What Rhymes with Ruffle?

 Welcome to the last day of the

"Think Ruffles"

bloghop!

Have you been following this from Day 1?

I don't think I've ever seen soooo many things Ruffled,

and every offering has been amazing!

Thank you 

Madame Samm of Sew We Quilt

and

Amy from Sew Incredibly Crazy!

I've played with ruffles in the past. I've made curtains, and doll clothes....

and sweet Maggie patiently sat and posed for one of my pattern covers

many dog years ago....

That was probably the first ruffled collar I'd ever made...

and the last, come to think of it....

My dear Mom inspired so many of the projects I've done since I began blogging,

and even tho she's been gone 6 months...

She is always with me in my heart.

Little did I know the pink ruffled scarf I made for her last Christmas with us,

would be just what I needed today.

Heavens no...that's not all I've got...

those were two special memories I wanted to share.

But now for today...

I thought about a quilt...nope

a doll...uh, no

curtains....nada

Mr.Bob in an Apron....sorry no pin-up of the Spouse...

(tho he volunteered to model again..lol)

I thought about the word

Ruffle...

And words that Rhyme with Ruffle...

My first thought was

Truffle...

And then that made me think of pigs...

Ahh!!!

Pigs in Ruffles looking for Truffles?

Surely I'm not that crazy...

Or Am I?

Hmmm?

So I looked up images of Truffles...ya know...the kind pigs hunt for...

And I never realized how uninspiring...and unattractive they look....

Did you know...pigs in France hunt for black truffles,

while dogs in England hunt for white truffles.

If you live in France or England and this isn't true...

well...

I'll just blame this info on Wikipedia...LOL.

But I digress.....

So.....

Instead of hunting for truffles....

I bring you.....

Simone....

and

Sylvia....

THE SISTERS SNUFFLE......

With their ruffles....

Waiting for their Tea and Truffles....

at....

with their waiter....

Ricky T

(he moonlights as a waiter...but by day...he's a pretty big time quilter...lol)

All together now.....

Lookie look...there's even one little piggy "inside" behind the window...

I'm also into 'little' quilts lately...this one is 9"x10"...NOT that little is faster...

I stopped keeping track of hours after 25....

Yes....

Just maybe I went a little crazy....

But right now...

there's no place I'd rather be!

"Oink"

Thanks for stopping by...and don't forget...

there are

MORE RUFFLERS TODAY

be sure to visit them all!

Today - March 14^th

Thimblemouse and Spouse (tres bien, you are here)

Jane's Quilting

Bear Creek Quilting Company

Ipiece to Mary

The Quilting Queen Online

Miss Priss Quilts

Sew We Quilt

Cluck Cluck....It's Boogie Woogie Time!

Welcome to Day 8 of the 

Black Tie Boogie Blog Hop!

Thanks again to our two chickie-poo's

Madame Samm

of 

and

Vickie

from

They have really given us

something to crow about!

Be sure to visit them and sign up

for a chance to win some

Egg-cellent prizes

from our fine feathered sponsors:

Ok now...time to Boogie...

Let's step it up!

I've got a lot of cluckin' to do!

I was really looking forward to working with

Red Roosters "Black Tie Boogie" fabrics...

alas...

our shipment didn't make it in time.

But fear not!

I won't lay an egg.

Nope, you'll see no egg laying here....

just

"Fresh Eggs"

a really great panel from

Clothworks, designed by Dan DiPaolo.

From two of the blocks I made these sweet little wall hangings.

Some really dear friends of mine will be getting these for Christmas.

(Shhhh...don't tell.)

Repurposed Soda can pulls for hanging....

(okay...the truth...not soda...Woodchuck Amber Hard Cider...my new vice...lol)

I planned to make everything this time around for somebodies Christmas pressie...

and started the next block with intentions of making a little hot pad.

I thought little "Bow Tie" blocks would make a sweet border.

After making 20 of them...they finish 2" btw...

I fell in love...added a bright happy sunflower border.....

 and.... Cluck Cluck!!!!

Merry Christmas to Me!

(am I bad?)

The Spouse and I have been married 35 years...we're planning a new kitchen

(okay we've been planning it for 10 yrs...but no matter...)

so I'm putting this away in my "hope chest"

(shouldn't we all start a new hope chest at least every 35yrs or so?).

Our kitchen will be Black and White with Red and Yellow accents...

How could I NOT keep this?

(Edited...Eegads...the post is "live" but I had to break in...I've been wondering why my little bow-tie blocks just don't look right...they look like spools...and DANG....just Now at 1:04AM I realize I didn't make BOW TIE blocks at all - they are spoolies...hahahahaha....well CLUCK!!!!  

I'll blame it on the 'cider')

What the block should have been

What was that I said about 'no egg laying'? lolol!!!!!

I really love these fabrics

(and yes, we still have panels and yardage available)

Earlier this fall, I made the quilted fabric for a nifty casserole carrier by Atkinsons Designs

My friend Gail put the carrier together...she does great work!

From the left over quilted 'scrap' I made the bottle holder.

I found the free tutorial at Pink Chalk Studios...thank you Kathy!

Aren't those little black Chickies just the cutest?

Looking back it seems I have a thing for

Black and White

with

Red and Yellow

(and NO...it was hard but I did NOT keep this quilt)

Chickens!

I made the quilt for my dear friend Deanna in Idaho after she tragically lost her entire chicken family one night. It just so happened I finished it in time for her birthday 

(one of the few times ever this last decade I was on time for someones birthday...cluck cluck.)

I'm sure she won't mind me sharing the label I made for the back of her quilt...it's just too cute

and it's of course....

Chickens!

While I was hunting for a scrap of black fabric with white chicken wire

(which by the way I never did find - and that's why you don't see it here)

I came across just the perfect surprise....

Lookie Look...

Cluck!

I can't believe this little guy was tucked away in a box!

(I inherited the "box gene" from my Dad...you know the one...

it's that gene that compels you to put things away in a box when you're

cleaning and run out of time to put everything in it's place...

or you've just run OUT of places to put those things...

so they wind up in a box)

I'm embarrassed to admit I don't even remember who gave him to me...

(yikes...I hope they don't read my blog)

But isn't he perfect for this hop?

Oh wait....

he needs a little something

hee hee

Much Better! Cluck!

I hope you've enjoyed your visit...

don't forget to click over to my other feathered friends today...

which reminds me...

the dear Madame chose a "peacock" on day 7....

and now I must show this pic of recent visitors....

They are our neighbors!

We didn't even know they'd moved in. haha

Oh and Wow...

I almost forgot!

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!

In paying homage to our fine feathered fowls for this Blog Hop...

rest assured we couldn't possibly be eating turkey today...

Bob will be bar-b-que-ing Ribs

and making his special French Onion Soup.

Dontcha just love his Apron?

Chickens!!!!

Cluck!

Blessings to all for a very Happy Holiday Season!

Bob and I are very Thankful to call you our Friends!

Lynn ~ The Thimblemouse >"<

Now Flap those Wings and Fly on Over To:

Celtic Thistle Stitches

Crafting 365 Days

Hill Valley Quilter

Thimblemouse & Spouse

Coffee Anyone???

Have you read Saturdays

Sew We Quilt

post?

There's a brand new Blog Hop planned and

You Are Invited to Join in!

Go ahead...click and 

Read All About It Now...

I'll wait...

but don't forget to come back

(if you don't read it first - the rest here

will make no sense...it's ok...go check it out)

Humor?

Moi?

Whatever could that Madame Samm be talking about?

Oh right...I'd forgotten about the
"Pom-kini"

...and the
"All About Me"
Blog Hop...

Must not forget the
Tammy Bag Blog Hop....

What's in YOUR bag these days?
(Zeek gets a little embarrassed when I show his baby pictures)

The Ho Ho Ho Blog Hop

Ok...I see her point...
sometimes I even make myself
Laugh Out Loud
- - - -

I'm so very excited to be part of the

WAKE UP

Crew

for this awesome blog hop coming in January!

Kinda makes me wanna rush right thru the holidays!

Weeeeeeee!

But seriously...
thanks so much to
Madame Samm
and our Cheerleader for this hop...
Carol 
of
Just Let Me Quilt

If you follow !SewWeQuilt! then you are well aware
that Carol is often referred to as:
"that other lady"
"the other one"
"she who retired and can now play and sew all day
while Madame must study and do schoolwork"
(okay...I think I made up that last one...sometimes I just get carried away)

I'm just truly honored to be one of
the "10" mentioned in Mdm's post
What does that mean?
It means I'm playing with some pretty fine company...
but first and foremost, I think it means...
I get to make the coffee!

So stay tuned! Before I forget...
"For the Boys"
continues on Monday with a couple
extra days of fun added on.

I'll be back with my
'boy stuff'
on Nov. 15th.
Don't forget to come back.....

Lynn ~ The Thimblemouse

 November 11^th

Jane's Quilting

Pieces By Polly

how Art you

Selina Quilts  

Upcycled Fabric

BQuiltin Studio

In The Boon Docks

Gemini Stitches

Secretly Stitching

November 12^th

Pig Tales and Quilts

CeLynn's Sunflower Patch

rainbows.bunnies.cupcakes

Devoted Quilter

Desertsky Quilting

Sew Fresh Quilts

Red Letter Quilts

Craft Nurse Quilt

Miss Priss Quilts

 

November 13^th

Dachsies with Moxie

Patchouli Moon Studio

It Seams to Be Sew....

Scrappy n Happy

Loves to Quilt 

Michelle's Romantic Tangle

Factotum of Arts 

Jackie's Art Quilts

Living with purpose

November 14^th

I like to QuiltBlog

Marjorie's Busy Corner

My Fabric Relish

Feathered Nest Studios

Moose Stash Quilting

QuiltnQueen

Grandmama's Stories

Our Busy Little Bunch

Words and Stitches

November 15^th 

Everyone Deserves a Quilt

From This to That 

Monkey Makes Three

Just Quilt It  

Life, Quilts and a Cat too

Thimblemouse and Spouse 

More Stars in Comanche

Sew Incredibly Crazy

Sew We Quilt

WicKeD!

Welcome to the last day of the 

Wicked 3 Blog Hop!

Thank you

Mdm Samm

of

!SewWeQuilt!

and 

Wicked Wendy

of 

Why Knot Kwilt

for brewing up such wickedly good fun!

I have been a little lax in the blogging department

 as of late....

But it's time to dust of the cobwebs

and zoom up my broom....

and show you the happenings...

from my sewing room!

I have had this panel since last Halloween.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays

and yet it seems to take me by surprise every year!

Well...

this year is no different

but I'm so glad I had a chance to make something for this hop.

At least now I have a head start for next year!

Using the panel above

I decided to make placemats.

I think they came out pretty dang cute.

The little hexie mug rugs were made from

a coordinating fabric

and can be found here.

They were made for a dear friend.

(oops...I wonder if she's noticed they haven't arrived yet

 - guess she'll be ready for next year too)

The placemats were easy to make.

My panel blocks were trimmed to approx 15-1/2"x 19".

(Trim yours according to your panel choice)

I centered each block Right Side Up on a large piece of batting.

I added simple border frames - sewing thru the batting as I attached sides, top and bottom.

(see above for the size strips I cut)

As you can see above...sometimes I measure and pre-cut

(first two pictures)

and sometimes I just sew it on and cut later

(yep...that would be the "don't worry" pic)

Once the borders have all been sewn on and pressed...

I square it all up

and run a machine basting stitch around the edge.

This keeps the batting and top fabric together nice and toady tidey.

Now press your top,

then flip it over and center over your backing fabric

With a rotary cutter and ruler, trim backing even with top edges.

(no matter how hard I tried...I couldn't take this pic

without a reflection....

and then...

I got a little silly....)

Ok..just one more...

I just couldn't help myself...

but you have to find humor wherever you can....

Speaking of witch which

I promised Marvin I would share his Halloween picture

Humor

 MeOwHaHa

Ok...back to biz....

The hardest part for me is sewing those openings closed

so that they are nice and straight 

(NO..you are NOT allowed to go back and look at the pic

of the finished mats to see if  my edges are straight...

Unh Unh...Don't Do It!)

So now when I trim as shown above...

I leave a little extra 

(if there is extra to leave)

when I trim near the opening....

It's probably mind over material matter...but I think it helps.

Don't forget the corners!

Now turn Right Side Out and PRESS!

Sew opening closed and quilt as desired.

(well darn...I forgot a close up pic on one finished placemat)

I'm sure you get the idea!

If you're looking for more Halloween Ideas

(you know...for NEXT year...lol)

click here for a really sweet

foundation pieced wallhanging

inspired last year by Ms Midnite.

Thanks for visiting...be sure to visit all the

"Haunts"

Today!

DreamWeaver's Quilts  

My Quilt Infatuation

Just Keep Swimming

Quilts From My Crayon Box

Daisy and Jack

Thimblemouse & Spouse -you r here

Tomorrow's Treasures Today

Why-Knot-Kwilt  (Princess Wicked)

Just Let Me Quilt 

Sew We Quilt (The Queen of Wicked)

Lynn ~ The Thimblemouse

PS...sorry to be a wee bit late in posting...

midnite struck and of course...

I turned into a

ok...

you know I'm making that up...

the truth?

I was almost ready by 10pm...

but dear Spouse kept asking

"WHEN????"

As in When were we going to partake in one of our favorite traditions...

some call it

"Dinner"

LOL