Saturday, December 31, 2016

Happy New Year!!!

 I am ACTUALLY keeping with these blocks, by Jeni from the Willow!!  Now that is amazing.  They are on her face book page, and I think there is just one more to go.  Whoop!
I made three more Bear Paw blocks in the last 24 hours...very pale claws on the upper left one, but hey, I like it anyway!!



Happy New Year to each of you!  You all add richness and fun to my life, and I sincerely appreciate  each one of you!!


There have been quite a few "no reply" comments in the recent past...makes me sad that I cannot visit with you.  You can fix it, though!!!



Have a great evening, everyone!!

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Just a little more progress on the Bear Paw!!

 OK, so you may get thoroughly sick of this quilt, but here is where I am so far.  I have 13/30 blocks completed, and all the rest are cut out and ready to sew.
 I just had to add a green plaid!!!
 Cookie sheets are used for lots of things!  Including transporting cut out blocks to the sewing machine.
 These are some leftovers, gifted to me...and I am making candle mats of them.  Thank you so very much!
Using it up!!!


Have a great day, everyone!!!


Julie

Monday, December 26, 2016

more, and more, and MORE!

 OK, so here was the game I played with myself today!!  I would do a task; like vacuum, dust, or mop floors...then??  I could make a Bear paw block!!  So, here is where I am right now:  nine Bear paw blocks, lots of clean floors, mirrors and meals made.  TADA!!!


Hee!  The games children play, huh??
I don't know why this block looks so crooked...it is really not that bad.  I am making a bunch of these too, and using them in various quilts.  Using up nine patches that I have had for ages counts as a working on a UFO, right?



Have a great night, all!!!


Julie

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Merry Christmas to all!!

 I have been playing with Bear Paw blocks!!  Above is a plaid, traditional version, larger in size.  Just enjoying some quiet sewing!! And using up some ticking fabric I had, for part of the blocks.  From across the room, the ticking reads just gray.  I would like to make thirty blocks, to make a fairly large quilt.
And!  The smaller blocks, as in the Quiltmania issue, September and October.  These are from all reproduction fabrics.  Just a little variation, you see?  Randy Danto, this is what I was talking about...the variation.




I hope each of you is having a an amazing Christmas!!  I have been thoroughly spoiled and have been baking and cooking much of the day.  Just a quiet day, full of yummy things, including apple pie and cherry pie, turkey and all the yummies to go with it.





I always get filled with quilting energy now that the hustle and bustle of Christmas is over...do you??


Julie

Friday, December 16, 2016

UFO Alert!!

 Guess what I did today?  I busted a UFO!!  I was planning on doing something entirely different, but these quilt blocks peeped up and said, "Finish us, TODAY!"  So I did.
 These blocks were made from the Celebration Nine Patch block swap that I had some years ago.
Some of my favorite blocks ended up in this quilt.  That was such a fun swap...it just keeps on giving!!!

This is a "honeybee" block, and I had no pattern, so I made one.  I am so very glad to get these all in one piece!!!


Hope each of you is having a wonderful day!


Julie

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

When I thought I was going to be a fabric artist...and a darling quilt that I love!

 This is a pretty old quilt...an applique quilt by me, of my beloved Columbines, the state flower of Colorado.  I found it while refolding quilts today, and decided to put it up...holiday decor notwithstanding.
And this darling quilt!!  A dear friend made it for me, and I keep it out all year round!!!



Have a great day, everyone!!


Julie

Monday, December 12, 2016

Bear Paw!!

 Did you happen to see this bear paw variation, in the September/October edition of Quiltmania??  I just love it!!
 So....I made a block!  This is the block at the top left of the quilt as shown, and as close I can get to the same fabrics, using what I have.   It was great fun, and went together like a dream.
 Does anyone really, really, really love Sunbonnet Sue?  I found this UFO at the very bottom of a basket, while cleaning.  It is pretty old!
The pieces are all prepared, just needs to be finished.  Do you have a Sunbonnet Sue in your quilt closet somewhere??




***************Christmas*********************



I love it!!  But this time of year can be a really hard time for some families and individuals.  It is difficult whenever families are spread apart by geography or disagreement.  Praying for a great Christmas for each and every one of you!!



Julie

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

A little dab of this and that!!

 I have been working on a little bit of this and that.  I have twenty tiny tree ornaments in the works...this is the first year; maybe I can make a different one each year and date them?  Would that be fun??
 Nice picture of Rosie, huh?  She was in there, as she always is...helping!!!  I prepped the heart and the pineapple blocks, for hand stitching...they are not trimmed to size until after the stitching.  Jeni from the Willow is the designer of these blocks.  Thank you, Jeni!!
 I also prepped a few more circles for hand stitching.  Thank you, Audrey, for your circular thinking!!!
 And?  Made another block for the Splendid Sampler; this block is a little wonky...but it will do!!
And these blocks!!  Sometimes, a gift of scraps has some pieces and parts already cut out.  I always wonder what the original plan was!!  So?  I put them together like this, and will have an alternating block of some kind.   Lori, of Humble quilts...do you recognize these little pieces?  Thank you so much!!






Have a great day, everyone!!!


Julie

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

A little bit of everything!!

 Can you imagine a friend, one that makes your paper pieced blocks; knowing that you are just not good at it?  Lyn, my Australian long-time friend, made these for me, for the Splendid Sampler!!!  Lyn, I am honored to feature them in my quilt!!!  Love, love!!  and thank you so very much!!
 I have been in a basket making mood!!  This is a small one for my tubes of hand cream and miscellaneous, for the bathroom.  I got a stabilizer from Joann's which really helped make the basket have some shape.  Hurrah!!
 Are you doing Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt??  Here is my start!!  They are supposed to be neutral scrappy four patches...but hey, you know I have to change it up, LOL!!  So, I made these, and think they will work just fine too!!
 Another basket...this one without the stabilizer.  Not as good, but I did put handles on this one...
And last, but not least!!  Snowmen have shown up at my house!!  They must think Christmas is coming!!!





I always kind of panic around Christmas, on a more serious note...will everyone be happy and fulfilled and the house be just right and the food be perfect and the gifts sublime???


But really?  It is the time we celebrate Jesus' birthday, and I think that is the most important thing to for me to focus on!  So I am taking a deep breath and saying a small grateful prayer!


Onward!!!



Julie

Friday, November 25, 2016

In-the-car quilting

 I finished the hand quilting of this quilt recently...so this is a Friday Finish!  whoop!!!
Here is the whole thing.  It is the perfect size for cuddling on the couch!!


Hope each of you had a wonderful Turkey day, full of Thanksgiving!!!



Julie

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Borders!!

 Well, friends, as you know...I always am at a sticking point when it comes to borders.  So this morning,  I pulled out a couple of quilt tops without the borders and put some on!!!
 This is what happened with this one, after several auditions.
 And this is what happened to this quilt, after several more auditions!!
 I am delighted to have them finished to this point...and it was not as painful as I imagined!!


I think that I get stuck on the borders because I just love the quilt so much, that I don't want to mess it up with an incorrect border choice.  A cooling off period worked with with these quilts...just GETERDUN!!!!
I also completed a couple more eight inch stars.  Loving my plaids, this time mixed with prints.







DID YOU SEE THAT GORGEOUS MOON?  All the Log Cabin Lunatics were loving it...HEHEHEE!!



Have a great day!

Julie

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Log cabin quilting!!

 I have all eighty blocks of this log cabin quilt together.  Here are a few of them laid out.  I enjoyed making the blocks, and loved using some of my scraps, BUT!!  next time?  I will make sure that there is even MORE contrast between the blues and the neutrals...and the CENTERS will be RED!!  It went fast, and was fun, and I liked the process...just thinking of ways to improve it for next time.
Two more blocks for the Splendid sampler...of course, I made them my own!!



Nurse's notes:


As I am getting older, I am missing my friends from days of old.  After you have been in a particular place of employment for a lot of years...people start retiring and just moving on.  I miss them!!!  Even though I love the new nurses, they move on very quickly, and there is just something about working with a person for twenty plus years, knowing that we can count on each other through thick and thin.  I miss those people!  We had a lovely quilting group at the hospital, and made countless charity quilts for American Heart.  Now?  I am the only one left!  Everyone else retired!!!


I had a stable heart to recover today...it is good, and I waited for hours for them to arrive from surgery.  That was wonderful...and very satisfying to this old nursie!!







Have a great day, everyone!!

Julie

Monday, October 31, 2016

Log Cabin Lunacy continues!!


I was just kind of thinkin'!!! (watch out...she is thinking again!) What if I used my blue scraps, and made a quilt like this one, below?  I featured it on Log Cabin Loonies earlier, and it is just lovely...so I figured out all the strip sizes to make the block.  
 shared on MyQuiltPlace by Lynn Welton Zimmerman, and we thank her so much for sharing this with all of us...gorgeous quilt!!




Just thought I would share the measurements with you, for this block, since it a generic log cabin block.  I start by cutting a bunch of strips...these happen to be blues; 2 inch...and neutrals; 1 1/4 inch.  (half of a 2 1/2 inch strip, if you have a bunch of those you want to use up)  You could go scrappy, or one color way, or batiks...whatever makes your heart go pitty-pat!!


So!!  

middle square. 2 x 2 inches

1st strip:  1/1/4 x 2 inch neutral

2nd strip:  1/1/4 x 2 3/4 inch neutral

3rd strip:  2 x 2 3/4 inch blue

4th strip:  2 x 4 1/4 inch blue

5th strip:  1 1/4 x 4 1/4 inch neutral

6th strip:  1 1/4 x 5 inch neutral

7th strip:  2 x 5 inch blue

8th strip:  2 x 6 1/2 inch blue

9th strip: 1 1/4 x 6 1/2 inch neutral

10th strip: 1/1/4 x 7 1/4 inch neutral

11th strip:  2 x 7 1/4 inch blue

12th strip:  2 inch by 8 3/4 inch blue



This yields a 8  3/4 inch block, finishing at 8 1/4.  I plan to make 80 blocks, and have cut for that....

1/4 inch seam allowance is important, and I always make a test block first, just to make sure those measurements are really correct, LOL!!


Have a great day!

Julie






Friday, October 28, 2016

Splendid sampler progress

 I have made the decision to put my Splendid Sampler blocks together with triple sashing and nine patches.  I have completed several quilts this way, and love the effect.

These blocks mean a lot to me.  At the time I started this batch (yes, I had a couple of false starts, including some blocks that are just plain missing!), there were multiple attacks against the US...terrorist stuff.  I decided to make my quilt out of red, white and blue, standing for the United States.    Additionally, and this is more personal yet...I was called in one day to help in the operating room, to help with an emergency bypass surgery, at my work.  This surgery saved this man's life.  I was wearing a dark blue scrub jacket, that got caught on the C-arm x-ray in the operating room and tore beyond repair.  So?  I cut it up, and that is the dark blue in my sashing.  This quilt means a lot to me for another reason...my dear friend Lyn is making it too, and it is a connection to her, over the miles and continents.
 So!!!  Here is where I am so far.  I may not make all of the blocks...and may substitute some other favorites...but here it is!!!
 Making pie per request today...before baking!
And a cherry one as well!!

Did you notice that Bonnie Hunter announced the colors in her Mystery quilt?  Please see her post here!!

http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2016/10/en-provence-quiltville-mystery-intro.html


Have a great day, everyone!!


Julie

Monday, October 24, 2016

Just a little forward progress!

 I have been slowly making a star or two, as the fancy strikes me  These are mostly from plaids, but have some batiks and also reproduction fabrics in there, as well.
 Closer view...These are inspired from a quilt from Karen's blog, the Log Cabin Quilter.  Thank you, Karen, for letting me make a quilt like yours!!!
It takes a wonderful true friend to make blocks for you, for your Splendid Sampler!!  My friend Lyn not only made these blocks, but copied others for paper piecing for me, on her special paper.  Thank you so much, dear Lyn!  I so appreciate you!!!


So...I was just working and working and working at the full moon time, and forgot all about posting for Log Cabin Loonies!!  Maybe we could, instead, start something new.  A fun quilt, a few blocks at a time?  Would there be any interest??? I will show what I have in mind soon, and you can join in at will!!!


Have a great day, everyone!!


Julie

Friday, October 21, 2016

The Secret...

 You may remember this quilt made of scrap/crumb 1/2 square triangles and silly flowers, which I love.   As usual, I got stuck on the borders, and into the quilt abyss it went!  (the quilt closet)
 It is time to finish up all these border-less quilts!!  So...I made a border of strings and away I went!!
 Black print squares in the corners...
 and black borders around the flowers, so that kind of goes together.
 Here is the whole thing!  I like the light strings in the borders...they kind of sparkle!
t
The quilt grew feet!!!  Hee!!!




By the way?  The secret to life????  ready??












Is string borders!!  I have never made one that I don't like, and plan to finish several of the remaining quilt tops this way!  And will use up my remaining strings, so win/win!

So...aren't you glad you know the secret to life???

SNORT!!!

Have a great day!

Julie

Hexies, rainbow quilts and plaids!

Good morning to all!!!  Above is a hexagon, for English paper piecing.  My kitten Lucky has discovered them, and decided that they are great...