Slow stitching...and fast stitching!!

 

Good morning!  I have been working the past three days, so I am glad for a catch up day for laundry, cooking, resting a bit, and cleaning.  AND QUILTING!!!

Above are my latest blocks from Lyn, my dear friend.  These are all going into the California quilt, by Laundry Basket quilts. It was a mystery quilt from this year.  All the quilt pieces were cut out by Lyn, and I am savoring sewing these blocks so much!! 

https://www.laundrybasketquilts.com/blog/mystery-quilt-2020-final/

 

I finished all the blocks for the donation quilt, with Annie!  She has her whole quilt done, done, done!  I am thinking of modifying this just a little bit...my diagonals don't show up too well, close up, due to my fabric choices...I am thinking, thinking!  Watch out world, LOL!  She is thinking again!  When mine is done, I will picture both quilts together...so fun!

These little blocks have been lots of fun for years.  I play with them, make some more stars (4 inches finished, just perfect for using 2.5 inch square centers and using eight 1.5 inch squares.  I have used them in lots of projects!!  Just great fun to make them and play with them, in all kinds of ideas.  

My slow stitching for the day is the binding on this quilt.  I get it out to bind, them something or someone else calls for immediate action.  Today is the day!!  It was made at least 8 years ago.

Strings are so much fun!  I layered a backing fabric, a batting scrap, and then sewed the strings on top.  Using up those little pieces...I love strings just tons, as you probably have guessed over the years!!

************************Nurse's notes*************************

I had a lovely couple as my patients, this last week! From Amarillo, they are farmers, farming 3000 acres of dry land farming.  They grow sorghum and wheat.  Anyway, she was very tired...more tired...just too tired! (her only symptoms) Turns out she had heart valve problems, and traveled the 6 hours to us, to get her heart surgery.  Tricuspid and mitral valves were both repaired!  HURRAH!  She is such a darling beautiful girl...he is such a big strapping Marlboro man type guy, wearing his Stetson and boots all the time.  I just loved caring for them!!!  I called her the Prairie Princess!!

In other nursing news, I stupidly fell totally backwards yesterday, trying to sit down on a rolling stool in my patient room.   I was in a hurry, and flung myself backward, and the stool flew backward and hit the rolling table, which also fell, and I fell hard backwards, hitting a lot of very tender parts of me!  So  loud and crazy, all the staff and docs on the floor came running in the room....oh Lordie.  

I am fine...tender, but fine.  Bruised! So that was my very graceful nursing story of the day...so glad the patient was sedated on the ventilator!!  Just call me Grace...

**********************************************************************

Julie

Mid-month applique update! The Farmhouse Sampler!!

Karen and I are making this sampler, "The Farmhouse Sampler,", by Linen Closet Quilts.  Above is my latest block.  Pinned and prepped, not sewn, but well on the way!  

Please see Karen's blog and her pretty block here:  

https://karen-logcabinquilter.blogspot.com/2020/09/mid-month-update.html

Here is the sampler so far.  I have pretty much used scraps throughout.  I think I will add the yellow circles in the center of the flowers for my latest block, for continuity. 

 And here is the entire quilt!  Keeping the end goal in mind, I decided to go ahead and cut out the diamond pieces for the border.  I am using an old gray uniform...it is the perfect color!!

Hope you are having a lovely, wonderful day!  I have a three hour mandatory class at the hospital this afternoon, so I am glad to get this post done.  

Julie

Progressing, but not much worthy of a picture!!

 I have been sewing and sewing and sewing!!  I have 26 mores seams to sew, and these blocks will be done.  This is Annie's creation, the Northwest x Southwest donation quilt that I have been working on!  I should call it the insomnia quilt, though, because the majority of the quilt has been pieced between the hour of 3 and 5 AM.  Quiet time...meditative time...just good sewing time!!!

Hope you are having a fun time sewing, yourself!  I enjoy hearing about what you are working on, both sewing and non sewing stuff!

Julie

Slow Stitching Sunday

Hello!  A day off, after three days on, at the hospital.  Wild and wonderful hospital days...full of very hard work, some great recoveries and meeting some VERY nice patients and families!  Today is Sunday, a slow stitching day.  I have been appliqueing,  finishing up the last few leaves on this quilt, and it is being sandwiched for hand quilting.   It has been mostly done for ages, now.   I am linking to Kathy, for Slow Sunday Stitching.

https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2020/09/slow-sunday-stitching_13.html

I cut a few masks out.

And actually have a finished one, LOL!

 Made a couple of patriotic caps for the veterans at work.  

And did laundry, mowed  the lawn, walked three miles, cleaned just a little bit, listened to on line church, and napped!  Hurrah!!!  Made a cut lunch (sandwiches). Just a good day!  What did you do today??

Julie

Lot of stuff going on!

See the center of this fun block?  It is Annie's!!!  She designed this quilt, and chose to use this darling Llama fabric as her focus fabric...cute, cute, cute!! More about the donation quilt, Northwest by Southwest, later in the blog!!

I often make a "squishy", meaning, I save all my little trimmings from whatever quilt I am cutting out, and pile them on a backing and batting (but this time, I used a double piece of flannel.)  Spray them with starch, and SQUISH!!  them down with the hot iron.  Then I just sew back and forth over them...cut out whatever shape I want to, and bind it off.  TADA!!  A squishy hot pad, and nothing wasted!!

I finished the tiny masks for the five year olds;  hope they will do.  

Hey, my raccoons scattered some seed for me!  I discovered these cantaloupe plants outside our back fence.  I guess the coons drug the composted cantaloupe innards and seeds and took them back here to munch on, and they planted their own little garden!

Lots of cantaloupe plants!

 Here is where I am with the Northwest x Southwest quilt.  Lots of work in this little bin, LOL!!  Annie is working on hers, too, as you can see on the first picture on this post.  

We made the center of the blocks first.  A 6.5 inch square, surrounded by 3.5 inch connecter squares, making the triangles. ...so that yields the red with white print centered blocks above.  It is fun to use a focus fabric in the center of the squares!!!  I made 30 of them, and those are the center of the squares, already done!  Whoop!!!  FUN!!

************************Nurse's Notes***************************

Dare I say it?  Our covid numbers are going down!!  So we at our highest, we had numbers of over 80 patients in our hospital with covid; now the last number reported was 16, plus 4 persons of interest. (that means we are waiting on the confirmation test to come back)   That includes people who have been in the hospital for months, trying desperately to get well.  One gentleman has been in the hospital for over two months, on the ventilator.  I went to see him, because I was floated to that unit;  he is a contractor, and he is totally with it, just on the vent.  He is so sad...a big guy, wasting away on that blasted ventilator.  I tried to encourage him to keep the faith, to keep on striving to get well, but a tear leaked out and he just shook his head.  Poor baby!  He is only 43 years old.  I called his wife and he got to listen to her talk, and that helped him feel better!  He has a long road ahead of him, but I do think he will survive and get better. 

*****************************************************************************

Hugs to all!

Julie

Announcement!!! The PERFECT charity project!!!

 

I have been trying to make the file something blogger likes for a long time...but please, see these blocks and the entire quilt!  Sorry I cannot make it any better for now...

With 12 inch blocks, an inner border of 1" and an outer border of 4", the quilt measures 70x82.  

I looked up these blocks and they are in the public domain, so would be perfect for any of us to use, making a quilt for someone!  Keep that someone in mind, if you choose to join Annie and me, as we make our fun quilts!!   Annie wants to make her quilt for a young person in need.  I want to make my quilt for a volunteer, who happens to be a veteran.  He heads our parade/float committee, and was a Colonel in the Air Force.  He is getting on in years, and I think he would be surprised and happy to have a quilt, just for him!

Annie designed this quilt, using her EQ program.  I love it!  It goes very fast, and can be cut and executed fast...or slow!!!  So I opted to use what I had in my stash, and I found a (gulp) year 2000 print for the centers of the blocks!  I like it...and added a red and a deep blue print.  And a muslin, too.  

The sky is the limit!  Yellow/blue, red, white and blue, green/purple, scrappy...just lots of fun possibilities!  Make as many or as few blocks as you like.

Thanks, Annie, for this super fun squirrel project!!!

Julie

Bits and bobs! on a Sunday!

Annie and I have been chasing a squirrel!!  You must know I love this inspiration!  Annie is my friend from Vashon Island, but I call it Goat Island, because of her goats.  We are making a quilt, for donation!!  Mine will be a quilt of valor, so I have made all these centers for the blocks.  Hurrah!!!  Annie's quilt will be from a very cute Llama fabric, and scrappy! 

I have been working steadily, too, on our California quilt, sewing pieces each day.  I love it!!  More pictures when I have something to show!

It is the most fun ever to play with fabric scraps!!

Like these fabric scraps, for example.  I saved these 1.5 inch strips forever...well time is a wastin'!  As my daddy used to say.  Time to make these scraps into something!

More caps have arrived!  I got a call from a local lady about 10 pm one night, and she wanted to bring caps by right that minute!  Well I was already in bed, bur we waited up for her, and she brought these pretty caps, above, for the Caps for Caregivers project!!  I love them! Thank you to Diane C!!

Annie and Margaret have been making children's masks.  The need is big, with the kids going back to school, and so these have gone to the basket at work, so the parents who need masks can take some for their children. THANK YOU!!  I have made some, and they have all been taken, so I am making more. These are just the cutest things!  I just might have fabric envy, with such cute fabrics...not really, but they are just darling masks!

 The rest of the pieces for the squirrel quilt, known as "Northwest by Southwest!"  I just love it!  Just need some sewing time.  I am running around catching up on the housework, listening to online church,  and some cooking for the week.  Do you cook ahead, for your week???

Hugs to all!!! Hope you have a super day today!

Julie

A lot of hand work!

At long last, I have finished the binding on this quilt!  I saw a quilt at the Dallas Quilt Show, long ago, maybe 10 years ago, and I came home and drafted my own pattern for it, and made it.  And got it professionally quilted!  And it lingered.....

But now it is finished!!  I am grateful for some hand sewing time...yahoo!!  I sure hope those creases come out; the quilt is relaxing on the guest bed as we speak.  So glad for a finish!

I finished the hand quilting on this summer quilt.  Lots of work in this one...plaid fabric from an old shirt is on the backside.  

I finished sewing this vine down, and prepped more leaves for the vine, too.  Hurrah!

 I hand quilted all the black block borders (say that three times fast!), for this quilt.  So my fingers are sore from all that hand work!!

Hope each of you has a wonderful day today!

Julie

End of month applique update!

I finished two more blocks, quilting along with Cathy.  I am loving this quilt!  It is just so much fun;  it is Mrs. Lincoln's Sampler quilt.  

 My two blocks for the month...rumpled instead of pressed, but done!  Tada!!!

  The following quilters are participating.  We will be showing completed blocks on the 30th of each month!  Take the time to visit them to see their completed monthly blocks!

Karen – Log Cabin Quilter

Cathy – Biglakequilter

Jennie  – Overthehillandrunning

Julie K –  Juliekquilts

Robin –   solsticestudio

Nanette – Doitrightquilter

Jan – Nanette will show her progress on her blog.  \\

Have a great day, everyone!

Julie

Caps and more caps...caps for caregivers!

 Well, these caps are finished and on the way to the hospital. I put them on the old piano until I could package them up, with their label.  Because of all of you, we covered all of my unit for day and night shifts, and also provided caps for the ICU, and now this batch is going to the covid unit on the second floor.  Hurrah!!!  So we did a lot of good!!! I also made caps for our housekeepers, and they seem to like them a lot; matching their uniforms.  They go into covid rooms too, and so need protection to contain their hair. 

Heartfelt thanks for all your hard work and encouragement and love!!!

Julie

Mini of the month for August!!

 Well, this little quilt came into being because I had a bit of stem left over,  all pressed and ready to go.  So...what if I put it in the center of a block, added some scraps of string piecing, and appliqued some leaves on it?  So there you go!  My mini of the month, all because of that little piece of stem left over!!!  Please see all these lovely bloggers, as they too make pretty mini quilts of the month!

Kyle (Timeless Reflections)

Cynthia (Wabi-Sabi Quilts)
Quilting Babcia (Amity Quilter)

Barbara (Quilts, Gravestone and Elusive Ancestors)
Kathy (Kathy's Quilts)
Sandy (My Material Creations) 
Janet (Rogue Quilts)
Barb (Fun with Barb)
Cathy (Big Lake Quilter)
Randy (Barrister's Block

Have a lovely day!

Julie

Working very hard with not too much to show for it!!

I finished the little 1/2 square triangle border for the Autumn quilt.  I liked sewing this border!  I did stay stitch around the edge, because I still have to do a lot of applique in the previous border.

Not pressed yet, but in one piece!  Not sure how far I will go with this quilt, but it is fun to think of what to do for the next border.

We no longer have hospital volunteers, due to the Corona virus. Volunteer work in a hotbed of virus is not healthy for our older volunteers, so the program is suspended for now.  Our volunteers used to make small incisional brace pillows for our patients, so I am making them now for our floor.  They are 11x16 inches, and I ordered a huge box of polyfil to fill them up.  I will try to make 8-10 per week, depending on need, and also depending on when the volunteers come back!  Of interest, the main volunteer pillow maker is 94 years old, and her name is Wadie.  She and I are fast friends!!  She is a doll, and misses her volunteer work.

Progress on the Friendship quilt!  Eight more blocks down!!

 And I am trying to figure out fabrics for a quilt of valor.  I don't have just lots of big pieces of fabric, but I am determined to use what I have...so here I go!  I am going for it, with my friend Annie, who is also making a quilt for a gift to a young person.

Hugs to all!

Julie

The hexagon quilt from 1995

Once upon a time, (in 1995) there was a beautiful nurse, who was sewing bits of cloth together by hand, hexagon shaped, into quilt blocks, like these, while she was on her short lunch break at work.  I was a very young nurse, and very intrigued with what she was doing, and went in to the breakroom and asked her what she was up to!  She explained to me that this was English Paper Piecing.  The next shift that we worked together, she brought me some papers and scraps of fabric.  I was immediately smitten with the whole thing!  Marilyn W. is now a retired nurse, but is still quilting, and 80 years old this year.  She taught me to piece this way, with the tiniest stitches in the world!

Fast forward to 2019.  I had all these blocks done, but was absolutely thinking I would never, ever finish this quilt, so I gave the quilt top to Marilyn, for a gift.  I just knew she would finish the quilt and enjoy it for herself and her family, and was so glad to give it to her.  She loved the gift and thanked me for it, and I was so happy, thinking she would love it, as she taught me how to do this type of quilting.

Move forward in time again to 2020, in the pandemic.  Marilyn took my start, finished the top into a lap quilt, hand quilted it and called me that she had something for me.  I had no idea, but went to her home, and lo and behold, she had finished the quilt and gave it back to me!!!!!!!!!!  I said no, no! That is for you!  She said she needed something to occupy her time while she was in quarantine at home, and she had hand quilted it, and she wanted me to have this quilt back.  OH MY WORD!  IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL!  Not the dated fabrics, or the silly fabric choices I made with my limited fabrics, but her stitches, her time and effort.  She said that she did not know how much longer on earth she would be, so she wanted me to have this back.  Can you believe that???

So the gift of her teaching me, and my gift to her of the quilt top, and then her giving back to me a quilt...wow.  I have been spoiled so much this year, it is incredible!!

Here is the way she finished it.  She must have a bolt of that pink backing fabric, because she has certainly used it in every project she makes.  She sewed the hexies like this on the edge, have you ever seen that technique???  It is so pretty!

And that is the story of the Hexie Quilt from 1995!!

I am making a bit of progress on the autumnal quilt.  Lori at Humble quilts at one time told me to take an element of the center of a quilt and make a border for a quilt...so, following her advice,  I looked at this block, and make the corner flowers and also the leaves and golden center circles motif.  

So there you are!  A bit of stitching done.

 I made some caps like this one, for the young gals...they seem to like the "do-rag" style.  They are super fast to make...

Have a great day, everyone!

Julie

Sunday doings

I received an amazing birthday gift!  A whole quilt, already cut out, using the original fabrics!  It is the California quilt, by Laundry Basket quilts.  WOW!!  This is absolutely amazing...I have never had a quilt in the original designer fabrics.  Binsa!!  thank you!  I am making blocks each day!

https://cobblestonebridgequiltsnthings.blogspot.com/  Please see her blog, as she is doing some amazing things, including a tremendous amount of work for charities.  

Here are all my blocks together for the Farmhouse Sampler.  I like them!!!  20 inch blocks make a quilt come together faster!

Binsa also sent caps, all the way from Australia, for our nurses.  They are just darling! THANK YOU!

A local quilter, Miriam, made this hat, for me...wow!  I get one too?  HOW FUN!!  I love it, thank you!  One for me to keep and wear.

I made these two different styles caps on request, for someone who wanted a pastel one and someone who wanted a patriots cap.

 

I have many more caps cut out and ready to sew.  22 here in this stack.  I cut the elastic also, to be ready to go.

I now have a request to make masks for children, so I will make these this afternoon...school is starting, and one gal at work said she just cannot afford to supply paper masks for her kids over and over, and would I make her masks she could wash?  You bet I will!!  She is our surgical secretary...

Have a great day!

Julie