Orange

I finished another little quilt last night. Orange seemed like the way to go, so orange it was.

I still have LOTS of the little 1 1/2 inch strips sewn into pairs making a 2 1/2 inch square. I used these sewn into sixteen patches alternating with 8 1/2 inch squares of orange batik all set on point and with a four inch border of the same all around, bound with yet more of the orange.

Yes, I put orange on the back, too!

Meanwhile out in the back yard at Muddle Manor, it is still a muddy mess. We have had rain every day. Hopefully it is finished. For the most part, the flowers love it. I still have lots of them in pots, which is probably a good thing!

Buddy does not seem to be terribly impressed.

But the cheering section near my sewing machine say it's great!

I hope you have a cheering section in your world. Mr. Muddling is my greatest encourager. I am so thankful we live a life in one accord. It makes life so much more pleasant!

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

Three Cheers for the Red, White and Blue

I saw this one and just had to make it. So quick and easy and so pretty!

For now it is hanging in the hallway where we can see it every day.

But, it is soft and cuddly and crinkly, so who knows where it may go!

Summer has arrived here in the Land of Muddle, and compared with bitter cold, I'll still choose heat, especially as long as the air conditioner blows cold! I am so happy to see that the angel trumpets have come back. It really looked like they were gone for good, but they are back!  And I know that's not flowers there on the lower right, but I did NEED to buy a little extra fabric!

Buddy says, Yeah, Mom. Sure.

I do like to have fun. I'm sure you've noticed.  I hope you are having fun, too. There are always so many things to make us happy if we look for them!

Happy Mothers Day tomorrow!

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

Things That Make Me Smile

All of the growing,, blooming, flowering pretty things out in our yard make me smile on a daily basis. I love them!

Mr. Muddling's dog, Lady, makes me smile all the time. Last week we gave each of our three dogs a new bone. As you can see, Lady collected all three of them and lined them up on HER bed! She honestly believes every bone that comes into this house belongs to her.

My sister, Sue, gave me chicken themed "sloggers" for Christmas! Can you say perfect!

Those very rare occasions I take a perfect picture. 

I smile at myself most of all. Here you can see I've used fabric selvedges between the fence around the garden and the wire that runs around the top. Two fold purpose. Eventually something will be growing up them, but also to keep my ravenous chickens out of that garden!

Another really big smile came the other day from our sweet neighbors. I had told my friend and fellow quilter Sandy that I really would like one of her husband's paintings.  Shameless begging brought me this beautiful oil painting. I do so love it!

A finished quilt folded in a gift bag and ready to go makes me smile, too!

Sandy says this one makes her think of a field of flowers. That's not a bad name, is it?

This is its backing.

And you know this is my favorite, fresh out of the washer and dryer and all comfy, crinkly and wonderful! It is on its way to the lady for whom it was made. She has had some serious health issues. I hope this will provide some comfort for her. I always like to think of these quilts as being a hug, from me, but also from God!

I hope you are finding lots to smile about in your corner of the world, and that you are also spreading some of those smiles around!

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

Quilt for Healing

I started this quilt for a man in need of complete healing. I'm sorry I cannot give you the name of the quilt pattern. I saw it somewhere online. I don't remember where. I cut most of the pieces for it with my Accuquilt Studio 2. 

I started out just fine,, but suddenly my quilt machine started "skipping a beat". Mr. Muddling and I both tried to figure out what was wrong without success. I put in a call to  Ammon Floyd (my hero more than once) and he diagnosed and has a part on the way!  One of the encoders is going out, but it worked perfectly well enough to finish this quilt! Thank God!

Here it is after quilting and getting the binding on last night.

And this morning in all its crinkly wonderfulness after a run through the washer and dryer.

I do love a quilt fresh out of the dryer, don't you!

I noticed the other day my pretty little clematis was being eaten, and lo and behold the culprit was still right there chewing. Not any more!

Kind of like life in general, isn't it? You're going along all fine and dandy and suddenly you discover that the devourer, that old serpent the devil is trying to destroy part of your life. It pays to be watchful and put a stop to it!

There are so many beautiful things around here, both inside and out that make my heart happy. Even the jasmine I thought had been killed in that freeze is blooming in the midst of dead foliage and putting out new foliage just as fast as it can! Mr. Muddling brought those pretty pink carnations for me this week, and my sweet neighbor gave me those wonderful stargazer lilies. Oh, the heavenly fragrance!

I'm sure you've noticed by now that life is full of both good and bad things. I choose to focus on the good, and I hope you do, too. We'll just trust God to protect us in the bad!

By the way, if you subscribe to my blog posts by email,  google is ending that service in July. You'll just have to check in for yourself from time to time!

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

Edited to add:  I found where I got the picture from which I made the quilt. It is in Becky A. Wright's  Quilts of Love and Valor. I used different measurements, but the pattern is hers!

Just Hanging Around

I finished this one last night. It is for a neighbor who needs a quilt to comfort him, even if he doesn't know it yet.

His prognosis is not the best, and I've tried to put lots of pieces into this quilt that might make him smile. 

It's long and narrow, and so is he. It will also be good to wrap around his shoulders, if he should like to do that.

The backing is this pretty blue batik and the binding is a solid black. I pray it is a blessing to him.

Meanwhile, out in the back yard things are beginning to grow and bloom. Some things have not decided if they are coming back or not. But for the most part it is looking good.

I hope you are having a wonderful Resurrection Day!

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine

Coming Back

After the freeze we had here, it has been interesting and sad all at the same time to see what survived and is coming back, and what didn't. And you can be surprised.  I was!  In the upper left (and I purposely made it small, it is sad to see) is  my jasmine whose fragrant blooms we have enjoyed for years. It really looked totally dead. I  almost  dug it up, but I waited, and, just to the right of its picture, you can see fresh new green leaves coming out in the middle of all those dead ones! Exciting to me. I am so thankful. We are still waiting to see if the angel trumpets come back. There are encouraging signs. Ruthie's Garden on the lower left is starting to green up nicely, and on the lower right is a  spirea we've had a long time. Isn't it gorgeous!  I have seeds started in the greenhouse and more plants ordered we're waiting to receive. Springtime is such a hopeful time of year. So many things seem possible!

I am beginning to think I might someday soon get this maple leaf quilt finished. There are six blocks remaining for me to put together, and then I can start assembling it. Five vertical rows are already sewn together, and that's a pretty good start!

The big news around here is Mr. Muddling made a beautiful cabinet for my Accuquilt Studio cutter and dies. It is wonderful. You may disagree, but I know I have the best husband in the world - for me at least! I am so pleased with this perfect storage and can hardly wait to get in there and start cutting another quilt!

The one maple leaf block is on the wall over the sewing machine. If I don't have one to look at, I may well sew it together wrong!  Above it is the next project in line. I have a lot of units for this one already cut, but there are still plenty more to assemble.

Our temperatures are in the eighties yesterday and today. Hot already, but I prefer that to the cold!

I hope you have lots to encourage you, but if you don't - I'd like to remind you that God loves you and He is still vitally interested in you and your life!

Hugs and kisses,

Elaine