Log Cabin Loonies!

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I just love this block...a log cabin variation!  A super fun block.  There are endless possibilities, sewing with a few strips and scraps.

These log cabin blocks are HAND pieced by Els!!  Wow...they are so pretty!  Thank you for sending this email to me, Els!!

Here is a fun log cabin variation, emailed to me from Ella.  Such a fun variation...thank you for the fun block idea, Ella!!

This is a poor picture of a pretty group of fabrics for this weeks gift.  Link up below to be entered in this week's drawing, for Log Cabin Loonies!  Show us your stuff!

Congratulations to the Frog Quilter, who won the fabrics from last Log Cabin Loonies!!

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Julie

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Working on my year's goals

I have added the bottom row on the "Sweet Land of Liberty" quilt, with Lori of Humble Quilts.  This is a Cherie Payne design, but since I did not have a pattern, it has become a rogue quilt!  I had to add one more cabin on the bottom row...one of these days, I would like to live in a log cabin in the big woods, so I just had to add it!  All the piecing is pretty much done.  I still have that big empty spot up on the left, but it will fill in soon, I am hoping.  When the elves come at night, you know...did you ever read that children's book, about the cobbler and the elves?  When the cobbler was asleep, the elves would mend his shoes that were taken in by day. 

Sounds like a good thing to me, except they can work on my quilts!!!

My most productive time is in the mornings, early, so I am really trying to use that time for sewing, along with the housework stuff.

Julie

A quilt top finish

Forgive the streak of sunshine across this finished quilt top...but it is finished!!  Whoop!!  I added some silly things to the border...one fabric just seemed to make it dark and off looking, so scrappy is always the answer to life's questions...maybe?  LOL!!  This one is on my list to get done, and is mostly blocks from Moda Blockheads quiltalong of last year.

I cannot thank you enough, every one who commented on last post.  It really helped, because I was working through Google to fix my comments, which were not coming through to my email.  With each intervention I tried, I could see if what I was doing worked or not, based on your comments coming in.    So I really appreciate you!!  Chantal and Cheryl and many others tried to help, but finally I got it to working...I am not really sure how.  I went to comments and had to add myself to the list of contacts, and then instructed blogger to email comments to that email address.  

Goodness!  I was just about ready to throw in the proverbial towel!!!

If you read some of the comments about how long each of you has been quilting...wow!  What a lot of very experienced and awesome quilters we have!  I am so grateful for each of you!

Julie

Say anything!

If you could please say a word or two, it would help me fix my comments. Tell me how long you have been quilting!!!

I appreciate you!  Thank you!!


Julie

Fall table runner

 Today, I worked on this table runner.  The binding is my fun night time treat, to hand stitch that binding to the back of the quilt.  I think it will look cute with some miniature pumpkins on the runner!

 I went to a quilter's rummage sale today.  It was named a "Fall festival",  and each person who wanted to rented a table for 25 dollars and sold whatever they wanted to.   There were treats and yummy goodies too!  Above is a pencil holder...perfect for my work.

One lady started a conversation with me, and she said...everything on my table is a dollar.  The large piece of fabric is 4 yards, for one dollar...she said she was cleaned out her sewing room and was going to buy more new things with her earnings!


Another lady, a very much older lady, was selling big bundles and kits and yardage and bolts of fabric.  We started talking, and she said that her best friend had died, and her friend's children were throwing out all her quilting supplies, and so the lady went and rescued it and was selling it for the money to help finish some of her deceased friends quilts in progress, for quilting and batting and the like.  Her eyes were so full of tears, and I just hugged her tight, and said thank you for being such a lovely friend.  She told me she loved me!!  What a sweet lady, don't you think???  She had lots of bundles of plaids, so I purchased some of those.





Julie

Dearest Boy update

I finished our latest block for the quilt along, "Dearest Boy"  I do love this block!  I tried to follow the directions, but I was not clear with them, so went out on my own and pieced it my own way.  I like it!!  Oops!  Just noticed the plaid light yellow is going two different directions in the blocks.

 I tend to organize my projects into these leftover bins from the hospital cath. lab.  Every project has a unique bin.

I thought it might be fun to see all the blocks together.  None are trimmed yet.  I love the goose block the very best!!



Please see the quilter's below to see their progress!

Karen:  Log Cabin Quilter

Cathy:  Big Lake Quilter
Julie:  Juliekquilts (me)
Carole: Wheels on the Warrandyte bus

Doreen:  Aunt Reen's Place

Julie

Fall has arrived!

 Good morning, everyone!!  I have been working on a little fall table runner.  I have five blocks planned, and here are the first four.  Love those thrift store plaid shirts, for that is what the block centers are cut from.

Just playing with the waste triangles, again.


Scraps rule!!!


Have a super day, each of you!!!  Each of you is vital and important in our world...I appreciate you!




No Log Cabin Loonies this week...but stay tuned on the following Tuesday!  Work, work, work!


Julie

Question???

I went into my email and tried to reply to everyone's sweet comments from yesterday and not one went to my email.


What is up with that??  I thought that was all fixed??




Anyway...Thank you to everyone!!!  Have a wonderful day!!!




Julie

Strings are the best thing ever!!! Aren't they??

 I sandwiched this top today.  I am not using a batting, because the strings are piecing on muslin, so technically there ARE three layers...so I will let you know how that goes with the quilting!!

This was pieced from one bag of strings.  Anything goes in this one!  I just love working with strips of fabric; just makes me happy.  I pieced the leaves from strings, too.  How much more fun could it be!!!??  This is one I can work on in the car...quilting in zig-zags, following the string pieces.

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

I thank you, each of you, for your sweetness and understanding of my last post.  I was pretty discouraged, because I have put my heart and soul into my nursing, day by day, for the last thirty years.  I really love and care for these patients!!  I think the topping of that day was when, after 12 hours of trying to "love that patient into submission!", and him hitting and kicking me and others at will....he called me a "loud-mouth bitch."  Excuse my language, but that is what really hurt my feelings.  I was shocked, because I am soft spoken and used every skill I had to take care of him.  So...that is why I posted that...

I also know that I need to be not sensitive at all to this kind of thing...but I am, after so many years.  I am still not a tough battle-axe nurse!

This is my weblog, and I will probably delete this in the future...because I don't want to remember that, LOL!!

But you know what?  Yesterday, I had the most amazing patient.  Really, really sick...I got her breathing tube out (extubated), and she was just a darling, and her family hugged me and thanked me profusely for every little ordinary thing I did for them.  

I thank dear Jesus for those days...still hard days of work, don't get me wrong, but so rewarding with the progress and love from my patients.

So thanks for listening!

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Julie

Log Cabin Loonies!!

Log Cabin Lunacy!!!  I found the above quilt, courtesy of Yahoo images.  Isn't it so pretty???  I continue to love the versatility of this block, and the lovely quilts that are being created.  I try really hard to find out who made each quilt, but could not find out who made this one...but I salute your creativity, dear quilter!

This is the gift from me, for this week.  So please link up below, and show us what you have been up to, Log Cabin Loonies!!!

Our winner from last week is Alycia, from Colorado.  I will send an email to you, and please send me your snail mail address.

Nurse's Notes!

I am a day late...and a dollar short, as my daddy would have said; having missed my usual Tuesday post for Log Cabin Loonies.  I worked yesterday.  It was dreadful from morning until night.  I had a very difficult confused, abusive, combative,  and mean patient, and got hit more than once.  I am sore all over and am SO glad to off today!!!  Just a day in the life of a nurse, but one I would rather not repeat any time soon...

Link up below!!!

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Cutting and cutting and cutting!!

 This is a ton of squares, cut by me for the Rainbow quilt challenge, that Angela so nicely facilitates each year.  I have an idea, which I will show you when it comes to fruition.



http://superscrappy.blogspot.com/



Please go see what she has going on!!

 While I was cleaning today, I found a bunch of pieces and parts of blocks; more than enough for a quilt.  So...do you like this center?

 or this center?

Or just a plain center??!



I would love to know what you think!  I have a colorful sashing planned.





Julie

Slow Sunday stitching

I hand appliqued the borders on these round blocks today, while watching TV, quietly.  It was quite relaxing, and I understand the importance of doing this often...so I am linking to Kathy!  and to Cynthia!

Please see their blogs here:

Cynthia is at:  

https://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com/


Kathy is at:

https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/




Have a super day, each of you!



Julie

15minute increments work!

 I found this block, made long ago, in my red, white and blue box of fabrics.  In my quilting past, I wanted to make the most difficult and challenging blocks there were, so I did!  Not so much anymore; been there and done that, but I still like this block!


The reason that I mentioned 15 minute increments, is that I work well that way.  Run around with a movie to listen to, or music on, and clean, clean, clean for 15 minutes, making it fun!!  Then plop down and sew, sew, sew for 15 minutes!  Rinse and repeat.  It works great for me, and I get a lot done this way.

 I also found this block.  I need to finish these blocks!

 I was making flower blocks, to go in the birdie quilt, but I made them a tiny bit too small!!  OH well...I will use them somewhere, LOL!

 These are pinwheels leftover from the medallion center I made a couple of days ago.  Just can't throw anything away, I guess. m These are 5 inch finished.

 A little tiny mug rug was also made, from little bitty leftovers.

 I made these, planning another quilt...but it just didn't look right for the project I planned, so I have a bunch of these blocks now, waiting for an opportunity to be in a quilt; they will find their proper place!  Funny how large they look to me...these are made from 2.5 inch squares.

Just playing, here!

I made some banana bread, from Bonnie's' recipe.  Bonnie-cakes, to me!  Please see the recipe here!




http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2007/10/banana-bread-recipe.html



Take a look at her free quilt patterns and she even has quick download patterns for purchase now!!  Love Quiltville!!





Julie

Log Cabin Loonies!!

 Squirrel!  I love this term, by the way...who came up with that; describing going off on a tangent with our quilt making?  It perfectly describes how I go along with my quilting, LOL!!  I took out this quilt, that I started about maybe a year ago...Love this one!  I can just imagine a big quilt, made from these blocks, on a wood frame bed in a cabin in the woods.  That is a dream of mine!!

 I have lots done, and lots cut out, and lots of just strips cut, also!!!

 These blocks are from 1 1/4 inch wide strips.  Here are the measurements for the logs, if anyone is interested.

Here is the prize for next week...fat quarters of these fabrics.  I think they are modern and pretty!





Congratulations to Mary R!  She is our winner from last week.


Please link up below and show us your lunacy!  (I mean...log cabin blocks....Hahahaha!)





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Hugs to all,


Julie

Working on this right at the moment...

 My hospital quilt group, of which I am the only one left working at the hospital, is making the quilt below.  Here is my center block.  These quilts are to be donated to a veteran's group.

I am a little in love with this pattern!  So versatile and fun...you can make it bigger or smaller...I just love it.  I am cutting pieces out for the rest of the quilt this week.



Log Cabin loonies is coming up!


Julie

Tweet tweet!

So I laid out all my finished birdie blocks, and found that I was missing the colors red and teal.  So?  I made these blocks today.  I have included all the colors of the rainbow, but I would like the quilt to be at lap sized quilt, so  I guess I will continue to make a few more.

Have a super day, each of you!!

Julie

Dearest Boy update

This is the latest block for the quilt Dearest Boy, the wonderful quilt along quilt, that the below quilters are working on.  Here is my latest block. 

Challenges for this block include...well...everything, LOL!  The pattern pieces in the pattern were not a perfect size to obtain the required block, at least for me, in my pattern...so after a couple of attempts,  I drafted my own pattern and pieced it.  It is far from perfect, and I may redo it...maybe not, though.  I learned a lot making it...drafting this pattern was not so easy, as I got out my protractor and compass and cut out pieces and sewed them together the best I possibly could.    I kind of like the block's wonky humility.  Next time, I will make all the spikes the same color, instead of yellow and red, though.  I had a vision, just for a tiny moment, of a whole quilt of these blocks...then I shook that off, LOL!!

I know Cathy and also Karen appliqued their blocks, instead of piecing, and the original block looks to be applique as well.  

Please see the blogs below to admire their blocks!!!

Karen:  Log Cabin Quilter

Cathy:  Big Lake Quilter
Julie:  Juliekquilts (me)

Carole: Wheels on the Warrandyte bus
Doreen:  Aunt Reen's Place

Time is marching on

I love this quilt.  I made it a long, long time ago, from a pattern by Shar Jorgensen.  I made a small quilt, hoping to save the pattern for a time when I could make a big quilt, because at that time,  I did not have the fabric to make a big one.

The day is here!  I cut up a ton of scraps, to make a bed sized quilt, from this idea.  I cut a bunch of pieces out yesterday, and find it amusing to see the difference of what is in my stash now, compared to back then. Most of the above scraps are reproductions.  Most of the scraps I have now are brighter. So the quilt will look quite different!!

I am feeling some time pressure in my life.  One thing is to get my home DE cluttered and cleaned out.    Maybe it is just my age, but I am feeling a very strong push to get quilts cut out, and prepared for the day when I cannot stand and cut pieces out anymore.  Also, to use up every scrap!!! I am not sure about why I am feeling such pressure...but I am going with it!!  Do any of you feel this way??

Have a super day!!

Julie 

Whoopsie!

 Whoops!  I forgot the picture of this week's Log Cabin Loonie's gift.  It is this jelly roll, by Sandy Gervais.  It is so pretty to me!  Unfortunately, I just admired it, and looked at it, and looked at it...

 and it is time for someone to use it!!!  So this is the gift for this week.

 I cut a few more flowers from the garden, for the kitchen table.  The sun was shining right on them, and I thought it to be a lovely image...so here you go!!




********************Watch out below...not for the faint of heart...a little sad!*************************

This little guy was in among the leaves on the porch, that I was sweeping.  He was already gone, but I just hated to sweep him up and discard him...he is so beautiful!  To everything there is a season, but I thought he deserved a little more than being dumped in a leaf bag...so here is to you, sweet butterfly...we love and admire you!

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And  now...I wrote a tutorial.  A little one...please bear with me!

4 at 9:15 AM

I made one block.  I should have used a greater contrast in the print/plain fabrics for more clarity, but here we go! This makes an 8 inch finished block, so 8 1/2 inch unfinished block. I thought I could use my nursing uniforms...you know, those cute prints that we can no longer wear, since we can only wear blue at the hospital. 

Cut: 

Cut:

Background: 8 2 1/2 inch squares
2 2 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch rectangles

print: 4 2 1/2 inch squares
2 2 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch rectangles

plain fabric: 4 2 1/2 inch squares
2 2 1/2 inch x 4 1/2 inch rectangles.

I used the connector corner method of construction, so I have bonus leftover triangles! So just go by the pictures, and sew the block together. Hope this is helpful.

The last picture is what I like to do with leftover 1/2 square triangle. I made a ton of pinwheels, but now I am making chevrons of them.

Be careful with your placement of the pieces...they are opposites, as you see, in the center of the block.

Julie

Log Cabin Loonies!!

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Hi Everyone!!

I am having so much fun playing with the log cabin blocks, as you might have guessed from my post last week, LOL!  I am working on my tiny blocks, made from 1 inch strips, but also found a whole cache of 1.5 inch strip sized blocks, also.  So I have been cutting, and sorting and just generally have a great time with my scraps!!  Above are Helen's blocks...aren't they so pretty?  She has about a zillion blocks done already, and they are so pretty, each one!    I think it may be a generalized belief among quilters that other people's scraps are prettier and more interesting than your scraps, LOL...it is just fun to look at all the fabrics...as above!!

Last weeks winner is Pam!!  Please send me your snail mail address, Pam, and I will send you your gift.

So...please add your link below so everyone can see what you have been up to, Loonies...in the best kind of way...Log Cabin Loonies!!

Julie