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

 

 

 

Happy Days

Lest you think I always use vintage sewing machines, here is my Janome I've had for years and years. It still has a beautiful blanket stitch and I used it to sew all those string pieced circles to the black background squares.

 

And the really good news is.......my longarm is fixed!!! I am so happy. What a relief.

Ammon Floyd in West Jordan, Utah is my hero! He did troubleshooting over the phone, and took care of getting parts repaired when I sent them to him. Also the wonderful Mr. Muddling who reassembled it when the repaired parts came back home.

God is good!!!

 

You may have heard we had a little rain here last week. This is in front of our house after the rainwater had gone down quite a bit. That dry stuff on the lawn is what had washed up from the street. The really good news is we had no flood damage. Lots of people did though, and it will take time for them to recover.

 

Here in the Land of Muddle there are lots of pretty things to see, including a really tasty doughnut.

 

I hope there are only good things where you live and that you are having lots of fun!

 

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

 

 

 

 

Not Much Happening

First of all, I got a new machine. I love this type machine. I have seen it called a Singer Model 15 clone, and lots of other things. I just call it wonderful! Quiet, beautiful stitch and a big bobbin. What's not to like? This one looks like it was not used a whole lot and it runs like the wind! And isn't it perfect how well it matches my sewing table?

I was still using my sweet little American Beauty here. Same machine, basically. This one just needs a little work, which Mr. Muddling will now have time to give it.

Here you can see the beginnings of some Sisters Choice blocks I've been making.

Here is the completed quilt top hanging out on the patio looking a lot like stained glass. Isn't it pretty? I love how each block is made exactly the same but they all look different depending on your color and intensity choices.

 

Still no word on my longarm parts. Hopefully soon.

 

I now have twenty of these round string blocks made. Not quite halfway to the number I want yet. They are a lot of fun to make, but quite messy, too!

This is Ariel, Miss Ru's beloved dog, still living the good life here at Muddle Manor!

I DO understand why they call these the "Dog Days of Summer"! It is hard to get motivated to do anything that requires much expenditure of energy!

 

I hope you're enjoying at least a few things right now! We all have much for which to be thankful. I know I am!

 

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

 

 

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