Happy Birthday to Me

No birthday is complete with stash enhancement, and I got a big boost in mine! I always wash fabric before using it, so that was the first step after it arrived. I am fortunate to have clotheslines in the garage to hang things, so no fading outside in the sun.

 

There was also a new red mug added.

 

I totally agree with the sayings on the front and back of this mug!

I am exceptionally blessed in my husband. Mr. Muddling encourages me in all I do, even adding more fabric! Got to love him.

 

I've been playing around with the two inch strips I cut last week from leftover bits and pieces. I found that the Go! Cutter die with the 5 inch long side of the triangle exactly fits those little nine patches to frame them. It's die number 55398, which is a 4 1/2 inch finished quarter square triangle if you're interested. 

 

Nice little stack of them pressed and ready. The fabrics I used for the triangles of both light and dark are from the new acquisitions! Got to put them to work at once.

 

I'm going to make a small table topper of these, and there will still be some left over for "quilt seeds" (thank you for that saying, Wanda!) for another project.

 

I am waiting patiently for my Tin Lizzie to be up and running again. No word yet, but I live in hope!

 

I hope you're having a wonderful time where you are! God is so good to us all.

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

 

 

 

 

Two More Finishes

Mr. Muddling and I took SIX!!! quilts to the USO Lounge last week. This is the last of that bunch.

My friend Sandy pieced the top. I added the borders and quilted it.

 

The backing and the binding are this same brown print.

 

And here it is - all cuddly and crinkly! I think someone will surely enjoy cuddling under this one.

I made this one for our granddaughter. I've sent pictures to her and she is in a hurry to get here to get it!

 

It was a fun and easy quilt to make and I had a lot of fun doing it. The backing is this same gray print from the front and it is bound with Moda Bella Black. (Thank you Thimbleanna!) I have plans to use a lot more of that black, which is a good thing since I bought a bolt!

 

It looks pretty comfortable out on the swing on the patio!

 

The pattern is in this book. Pretty sure there will be more made from this book!

 

In a burst of organization a couple of weeks ago I cut lots of leftover fabrics into 2 inch strips with my Accuquilt Studio 2, a Christmas gift from the wonderful Mr. Muddling. I do love that man!

 

I think I may make a table topper with some of the blues.

 

We had to send off some parts of my longarm for a visit to Utah this morning. It seems that there is no one in the Houston area who services the Tin Lizzie machines. Fortunately the former owners of the quilt shop where we bought it gave us the contact information for a man who can and will work with us.  I  hope I don't go into withdrawal while it's away from home. Meanwhile, I can still make quilt tops and have more ready when it gets back!

 

How's your week going? With all its challenges and opportunities life is still good. I am thankful for mine! And thankful I was able to finish that quilt for our granddaughter before Lizzie quit on me!

 

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

 

Patriotic Rail Fence and Nine Patch

This one is complete and will also go to the local airport USO Lounge. I had some leftover nine patch and rail fence blocks in a project box and those "quilt seeds" as Wanda calls them inspired me to make this one. I had no idea until I looked just now that the original I made was in 2015!

Those of you who have been with me for a while know of our daughter, Miss Ru. Or Ruthie. She had a lot of online friends, one special one Dawn, who lives in London. Dawn has become a very good friend of Mr. Muddling and me, and for Ruthie's birthday this year she sent this stone for Ruthie's Garden. Oh,  how we love it!

I really loved seeing that bee in the pure white Althea, too! 

I finished quilting this queen size quilt last night. It will live here. I'll post more about it later. I am NOT happy that the block in the lower left inside the first inside border is turned the wrong way. Not changing it.

I've made a lot of mistakes in my life. Those I can, I have fixed, but there are some that cannot be fixed. This one could, but it's just not that important to me.

Isn't it good that we don't have to rectify every mistake we've made or to continually beat ourselves up about them? I am so thankful for Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

I hope you're having a wonderful weekend with lots of things to make you happy!

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

Stripes and Nine Patches

This one is quilted and done for the USO! It feels so good to get back to doing what I love.

And such a simple idea worked out well, I think. I had some men's shirting fabric leftovers I ran into while looking for something else. Those turned into the nine patches and I already had the blue and white stripe fabric for in between. Four borders and it is done!

Soft and crinkly and cuddly! I believe it will be a comfort to some service member on their way from here to there.

Speaking of soft and cuddly, look at this gorgeous afghan I received a couple of weeks ago from a dear friend. Of course it's a bit hot now to really enjoy it, but cold weather will be here again, and I am ready!

So many things making me happy out the back yard.

Mr. Muddling's dog, Lady, is absolutely sure of her place in the world. She is such a sweetie!

And because I can't leave you without a little smile - I saw this on Facebook recently and laughed right out loud!

I hope your world is supplying you with lots of good and happy things!

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

Busy busy!

Isn't Buddy's the most innocent face you've seen today? I do love this dog. He makes me laugh, and that is such a good thing!

All the rampantly growing things outside (except the weeds of course)  are making me happy, too! 

My sewing room is a mess, but that is because I am trying to do too many things at the same time. I had such a long spell of not being able to do much of anything that now I seem to want to do it all at once! There are literally three quilts in progress right now. And there might have been some stash enhancement! Crazy, I know.

This quilt top is finished. It looks a lot better in person. I ran across a lot of smaller leftovers of men's shirting fabrics and decided to make nine patches from them. I added that pale blue stripe fabric in between and ended up with a quilt top, after adding a few borders. I'm trying to get another top ready to quilt for the USO, and then I'll quilt both of them.

Mr. Muddling and I dropped off two quilts at the airport for the USO a couple of weeks ago. And they need more.

I am so thankful to be feeling so much better. I can walk quite well now, though I have no plans to run races! It's good to get back to life again.

I hope you are well and happy with plenty of good things happening where you are!

Hugs and kisses,