Monday, February 23, 2015

Happy Monday!

 Good Morning!!  I worked the weekend, so I am off today.  Had some pretty sick patients at the hospital, and not quite enough of me to go around, LOL!!  So...today is house keeping, and cooking for the week, and of course a little quilting!  Above is a quilt top I made some time (years) ago.  It is made entirely of shirts from the thrift store, except for the border.  Last night, I layered it and pinned it for quilting.  I am in love with Rose Cream batting by Mountain Mist.  It has a wonderful old fashioned drape and needles easily and is so, so soft!!  So that is what I used...and it was on sale one day at Joann's, so I bought three of the batting packages.  I do love their coupons!
 I know you are tired of seeing this quilt, but here it is again.  The top portion is all sewn together, with my changed, my own personal stamp on Jeni's idea. Can't wait to work on the next portions as they come available!!  Go see Jeni's blog...and you can make this quilt too...for free!  She is offering all these fun applique blocks freely for all of us.
Hey, guess what??  I started a new project!!  I know you must be shocked, right?  I love Pumpkin seed blocks, and have been admired Kathy's for years.  so.....I decided to go for it!  I have cut out a zillion red pumpkin seeds, and am appliqueing them onto backgrounds.  This will be the perfect take along project for the busy bag!  Please, oh please go see Kathy's blog if you have never visited...she is a fab quilter!


********************************The Weather...***********************************


Here in Texas, it rains ice balls.  Truly, that is what is falling from the sky!!  Crazy, huh...but what this means is that the electricity is going to be going out.  As the lines and trees get heavier and heavier with ice, inevitably the lines get snapped somewhere along the route.  So...I am trying to do everything I can think of that uses electricity...before it goes out!  So the laundry is done...the vacuuming is done...the dinner is made...and this post...is done!!!


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Have a great Monday, everyone!!

Julie

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Progress!

 I prepped many blocks today, but just two for this project.  I am loving this applique!! It is available here, on Jeni's blog.
A little dinner!  Looks like a Christmas quilt to me...stir fry veggies in Christmas colors!


Have a great day!!

Julie

Monday, February 16, 2015

The making of UFO's...

 In my cleaning today, I found the above little quilt.  I guess I started it sometime in the past, but have no memory of it!!  This, my dear friends, is how UFO's are born.  So....I cut out all the rest of the pieces of a decent sized quilt for it today.  Luckily, I still had some of the red left, in the solids stash.  I have a small box of solids.
And my newest mug rug.  Just using things up here!!

I feel like I am drowning in ideas here.  Must focus, and STOP making UFO"s!!  How about you?  Does your stash and ideas and starts make you feel like saying,"Whoa!!  Too much!"

Julie

Four patches and cleaning

 I am playing in the two inch strips and squares bin today.  It seems that four patches are kind of the rage right now, so I will make a few too!  Some of these are pretty muddy looking, and maybe they will go into their own muddy quilt, LOL!!  I like the jewel toned, pretty ones, though.
 I have been cleaning out my sewing closet!  I found this little package of cut out star blocks, with a sample block attached.  Good girl, Julie!  At least I know what all those little pieces are for...four inch stars.
But below?  All these 2.5 inch squares?  I have no clue.  I know that they were something special, but since I did not make a sample block....back they go into circulation...back into the stash to use!!


This is a four patch quilt I found on Pinterest.  It was pinned from the website:   www.kendigquilts.wordpress.com.  Other than that, no quilter is given credit for it, as the quilt is part of a collection and apparently was not labeled.  I really love it!!  It is just simple and lovely.  The quilting makes it even more special.



Have a great day, each of you!!

Julie


Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Rainbow progress and Slow Stitching!

 I am hand quilting, still, on this quilt.  It goes slowly...quietly...stitch by stitch.  The more quilting I add, the more I love it and want to work on it!  I am linking with Kathy, HERE.
 I am stitching double lines, diagonally through the blocks.  Additionally, I am hand quilting the applique shapes down too.  Maybe this quilt will last for a while!!  The old applique quilts I have seen have the most wear in the shapes themselves.  I have seen some that are quilted through the shapes, and they have survived in better shape, it seems.
I am binding this quilt!!  Are you binding something this month??
 I am  playing with 1/2 square triangles, a gift from Karen at the Log Cabin Quilter. See her blog HERE.  The heart will not be there, just playing here!!
And pink!!  The Rainbow challenge at So Scrappy is pink, for February. See her blog HERE. So I am making some pink blocks!!  Pink makes me happy, for some reason!!






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

The new Patient advocate role is going OK.  Basically, I am looking for trouble and trying to fix the troubles.  Which I love to do...but it wears on me, when there is lots of trouble and no fixing it for some people!! 99% of everyone is so appreciative and happy with our care...and 1% take most of the time and are not ever satisfied.  Some days are just blissful, though, running around helping the nurses, helping the patients with whatever they need, just busy, busy, busy!  I am sure hoping our patient satisfaction is much better...which is hard to fix, because we were in the 90% range to start with! So it goes...

The man with the stroke...went home with home health care, all fixed up.  A WIN!!

Lots of very sick people at the hospital right now, so I am praying for healing for every single one of them!!


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I feel so badly when I cannot reply to comments left from you all.  Please know I appreciate and read and enjoy every comment, but some people are "no reply", so I can't e-mail you back.  So Thank you!!  Megan, Mary Jo...I will start to list people at the end of the blog, so you know I loved your comments.




Have a great day, all!!

Julie

Friday, February 6, 2015

Borders are on!

 Borders are on!!  I have a scrappy binding from leftover blue binding strips ready.
Whoop!!!  This is the second UFO top from last year, all put together. So....NOW what do I do???  I am sure there is something around here I can work on, like a binding!!

Have a great day, everyone!

Julie and Rosie the poodle

Thursday, February 5, 2015

UFO bustin' here...and Binding Blitz winner...and the prize for this month!

 I started these blocks last year, attempting to use up every little bit of my 2.5 inch strips and squares drawer.  This quilt was inspired by Bonnie Hunter's split nine patch blocks.  I thought the square in the middle of the block was interesting, so I added that.  It is all sewn together above!  Can you see my little bobble in the bottom left; the orange piece turned wrong?  A piecing problem!  May have to fix that...or not!
 Another view, awaiting borders here.
 The middle, before the blocks were sew together.
 Anther setting option I played with.
 And another setting option!  These are fun and versatile blocks...thank you, Bonnie Hunter for the inspiration!  I will be pondering the border issue now...
 Threads, anyone?  I made this block with Lisa Bongean, her quilt along for last summer.  The original little quilt has lots and lots of borders.  I brought the block out so I can think about it and decide how to finish it all up.
 One of the Woolen Willow design blocks, all appliqued down.  It is wonky!  And I truly love it.
 This bird is blind!!  I always like birds better when they have their eyes!
Binding Blitz winner!!!  I took a picture of the computer screen for the random number...and it was 13, as you see.  That happens to be Kathy, of Kathy quilts.  Kathy, I will be sending out your prize, the quilt kit, today!!



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


The gentleman came into the hospital, absolutely unable to breath.  Bi pap, lasix, and medications helped him tremendously.  He was unkempt, long hair and beard, long jagged broken finger nails and toe nails, and kinda stinky, frankly.  That is the impression a person got...until you spent a little time with him!!

I noticed on rounds all this about him, and we gave him a really good bed bath and shampoo.  I found out that he used to be an executive engineer long ago, but had a terrible stroke which left him completely paralyzed on one side.  Kinda hard to trim your nails when you can't move your hands!   He lived alone, having no family, desperately wanting to maintain his independence, but struggling to care for himself.  He thanked us quietly, and asked maybe if we could trim his beard.  YEP!!  we sure did, and his hair too.  I snuck in and gave him a mani/pedi too.  IN his quiet way, he told me that he was so embarrassed about coming in looking so bad, and also told me that when he was well, he was the most immaculately groomed man anywhere.   And I bet that was right!

I thought to myself how much better he must feel now!!  And thought on first impressions, what people must have thought, just on first impression.  And how much better it was to dig a little deeper, and find out what a kind and sweet soul he really was.

So lesson of the day for me...maybe that person we glance at and dismiss has a little more to them than meets the eye!!  I was blessed to get to meet and care for this very nice man!


Just for the HIPPA people...no names are mentioned, and no time frame is given.  Just a compilation of thoughts and musings
here about caring for people at my work.

Hey, the picture that snuck in right here?  It is the prize for the February Binding blitz!!  A gradation of reds and pinks for Valentines day, or any day, for that matter!!  15 fat eighths.  So get binding and I will too!



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Have a great day, all!!

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...