Wednesday, April 18, 2018

One of my goals for the year is finished!

 I finished it!  The batik, rail fence variation...it is done to the flimsy stage.  Hurrah!!
 I tried to get an outside shot of it, so you could see the pretty colors, but you really can't tell in the picture.
 But the wind was blowing, playing merrily with the edges of the quilt top, and flipping the corners up!
 It is really straight, LOL!  So this quilt was made up of every batik scrap I could find.  I have no other strings or strips of batiks, so that is wonderful to have them all used up.  I did leave the one mistake in the block placement in there...a humility block.  Not that I need to purposefully add one; those blocks seem to appear by themselves in my quilts, LOL!  And you know what?  I am just fine with that!
 I finished my Splendid Sampler last year.  I am really thinking about taking that red border off and replacing it with blue.  Any thoughts for me?
 This is an ancient double wedding ring quilt top.  I had thoughts of hand quilting it...then thought I would give it to a friend...
On closer inspection, I believed it to be quite fragile and it probably had just better stay a quilt top only.  The edges are ruffly and will probably never be "quilted out.".  So I will carefully fold it and refold every few months, and just enjoy it as it is.






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


Death is just hard.  I had a friend in my unit, and neighbor, die this week.  It has been so difficult; a long and arduous struggle.  The widow is all alone.  She is just so dear...and it breaks my heart to see her suffer.  Sometimes being a nurse is just tough!!

***********************************************************



On another note:

I heard some wisdom this week:

"Do not have anything in your home that is not useful, or that you think to be beautiful."  There is so much wisdom is that, I think, as I look around at my cluttery corners!!!



Have a great day!


Julie

21 comments:

Quilting Babcia said...

Death is hard, especially so for the grieving survivors. We just had two close friends of my DH pass away in the last month, both widows are dealing with severe feelings of loss, especially the older one, in her 80s, whose only surviving son has turned to alcohol to cope and is either unwilling or unable to help her through this period. Sadly she is 100 miles from us so we're not able to visit as often as we'd like either. Your batik rail fence is so pretty. I'd like to know how you managed to wrangle every last scrap of batiks into that quilt. Every time I open my bin and piece a top, there is just as much left as when I began, lol!

Elaine Adair said...

I am so sorry you some of your patients must leave this earth - I don't know how you learn to live with such sadness. Perhaps that is why you quilt? To think of other things more pleasant?

I LOVE your Rail Fence - so simple and pure and beautiful - there is some poetry somewhere in this recent post, between simple and pure and beautiful, and sadness and illness.

Elaine Adair

Sherrill said...

So glad you were able to finish YET ANOTHER top (you are such a slug..HAHA). It has been SO WINDY here; not sure how you got that picture. I'm tired of the wind. Losing your life partner is difficult and I can tell you after 5 1/2 yrs it really hasn't gotten any easier. So many times over the years I've SO wished he could be here with me. But I know he wouldn't want to leave paradise.

Julie said...

I love your rail fence, even though I am not really a scrappy person, somehow the richness of batiks does something for scraps. I like the idea of the blue border, the red is good, but the blue would be spectacular. Sorry about the loss.

AnnieO said...

Congrats on your batik finished flimsy! I like the red border but if it bothers you, you should change it. Those borders will fit something else.

Death is hard. One of our elderly patients today lost her husband suddenly a week or two ago when he developed pneumonia and the flu; she took him to the hospital and he died the next day. He was doing fine when we saw him 10 days before.

Kat Scribner said...

Love the batik rail fence. I had to go back a 2nd time to look for the humility block. You always do a smashing job with sashing your projects too. The sampler is lovely, the red border maybe a little harsh for it, but itls all in the eye of the beholder.

Little Penpen said...

The quilts are beautiful! I hand quilted a very fragile quilt before and now I'm afraid to use it because I never want to wash it again. I just know it will fall apart. You are such a good nurse because you still have a tender heart. It's easy to lose that in nursing sometimes.

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

Death is hard, but, sometimes it is a blessing, too. The suffering is over. Lovely double wedding ring quilt top. Maybe if it was quilted 4 layers instead of three layers. Top, underneath solid fabric top, batting then backing. That might give the top some stability. Some spray baste around those edges, to get them as flat as possible. As for the red, yes, red is my favorite color, but, that is a large bit of red. I'd change it to a pop of red, then calming blue border.

Janet O. said...

Losing a longtime companion is a very difficult thing. I watched my MIL and now my Mom deal with the experience with great faith, and involve themselves in good causes. Didn't make them miss their companion any less--just gave them less time to sit alone and think about it. I hope I can follow their example when the time comes.
But as a nurse you see the loss repeatedly. How difficult it must be, especially when it involves those you know personally.
Gorgeous rail fence, Julie. Batiks are so lovely and color-rich to me.
I am a blue lover, so I would vote for the blue border, but red is awfully popular. Nothing wrong with it--just personal preference.

Lori said...

I love that red border!!! You must not if you are contemplating changing it.
Hooray! On your batik top!! It is stunning!!
I can imagine being a nurse is hard.

Rose Marie said...

You go girl! Another ufo done ..... love your rail fence. For your sampler, why not trim the red border down a bit and then add a wider blue border to help ground the centre.

Anonymous said...

I love the batik top but please go in and change the humility block. Humility is not as important as some think. Forget being humble and work on block perfection..ha.

Randy D. said...

I honestly don't know how you do the job you do!! Huge hugs!
I love the rail fence quilt; Forget about humility block business. We aren't perfect.. Nothing is perfect. So to anonymous I say "get over it"
And the red border looks good to me as is!!
Do you need more batiks??? ;-))
hugs,
Randy

Quilter Kathy said...

I know what you mean my friend!
One of my clients experienced a brutal midterm pregnancy loss today... death is so hard.
That's why we need quilting to keep us stitched together!
What about a narrower red border and a wider blue border?

Karen said...

I like the red border but would equally like a blue border. What about a blue border with red cornerstones? Maybe nine patch cornerstones.

Kyle said...

Using up every piece of batik is a award winning accomplishment. And then to have such a lovely quilt with all those bits and pieces is even a bigger winner. Sounds like you might want to explore some other border options before you finish your other quilt. Otherwise, it will always bother you.

Roxanne said...

Maybe a narrow red border and then wider blue border? I like your Splendid Sampler so much—the colors are delightful!

cocoya said...

You go girl! Another ufo done ..... love your rail fence. For your sampler, why not trim the red border down a bit and then add a wider blue border to help ground the centre.
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Gclub

Chookyblue...... said...

great progress on your quilts..sorry to hear about your neighbour.......

Suze said...

I just saw your post about a friend/neighbor being a widow and being lonely. I am 66 years old and have been a widow almost 5 years. I have fibromyalgia and have trouble getting out of the house due to that. Obviously, I am not able to work due to the dis-ease. I wish I could, it would help me immensely to be able to get out and be useful. Anyhow, the stats show that 50% of the women leave their home church and most churches do not have a program for the widows. Luckily, my church does. We have a meeting once a month for ladies who like to attend during the day and a once a month meeting at night. Of course, ladies may attend both meetings if they wish. Some of us have been going since they started. It is a chance to be with other ladies who understand what we are enduring. We cry and we laugh. Three of us started going to lunch after the day meeting. Now we have as many as 15 going out to lunch. We have gotten to know each other better and know the individual stories and struggles. We try to get together once between the monthly meetings to eat and perhaps go to the movies. We try to hit the early afternoon movie to get the senior discount to keep cost as low as possible for everyone since we don't know everyone's financial situation. I try to make as many of those as possible. Only a widow can begin to understand what another widow is truly suffering and then every case is unique. I have met some wonderful ladies. Your friend might check to see if there is some group in your area. The group which I attend is under the umbrella of Stand in the Gap which tends widows, teens, and women getting out of prison. There is also a GriefShare program in churches of many denominations in our area which help people through the grief of the death. I hope she finds some friends to help her through her grief.

الصفوة جروب said...

هل تعانون من الحشرات وكثرتها واضرارها البالغة نقدم لكم افضل شركة لابادة جميع انواع الحشرات بالضمان وهي شركة المثالية لمكافحة الحشرات حيث تقدم اليوم افضل العروض والخدمات بارخص الاسعار بخصم 50% لفترة محدودة

شركة المثالية لمكافحة الحشرات
شركة المثالية لمكافحة الحشرات بالدمام
شركة المثالية لمكافحة الحشرات بالخبر
شركة المثالية لمكافحة الحشرات بالقطيف
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
شركة المثالية لمكافحة الحشرات بالاحساء
شركة المثالية لمكافحة الحشرات بالجبيل
شركة المثالية لمكافحة الحشرات بجدة
___

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