Working the plan is working!

Good evening, everyone!!!  Day by day, I have been working my plan, of working on one or two projects a day, intensely, then the next day, another project.  It is working, as I am making project on all fronts.  Above it my String quilt.  It is turning into a heart/string conglomeration, but that is the best of all worlds to me!!!

This one is my 100 blocks quilt...I completed four blocks this week, and sewed two rows together.

I sewed together two more blocks for the 1930's  quilt.  

I completed eight blocks for Lyn's quilt.  

So on I go!  I made progress on my other projects too...just nothing blog worthy, LOL!!!

BUT!!!!!!!!!!!  There are squirrels in our midst...those lovely flitting creatures that draw our attention and love!  

AUTUMN quilts are beckoning to us!!!  Stay tuned!!!!!!!!!!

Julie

 

An update!

Hello to everyone!!!  Above...I at last chose a fabric to put my primitive/prim blocks together with.  Although, it is a modern polka dot, and I have used lots of pink in the blocks.  So I am not sure what you call this quilt...modern or prim!!!  Anyway, I am scouting around my stash for an appropriate border.  On I go!

I am making a quilt of valor, and made these blocks, above, for it.  Great fun!

For Rainbow quilts, the color of September is orange...so I made these blocks.  Yummy!

For Lyn's quilt, I made these blocks.  I love them!

My plan of working on a different project each day is working!  Two weeks down...I am delighted with my progress!!!

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

We had another patient, on our very floor, that has been declining from covid for three weeks. Yesterday, we had to put her on the ventilator.  Before this, she screamed and cried "Please save me, don't let me die!"  Cried and cried...  Unvaccinated, obese, and diabetic.  Huge trend here with these fatally ill young people.  The patient is 29, engaged to be married.  It was awful, and the whole event and day almost broke our little nurse taking care of her.   Amy, the nurse, is 25 years old, and she just cried and cried and cried too...and was in the covid room all day, she was exposed to so much, I just pray she does not get sick too.  The patient has a 170 heart rate all day...saturation down to 70 percent on all the support we could give her...and now developed a lung air leak with widened mediastinum.  No way will she survive.  Her lung x-ray is totally whited out...should be black where air is.  

   

I just had nightmares all night about being intubated on the vent, and I could not speak, and no one was in the room to hear me!  Arggh!

Please please, do all you can to protect yourself and your loved ones from this fate.  It is horrific. 

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

Julie

 

An inspiring quilt!!

 This quilt is goat approved, as you can see...I just love this one!!  I thought I would share it for all to admire.  It was made by my friend Annie!  Annie quilts...and rescues goats, among all her other volunteer efforts.  This pattern is available,  

HERE:

Hot Crossed From Pieceful Gathering Quilt Shop in Illinois

Have a lovely day, each of you!!

Julie

A week's worth of effort

I worked my plan, of working on a different project every week...lots of effort into each one!  Above is my Sunday project.  Applique day!!!  These are the final four blocks for my Mrs.  Lincoln's quilt, that I am making with Cathy.  Hurrah!!  

Monday, I worked on strings.  Plaid strings and hearts...and now I have a plan.  I laid everything out, and made these 5 string blocks.  PROGRESS!!!

I could not resist making this little heart quilt, from some of the heart/string blocks.  A plain, drab border seemed best, so the hearts could shine.

These are actually 1930's blocks!!  The flag looks perfect in the finished quilt. A quilt along from 2019, this one had stalled.  No longer stalled, though...I have these blocks completed, and three more cut out.  This is my Tuesday project.

This quilt is so special, near and dear to my heart.  My friend Lyn cut this whole quilt out for me, in the designer's original fabrics, and I am just so in love with it.  I made the above eight 6 inch blocks, that go in the quilt.  It is from Editar Sitar; Laundry Basket Quilts.  This is my Wednesday project.

I purchased a special project box to keep this all together...it is so special to me that I savor it, and save it.  No more saving it for good....must get it done and start enjoying the finished project!  Thank you, Lyn!!

By the way, that is a 1930's influence...saving things that you especially treasure for "good."  We should not do that! Burn the pretty candles, use the good dishes...use it now, for life is short!!!  Make the quilts that are most special to you!

Here is my 100 blocks in 100 days quilt.  I finished five blocks this week...see above.  This is my Thursday project, along with the baby quilt below.

Doggy blocks!!!  A sew along from Sew Fresh Quilts!

Friday is a Quilt of Valor day.  Red, White, and blue squares were cut, and a plan developed.  I feel very called to make a quilt of valor, and make it soon.

The plan is the hardest part for me!!

Friday is also solids day...this quilt is all cut out, just need to continue sewing the blocks. 

Saturday is Rainbow quilt...our friend Angela is our hostess, encouraging us to use our rainbow scraps!  So I made another one of these blocks..  Hurrah!

And now it is back to Sunday, so I will work on applique again!

I am going to get sidetracked, I know that...but it sure has been fun challenging myself to move some projects forward!

Have a lovely day, each of you...

Julie
 

The Grid Girls Mystery Quilt!!!!

Good morning!  Lookee, lookee!!!!  My friend Annie and I finished our mystery quilt!!!  Above is Annie's quilt.  The quilt itself is so warm and lovely...the fabrics were to be chosen from the border fabric.  Perfect work!!!  and great fun to sew on this one together!!

 Here is my quilt...a cool looking quilt.  Both will go to a charity of our choosing.  

I have to say, this was a very well run mystery quilt, on Facebook...next time, I will give fair warning that the clues are up, now that I know about it!!!

My new system is working splendidly, of working intensely on a chosen project each day.  Great fun!!!

More pictures to come, 

Julie

New plans!!!

This is the state of the living room floor at the moment. LOL!  I am trying to work on one project each day of the week.  Let's see how that works out!  I started a string quilt earlier in the year, and here is it.  Plaid strings, and hearts.  I have been busy appliqueing more hearts and neglected to piece more string blocks...this was a good reminder to get busy and piece more strings, so that when the applique is completed, I can sew it all together.  Time well spent making a mess, right?  At least I know what I have got going on!!

More of these blocks were sewn.  Getting closer!!!

OK, well these blocks had little strips sewn to the right side...I don't know why I did that...I am sure it was part of some grand plan.  They are becoming their own little quilt...so there!  Stubborn little blocks, anyway, bless their HEARTS!

 Leaders and enders blocks are continuing.  I love these so much!!!

What kind of messes are you making today?  LOL!  I did vacuum and scrub floors and bathrooms before I let myself play, today...hurrah for me!

Julie

Mystery quilt progress, and solids quilt too!

Good morning, everyone!!!  Hope this finds you doing well!!  I have been diligently working on this mystery quilt, above.  I have all the blocks made...whoop!!!  Just awaiting borders...and I am ready to put them on, soon.  This was very formulaic...a great pattern, and the fabric choices were made ahead of time for you, using the dots on the fabric selvage to guide you.  It was good!!  Harder than you might think to choose fabrics, when you don't know where they will go in the quilt, but then again, I am used to scrappy everything.  I thought the directions were quite terrific!!!  It is from the Grid Girls, on Facebook.  

 I have made more solids blocks, in an attempt to use up my little bin of solid fabrics.  Here I am...these blocks are fun to make!!

On we go!

Julie

Slow stitching Sunday

Good morning to everyone!!!  Above is my long term slow stitching project.  I have hand quilted it, but I am undecided about what to quilt in the flying geese rows.  Any ideas??

I prepped this flower block for my applique quilt, Mrs. Lincoln's quilt.  It is fun to have things all prepped and ready to applique!

 I finished all my alternate blocks for the mystery quilt I am working on!  Hurrah!  I have not trimmed them, because I do not have an appropriate ruler.  Soon I will, though!!!

I am linking to Kathy, here, for Slow Stitching Sundays.  It would be fun for you to go and see what everyone else is stitching on!

Kathy's Quilts: Slow Stitching Sunday (kathysquilts.blogspot.com)

Julie

A mystery quilt!

Hello to everyone!!!  Hope  you are doing great...hot in our neck of the woods, and cold in Australia, where my friend Lyn lives!!  There is a story behind this little angel quilt.  I finished it right before the pandemic hit, and I have had it out, kind of like a guardian angel, ever since.  Well, a couple of weeks ago...it was just GONE!   I had no idea where it was...I looked high and low, and even thought maybe it was taken!  Silly child...it was folded up with some fabric and neatly put away, in a place I would have never though I would put it!!  Whew...I am glad it is not gone.

Anyway!!  So there was a mystery quilt that flashed across Facebook, which has been removed already.  I just happened on to it at the last days of it, so I saved the clues.  The premise was to choose a focus fabric, and have other fabrics light to dark that went with it, using the dots on the selvage of the fabric to help decide what to use.

This was hard for me, as I have very few large pieces of fabric anyway, and none with dots to help me!  SO!!!  I had to go fabric shopping.  I know...poor me.  Feel sorry for me yet?  Well don't, LOL! It was fun!!  I found several potential fabrics, but chose the daisy/blue background/yellow flowered fabric.  I loved it!  I used my coupon at Joann's and got out of there amazingly economically.

I chose fabrics I had at home to go with it...and off to the races I went!

So here is where I am.  I use these throwaway bins from the cardiac cath lab, from my work...recycling them.  It is very much like a Bonnie Hunter Quiltville mystery, but I know the ending of the quilt...and I am ignoring that fact, and just going along clue to clue.  GREAT FUN!!!!!!!!!!

I make pinwheels and other small blocks from cut off corners; do you save these??

 Quiltville is having another leaders and enders challenge, so I am making these blocks in between other ones, as leaders and ender...really trying to do it that way, instead of just sewing all the blocks at once!!

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

It is rough at the hospital.  Rougher because now there are fights between healthcare personnel themselves...the antivaxxers versus the vaccine advocates.  We all have been mandated to get the vaccine by September 10th, or be terminated.  More nurses than you think have not been vaccinated, and they have been protesting at hospitals around the metroplex, against being forced to have the vaccine or be fired.  This is not just my hospital system, but lots of them around the country, and also other entities, too. 

In the meantime, our covid ICU is completely full...plus two whole floors are again full with covid patients, too.  55 last time I worked.  There are no pediatric ICU beds available anywhere in the dfw area.  NONE.  We are shipping kids out via helicopter.

Nurses are being exposed to more and more covid, and the vast majority of these patients are unvaccinated.  Rumors and anger abounds...gossip and anger.  It is very hard to listen to it all, so I don't, mostly.  I love all these nurses and other staff...and sure don't want to lose any over this.  It is just hard...and I refuse to be drawn in to taking a side against any other nurse, regardless of what they believe.   

It just makes it harder to deal with what we are really there for!  To take care of the patients!!!

How is the covid situation in your neck of the woods?    

I thought I was through with covid updates, but I guess not...so I will update our situation when I blog.  

Julie

Hearts and hand-work!!

Happy Sunday!  I am off work today, and have really enjoyed the day.  I got all the laundry done, for one thing, and that always makes me smile.  

I had time to hand applique these hearts, and will link to Kathy, here:

Kathy's Quilts: Slow Sunday Stitching (kathysquilts.blogspot.com)

Speaking of hearts, I had a darling patient at the hospital.  I had no idea I was taking care of another quilter!  When I found out that she was a quilter, we had a lovely talk...actually we talked a lot!  I gave her a gift...and she gave me one too!  Above is her creation, finished in 2004.  It is just perfect!  A pink heart...how could she have known in 2004, that in 2021, she would have a perfect gift, just for me!  LOL!  I truly love it! Thank you, Nell!!!

I made these little purses out of pre-quilted fabric.  Wow!  What a time saver!!!  These will be given to anyone who wants them at work.  I am making nursing caps again, as we had to re-open the Covid ICU.  

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

Covid is so prevalent again in my neck of the woods.  On Monday, we had 13 patients with covid.  On Saturday, we had 63.  Many on the ventilator...this strain makes people sicker, faster.  From 2 liters of oxygen...to 6 liters...to 100% bipap...to the ventilator, all in a day.  It is awful! So far, we have had 300 people die in our little hospital...and 3000+ hospitalized with the virus.  

Our hospital has now mandated vaccines for all staff.  This has created a huge controversy, among the anti-vax people versus the vaccinated people.  If you cannot show proof that you have been vaccinated, they say they will fire you...you have until September!!!    We have several nurses on our floor that have refused vaccine...some are looking for a new job now.  It is so sad, to have this controversy coming between any of us.  I love each and every one of these nurses, and it is just so sad that there is anything like this happening.  

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

Julie

 

End of the month update; mini quilt and applique!

Cathy and I have been making this applique quilt together!!!  Mrs. Lincoln's quilt...you can find the pattern here: 

Lori Smith Quilts: From my heart to your hands

 We are nearing the end of our journey.  Above is my latest applique block, the pineapple.  I have four more applique blocks to complete, and I will have the center together.  Whoop!!!  This feels good to have made some progress!!!

I have run out of the sashing material, so will have to improvise.

 Here is my mini of the month.  It is 2 inch nine patches, leftovers from the pineapple blocks I made earlier in the year.  I used a thin piece of flannel for the batting, and hand quilted it.  I love the soft, drapable texture.  

Please see Wendy's blog here, for lots of of mini quilts!

The Constant Quilter

What a lovely month it has been!!

Julie

Monday!

Happy Monday!!  This modern solids quilt is coming along...lots of blocks cut out,  as is my usual way of doing things.  How can a person not be cheerful with these bright colors under the needle???

 I finished a whole row of the 100 bocks in 100 days sampler.  Now these are just great fun to make!  Quirky, super simple, and pops of color in there!  Hurrah!

Hope you are having a lovely day!

Julie

Sunday, Sunday!

Hello!  How are you doing, each of you?  I am off work today!!!  Hurrah!!!  I have had a lovely day, today...weeding (too hot), laundry...changing sheets...cutting quilt blocks out...and on I go!  I am at this stage  in my leaders and enders project from Bonnie Hunter.  Am I REALLY doing them leader and ender style?  Nope!  LOL!  I am in love with making these little blocks; just great fun!

I had the opportunity to go to the quilt guild!!!!!!!  It was so much fun!!  On the guild sale table, there was a tiny quilt.  It was just exquisite to me.  For the grand sum of a 20.00 donation, I now have this quilt.  It is the best crafted thing I have ever seen!  A true master of her craft made this, and I honor her.

You really cannot see the stitches, but I tried to photograph the back.  Amazing work!

Who is that heifer there?  Well...it might be me!  At the guild, a couple of years ago.  The quilt is Jewel Box...made of scraps.

Have a great day, each of you!!!

Julie
 

There is that math thing again! Love it!

I have been steadily working on these little leader and ender blocks, from Bonnie Hunter, at Quiltville. I am making these little blocks from my 2 1/2 strip bin.   Please see her tutorial here:  

Quiltville's Quips & Snips!!: July 2021 Leader & Ender Challenge: FISH SCHOOL!

She is using 2 inch pieces, I think.  

Well, those squirrels are running amok!  I started the 100 blocks in 100 days challenge.    I am trying to make a modern quilt...someone will like this one, in the future  Please see her post here!

#100Days100Blocks Event Information - GnomeAngel

Ok, so here is where the  math figures in to my post.  Have you ever made a round, bucket type bag?  So how do you figure out the size of the pieces around the bag?

Measure the round part on the bottom.  My model was a 10.25 inch across the middle dinner plate.  

So:  10.25 x pi (3.14) = 32.2, approximately.  Add a seam allowance and there you are!!!  

I loved my geometry class, with Dr. Conner. He was a amazing little man, maybe 5 feet tall, with kind  brown eyes, and a twinkling smile.  I loved how much fun he was, and he helped me love math of all kinds!!!

Julie