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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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

 

Three Cheers for the Red White and Blue

 

Another quilt for the USO Lounge at our local airport is ready! Half square triangles are such fun to use.

 

I backed it with this blue print and bound it with the same blue in the quilt.

 

I tried to be so careful getting all the bits lined up correctly, but somehow between the design wall and the sewing machine.......some of them ended up in the wrong spot! Rip it out and do it again. You know the drill. But it is done now, and that makes me happy!

 

Lots of pretty things out in the back yard. We have more zinnias this year than we've ever had. Of course they LIKE the hot, dry weather. The rest of us - not so much. 

Last year, I just tossed the spent zinnias back into the garden and behind it and in other spots, too. It worked really well this time! 

I noticed a vine running rampant in the garden that I did not plant. I decided to leave it alone and see what happened. Yesterday I noticed the cutest tiny watermelon growing! No idea if it will actually grow up to be a big watermelon, but it will be interesting to watch anyway!

Isn't it funny how things sometimes work and other times do not work at all. Sort of like me! LOL! But we do have fun, and enjoy life's good surprises. God is still good all the time and for that I am extremely grateful.

I hope you have a good weekend and find things that surprise you in good way!

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

 

Bitcoin

Here are some process shots of Bonnie Hunter's pattern, Bitcoin. When I saw it, I HAD to make it!  I'm really thankful for my Accuquilt Studio cutter. It made it oh, so much easier. I did not make my version as big as her pattern. It is more a lap size, but that is what I wanted.

And as you can see, it looks right at home on the swing on our screened patio. I foresee some serious lounging out there!

Of course I have started a couple of new projects. Our darling Mary took the clamshell quilt I made earlier with her when she was here at the beginning of the year. I like it so much I had to start another. I'm also playing with 2 inch squares, sewing them into 49-patches. Now I just need to figure out the alternate block to go in between them.

So many beautiful things outside in the back. We are enjoying all the blessings!

This morning Mr. Muddling was working out in the back assembling a new swing for the back yard. He said that he noticed a spider web stretched across one of our pathways and had been avoiding it. When I went outside the spider had decided it was time to pack it in and rest a while. If you look very closely at the end of that big green leaf, you'll see a little critter with a lightweight web blanket covering it. 

I thought how very sweet that the Lord had enabled that spider to create its own little safe resting spot. And then I realized He has also enabled each one of us to do the very same thing. Even in the midst of turmoil and uncertainty we can still bow our head and ask HIM for help. He always hears and answers our prayers. And we can rest in His love!

Hope you are doing just that!

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

Feathers

This story starts with a piece of beautiful fabric that came in the mail last week. It is a design by Philip Jacobs, one of my favorite designers. I did not order it. I had no idea where it originated. But I decided the best thing to do was to put it to use. I washed and dried it.

And then I cut it with the half hexagon die. I also cut some solid brown to go with it. I thought that would be a good idea.

I decided it was too boring, so I added lots of different colored half hexies. Much better!

Oh, so happy with it now.

Isn't it pretty!

And very cuddly!

Mr. Muddling and I delivered it this morning to a precious neighbor of ours who is fighting a battle with cancer. She and her husband of 65 years are just adorable. And she loved this quilt so much.  I am so glad.

I had called to let them know we were coming, and while we were on the way, she had her husband go outside and cut some gardenias for us. Aren't they gorgeous! Our house smells wonderful.

And before we leave the saga of that quilt, I had an email from a long time blog friend asking me if I had received her gift. YES! I like to know who blessed me! Thank you so much, dear wonderful Deb!

Our next door neighbor gave me this plant this week. I had never seen one like this before.  It is a zamioculcas zamifolia Raven, or zz black raven. The leaves are so dark a purple as to be almost black. We have really good neighbors!

There has been lots of rain falling around this area lately and it's not over yet. We had a break today and it has been nice to see no rain falling for a change. The plants outside are loving it though, even if we do have a muddy mess!

I do hope there is lots of beautiful where you are!  God is so good to us all!

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

Four Patch Stars

This one is finished and will soon go to the local airport USO Lounge. The pattern is from the very generous Mary Johnson at MaryQuilts.com

She has LOTS of free patterns.

Doesn't it look so comfy on the porch swing?

And even better with all that cuddle showing! I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am to be back making quilts again.

Of course it's not all work around here. There is also hot milky tea with a scone!  So good when I'm reading a new quilting magazine!

Here is the center portion of the American Patchwork and Quilting quiltalong designed by Tara Baisden . 

I got it up on the design walls last night and today all the vertical rows are sewn together and I've made a start on the horizontal rows. I really like how this one is coming together!

We had a windy night last week and woke up to a bird bath full of crepe myrtle blossoms.

This week is HOT, but this is Houston, so what can you expect?

I hope you're having a perfectly wonderful week full of only good things!

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

Space Sock Monkeys

Sometimes you just need to finish something, and I did! I've had this little quilt cut out for a while, and it seemed like a good time to get it finished. I think this one will go to the USO lounge at the local airport.  The volunteers there tell me parents really appreciate having a quilt to put down on the floor and let little ones stretch out and play a bit.

It is bright and colorful all over. There is a diagonal stripe for the binding and I've just about used up all this wild flannel stripe on the back.

Nice and crinkly after it's trip through the washer and dryer.

I've been working on this one now. I saw the pattern originally on Jordan Fabric's YouTube channel. I was intrigued and tried to figure out how to cut it. I failed. Then she added instructions and told what ruler to use to do the cutting! Yay! 

Here's a link to the sewing instructions. This one shows that you can use the same block to make two different quilts, but it also shows the ruler and the cutting instructions.

Whenever I finally finish this one, it will be going to our niece. She said she wanted one in red and black. Lots more blocks to make, but it IS all straight line sewing.

Summer has arrived in Houston. Some time ago, actually. Not that much exciting going on outside, but there is always entertainment in the chicken yard. Buddy wants to play with them so bad!

Finally, I think I'm all caught up! I hope you're having a wonderful week, full of good things to see and enjoy!

Hugs and kisses,

Success!

The Christmas Dancing Nine Patch quilt is finished! Matter of fact, it is now on our bed. And yes, I know that Christmas has come and gone, but I just don't care. I like it! Buddy inspected it, and it  passed his rigorous examination. 

I was sewing the binding on it yesterday while watching the inauguration. It is the first one I have watched all the way through. Really enjoyed most of it. I hope our country will come together now and start to heal and forgive each other. 

This beautiful lady is our pastor. Last weekend we introduced her to these two little girls belonging to Mr. Muddling's brother and his sweet darling wife. Perhaps you can tell by that look on her face, that it was love at almost first sight. Boo and Bella now live in her house! I've been enjoying her postings to Facebook all week detailing their investigation and conquer of their new domain. So glad they are all happy!

We've had a lot of rain here and it's still pretty soggy outside. Buddy occasionally likes to see what is going on out there, and because he can - he does! I do love this dog!

I've cut back a lot of my outside plants that were damaged in the freeze we had here a couple of weeks ago. There will have to be new additions to the landscape and I'm looking forward to that when the danger of more freezing weather is past.

I hope you're having a lovely weekend full of things that make you happy. I am so thankful for the many things in my life that do that for me!

Hugs and kisses,

Quilt Festival Houston, 2016

Mr. Muddling and I took a little field trip to the George R. Brown Convention Center this morning to take in at least a little bit of the Houston Quilt Festival. It really made me laugh that this was one of the first quilts I saw. The title is, "Make More Qlts - U and I Can Do It!", by Cathy Fussell. I definitely agree!

I have to be real honest and say that the Kaffe Fassett, "Bold Blooms" display was my favorite of all. The quilts and the fabrics from his collective are just always so happy to me, and I like happy!

This one was gorgeous! It's "Leafy Applique", a collaborative effort by a group of expert appliquers here in Houston to realize Kaffe's vision for a traditional applique quilt based on a Bird of Paradise antique quilt.

There were also clotheslines full of exquisite antique children's clothing.

For you hexie fans, this one is called, "Happy Birthday", made by Yumiko Tanaka of Tokyo. She said she made it in gratitude for her husband's healthiness on his 75th birthday. Just stunning!

Also on display were ten of the sections of the 9/11 Victims Memorial Quilt. 

There are so many wonderful things to see, If you ever get a chance to take it in, I strongly recommend you do!

it's another beautiful day here. We have some rain forecast for the next few days, but that's okay - we need it. I hope you're having a really good weekend full of things that make you happy! It's a beautiful world the Lord has given us to enjoy. I'm thankful.

Hugs and kisses,