The truth and nothin' but the truth!!

This is the layout my dear husband has chosen...he measured the bed and mentioned that it would be really nice if it were a little bigger...how can I refuse his kind request, as nicely as he put it!! I will be making 28 more blocks, and then it will be done!! At least the top...
Now, dear gentle people...I have mentioned that I am the cutting queen! I cut out quilts when I can't sleep, and arrange them very neatly in kits, with the pattern and all the pieces and parts... for someday. Someday is here!!! I am working on these, my UFO's this coming year. I am naming these...and sadly, some have been cut out for so long, when I used to not put instructions in each bin, that I have forgotten what in the Sam Hill I was doing with that idea in the first place!! Don't bother to read this list below...it is really just to keep it all real, for me. I bet you recognize some of the kits and works in progress, though!!

1. Blue hospital gown star quilt
2. 1930's stars
3. Red Star-Pam
4. Jewel Box
5. ????? Sadly, I don't remember what this was to be....
6. Bright nine patches and connector squares quilt
7. Judy's fall leaf quilt
8. ?????????????????Don't remember this one either...I am releasing the fabric back to the stash
9. Large Flying Geese quilt
10. Pineapple-red and black variation
11. Current Quiltville Mystery (this one is first!)
12. Paper pieced pineapples
13. Scrappy quilt
14. Wedding signature quilt (must finish stat!)
15. Sandy's quilt as you go
16. Judy's bright star quilt
17. Rail fence
18. Pineapple wool table runner
19. Plaids stars (idea from the state fair)
20. 5 inch blue stars
21. Jewel box (why do I have two of these cut out?)
22. Bonnie scrap quilt
23. Sylvia's Bridal Sampler
24. 1930's nine patch
25. Patriotic strings
26. Peaches and cream quilt (Judy)
27. Quiltville mystery from last year( all blocks made, just need to set them together)
    

So there it is!! I also have a total of 25 quilt tops, altogether, done and ready to quilt, most with backings and bindings ready.

This may seem like a daunting task, but I can be proud to say...this has been an enormous lot of work, and one of great love for my family to have some quilts to pass on when I am gone. Most of the kits would be fine for anyone else to pick up and start sewing...so not a waste for a quilting group someday if I don't get it all done.
An example of a kitted quilt...all the parts cut out, a sample block, and extra fabric tucked in with the pattern, just in case.
I got another Christmas gift...from Lyn at Bluebird quilts....she made a fabulous handmade quilt and ornament, and apples (they smell terrific), and some fabric for the Dear Jane quilt!


OH YES!! The Dear Jane quilt is on the list too for this year!! I really want to make some real progress on this one!!




So....how is that for real...real enough for you?


Grins!!!


Have a great day,


Julie

Progress on a UFO!

HI all!! Remember these blocks?? I had one block made when I showed you before...well, I have made some big progress!! I have 80 of them made, enough for a big quilt for dear husband. They are 8 inches finished, so each piece is one inch finished (strips). This is one setting...
Or, I could set them like this. I don't know yet, dear husband will have the final call. Remember I have been talking about a new sewing machine for years? I have used a very inexpensive Brother machine from Walmart for many years. This year, in my stocking, I got an orange, some chocolate, some gum...and a Bernina. A BERNINA!!!
A dream machine!! Excuse the messy table and poor photo, but you get the idea...this machine (Bernadette is her name) is wow wonderful!! My son and his wife got me a new cutting board and I received two new rotary cutters...I am so blessed!!
Rosie the poodle in her elf outfit...Christmas is tough work for tiny poodles!!

Goals for the coming year for me include: Working on UFO's and finishing stuff up. My rules for me are that I may not start a new quilt until I have finished two UFO's. Hope this will work for me!!


Have a great day!!



Julie

Merry Christmas to all!!

I just want to say Merry Christmas to each one of you!! I have had the pleasure of getting to know so many of you wonderful quilters...you give so much each day to so many. Thank you for your gift of Friendship! I so appreciate your comments and concern, as of late, especially. Here is to a most wonderful New Year to each of you!!


Julie

Over stimulation!

How little is just too dang small? These squares are 1/2 inch finished, the tail ends of the log cabin mini quilt...and I tossed the rest of the scraps. A new mug mat for dear husband!!
Are you keeping up with Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville mystery? Step five, I think it is...is SIX HUNDRED half square triangles! Now that is a challenge! I happened to have saved a bunch of these squares, and pulled all the red ones out and squared them up. I only have....510 to go!!
This is the box I dumped out on the kitchen counter...all my saved 1/2 square bonus triangles from tons of old projects. What to do with all these!!?? I guess I will save them for just such an event as the mystery quilt!! Forgive the chocolate chip bag and etc. in the background...I made cookies for dear husband to take to work.






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

A mystery for you! A few symptoms a certain patient had:

• Insomnia
• weight loss without trying, in fact eating like a heifer!
  
• irritability and restlessness
• high heart rate
• hair loss
• skin changes
• vision changes (double vision)
• fuzzy thinking, a little...
  

By the way...this patient is me!! Well...two days ago I just felt my heart beating so fast, it felt almost out of my chest! I have been not feeling well for some time...remember I had a bunch of medical testing this spring...and continuing. Well, I am a heart nurse, so got an EKG and my heart rate at rest was 135. Scary high, for lying down! I thought the problem was my heart, so went and saw the cardiologist, who did more testing...and guess what? If you nursing types guessed hyperthyroidism...you were right! My thyroid gland is secreting way too much hormone and overstimulating my entire system. That is the reason I cannot sleep and feel so lousy!! So, now I go to the endocrinologist and get scanned to see if this is caused by thyroid cancer, or just autoimmune thyroiditis. Either way...looks like I will be on some kind of med for the rest of my life. I am so glad to finally know what the heck was wrong with me...and I think I have had this for a long, long time.


Thanks for listening friends...I was quite upset about it yesterday, but time and prayer are great healers...I will just do whatever it is that I need to do, and troop right along!!!


Have a great day, all!!


Julie

And then there were two!!

HI all!! I have been out of town for a few days, so not much sewing time here! I made another pineapple block out of my 1.5 inch scraps...I like the scrappyness of these. Only 18 more to go...or more, if I decide to make this quilt bigger.
And with all this strip cutting, I had some strips that were 1 inch wide, which I would normally put in the string container. I decided to make a tiny log cabin quilt, with red centers for the heart (fire) of the cabin...each log finishes at 1/2 inch. I hand quilted this on the plane...which I just love to have a little project to take along.


********************Kentucky/Tennessee trip**************************

We had to go and do a pick up for my husband, so we decided to ask the kids to come along and have a weekend vacation! This was just great fun...we did so many things in such a short amount of time! Some highlights were:

• Flying on American airlines, without too many delays.
• Staying at a really nice place...comfy!
• Breakfasts at Cracker Barrel! Down home country cooking...gained a little around the middle there...
• A cruise down the Cumberland river, on the General Jackson boat, with a wonderful fiddle player and band for entertainment...raining, but we went out on deck anyway and enjoyed this huge river!
• We went to see the Rockettes at the Grand Ole Opry! My parents had talked about this place for years and years...what a treat to go and see them...all those legs! And every one of theme in perfect time!! And a beautiful live nativity, with real camels (my fave).
  
• We went to the Gaylord Texan and saw the ICE sculptures..."Santa Claus is Coming to Town!" And such a gorgeous nativity, all carved out of tons of ice!
• Then on to Mammoth Cave! By this time, it was snowing pretty hard and in the teens for temperatures, so our tour was cut a little short...but the cave was amazing! Lots of history there, and such a natural wonder...loved this!
• Then...we went to the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green Kentucky! My husband loved this a lot! It was such great fun
• Then back home, in a whirlwind! Pretty busy weekend, huh???

Have a great day, all!!

Julie

Experiments with Pineapples and log cabins

HI all!! I paper pieced! Pat, are you watching this...I did this pineapple block. This is very representational of my stash, which is dwindling! That is a good thing! When I can't make up my mind what to do, I cut out quilts...and I have cut a log cabin, a pineapple quilt, and the one below too, a log cabin variation. A secret? I have about 20 quilts all cut out...ready to piece. Shhhh, don't tell a soul! Aren't you supposed to just have one going at a time? Hmmmm...



Another log cabin/pineapple variation. 1.5 inch strips of red and neutrals, and the black pieces are 2.5 inches. They are supposed to be 2.64 inch black squares according to my math, but I can't cut those, so I changed it to 2.5, and they are working out just fine.
This is finish, an old, old UFO, for Finn's UFO challenge. This is finish number 3. It has been hanging around for a lot of years, and I just gave up on making it the huge quilt, and just made a pillow. Hand quilted...and the sawtooth border hand appliqued. Great fun!!
Here is the middle...many years ago, I made this. Not perfect, but I like it!!


I will have little time to sew in the next weeks...but will try to keep up with the mystery quilt and do a little here and there. I am proud to say that the packages are wrapped!! Yippee!! This is pretty early for me....


Everyone, best wishes for a wonderful week!!


Julie

What in the world? Great fun!

Hi everyone! I am off today...blessedly! I had a great weekend at work, just wonderful patients and families...and I am tired. I have cut a bunch of 1.5 inch strips, and have in mind two quilts: a log cabin (see above), and a pineapple quilt. (Thanks Subee for that wonderful idea!!) I am trying to use all my fabric stash up...and have made wonderful progress this year. I do not know the name of the block above...just a log cabin variation. The pieces are all 1 inch finished. I plan to make enough for a full sized quilt...8 inch blocks....hmmm, how many is that??
What in the world are we making with these? I am caught up....ready for the next step in Bonnie from Quiltville's mystery. Do you have any idea what we are making????



Hope each one of you have a wonderful day! I am sending out the Christmas cards and wrapping today....




Julie

Roll, roll cotton boll!

First of all, thank you all so very much for your comments from yesterday's post. I so appreciate your opinions!! I have decided to cut down the applique pieces as suggested by many of you...please stay tuned, I will be enjoying working on this! Also, thank you for your understanding of my patient situation...I just tried so hard to please them, but they were not to be pleased...and I guess that is OK...my heart is much lighter now that I got it out! I agree...they need prayer, thank you for that comment!


Tada!! I am almost finished with part 3 of the Bonnie Hunter Mystery from Quiltville! How DID I do it, you may ask? Serendipity!! This step calls for 60 neutral string pieced blocks...remember this spring?? I made a ton of neutral, string pieced blocks!! Cool, huh?? And they are the right size!! I am immediately stopping the embellishment of these with lace and stuff...and using them in the mystery! Is that not so cool? I do have a few to still make, though...but I think I am the first in the world to have so many done. I am just so tickled!!



Off to work for me....


Everyone, have a great day!

Julie

May I ask your opinion?

Hi all! I have been playing around in the nine patch blocks we exchanged...and I just love the Honeybee block. I think this block will showcase the nine patches. I think I made the applique too overwhelming in this version...please tell what you think? I have made templates for smaller applique pieces... I have the rest of the blocks cut for 12 of the nine patches, making them finish at 12 inches.



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



I recently had a tough day at my nursing work. I had a family that insisted on writing down every move I made, and every thing I said was recorded on this ladies I-phone. It got really old, really fast...they were just very hard to deal with, to say the least. They all were so rude to me! There is just so much I can take...why be mean to me when you don't even know me?? The patient, however...was a real doll!! I really think that 99% of people really try their best at all times...please, give me a chance, dear lady!! (Sorry dear blog diary...I just had to get this out, it has been just eating at me all day!)



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


Have a great day!

Julie