A new project and the link!

These blocks are from blockheads 3.  I started them in plaids...and here is the link!  All the patterns are free!!



https://bearcreekquiltingcompany.com/moda-blockheads-iii-2020/



I hope you will join in!!


Julie

A bargain I could not resist!

Ok, well dear husband took me to the quilt shop!!!  OH man...they had an amazing sale!  Some of these were two dollar bundles...some four, some more.  It was so much fun!!!





Julie

Sunday! Dear Jane update!

Good Morning!  Or afternoon...whichever it is.  I am OFF work today, so I don't have to care, LOL!  Above are the latest blocks from my friend, Ann!  She is also working on her Dear Jane quilt.  Aren't they pretty?  I love them!  

I have my block cut out, but not stitched yet.

Here is what Ann wrote to me:  

"Here are the most recent blocks for my resumed Dear Jane Journey .  As you may recall, I'm making them from the bottom row up.  These are from Row L.  The red one was challenging to make.  I originally tried to paper piece it, but the individual pieces (1/4" squares) were so fussy that on my next try I decided to draw pencil lines for stitching each piece - which went better. Your comment in  a previous post indicating that Jane must have pieced hers by hand is no doubt true.  I read that she was an invalid at the time she was making her quilt, so hand piecing may have been easier for her.  I wonder if she also used a pencil to mark her lines.  Given her geometric skills, she may have had that perfect eye, the same way that a few people are gifted with perfect pitch in singing.   Sometimes I wish I had elected to hand piece mine;  hand piecing is very pleasant, and this is NOT a race, right?  Don't want to switch horses (or methods) mid-stream, so will continue with my trusty old Bernina.  Annie"

I have very much enjoyed getting to know Annie, via this blog.

Attachments area

 I am linking to Kathy, for slow stitching Sunday.  I finished the hand stitching on the binding, for this quilt.  I think the blocks are from the first Blockhead quilt along.  I did not make them all, and added some of my own.


Please see Kathy's post here, and link up to share your slow stitching!



https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2020/02/slow-sunday-stitching_16.html

 I used purple for the back.  It is kind of a heavy, canvas feeling material.  It gives the quilt weight for sure!

 This is the perfect size for a hospital bed, so that is where this quilt will go.  We have lots of cancer patients come in for lung surgeries, and they just cannot seem to keep warm.

 This is my second set of blocks to swap with my local group.  I accidentally made a lot more centers than I needed, so...they are added to the block pile.  I am thinking about those blocks in my bin, gifted treasures and some of my own, to make quilts.  Great fun!

 I am still working on the latest Quiltville mystery...here are some more of these little blocks.

And last but not least!  I made a banana bread today, and it was not rising, so....I had forgotten the baking powder!  So about twenty minutes into baking, I remembered...so I took it out of the oven, mixed in the baking powder, said a short little prayer and popped it back into the oven.  It turned out OK, but the baking dish is a bit messy, LOL!!!




ON we go!!



Julie

Happy Valentine's Day!!

 I made this quilt and another one very much like it, long ago.  I took it out for today, Valentine's Day.  It smelled a bit musty, so I washed it and dried it...and it is fresh as a daisy!  I made a big mistake in the rows, but I like it anyway.

And I received some beautiful roses to celebrate the day!


Happy Valentine's Day to you!!!




Julie

I just love strings and scraps!

 I have been whirling away on these little blocks.  I must confess, leaders and enders, as suggested by Bonnie (cakes) Hunter; ( my pet name for Bonnie!), often take center stage and I am off to the races, instead of using them as true leaders and enders.

 I made some more of these blocks, for "Garden Party."

 I started these blocks, out of patriotic/plaid fabrics.  SQUIRREL!!!  Giggle!

 And!  And exciting piece of mail came today!  I received this quilt book, which I just love...but!

I also received this quilt from the author of the book, Diane Knott!!!  I kind of wheeled and dealed for this quilt...she was giving it to charity, along with a few more of her fun quilts, and I asked if I could purchase it instead, because I loved it, and she could put the money toward charity quilts!!  She graciously said yes!! I just love, love, love this quilt.

Diane has a wonderful website, HERE:  https://www.dianedknott.com/


Diane's book is very well written, vibrant and fun.  And her quilts are made from strips!  I love every single project in her book...so if you want one, just click on her website.




Have a quilting sort of day,


Julie

Dear Jane update 02-09-2020

 Hi everyone.  I completed my dear Jane block for today.  I did not even attempt to add the tiny one inch star in the middle of the block.  Here is my third attempt, and I am keeping it!  I think Jane pieced all of her blocks by hand; she must have.

I am just not a great paper piecer.  But at least it is done and sewn into the proper row.



Hope you having a lovely piecing/quilting day!


Julie

Getting colder...

 I got this quilt out of the quilt closet.  This quilt got put in the cupboard for a bad border!  Bad, bad....but I love the blocks!  It was a block of the month, I think over the summer.

 Tiny three inch wool blocks, appliqued, alternating with nine patches.

 It was very fun to make them!  I remember fusing them all down on one long business trip, in my off hours.

 I made and appliqued down a lot more circles for this quilt...it is shaping up!!!

 I made more of these blocks...they are fun, too.

And I found an old picture of a little 17  year old girl, graduating from high school.  She made her own graduation suit, of grey wool, lined with silk.  That little girl is me...





Have a great day!

Julie

Monday musing and sewing!

 It is almost Valentine's Day.  This is my dining room table, with my little heart I recently made, a pillow I embroidered years ago, and a little floral pillow, that I have no recollection of making, but I must have, for here it is.   Lyn gave me the wonderful table runner underneath...I love it!

 I did complete my three mug rugs for February, and they are in the mail to my sisters.

 I made a few more of these blocks, which I entirely adore making!!!

 And these too...just like chips, they are hard to make just one (or eat, as with the chips, eating just one)!

 A lady at the quilt guild tossed these tiny plaid pieces on the "free" table.  I loved them immediately, and wow!  There are a ton of pieces cut like this.  I made a little Dresden plate out of a few, and this unknown quilter had already sewn a string together, maybe for a border?

I love them!!  A zillion at least!!



Hugs to all,


Julie

Progress for today

 I have been playing with this quilt again.  It is based on a quilt by Primitive designs by Lynda.  I have made a lot more circles for this quilt...so on it goes!  I like it!!!

 Scraps rule!!!

And more scraps!!!  It is super fun  and fast to make these blocks.  The blocks need to be set on point, so I am working on the side setting blocks and corners....



Have a great day, each of you!!


Julie

A sigh of relief, and renewal of fun!!

 I have begun Bonnie Hunter's "Garden Party" quilt!  These blocks are just great fun to piece!

Another view...



I have let myself get guilted into and bogged down on working on some things that I really have no interest in finishing...today?  I let that go!  I started this quilt, which I have had kitted up forever, and let 'er rip!!  It was such fun...

I am playing in my scraps and absolutely loving it!!!!  Life is pretty short...let's have fun while we are here!  Scraps are the most fun to me!




Julie

Sidetracked on hankies! and Slow stitching!

 Good morning!  Or good afternoon, depending on where you are.  Above is a mug rug for February.  I still need to hand stitch the applique down.  I am making three of these.

 My husband is cleaning the garage, and wants my few sealed plastic boxes of things out of there.  I have been going through them, and I found my mother's hankies.  She had one in her purse at all times...did your mom use these?  I washed a few of them very carefully...they are gossamer thin and so fragile.

 These are the oldest ones.  Many have hand made lace, and I believe they were my grandmother's, which puts them in the 1890-1920 range.

 These were mine.  I remember the Smoky bear one especially and I think I had something to do with the corner being missing!!!

 Whoops!  Just took a picture of this one, with M, for Marie...my mom's name.

 She had round ones...

 And I found these heart ones, which I believe are newer.

 I found one with a precious verse...

 A hand painted one...

And these, that just scream the 1940's to me!!!


OK, that is my sidetrack for today.  I wonder what will happen to these items that I treasure, when I am gone??


Have a great one!!

Or maybe like this? A different arrangement??

 Well, I was just thinking, and that always gets me in trouble, LOL! 

What if I arranged the blocks into a rainbow type setting?  Any suggestions?  I know that some blocks are placed side by side that should not be...but is this better than yesterday's option?



Have a good sewing day!!


Julie

Progress on this project...as planned!

I have been sewing these tiny blocks since last year. This is one of the continuing projects from last year that I had mentioned.   The plan was to sew some of these blocks every Wednesday, and for the most part, I did that.  It is time to finish it up!!!  So here I am...I have carefully picked up the blocks in order, to sew them together.  It is a pretty large quilt, for being made of four inch blocks!!!

On we go, friendlies!!!

Hugs to all!

Julie

A mysterious package!!!

I received a gorgeous package with these plaid lovelies in it!  Just the thing to make me happy, happy, happy!!  But...there was no return address or name on the return line...

So who sent me this?  Please tell me so I can thank you!!!  THANK YOU!!

Julie

Dear Jane 2020!

 Hello everyone!!  I spent a long time today working on my Dear Jane quilt.  I got to sew one whole row on to the quilt, and some of another is in the works, as you can see.  I can see in the picture that the bright yellow bottom right block will not work...pretty darn yellow there!  Hello!  LOL!  Anyway, I am back to working on this quilt a little every Sunday.

 I am so, so behind on my Cheddarback quilt.  I just don't have enough  minutes in my day to do it all...but this quilt is fun and special and I am determined to catch up.  I love a challenge!

 My latest little blockies.  I love these...only a few more to go before I can sew them all into a top and quilt it!!!  Hurrah!

This is totally not seasonal, but I thought I had lost this little quilt!  I looked everywhere...it was not hanging up where it was supposed to be...where oh where could it be?  Well, it had slid off the hanger and was behind a box in the closet.  Glad to find you, little quilt!!!





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


Yesterday was one of the toughest in my nursing career.  Tough because of the sheer amount of equipment and procedures, as well as the sadness!  Warning!  this is a sad tale...warning, don't read if you don't want to!!  The gentleman had a heart attack, and suffered through two days of horrid chest pain, then finally texted all his kids that he loved them and good bye.  They called 911!!!  and got him to the hospital via ambulance.  Right coronary artery was totally occluded.  He coded in the ER, and again in the emergency cath lab.  Long codes...and those kind are no good for brain function.

So we got him...and he had an impella, a balloon pump, a swan ganz catheter, three sheaths, central line, trans venous pacemaker, ventilator, catheter (with no urine out whatsoever), arms covered with peripheral IV's and all ports in use!!!  He had 17 drips, no kidding.  And then!!  since his kidneys had shut down, the doc put in a dialysis catheter and I had to start dialysis on him, too.  He was maxed out on every drip we have in medical science to get his blood pressure up.


To no avail.  He drifted away, despite all we could possibly do.  What a darling family...daughter was a nurse practitioner, son was a marine, other son a policeman.  Heart wrenching.


No breakfast, lunch or dinner, no potty breaks, nothing I could do but hustle as hard as I have every worked for 14 straight hours (and I can hustle, believe me), to save his life.  He was my age....but I did sneak a cup of coffee in there.

He must have been a darling in life, because the room, hallway and waiting room was jammed with people trying to see him, touch his hand, and let him know he was loved.  Never woke up...pupils were fixed and dilated, no neuro response.

I felt so bad for the family...and I am still have PTSD today, honestly...I will never forget him or that day.  I sang Amazing Grace at the end, and all the family and visitors joined in as we mourned  together.

This is kind of a record for me to remember, so skip the nurse's notes if you are here for strictly quilting content.


**********************************************************\


Julie