Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Tuesday, and called in to the hospital!

 Well, you can tell what I am doing...trying to choose a border.  Rosie the poodle has rearranged the blocks several times to her liking, so they are a bit crooked...the artist poodle at work, you understand!I just picked out the biggest pieces of plaids I have, and auditioned them...
 This black piece really makes the blocks seem so much brighter!!  I think that is what I will go with.  Hopefully I have enough fabric.  Just wanted to shout out to Kathy...you will recognize some of your strings, (well, all of your strings) in this quilt...I used them all!!  Thank you!  Please click on her her name to see her wonderful blog!
 Another friend, Joan, is working on finished her Crab Apple quilt. Hers is perfectly pieced, flat, wonderful. Well, mine is to the flimsy stage...very flimsy!  I though if I just pulled a little bit on each sashing while piecing, it would make the sashing fit perfectly to the blocks..NOT!  It just served to make each block shaped like a bowl!  and set on point to boot...this poor, poor quilt just never had a fightin' chance!  I did learn from this mistake...really I did!  Click on Joan's name to see how the quilt SHOULD look!
And my heart is so full...I bought this quilt from the Alzheimer's initiative, and Lori of Humble Quilts was the maker.  It is so perfect, and so scrappy, and so fun...it just made me tear up when I saw it.  Lori is almost to $1000.00 in donation quilts.  Pretty cool, huh?  I hung it up so I could see it when I woke this morning.




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

The hospital just called, and needs help desperately.  I am going to go in and help them...4 big surgeries coming, and no nurses...yikes!  A coronary artery bypass, two big lung surgeries, and a complicated laser lead extraction...wonder what I will get??

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See ya...on my way...Have a great day!


Julie

Monday, March 25, 2013

Hand Quilting, and Rainbow offerings in Orange

 Good Monday to everyone!  The color of the month is Orange...so I made some string stars, and of course some broken dishes blocks from the trimmings.  Seems one thing just leads to the other!
 And some more baskets...in orange too.  These are four inches finished.  I still need to hand applique the handles, in a moment of quietness.
And table runner progress!!  On the left are the finished ones, hand quilted...the middle ones are in various stages of progress...and the ones on the right are waiting to be sandwiched and quilted.  I am trying, really trying, to get ahead of Christmas this year!!



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

Very sick, sick patients in our unit this past few days.  Renal failure after surgery, lung failure...codes...all of it happened and so much more.  I am glad that yesterday, most of the patients improved significantly!!  We had one family who were bound and determined to find everything wrong in everything we did...until a very special young nurse took things into her own hands...and had them satisfied at the end of the weekend...great job girlie!!

The new nurses are coming along just fine...treading water at least, in the deep end of the pool of nursing.


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Have a great day, everyone!!

Julie

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Honey Bee blocks

Well, this is one way to put these blocks together...I am undecided about how to proceed.  I do like the criss-cross affect. I have finished laundry, swept and mopped, cleaned mirrors, and vacuumed.  And worked on table runners!!  I am kind of at a loss for what to do next.  I have too many projects in the works and in my head...maybe I need to follow some of y'alls examples and write down all my UFO's and WISP's and PIG's.  Hee!!   Do  you ever run into this, this kind of block?  Not a shut down, but a restlessness when you can't decide where to focus?

I have a quilting day tomorrow!!  With nurse friends of old...yahoo!!  I plan to do hand quilting all day and eat, and chat and have a blast!!!

Hope you have a blast too, whatever you are doing!!!

Julie

Monday, March 18, 2013

Hand quilting, and spring!

 Happy Monday to everyone!  I have not been at the sewing machine for a while...I am in acute withdrawal! We took a road trip, and that is my time to hand quilt while dear husband is driving.  I have quilted around all the center blocks, and now am working on the border.  You really can't see the quilting, but when the quilt is completed, and washed, it will show up more.  Right now the quilt is covered with strings and threads, which I will cut all at once, when the quilting is all done.
 I found some twigs, and a pretty rock, and added some eyes...too much time on my hands (not)!    I do love nature at this time of year...Spring is here!  Flowers are blooming, all the trees have tiny green leaves, and the temperature outside is just perfect.
 The first iris are blooming.
And another peeped out today!!


I played in the dirt, and planted my tomato plants, peppers, and some annual flowers...I love getting dirt under my nails!  Do you like gardening too??


Have a great day, all!!

Julie

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Another pic

 Just another string top...put the borders on today.

Must get going now!!  This is so pretty in person...sorry the pictures are so dark!!

Have a great day, all!

Julie

Cleaning here...how about you?

 Now there are twelve of these blocks.  I have a setting in mind, and will try to work on that today.  Mostly, though, I am cleaning and dusting and organizing today.  Ironing and laundry is already done. Yahoo!
 A few more plaid blocks have been made.  I have 50 more to make.  Luckily, they are so mindless, and go really fast! I love making them...looks a little cacophonous at this point.  If you squint, you can see the rail fence pattern better...at least that is what I tell myself!
Just wanted to show you our new light fixture that dear husband installed.  It is really a pretty thing, much dressier than the old one, and we found it at Costco, of all places!!  A nice change after a thirty year run with the old one.



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

Well, we have a new group of Versant residents starting on our floor...new nurses.  I have not one, but two of them this time.  I sure hope I can do a great job with them...it is hard to slow down and teach sometimes. I am very well aware of this in myself, so am trying extra hard to do a great job.   I am sure you all know what I mean, if you have taught anything.  So I am saying prayers of peace, and learning, and patience with teaching for me and this group of new nurses!  They are coming right into critical care from school, which is hard...kind of like diving in at the deep end of the pool, and not knowing how to swim...hopefully I can help them get a great start!


It is hard when a patient comes in, quite young, code blue...and does not make it due to his own ingestion/ bad habits.  It is harder still when the wife does not know a thing about it...and hard too on the young nurse who is there, supporting the whole family...great job, R...I am so proud of you!!  Prayers for this family...

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Julie

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...