Sunday, October 29, 2017

Thinking Pink!

These are my Pink month offerings!  Onward!!

I am linking to Angela at So Scrappy...please see her blog here, to enjoy all the pink creations going on.


Julie K

Friday, October 27, 2017

Orphan Train!!

 Well, I had a big box of blocks, just saved from projects started and not finished, etc.  I am trying to downsize and consolidate, so I tried to put like blocks together, and want to get these quilts finished and on to new owners to enjoy!  Above, the heart blocks go together, of course!!  Plaids and plains...love these, for sure.
 I found eight 12 inch blocks.  If I can make 4 more blocks, they could make a patient quilt.
 And these bright blocks!  I tried to put these all together, in some cohesive manner...needs more thought and work!!
 I discovered enough 6 inch blocks of various kinds to make a sampler quilt.
 And also, enough 8 inch blocks to make another sampler quilt!  I think this was the Civil War sampler quilt, from some time back... maybe kind of a long time.
 Scattered through out the pile were 4 inch blocks...here.
And three inch blocks!!


So, do I scatter all these blocks throughout a big Orphan Train quilt?  Or...make a series of smaller quilts!??


I have no idea...but the heart are beckoning to me, as hearts always do.




Hugs to all!!


Julie

Thursday, October 26, 2017

The Garden Mystery!

 I have prepped another block for the Garden Mystery, by Jeni Gaston.  Here is where I am so far...it is not looking cohesive for me yet, but I look forward with great anticipation to every block!

 
 Here is some of the embroidery on the leaves...it did not show up well, but there it is.  I like it!!
 I am working on the hand quilting of this quilt...I tried to machine quilt (stipple) the outer border...boy, what a disaster.  It was a mess from the word go!! Every single time I try to machine quilt, this is the outcome.  Makes me really dislike trying it... So, I hand stippled it, and put the binding on.  I still need a bit of hand quilting in the center and the binding sewn down...
I got this one, lonely Spooky block stitched and trimmed...and I trimmed it 1/4 of an inch too short.  Dang it!  I sewed the rest back on and trimmed it again and pressed it down...hopefully it will be lost in the seam allowance.



So onward!!  I had to giggle at all these errors today!!


Hugs, Julie

Friday, October 20, 2017

Featherweight!!

 My nurse friend Mary asked me if anyone would like to purchase her featherweight sewing machine...and I said, "Yes!!  Me!!"  I bought her this week...her name is Bessie, and the thread doilie was made by Mary's mother.  She purrs...she is amazing and lovely.  I could not wait to unpack her, and here she is on the foyer rug!  Bessie was made on August 19th, 1947...and my birthday is on August 19th, too.  Crazy, huh??
There are lots of goodies to go with Bessie on her journey!!!  A manual, feet, bobbins, bulbs, needles!



I am so blessed, and thank you, Mary, for giving me a chance for Bessie first!  She will be and already is well loved, and has a forever home.




Mary also has an amazing Singer Red eye Treadle machine, in an amazing cabinet.  If anyone is interested, please let me know.



Julie

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Think Pink!!

 This pink quilt was pieced in 2014, quilted soon thereafter, bound in 2017, and gifted today!!  For my friend at work with breast cancer; she asked me for a pink quilt, and I am so glad I had this one all ready to give.
 Hurrah!!  I bet I have a few pink strings to make another...Whoop!  Giving sparks my creativity and feels so good.
 How about some pink birds?  This is Pink month, for So Scrappy...Angela selected pink for October, and since pink is my favorite color, it was super fun to play in these scraps!!

http://superscrappy.blogspot.com/2017/10/scraphappy-saturday-parade-of-pink.html



Be sure and stop by Angela's blog and see all the pink creativity going on this month!!


I prepped one more block for Jeni Gaston's Garden Mystery quilt.  Only two more blocks to go, and I will be caught up.




Have a super day, each of you!!



Julie K

Monday, October 16, 2017

Starting two new projects that have been on my mind!!

So...I decided to start two new quilts!!  What a fun time...the start of a new quilt.  It is just great fun, isn't it!?


 This block is from Jeni Gaston's quilt along. It is called the Happy Garden Mystery.  You can find the files below, and it is on Facebook.  It combines piecing and applique, and I have chosen wool to make the blocks.  Four blocks are released so far.


https://www.facebook.com/groups/1164782056918053/




Also, Cheri Payne had a quilt along, "So Spooky".  I decided to do this one too.  You can find the blocks here, on Facebook:  I think I might change that little mouth, to make it a teensy bit scarier!!  There is no pumpkin face on the original pattern, but I wanted one...it reminds me of the pumpkins I used to carve with my precious son.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1653683711549152/





I hatched a plan over the weekend to finish some quilts that have been in the works, and also planned some patients quilts to make from my stash.  I feel really good about thinking this all through, pulling fabrics and ideas together.  Now I just need three solid months with no interruptions from work, meals or house cleaning to accomplish it all.  Anyone know where I can get that?  Haha!!!



A lady at work said she wanted a pink quilt...she has had breast cancer twice...yep!  I will be sure she gets one!!  In fact, I have one already made...so off it will go to her.  That feels just exactly right!!  Thank you, each of you, for your advice and heart felt wisdom about my feelings last post...thank you!





Hugs to all!  Happy Monday!!


Julie






Friday, October 13, 2017

Working, working!

 I have been working at the hospital a ton!  My good friend has open heart surgery, and asked me to be her nurse, so I have been working overtime for her.  She is doing fantastic!!  I felt kind of honored, that she ask me, of all the nurses there...wow!

I did put a border on this little quilt, and I love it!  This is Lori's quilt along...please see here.

http://humblequilts.blogspot.com/2017/10/palmateer-point-linky-party.html



You can see everyone's quilts if you click on the link!!




I started something new...a rail fence variation.  I am just playing with strips at this point, and have quite the little mess going on, LOL!!




*************************A Musing**********************************


I pick out quilts to gift to patients, and one for my nurse friend was no exception.  I have given quite a few quilts to patients over the course of time.  As I went over my collection of quilts I have made over the years, I found myself finding it difficult to part with any of them.  Now I frown at myself over this...but..."This one...Oh, I remember it was my first applique!  OH this one!  I loved using all my mom's and my scraps!  Oh this one...I loved that mystery!"  This is absolutely not OK...it is kind of addictive behavior, if I were diagnosing it as a health care professional!  So, I just picked one at random (Carolina Christmas Mystery from Bonnie Hunter) and gave it to her, and she loved it, and I loved giving it to her!  But....


I think I am going to make specific quilt patterns, of not scraps, but planned fabrics, and plan to give them to patients.  My scrappy quilts are big treasures to me, but I think if I plan ahead and use specific fabrics, maybe the patients will like them better and I will not be so attached to them (because they are not scraps!)  Has my cheese slid completely from my cracker?  Hee!!

On the other hand, when I pass on, all these will probably be sold in a garage sale!  Now there is a slap of reality for ya!




Any thoughts???



Hugs!!

Julie

Monday, October 9, 2017

"You can put lipstick on a pig....but it is still a pig!!"

I quilted with big stitch quilting stitches, completing this quilt from last post.  Tada!  It is bound too, so imagine that...a quilt bound at the same time I finish it.    Now...this for this quilt I can say, I think the quilting added a little something!  But maybe not enough for most folks...it is still pretty scrappy and home made looking...maybe downright ugly!  So that means I love it...hee!!!


It is one of those things..."You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig!"


OINK!!!


Julie

Thursday, October 5, 2017

Mug Rug swap!!!

I was the lucky girl today!!  I participated in a mug rub swap, with the Barrister Block (Randy!); please see here.





This is the darling mug rug I received!  This sweet blogger blogs here:





She was ever so thoughtful.  The striped fabric stands for an EKG, and the heart...well, I am an open heart recovery nurse, so that was perfect, and the pink because it is my favorite, and the red because it symbolized life.  She must have really studied my blog to know all that...I am so thrilled!

Now isn't that a thoughtful thing to do?  Thank you, Homespun Hannah (Danice)!!!  Thank you, Randy, for coordinating the swap!!


Julie

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

A Humble quilt's quilt along!

 Here is my little quilt, for Lori's quilt along. Palmateer Point is the name of this quilt.  Scraps, of course!!


Please see Lori's blog here...she has these fun quilt alongs each year or more often...you just have to check her blog out!

www.humblequilts.blogspot.com


 And here is an older quilt of mine that is just about ready to hand quilt.  Little bitty pieces and wisps of fabric in this one.  It is very home-made looking...SNORT!!!
I am going to quilt the life into it...and then I will love it much better!!  I will figure out something for the muslin strips, too.



Hope you have a great day!!

Julie

Monday, October 2, 2017

Hope and Love

 On this day, when hundreds of people were shot by a crazy guy in Las Vegas...I choose Hope and Love, over despair and hate.  It seems that these two emotions are the exact opposite of what the shooter was feeling.  This is just where I was led today.  I have almost all of these blocks all sewn now, and will be putting the quilt together soon.
I finished the orange blocks for last month, and this month's color is pink.  So pink is coming up!!!


Have a day filled with Hope and Love!

Julie

Sunday, October 1, 2017

Slow stiching Sunday

 Today, I am working on the binding for this quilt.  It was a Primitive Gatherings summer quilt along from a few years back...and of course, I finished it my way.  This was quilted by none other than Tricia Cribbs, the owner of the Turning Twenty pattern company, and it is so dear to me.
Remember when I said I was all caught up on bindings? Not quite!  So this is my slow stitching project for today.  This quilt is very special to me.

I am linking to Kathy, right here!!


https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/


I hope you have a lovely day, and I hope you have a few quiet moments for peaceful, slow stitching for yourself!


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...