A look back at 2018, and looking forward too!

 Scraps rule!!!!

 Loved making this one!

 More scraps!

 Hand quilted this...great fun!

 My answer to the problems of our modern world...faith, hope and love!

 I finished this one!  Orphan blocks!

 Almost done with this one!

And Done with this top!!





I had a much larger list to accomplish, and some quilts were done that I did not get pictures of, but all in all, I worked hard on everything and am satisfied with my progress.


I very much look forward to 2019, with plans for strings, and scraps and rainbow quilts, and plaids, and quilt alongs!!



Happy New Year to all!


Julie

A milestone.

 Between yesterday and today's stitching time, I finished all the hand stitching and applique on this quilt, "Sweet Land of Liberty!"  I have all the sections sewn together now, and I will put a small border around the piecing.

 I had an empty spot on this quilt for a long time, and have thought a lot about what really should go there.  My dad was a World War Two veteran, and he both sold and wore poppies. I really didn't understand what that meant, when I was a little girl, but I do now.

The remembrance poppy is an artificial flower that has been used since 1921 to commemorate military personnel who have died in war.  

So...I used an already made block that looked like a poppy to me, and appliqued it down to the space on the quilt, and added a few embroidered words.

I am not sure about what color of small border to put around the body of the quilt...I will think about  that for a bit, and the answer will come to me.






I am very grateful to Lori, of Humble quilts, without whom I would have NEVER made this quilt, and also her group of intrepid quilt-alongers!!!  I do love this quilt so much!!!  There is much personal meaning here for me.






Julie

Merry Merry Christmas!!

Wishing each of you a wonderful Christmas and stitchy New Year!!!


Julie

Slow Sunday Stitching, on an oldie, but a goodie!

I made this quilt some years ago, and some of you might recognize it.  I was so, so careful, to do only my best work, and am amazed when I look at those tiny stitches, now!!! It is my favorite quilt, and I have been hand quilting it for some years.  I have all the center blocks quilted, and I am working on the border.

I take it out from time to time and put a few stitches in, and then carefully put it away.

So...this is my slow stitching project for today!!!

I am linking to Kathy, 

HERE. 

https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2018/12/slow-sunday-stitching_23.html




Have a great day, all of you!

Julie

Strings ROCK!!!!

 I changed the pink strip, that was in the middle bottom of this quilt...and tada!!!  Here is the top, minus the string border.  I was trying to show the bright, pretty strings in this outside picture.

 I really need to find a better way to take pictures of my quilts, but here it is!!  Speaking of STRINGS!  The border for this quilt will be all strings.  YUM!!

 I have been looking for and sorting strings from my basket...so here are my purple ones.  I am thinking a purple quilt would be fun, perhaps for a patient at work that might need one in the coming year...or maybe for me?!  I don't have a whole lot, so I will supplement from my purple stash...not many of those either, so maybe I get to SHOP?  Hahaha!  Poor me!

 Or lime greens?  HEre are my lime green strings!!  They are fun too!!!

I cut all my neutral strings into 8.5 inch widths, and will for sure make a neutral quilt this year...calming, modern, yet timeless...at least that is what I am shooting for.

The reason for all this string love?  Is that Lori, of Humble quilts, is have a string quilt along in 2019!!!  So come on, string along with her, and me too!!

www.humblequilts.blogspot.com
www.humblequilts.blogspot.com



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

I have worked....not much.  We  have very few patients, and I was put on call today, and yesterday I had taken a PTO day so I could go to the quilt guild Christmas party.  It is great fun to be surrounded by ladies, 30-90+ years of age, with SO many years of experience and love.  I love to watch them and look at their projects and admire them, especially those golden oldie amazing fierce ladies!  They fascinate me.   Maybe I am one of those old, old people, LOL!!!  We had a bagpiper there, and that was amazing, too, as I had never heard one live before.   Two people in my quilting bee are officers this year, for the guild...and I found myself wanting to do that too, but work interferes with me being available like the retired folks.

One lady had a Burgoyne surrounded block that I just really loved...maybe that quilt is in my future!


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


Have a lovely day!

Julie

And a little more floral progress

 I have been steadily working on this quilt each morning.  Lots of strings...I am re-thinking that bright pink scrap down the middle bottom half....but all that piecing needs something in between it!!!  Maybe some squares?

Also, the brown baskets...I think I will add something to brighten them up, to match the rest of the quilt.


Any thoughts from you?


Hugs to all!

Julie

Flowers, and using what I have!!

 I have pulled out  my applique quilt from this year, a quilt along,  online with Lorraine Hoffman.  There are supposed to be tons of 1/2 square triangles of various sizes between the floral blocks, but I was not fancying them...and I thought...STRINGS!!  are always the answer!!!  In real life, these are very, very bright strings. I have strings, so I am using them! I tried to make this quilt, in the beginning, kind of a dull, more folk art quilt...

 BUT! the colors and the quilt dictated themselves, the noisy rascals!!  So I am going with the brights for the scrappy sashings.  Scraps call to me in a unique way, way more than new fabric off the shelf in a store.  I love them!!! And I  use them, too!

This is the next block that I appliqued today; the pineapple block.  So this is my slow stitching for today.


I am linking to Kathy, for my slow Sunday stitching HERE and

and Cynthia, for scrappy projects,  HERE.






*********************Housewife Chronicles*******************


Today, I gathered up laundry and washed and dried one load  of it.  I swept and mopped all the hard floors. I shook rugs, made lunch (leftovers so not hard, LOL!), and cleaned the mirrors in the bathrooms and the windows in the kitchen.  Now, I am off to vacuum, and dust, and I will probably scrub all the sinks and toilets.  And maybe that is enough for today.  My problem is that I have clutter...mostly my fault, with quilting projects...and I am working to finish things up, so that will be better!!

Let me know your best house keeping secret for a working lady?????  How do you keep your home immaculate, as I see in many of your pictures??  There are just so many hours in a day, and I WILL sew some...it is my refuge and peace and fun!!  So how do you do it all?

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



Have a super day!

Julie

And it is a wrap!!!

 This quilt has been advanced to the flimsy stage!  Lots of orphan blocks have been used, and new blocks too,  and all went into this one.  Pretty scrappy, which is right up my alley. 

 Here is another view.

 I like this picture, though...that is Rosie Posie Pumpkin Pie, my poodle, who just would not budge when I was straightening the quilt top out for a picture...she is such a love and such fun to play with!

 And here is an empty basket, from my blue scrappy quilt...that feels good!  Two triangles left over...and they will eventually go into something.

 These are my recent heart rock finds...nature is marvelous, making this aberration of normal stone weathering, with water, mostly...I wonder how these are formed?  I love heart rocks!

 Another wrap today is....my iron!!  My iron from Walmart was really letting out a foul smoky smell, and I had to let it go before it caught fire.  So I am using this little travel iron, instead.

At least I am not having to use this little sad iron!!  It is a small one, and the tiny swan iron may have been for pressing cuffs or collars, at least that is my thought? 



I have a Rowenta iron, but I am kind of afraid to use it, because of the spitting of water and such.


Anyway, that is my day today...now off to finish laundry and clean a bit, and go to the store for food for dinners this week.




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


I had a lovely day in another ICU yesterday.  These people are medical ICU patients, not heart ICU patients that I normally work with.  It is a sad place, full of hustle, but a lot of these patients will not live to see the outside again.  And yet?  Both of my patients were very ill, but made a lot of progress yesterday!  It was fun to work with old friends from twenty years ago, and meet so many young lovely nurses, just starting on their careers. 

I had a weird thing happen...a family had been very angry and demanding throughout their hospital stay, and I was selected to calm them down that shift and be their nurse,  and "love them into submission!", if you know what I mean.  They kept on talking about how they were going to sue us!!  Crazy...I finally told them in the most loving and straight forward way I could that that talk did not influence me in any way, and I was going to do the very best I could for their loved one and them too!  By the end of the shift, they were hugging me and had totally turned around in their thought processes, or at least I hope they did.  It is hard to love people who are trying to be mean, but a lot of times it is fear and misinformation that leads to that aggression. 

Anyway...another day awaits...nothing dull at the hospital!!


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

Have a great day, each of you!!


Julie

Hand quilting

 I finished the hand quilting on this one block wonder quilt.  I guess bubble pink is a favorite color of mine, because it just makes me happy!!  A heart seals the deal.

 I recently saw a quilt that I hand quilted about 15 years ago, and the stitches were tiny compared to what I do now...so I trying to make my stitches smaller again. I embroidered the heart shape.

 I did get the fall table runner quilted as well.

Big stitches!!  That is super fun too...and plaids...what could possibly be better???




What quilt alongs are you going to participate in, in this coming year?  I would love to know...please share?




Have a great day,

Julie

 Good morning!  This is my latest block for my stripy quilt.  I am hand appliqueing the pieces down, and worked on that yesterday for quite a while.

 I made some little viney applique pieces for the failed block of last post.  I think they look a bit like Medusa's snakes on her head.  Maybe I should add some flowers or something, LOL!

 I sewed the last five blocks for this blue quilt.

And added another block for the strippy, vertical, orphan, red, white, and blue, Barrister's block inspired quilt!!  That is a lot of adjectives, don't you think?











Have a great day, each of you!



Julie

Technical difficulties.

 This is a little early, but I am posting because I am frustrated.  This block is for our ongoing project, "Dearest Boy."  I made the hexagon blocks EXACTLY the size of the pattern provided.

 This is the pattern page.  The four hexie blocks are supposed to fit within the block size, as pictured in the pattern.

 This is the pattern page.  I made the hexies EXACTLY the size of the pattern...hope you can see my yellowish hexie...the right size.

BUT the hexie block just won't FIT IN THE 10.5 INCH BLOCK, which is EXACTLY the right size!!!

Here is one block.  I guess I will just try to make something out of just one of them, in the square.




Does anyone have any suggestions of how this went wrong?




Thanks for listening...but these have taken me a long time and I will not have time to make another block by the date it is due...grrrrr!!





Julie

This one is not on the list...but I love it!!

Slowly, this quilt is coming together.  I am using orphan blocks, some newly made blocks, and imagination...and a picture from Randy's blog.

I try and post when I have made some progress...a lot of years ago, we wanted to know about process...so that is why I post not only finishes, but along the sewing road as well.


www.barristersblock.blogspot.com



I am trying to work on it in between cleaning, holiday preparations and cooking...and the ever present laundry.

This has made me realize just how many orphan blocks I have...so I gathered them all up, separated them by size...and off I went!!!  I am sure I have enough blocks for another quilt...just not Americana style.





I hope you have a great day, today!!!  That mystery quilt is still calling to me!!





Julie

Just a bit of wee progress

 I made this block, for my strippy, red ,white, and blue, and orphan block  quilt.  HAHA!!  That is a lot of adjectives for one quilt!

 It is true fall time here.  The leaves are falling thick and fast, and the wind whipped them almost all from our trees.  So...the above little quilt is a fun and appropriate one for this season.  My friend Lyn gave me the tiny quilt stand, years ago, and I have had so much fun and enjoyment of it!   My friend at work, Dianna, gave me the heart rock. She found it in her yard, and thought of me.  She is a sweet lady and excellent nurse!

I have made several little quilts for the seasons, for that little quilt hanger. I have a snowman one somewhere, unless I gave it away when someone said they liked it, LOL!!!





Have a great day, each of you?  Are any of you working on the Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt??  It is called Good Fortune!


Here is the first clue!!

http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2018/11/good-fortune-part-1.html





Julie

Happy Thanksgiving!

 Just a day late and a dollar short...or five blocks short, LOL!  I have used all the pieces I had cut out, so long ago, in making these blocks.  So, it will be short work to makes another five blocks, now that I am in practice!  I am being careful to not tug on the bias edges.

 I am making blocks and using other orphan blocks to make this strip quilt.  I absolutely love it!

This is the muse...the picture that Randy shared on her blog.

Randy blogs here:

www.barristersblock.blogspot.com






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


I work tomorrow, which is Thanksgiving in the USA.  I wish every one of you an amazing holiday and lovely time...and eat a lot of turkey for me!!  I made one today, so I have lots of leftovers!!!  What is your thanksgiving go to food...what do you love to eat on this day????  What are you thankful for?


I am so grateful for all the blessings in my life, and you are all high on my list!



HAPPY THANKSGIVING!


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


Julie

Paradise, and a chance to help

I am down to sewing the large cream colored triangles onto the blocks...it will go in a hurry, now.  These blues are so soothing, and the fabrics are my old friends.  I do not have many of these blues anymore, having been all used up in quilts over the years.  I think I have more than eighty blocks, now!!  All those bias edges...yikes!

I am sure that many of you have heard of the devastating fires in California, of late.  I heard an interview with the mayor of Paradise, California, which was over 90 percent burned to the ground.  Elderly people are living in tents in the Walmart parking lot...you get how absolutely devastating this is, and is still ongoing.  Many are reaching out to help, and at the forefront, are our beloved quilters.  Quilters are just the nicest, best people.  Below are a couple opportunities for you to help, if you can, with this hard hit community.

Lori blogs here:  

http://humblequilts.blogspot.com/2018/11/paradise-how-we-can-help.html


Lynn blogs here:


https://sewnwildoaks.blogspot.com/2018/11/stitch-paradise-back-together.html?fbclid=IwAR3r29zHPFwwAHx7R4dUSAXXYIYD8LcQew-TlcC7j2WkiPgEaFtSNwJEknI

Thank you so much for taking a look to see what we can do, together.






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


OR HOW JULIE GOT TO BE IN THE BACK OF A COP CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Settle in...it is a bit of a story.

I have been pretty sick with a cold/flu thing, for the last couple of weeks.  Good news is, I lost 6 pounds!  So now that I am feeling a bit better, I thought I would go get a hamburger at Kincaid's.  It was delicious!!!


On the way back, we were buzzing down the road, and there was an elderly lady, pushing a wheelchair, with a suitcase in it, and a pair of crutches, struggling along the sidewalk.   Tears were streaming down her face, and it was obvious she was struggling.  She had one of those blue soft casts on her right leg.

We went for a bit, then I hollered..."turn around!!"  We went back and I hopped out, and with my best and brightest nurse's smile...said, "Hey, can I help you?"  She just dissolved in tears...had apparently been walking back from the hospital, where she had a broken bone in her foot!  Yes, the same one she was gimping along on!!  The hospital was a long ways back...miles, in fact.

I asked her how far she had to go, and she said, not far now...past the park.  So I just got her in her wheelchair, thinking it was not far and starting pushing her and carrying her stuff.  I thought it was just a couple blocks, so thought it would be not far...our truck was full of stuff and so I could not fit everything she had in there.

BUT!!!

We went a few blocks, then she said, it is not far, went a few more blocks, me pushing the wheelchair, and dear husband following along behind, and then it was a mile or more...and then she said through the park, so off we went...long story short, it was a LONG walk, LOL!!! about two miles? I got her close to her home, and by that time, it was obvious that she didn't want me to know where exactly that she lived, and that she had even more obvious mental illness, as well as physical ailments.   She was quite dirty and ill kept, and just skinny and sad.  Talked a mile a minute, kind of word salad, as some mental patients do.


AND THEN!  she said she was fine to go the rest of the way.  I think she maybe lived in that park, in retrospect!!!

Dear husband was frantic by that point, because he didn't know where I was, pushing a wheelchair through a not-too-safe urban park...and then two cop cars showed up!!  They actually were driving through the park.  Since the lady had gone on, they offered to take me back to the truck...by the way, they were just kids!  Early twenties...don't I sound old??

So they put me in the back OF THE COP CAR!!!  Ha!!!  So now I have been in the back of a police car!!  It was weird...can't open the windows or doors...slick, no upholstery.  Just weird, I tell you!!  Such kind policemen, both of them.


He got me back to the truck, the lady was OK, and I have a story to tell.  And that is the end!!! Well not quite the end...the police helped with a social services referral for the lady, which I think was really needed.


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


Have a great day, all!!

Julie

Slow scrappy Sunday Stitchin'!

 I have been slow stitching on this quilt, hand quilting it.  I had my doubts, but fell in love with it right when it came out of the dryer.  The applique did well in a rough cycle, wash and dry, so I love that part, since the applique is made out of strings, as well as the blocks, and I was wondering how it would fare.

 I quilted through each string, and some strings have zig zags in them.

 Yay!  The applique held up!!!  This quilt has no batting, but has three layers, being pieced on muslin under the string blocks.

I have a lovely orphan blocks, that I am working on, to make a small basket wall hanging.  PINK!  Bubble gum yummy!


I am linking to Kathy, HERE, for slow stitching!


and Cynthia, HERE for Scrappy!!!



Hope each of you has a great day,



Julie