Friday, May 27, 2011

OK! I give up!!!

OK! I am finally throwing this away...my last uniform top from nursing school, over 20 years ago. It is gray...and limp...and has the large stain on the front...OK! It is out of here! I think is is funny, though, how long I got to wear this...lace and gathered shoulders and elastic waist...definitely not the scrubs I am currently purchase! I just wore this one Thursday...it was so sad looking, but has lots of memories. Nurses used to have to wear all white, and woe be on the nurse who had a spot on their shoes...now you may ask what in the world does this post have to do about quilting? Nothing....Hee!


Thank you!!!

Carol C.
Linda O.
Merilyn F.
Robert and Marie B.
Jan M.



Thank you so much for participating in the Think Pink project...you all sent the most wonderful pink fabrics for the quilting, breast cancer beating blogger!!! I am getting the box together to send to her...



Have a great weekend, everyone! My heart is still hurting for those people effected by all the tornadoes across the country...Judy of Patchwork times is giving away a quilt to a lucky person who donates to the Red Cross! Way to go, Judy!!




Julie K

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

What is old...is new again! And more thank yous!

More scraps...I made several of these blocks a couple years ago, then they went into a bin...but I am finishing this quilt with scraps, and a setting design I came up with myself. I am sure it is not original, but it is original to me, LOL!! This is an official UFO, everyone...so whoohoo! I am finishing a UFO!!!
So here are the blocks, and then I am piecing a sashing, to make neutral stars in the middle of the sashing...well, I can't explain it, but when the quilt is finished, you will see!



THANK YOU!!

To

Becky R.
and
Terry G.


Thank you for gorgeous pinks to add to the box for our breast cancer survivor...thank you!!!


Have a great day, everyone!!


Julie

Monday, May 23, 2011

Quilters are really the best people...and a catch-up day...again!

HI All! After a marathon of work, I can get back to home and blog and housework and laundry...and quilts! You know how it goes...Above are my Civil War blocks. Most of my blocks had red and blue for some reason, so I mixed it up with some other colors too. I am only 6 blocks behind now...but I will make that up, I hope! I am now using only scraps given to me to make these...and love it!!! Thank you precious friends for those scraps!
This is the current plaid cat! She only needs her black blanket stitching and trimming to size...and a good press! My mom used to tell me "Well pressed is well dressed!"...this little lady is a bit shabby then!
And Lyn's BOM, the Retro Nine-patch! This is the third block I have completed. So, only two blocks behind... I love these blocks! Thank you, Lyn! This is a free BOM and still available...you could catch up easily!



THANK YOU!!!!!


All of you...thank you so much for sending pinks for the box for our quilting, breast cancer surviving, blogging, wonderful lady who makes quilts to raffle for breast cancer...THANK YOU!!

Julie L
Janet O
Sara H
Nancy S
Debi L
Lori D
Regan M
Pamela P


and there are more coming! We are putting together a wonderful package of pink fabrics for this special quilter...thank you for everyone who is participating!!!



Have a great day, everyone!!


Julie

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Quilting with a purpose...or a vengeance?? Hee!

OK, then! Take that, you blue Starry, Starry Night quilt! I have been very anxious to get this all in one piece, and only have the three borders to go. I was kind of worried and anxious about this quilt, because I was running out of blues. Seems strange, huh...I sort my fabrics into color...the fabrics that are not 1930's or 1800's reproductions, or batiks...you know...just miscellaneous blues. So, I used every little piece I had that was not spoken for or in a sorted specialized bin. I was purposefully trying to use all these fabrics up in the blue drawer...and I did! I am glad they are all being used, as some are quite old. I even have a few blue squares leftover. Now I can relax and have fun making the borders!


To make this quilt, I started with 5 inch blue charm squares, and cut more blues from my stash. I used 2.5 inch x 5 inch sashing, and then used 1.5 inch connector corners to make the star points on the sashing. This is a big quilt...big enough for dear hubby to cover up his toes AND his nose!!


Thank you to everyone who is sending some pink fabric for the breast cancer project...I have started a box, and will add to it as fabrics arrive!! Could Mariebeers and Wilma and MarilynMckinnon write me back with an e-mail address, from last post? I seemed to get "no-reply" when I tried to e-mail you back...thank you!



Have a great day, all!!



Julie K

Monday, May 16, 2011

Gifts, quilting, painting, new bloggers...life is BUSY!!

I just got the best mail! Aren't these the MOST GORGEOUS reproduction prints? I love them!! Thank you so much, Lyn, these will be part of my Dear Jane Quilt. These fall into the category of almost too precious to use...do you know what I mean??
On a blog recently, a very nice lady said "one quilter's trash is another quilter's treasure!" Or something like that...I salivated over those scraps when I saw them on that blog...and guess what!? The scraps appeared at my door! I just sat down in the middle of the floor and sorted and loved each piece and planned...and you guessed, had a happy little Boo-hoo right there in the middle of the floor! I think I may be the only person in the world that is so tickled with scraps. Thank you so much, Sharon, thank you, thank you! This makes a few times lately I have been blessed with scraps...my favorite thing, more than even going to the quilt shop on sale day! Thank you to all your generous and giving hearts.


Speaking of generous hearts...I recently heard of a lady who recently had breast cancer. She was very, very ill, had surgery and all kinds of treatments. Then, bad, bad complications too. Did she get angry? Bitter? Feel sorry for herself? Nope! None of these things! You know what she is doing? She is making quilts to raffle to help the Breast Cancer foundation! The most gorgeous quilts, out of all pinks. so guess what? I am going to fill a box with pink fabrics of all kinds and send it to her! If you would like to throw a pink fat quarter in too...just let me know...we are going to inundate this precious lady with pink! I intend to send the box by the end of May, so please, if you are interested, let me know pretty soon. I will reveal the lady, who is a very popular blogger, at the time I send the box.



Speaking of cool bloggers...I recently met a new scrappy blogger!! Her name is Natasha... Please, go and see her work...I expect to see such fun things from her!!! You can visit her here!





On the home front, I have been making curtains for the laundry room...excuse the junk on the right...seems like the more I clean and organize, the more junk I manage to scare up!! I have Joyce's rose candle mat in there...I love it and want to see it every day, and it seems like I do laundry...EVERY DAY, Lol!!I am in the middle of painting this little laundry room...it was the light gray color, but will be a very light, pink, almost white...the paint color is called "antique White".
More paint prep....out with the gray! See my blue painter's tape? I am doing it for real!!


In quilting news for me...I am still working on my Starry, starry night quilt. I decided to make it bigger, to use every last little piece of my blues. Well...snort...the joke was on me! I ran out of my blues...so had to buy a couple fat quarters to finish it up! So, I am still working on it, and maybe can show you more progress tomorrow...it is a vendetta to finish it up now, LOL!



Have a super great day, everyone! Tuck a pink fat quarter in an envelope and send it when you send your bills off...you won't hardly notice the effort at all!!! Let me know and I will let you know where to send the pinks!


Julie

Monday, May 9, 2011

A little doll of a quilt...Thanks Lori!

Hi Everyone!! Above is Lori of Humble Quilts doll quilt that she led many of us on...I so love it! It is hand quilted, in the hanging diamonds that Lori suggested, and it turned out really well. I am trying to make very even, small stitches, and am maybe getting a little better...hurrah! I quilted in white thread to contrast with the dark background...the picture is click-able to see the quilting. Thank you, Lori, for the quilt along!
I am putting all the pieces together for the Starry Starry night quilt...and think I will make it bigger, so it will have a nice drape on the queen sized bed. I love this quilt, it is great fun!!


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

The Hospital:


Our hospital is old, as buildings go these days, in these times. It was built in the early 1950's, and was built on donated land, and all the funds came from community leaders going door to door collecting a dollar here and a dollar there, so that our little town could have a hospital. Now we are a large city...amazing what growth a few years can bring! Anyway...in the hospital where I work, there are old, dark, dungeon like corridors...green linoleum stairways descending into the darkness of the old abandoned basement where surgery was..."haunted" rooms....it is fun to work there and share all the history of births and deaths and amazing things that have happened through the years. We are a big family there, sharing triumphs and sadness...how is it where you work?



Have a great day!


Julie

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

I've got the blues...but they are almost all gone!

Good afternoon, everyone! Some of you may remember that some friends and I exchanged nickel squares around 6 months ago...5 inch squares. I am trying to use them up, and saw this quilt on Joan's blog...so TADA! I am making a Starry, starry night quilt! This will just about finish up my blues, plus use all the blue squares I got from the swap. Stash busting!!I still need to sew all these pieces together, and that will take me a while. This is a bed size quilt...yahoo! The sashing and white cornerstone make the stars...lots of piecing in those, but the blue squares...no piecing! How fun is that!
Ignore the paint on the edges of the window, that needs to come off...but see the orchid blooming again this year! Surviving another year, and actually doing pretty well. I love this color!!


Have a great day, everyone!!



Julie

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Remember my four inch stars that I was feverishly working on? WELL....this quilt is not them! This quilt is another masterpiece by Joyce B., of Arizona. Isn't it just gorgeous? I love the way she chose to set her stars...just so lovely! Joyce also pieces her backs, to match the fronts, to use up her extra fabrics, and to clean up her sewing room, LOL!!!
TADA! Here is the back for her star quilt!! Can you even imagine...I would think that this is a wonderful quilt all in it's own right!!! Pretty, pretty, Joyce, and thank you so much for sharing this quilt with all of us! Joyce recently gifted me with some pieces, some extra hourglass blocks she had made...I am in the process of hoarding them. Hee!!! Now, confess...are you are hoarder too?


I have been cleaning, and cleaning, and tossing out stuff, and sorting out stuff...and I have made some progress!! Here are some empty baskets to prove my progress...and yes, it really feels good to have some space on the shelves!! My little sewing nook is only 4 feet x 6 feet, remember, so I really cannot be a huge fabric stasher...use it up, USE IT UP!! I am really trying, I am!!
Here is my hand quilting on the spool quilt that several of you mentioned...These spools are 3 inch finished, and I hand quilted around each "negative space" piece. It was truly great fun, and thank you all for the inspiration...I wonder how many spool quilts were made around the world???




Everyone, did you see the wedding of the century? I thought it was great fun, I did not watch it, but loved seeing the amazing dress and knowing that the lace was all made by hand...it was gorgeous to me!!


Have a wonderful day, everyone!!!

Julie K.

Hexies, rainbow quilts and plaids!

Good morning to all!!!  Above is a hexagon, for English paper piecing.  My kitten Lucky has discovered them, and decided that they are great...