A post for the day off!!

HI Y'all! Every day I have off this week, they call me into work...a lot of heart surgeries this week. And other assorted illnesses too. Today? This blissful day off...I slept until dear husband left...seems like I get my best sleep that hour in the morning when he is bustling around getting ready for work, just busy, happy sounds... I did the requisite laundry and cleaning today...and worked on my nine patch/churn dash! The border is where I am at...I have finished sashing all the blocks together, and am sewing one zillion little one inch squares together for the border. I like doing this very much...it just takes a very long time!

**************News Flash!!!!!!!!!!!*******************

Julie S, another nine patch swapper is also making a churn dash/nine patch quilt from her nine patches!! Her quilt is drop dead gorgeous, set on point as a couple of you suggested for my quilt...she sent me a picture, and when I can figure out how to put the picture on the blog, I will!!

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In progress pic....
I received a giant gift today. Linda, another swapper, graciously sent me a metric ton of scraps, in exchange for some primitive muslin I had...I was expecting an envelope of scraps...I received two huge boxes stuffed to the gills with gorgeous fabrics and blocks of all sizes and colors!! You can see I just got barely into the hall when I opened them all over the rug!! And then? I just sat there and bawled!! Happy tears, you know??
Here are the blocks I have found in the boxes so far...
And just look at all these broken dishes blocks!! Just so very pretty, and perfect!!! Thank you, Linda, from the bottom of my heart!!!



I am working again tomorrow..the DFW gang is meeting very near here, and I so wanted to go and play with them...quilting play!! Alas...no one could swap shifts with me...booohoooo!!!



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


The patient? A dapper man, not old, not young...but very sick. He was filling his tank with gas (hey, have you seen how the gas prices just soared up in the last couple of days??)...anyway, another person was there at the service station getting gas too, and witnessed the dapper man go down...hard. He had a cardiac arrest, and hit his head, breaking his occipital arch in his head. Immediate CPR and 911 was underway...and they got him back quickly!! So, here he comes from the ER, intubated, on pressers, the whole nine yards...and we were to do hypothermia protocol (super cooling him to prevent tissue/brain damage). Quick, core probe for temperature, iced saline in his IV, wrap him in the cooling suit, central line placement, art line placement, insulin drip, more pressers, nimbex to paralyze him so he would not shiver and get warm again...and so on, and so on...and so on!!! Outcome? Unknown yet...time will tell...but this is miracle stuff the hospitals are up to these days!!!


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Everyone...have a super great weekend!!

A special occasion...and some musings...and some winners!!

Hi everyone!! I sure hope you had a wonderful weekend!! You may recall the tiny 4 inch star blocks I was playing with, from the 1.5 inch scrap drawer and the 2.5 inch scrap drawer. Here is what I came up with...pretty bright, huh?!!I used just what I had in there...and here it is, a new doll quilt...thanks Lori for inspiring us all with doll quilts!!
And Darcie!!! And Karen!! You both have recently made afghans...out of what you had left over...yarn on hand. I loved that idea, and had to make one too. So, when my dear husband was watching his news program in the evenings this winter, I would sit down with him and put a row or two on this scrappy afghan. I used a ton of yarn...and the afghan is quite heavy, just right for winter. It will take no prizes in a competition, but was so much fun to make!!


*************A Special Occasion*******************


Guess what? I got to go and see Bonnie Hunter...in person!! What a dynamo...she is full of life and energy , and smiles, quite slim and tall and pretty...and so much fun!! Treat yourself...if you can attend a lecture or workshop of hers, please do...you will just love it!! I got her new book Scraps and Thread tales Two...sigh...there are a dozen quilts in there that I just MUST MAKE. I only had a one day window to go...working all the days around when she was here locally...but I loved just going to see her lecture!


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A few musings:

I am just brim full of ideas, and this lecture did not help much...I am floating in quilt ideas!! Too bad I have to work for a living...I could get a lot done if not for that, LOL!!

Ideas:

1. Another plaid quilt like my banner quilt...

2. A row by row quilt, of my own design, influenced by Forest Jane

3. All the quilts in Bonnie's new book!

4. Barters!! I have 3 yards of lovely dark heavy muslin...very dark, for primitive projects, from the quilt shop...do you have a bunch a scraps that you want out of your house? Just e-mail me! Maybe we can barter!!!

****************************Winners!*******************


I cut up all the little pieces of paper with names from all the folks who graciously commented last post...thank you so much all for participating, it is so fun to see who might be reading this!! Random slips were drawn...congratulations to Darlene and to Barb!! Please send me your addresses, and I will mail your books in the AM.


Anyway, lots on my mind lately...how about you?? What are you up to this weekend??

Have a super day!

Julie

After work play time...and a giveaway.

I got home from work, and actually had a little spunk left! So, I made a few tiny stars. These are 4 inch finished, and the scraps are from my 1.5 inch bin and my 2.5 inch bin. I love using scraps like these...this is just great fun to me! A plan? I really don't have one right this second for these blocks!! Remember...any threads you see must be because your glasses are dirty, or that you have not had enough coffee...I of course would NEVER leave threads like that...........SNORT!!
Are you a Thimbleberries girl? I recently acquired this book...it is a really fun book...would you like to have it? Just leave me a comment and I will draw for it on Saturday, 2-19-11.
This one too!! These books are kind of polar opposites...just let me know which one you would like, and I will put you in the drawing.


Have a great week, everyone!!

Julie

Nine patches rule!! And Happy Valentines!!

Hey everyone!! Here are all the nine patch/churn dash blocks...I have selected the sashing fabric, after a wonderful suggestion from Helen in the UK...I tried red first Annie...the red I had kind of took over the blocks...I love red, though! I did, however, want all your nine patch blocks, and a bunch I made too, to show up and shine!! I found this blue...it was from a backing fabric, very wide...leftover, and it seems to work!!
Then I found the Cheddar...is it too much? Pretty bright!! Are the blocks showcased enough?? I like it though...and have a scrappy border planned too.

I have a bunch of these blocks cut...I have to be careful, or I will have a ton of the same blocks, and will not have zig-zags!!


Have a wonderful day, each one of you...I hope you have some sewing time just for you. Happy Valentines to each of you!!


Julie

A finish...full of memories!

Hurrah!!! I received my quilt back from Darcie, after she quilted it with her freehand fancy feathers...the quilting is breathtaking!! I just love it...isn't it incredible how much life is breathed into a quilt with the quilting?? This is a large, bed size quilt, and all the pieces came from my 2 inch square bin, except the white of course. I am really liking the fact that I am making progress on using up my stash, and having some finishes!
See that green polka dot square? That is from my mother...cut by her scissors around 40 years ago...I have quite a few of her squares in this quilt. Most of the yellows were in her stack...and some old dresses and aprons were cut by her for quilts...I inherited these squares. Thank you so much, Mom...this quilt is doubly precious to me. I think of each of these little pieces as old friends, remembering where they came from and what I used them for. Fun!! I have cut the binding, just need to get it on there.
I am finished with all these blocks! I am having a devil of a time figuring out how to set them...what color, I mean...so I will be thinking about that...please help if you have an inkling!
And now for something entirely different! I used to cross stitch...a lot. Not for years, however...but I found a free pattern from somewhere on the Internet, and I used to raise sheep in my youth...so I loved this, and is was fast and fun! I love that each sheep has a different pattern...it was really fun to do...except I had to use a regular needle instead of a cross stitch needle(a blunted one)...that made a little harder!
Please forgive the blurry picture...but lookee, lookee! I received a gorgeous scissor fob from Darlene at Quilting Daze...she is an amazing quilter...and she thought of me!! I am so spoiled...thank you, Darlene!!


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


After prayerful consideration, I have decided to start with the anti thyroid medication to stop this hyperthyroidism. I am getting weaker...usually I sail up the stairs at work instead of the elevator...and I cannot anymore. Muscle weakness is a hallmark of this illness...and I need my strength to care for my patients and just generally live!! Very fuzzy headed and hey, I was a math minor...and cannot even add right now!! That is bad...and blurry vision, etc. Guess who I had as a patient yesterday...a patient with hyperthyroidism!! He is much sicker...because he did not get treatment...so I am starting in with this. I am frightened, because it can lead to liver damage and bone marrow suppression...and I need the immunity that my white blood cells produced in the bone marrow provide...work is an infectious place at the hospital!! But I am praying for all the best...and will do my part by eating well and drinking adequate fluids and taking my meds by the book. Thanks for listening about the hyperthyroid patient!!!



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Our dear son's birthday is tomorrow...25 years old!! Strange...how can that be...and I am so young...LOL!!! Happiest Birthday, darling son...you are the best son anyone could ever wish and hope for!!


Have a great week, all!!!


Julie

civil war blocks, continued...and Hearts for February!

Are you making these blocks? Barbara Brackman is hostessing a Civil War quilt along...one new block every Saturday this year. 52 blocks...hmmm, I need 56 for a 6x7 setting...(Edit!!! Thank you dear Cathy, my math was all screwed up...7x8 would be 56 blocks!! I appreciate you catching that goof!!) I bet I can come up with something! Anyway, I am having such a ball making these blocks!!
Hearts, hearts everywhere!! I was pretty much stuck on hearts, in about 2000...I made tons of heart quilts, large and small. This is by no means all of them...but here are a few. Each has hand quilting on them, as that is what I did then!! So, here is a Valentine's greeting for all of you out there in blog land!
I experiment with my sewing machine, and did a fancy stitch over the seam lines on this one...
I guess this was supposed to be a color wash quilt? I tried to go darkest to lightest...and these fabrics were very much what I had in 1995-2000...flowers, small prints...that is who I was at that time, I guess!
Blues!! blue hearts!!



I am off work today...yahoo! Have done little of anything effective...took a nap even!!! Time to get cracking!!!


Have a super day tomorrow...super bowl Sunday!!


Julie

More blocks done...

HI Y'all....I am still working on the nine patch/churn dash blocks...I have 42 of them done, and that is all the nine patches I have from the swap. I think I will make a few more, to make the quilt a little bit bigger. I love seeing all these fun tiny nine patches from all of you...thank you so much, each one of you!!
I got my husband's quilt back from being quilted!! Millie, a local Texas lady quilted this one for me...thank you so much, Millie!! Dear Husband loved it, and he chose a bright red binding to finish it off...I applied it today, and will finish the hand stitching soon.
All the pieces are one inch finished strips...this used up almost all my reproduction stash, between these two projects.


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

The Pioneer spirit!

It has been really terrible weather here...quite cold, and with a skiff of snow and ice on the freeway's it has been tricky for some to get to work. Many nurses stayed overnight for several nights at the hospital, to ensure that there would be round the clock care for the patients. I salute these ladies!! I feel that these ladies really have gumption...you know, a can do attitude!! Due to some nurses not coming to work, this left us very short...very, very short of staff.


I love to see this spirit in people...dignity, hard work, go the extra mile, self reliance...the Pioneer Spirit!!!


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Have a great day, all!!