot of quilting and this seems to do the job.

Here it is getting its binding. Now it has been boxed shipped and has safely arrived in upstate New York and is on the bed!  Hurrah!  And Glory to God!

Next I had a birthday. Our sweet Houston children came over bringing Mexican food and we enjoyed a feast and good company. Yes, I made my own birthday cake and I don't mind a bit.

Now I've cut a new project with my Studio Cutter. This will be the Hugs and Kisses quilt from The Quilt Factory. My friend Sandy is going to sew this one for the USO Lounge at our local airport. Hopefully they will soon be able to reopen.

Sorry I've been so long away. I just was not in the mood to post. And if you can't find much good to say, sometimes it's better to say nothing. But I'm back now, and God is still good  and we can still trust in Him!

I hope all is well in your world.

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

It's A Maze

Isn't this a fun quilt?  I had so much fun making it. The simple rail fence blocks look like a maze to me, and the fabrics are so bright and cheerful.

 

I had this piece of flannel in the stash which is just perfect for the backing.

 

Mr. Muddling tried very hard to convince me that he should keep it, but I was strong.

It will be going to the USO Lounge in the next batch.

 

I saw this spray paint art on our friend Cass's post and told her I wanted to buy it. She refused payment, but sent it to me just in time for Christmas. Mr. Muddling hung it for me in the sewing room. Now I get to look at it every day!

 

AND.............I finally finished this king size quilt for our son and daughter in law. It is too big for even Mr. Muddling and son Larry to hold up in all its fullness!

But they were kind enough to send me this photo of it in its rightful place. The layout is a little different from the one I used for our queen size and I added an extra set of borders all around, which made it the perfect size.

 

Now I have to get another one made for baby girl, our daughter. But that will have to wait until I recuperate from this one!

 

Isn't it a blessing to finally accomplish a big goal? I am so thankful!

 

Hope you are accomplishing lots in your world.

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

 

 

 

 

 

Busy busy busy

I have another quilt ready for the USO Lounge at our local airport. I really like it. It's made of three inch strips, and I used the Go!Cutter to die cut the stars. Mr. Muddling has stepped up to take Miss Ru's post of Design Consultant, and I used his suggestion for the placement of the stars.

 

Free Patriotic Quilt from Make All Things New is the pattern I used. Really fast and easy. Thank you!

 

Since I had some backing left on the quilt frame, I also quilted this little wall hanging and hung it on the hanger I bought recently from Connecting Threads. I love cardinals!

 

This is chicken posole we had for lunch yesterday. Posole, in case you didn't know,  is Spanish for hominy. It is also a traditional soup from Mexican cuisine. The one most of Mr. Muddling's family eat and  I won't touch is made with beef tripe. This one is much better!

 

And here is Mr. Muddling putting the last touches on my Christmas present with the help of his design consultants. I am hoping I can put pot plants from the yard into this little greenhouse and save them through the cold. We've been closing in the patio every year, but this will be a much better option.

That mass of green to the right of it is my mustard greens. Don't they look happy? We've got cold weather coming in later today. Hoping they survive!

 

I'm still working on my second Sew Many Strips quilt top. This one is going to our son and his darling wife and will be king size. I've added another set of borders to make it the right size. Still have two more sides to get attached and then the quilting. 

 

A little peek at some of what's going on around here. I am enjoying all the pretty while I can! And I have two Christmas cacti blooming and another in bud!!! I love it!

 

Still lots to do before Christmas, but we are so excited that our baby girl is coming home for Christmas with her true love! Having both our children here will make it so much better.

 

I am also so thankful that this year, knee surgeries and eye surgeries are behind me. I feel wonderful and it is so good to be feeling strong and able again. God is good!

 

I hope all is going well for you and this season of joy is invading your heart and your home!

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nevertheless

I ran across a project I had started a while back. Actually it was two different ones. So, I took the four patches I had completed for the first project and used them in the other project, the Bonnie Hunter Celtic Solstice mystery quilt. I also altered one of the blocks. And it is now half way done. But I got a little discouraged about it, so I took it down off the design wall and went back to this one.

I don't have a picture for it, but the rows are all sewn together horizontally. Maybe I'll get the vertical seams done tonight. I have most or maybe all of the border strips cut. I'm planning to use two sets of borders to make it a king size quilt.  This is my second Sew Many Strips, an American Patchwork and Quilting quiltalong from last year. I have already made one of these and it is very happy on our bed! This one will be for our son and daughter in-law.

I know I have been absent for too long. I have been busy as you can see, but I've also had a cataract surgery, which is no big deal. What I didn't realize is that when I had the partial cornea transplant last year it caused my vision not to be correctable to a full 20/20. I know now, and I've dealt with that news, but I am not happy. I know it could be worse though, so I'm thankful.

We have a rainy day today and a cool front moving in again. Here's a little peek at what's been going on around here in the back yard. Still lots of pretties out there!

This little side yard, Ruthie's Garden, is the only attractive place in the back yard. I have let the chickens roam outside a lot this summer. I felt sorry for them in the heat, but they have pretty well destroyed every blade of grass. You can see them in the photos above , but believe me - I was watching them!

I hope you're having lots of fun and pretty things going on in your world! God has blessed us all so much!

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

String Circles

The string circles quilt is at long last finished! Somehow it took me quite a while to get the binding sewn on this one.

I saw this book when I was wandering around on Amazon looing for something else, and I just had to order it. The cover quilt is the one I made, but I didn't make mine quite as large.

I like the ingenuity of using those large coffee filters for the foundations. I pressed them first to flatten them out and then started sewing. It was a lot of fun!

 

And it made a very striking quilt.

 

I used this yellow print for the backing and more solid black for the binding.

 

My sweet neighbor has a granddaughter who visits her often.. I thought she might like a little doll I had bought, so I gave it to her. In return, she and my friend surprised me later with this delightful toy Emily had made. I love it! If  you read the little note she wrote to go with it, you'll see that it's a "slof"!

 

In other news, I decided to make another of these quits. I had so much fun with the first one and I decided I'd like to make maybe a coupe more to give as gifts.

There is something very satisfying about just putting fabric through the machine and turning it into something else!

I bought a fat eighth bundle of the new Jo Morton fabric "Shelbyville", and I like it a lot. I cut it all up into 1 1/2 inch strips with my Studio cutter. There were also leftovers from the other quilt I made, so this one will have lots of variety.

 

Autumn keeps teasing us and running away again. Early in the morning and late in the evening there is just a hint of cooler weather. The rest of the day, it's still hot!

 

I do hope you're finding lots of good things to see and to do!

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

 

 

 

Three Finishes

Believe it or not, I finally sewed the binding on this quilt and it is now on our bed! Even with the errors I made it is still one of my favorites.

The name of this quilt is Sew Many Strips by Tara Baisden for an American Patchwork and Quilting quiltalong. It was therapy for me as I got ready for and then recovered from knee replacement surgery.

 

All these 1 1/2 inch strips just make it such a happy quilt.

 

Happy little tumbler quilt ready for the USO Lounge! I still have lots of tumblers that were cut with my Go! Cutter. They are stashed in an ice cream bucket. (Yes, it IS my duty eat lots of ice cream. I need the storage!) I love having projects that are easy to pick up and finish right away sometimes.

 

Technically there is lots of red, white and blue in this quilt. It qualifies as a patriotic quilt in my opinion.

 

This  little rail fence quilt will also be going to the USO Lounge. The blue and white blocks were left over from another quilt and the other strips were already cut to length and ready to sew into blocks. Went together fast! It will be a good children's quilt for them.

 

Although it does look pretty happy on our porch swing!

 

 

Many other things have kept me busy around here.

 I have looked and looked at these cats made from cutter quilts I don't have any cutter quilts and rather than buy one, I just bought the cat! It came from an etsy shop, "farmdownthelane".

I finally got around to taking cuttings from my African violets and repotting some, too.

 

It is terribly hot here, of course - it IS summertime in Houston! It's a very good time to stay inside and sew. And read. Life is good!

 

Hope all is well in your world and that life is good for you, too!

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine