Design Wall Monday

The March/April issue of Quiltmaker magazine arrived at Muddle Manor the other day.  I always enjoy seeing what other people have made/are making. There was one pattern in here that appealed to me considerably.  I am not great at following patterns, so a lot of the time I don't even try.  I just make

 up my own instructions in my head as I go along.  Muddling, you know?

So, I used my Go! cutter and cut more 6 1/2" half square triangles in light, medium and dark batiks and then cut some 5" circles from Kaffe Fassett, Phillip Jacobs and similar fabrics, and started playing on the design wall.

Yes, that is a china cabinet.  At one time we had a dining room.  But I took it.  This design wall is 4' X 8' and is made from a sheet of foam core bought at Lowe's and covered with thin batting.  I can schlep it around the house since it's not attached to a wall.

I really like how this is coming together. Nothing is sewn yet, but that could change at any moment!

Happy Monday!  Hope yours is going well.

Hugs and kisses,

Blue Day

Blue quilt finished.  These triangles were all cut with the Go! cutter using the 6 1/2" die.  That's Ruthie's dog Ariel there in front.

And I did incorporate more of the blocks into the backing. I like it.

I have this block on the design wall.  It's going to go with a bunch of fat quarters already cut for a stack and slash quilt inspired by the wonderful Wanda over at Exuberant Color. (She's always inspiring me to do something!) The print in the middle of this block does not go with the rest of the fat quarters, but all together they just sort of lacked something and I think this oriental print may be the thing.  We'll see.  In the meantime I am putting together some flannel tumbler blocks that have been sitting around here for far too long.

There were some brownies cooked on Monday.

And also some rolls.  This weather makes me want to bake.  Not helping my waistline!

The real blueness of the day comes from Dinah, Ruthie's so sweet and beautiful kitten who has decided that my recliner would be the perfect spot to use as her litter box.  There are has been scrubbing, shop vacuuming, more scrubbing, deodorizing and now there is a fan blowing in at attempt to dry it.  Not happy.  At all.  

I asked the oh, so clever KarenDianne for advice and she recommended a book that helped when her darling cats had a similar problem.  It's ordered. In the meantime, Dinah is spending quality time with Ruthie.

Let's look at the quilt again.  It's a lot more fun.

I am so thankful for my blogging friends. You inspire, uplift, encourage, entertain and educate me!  

Hugs and kisses,

Double Cherry Slab Pie

This is the picture that led me into making the cherry slab pie yesterday.  Isn't it beautiful?  

This is not my pie.  It's the one I saw in the February edition of Better Homes & Gardens.

I can't even pretend that I made the filling according to the directions.  I was going to, but I couldn't find my dried cherries, so I just used canned pie filling.  Oh, the shame of it. (It was STILL good!)

Anyway, in case you'd like a chance to do it the right way,  here's a link to the Double Cherry Slab Pie video. And if you just want the recipe, here's the link to that.

And publicly, DEB, I did not eat all that pie by myself. I had help.  But I did eat my fair share, that's for sure! LOL

It's a beautiful day here, but still pretty cool (for us).  I've got to get out and about and take care of some errands.  Hope you have a super wonderful day!

Hugs and kisses,

Well, It's Cold

So, turning the oven on and cooking a cherry slab pie seemed like a good idea to me today.

It was.

It really was. I know. I shouldn't have done it.

The other half square triangle quilt top is complete.

I sewed some of the leftover hst's together and will incorporate them into the backing.

Only trouble is, I feel like taking a nap. Too much pie, I guess. ;-)  I'm really thankful that I did not have to go any further than the chicken house in this cold.

I do hope you are behaving better that I did today!

Hugs and kisses,

Half Square Triangle Quilt Complete

I finished the half square triangle quilt over the weekend. I just kept forgetting to get Mr. Muddling to hold it up outside while I took pictures.  We almost waited too long today.

But, since the pictures aren't that great, I'll post more.  That ought to work, huh?

I really like this little lap size quilt.  It is all flannel, front and back.  I quilted it fairly densely, so it should hold up to living here in the land of Muddle.  Since Miss Lady has exercised her pretty white teeth on several of the quilts here, I'm replinishing our supply.

The backing is also flannel.  These two pieces are some I bought a while back and they are nice, heavy flannel.  The brown center stripe is also what I used for sashing on the front.  It came in a box of odds and ends I bought from a seller on ebay.

I played with the blue hst's last night.  Each of these blocks is assembled, but not sewn into a top yet, and that is the sashing I chose there on top.  I started pressing them last night, but only got about half way through.

Today was a doctor visit day for Miss Ru.  Not a bad one, but tiring nonetheless.  I sometimes think the worst part is the waiting.  We got bored and started taking pictures with our phones.  This blog post is about all I've accomplished since getting back home. 

 

I hope you've had a day that was fun and productive!

 

Hugs and kisses,

Half Square Triangles

I've had that little container of half square flannel triangles hanging around for a while. They were already sewn into squares, light and dark. I decided it might be a good time to get them made into something and started playing.

Pretty soon they had grown into a pretty good sized design.

I have the vertical rows sewn together and maybe I can get it the rest of the way sewn today/tonight. I'm liking the scrappiness of it and how easily it goes together.

The triangles were cut with my Go! cutter using the 6 1/2 inch half square triangle die.  As you can see I've already cut a fat quarter bundle into more of those triangles.

I'll  cut these "leftovers" into squares and small strips later.  Hate to waste.  Yes, I do.  This fat quarter bundle was a clearance deal at Connecting Threads.  Love those great buys!

I've been working yet again on organizing fabric.  What a mess it makes to try to make things neat!

Dinah has insisted on giving me her expert assistance.

And it IS starting to look a lot better in there.

It is a beautiful day here, sunny and cool.  The sky is just such a clear blue on these cool winter days.  Makes me smile and thank God!

I hope you're finding plenty where you are to be thankful. 

The world is so full of a number of things I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings.  Robert Louis Stevenson

Hugs and kisses,

Another Saturday Night

We just got word on Thursday that our pastor had been hospitalized.  I started work on a quilt for him.  There were some interruptions (aren't there always?) but by Saturday night I had it ready to quilt.  It was loaded on the frame at 8:30 Saturday night.  I got to bed at 4:30 Sunday morning, but the quilt was completed, washed and in the dryer.  Glory to God.  The background in the collage above is the backing fabric, a Phillip Jacobs design.  Isn't it pretty!  And you KNOW I like those churn dash blocks!

The good news is that he is back at home.  He will have to have some real rest and time for recuperation, but home is surely a good place.  There are lots of love and prayers sewn into this quilt.  I believe he will feel that.  He and his family showed us such love and compassion when we showed up there broken and battered after our sad experience at the church we had attended for nine years.  They will always have a special place in our hearts for that kindness.

And lest you think it never gets cold in Texas, this photo is from a trip my Sweetie took to Dallas this week.  We had frozen bird baths here, but since there is no fountain in our back yard, I don't know if that would have frozen or not. LOL  I'm just glad to be back to our regularly scheduled weather here!

Speaking of Mr. Muddling, he took the quilt out of the dryer this morning (I was asleep) and hung it outside and took pictures of it before taking it to church.  I am definitely keeping him!  

In posting this I'm thinking about Sarah of Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  She and her group of quilters have such a vibrant quilt ministry at their church.  It is amazing how much can be done when there is a will to work.  I hear she's writing a book!

I do love making quilts - the whole process is just so enjoyable to me, and that I can bring happiness to someone with one of my quilts just makes it that much better.

I hope you are doing something that brings you joy!

Hugs and kisses,