Dearest Boy! and some other fun stuff

 I am very excited to be starting on this quilt, along with my friends Karen at Log Cabin Quilter, and Cathy, at Big Lake Quilter!!  Karen and Cathy have been sewing along together, with some amazing applique quilts already completed.  They have recently finished all the blocks for the quilt, "Early American Life", and it is such a wonderful quilt, so please go see their blogs and enjoy their amazing work.

I am so happy to sew with them for this quilt, "Dearest Boy!"  It is super fun, with stories and letters accompanying each block.  I love it, as it reminds me of my childhood on the farm, with that fun cow!!

Randy at Barrister's Block and I have been talking about making a quilt that she recently saw at a quilt show and featured on her blog.    The quilt has various sizes of blocks, and I was making some, and then had a small epiphany...I have a whole bunch of blocks, already made,  sorted according to size...why not use them!!!  Above are the 8 inch blocks.

And here are the six inch blocks.  I hope to use some of these in our collaborative quilt, which is a row quilt, vertically!  Stay tuned...there is no pattern, so we are just winging it!

I hung this little quilt I made a couple of years ago in the foyer, and the hanger is from the owner and designer of Turning Twenty quilts,  Tricia Cribbs.  It was perfect for hanging this quilt...thank you, Tricia!!

Now if you have hung around this long, you deserve a reward, LOL!  Have you ever wanted to make a Double Wedding ring quilt?  I bought this pattern and templates, and also this fabric, to make one.  I am just not going to get there, so I would like to have a giveaway for this grouping of fabrics and pattern.  Just leave me a comment if you would like to be in the drawing.




Have a super day!!

Julie

a little applique

 This block is trimmed...

and these are not!!  I am practicing tiny stitches and smooth curves!!


(don't look too closely...LOL!!)


I am linking at Kathy's blog; a slow stitching Sunday!


https://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/2018/04/slow-sunday-stitching_29.html?m=1




Have a super day!

Julie

The new schedule is working for me!

 I had a night of not sleeping, so I decided to celebrate it and sew, sew, sew!!  It was fun!  The flying geese are cut off parts of blocks I am making, so instead of tossing them, I am making tiny flying geese.  So quiet...only the raccoons rattling their supper pans in the back yard.  We have four different raccoons that come and visit now.  One has been dreadfully injured, and is missing his beautiful "coon tail", and limps on his right back leg.  I always make sure he has a bite of dog food to crunch on, poor baby!!  Coons, possums, foxes, cats; they all come in the twilight and I love watching them, sometimes eating together.  They are not particularly scared of me, and I guess I am a member of the tribe, now.

I am working on this block...isn't that a pitiful piece of background?  Don't worry...it will be pressed and pretty and trimmed before you know it!  Just keeping it real, friends, LOL!!



I am loving working the same days, every week. It has helped me tremendously with not only rest, but housework and sewing and just everything.  I am grateful, and hope it lasts, LOL!!



Have a super day!!

Julie

Something to mark off my list!!

 OK, so STRINGS RULE!!!  I am calling this quilt top done!!  It really is not quite done, but I like it, and, well, YAHOO!  I made the border out of strings, and most everyone knows I love those.  This is a Cheri Payne quilt along from a while back.   The border is four inches wide, finished.

Speaking of strings, I made these little mug rugs today...just need bindings and some hand stitching to make them come alive, a little bit.

 This was my mom's little towel...it has tiny applique, and she loved it.  It is pretty old...does anyone know anything about these little creations?  I have seen some in antique shops, now.  Vintage, more like it?

Just a few blocks, sewn together...loving this!!




I hope each of you is having a great day!



Julie

Working on my list...or not?

 Some years ago, I made this "Sister's Choice" quilt.  I still love it, and the scrappy border.  These are made from 2.5 inch strips and squares.  I made a tiny one from 1 inch pieces, but it is gone...I think I gave it away.  The pattern is right here, on Bonnie's site:

http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2005/06/sisters-choice.html

 I need to make one from 2 inch pieces!!!  That would be super fun and scrappy, and also help with my goal of using up every scrap of fabric I have!!

I made a scrappy happy houses quilt, back in the day, as well.  I had a hot pink piece of fabric, and it became the backing.   This one is a Bonnie Hunter pattern, also.  My darling son used to tease me and say I was in the "Bonnie Hunter quilting cult"...hahaha!!  Now that is my kinda group, LOL!!!!


I am off to plan meals for the week, grocery shop, and clean a little bit.  And hopefully sew some too!!



Have a super day, each of you!





Julie

An unexpected day off.

 I have been making some progress on this set of "Rainbow" blocks.  I still need to make the yellow ones for this month.  I find if I have all my pieces cut out and ready to go, I can make some real progress in unexpected moments.

 CHANTAL!  These two are for you, and the other two are for me...these are the fabrics I made the original blocks from. I made these this morning.

 A few more bow ties!!  Five, every night, is the goal.  Fast and fun...hopefully I can get through the whole box of cut out pieces this year.

 Does anyone know what pattern these blocks are from?  I know it was a quilt along...and I got behind and was unable to finish all the blocks.

 I like this little guy!!!

 And this one!!  It was a few years back...I know that much.

I found a piece of leftover carpentry wood on the ground, and wanted to make a wooden spoon.  Dear husband made this!  Isn't it pretty??





Have a great day!!

Julie

One of my goals for the year is finished!

 I finished it!  The batik, rail fence variation...it is done to the flimsy stage.  Hurrah!!

 I tried to get an outside shot of it, so you could see the pretty colors, but you really can't tell in the picture.

 But the wind was blowing, playing merrily with the edges of the quilt top, and flipping the corners up!

 It is really straight, LOL!  So this quilt was made up of every batik scrap I could find.  I have no other strings or strips of batiks, so that is wonderful to have them all used up.  I did leave the one mistake in the block placement in there...a humility block.  Not that I need to purposefully add one; those blocks seem to appear by themselves in my quilts, LOL!  And you know what?  I am just fine with that!

 I finished my Splendid Sampler last year.  I am really thinking about taking that red border off and replacing it with blue.  Any thoughts for me?

 This is an ancient double wedding ring quilt top.  I had thoughts of hand quilting it...then thought I would give it to a friend...

On closer inspection, I believed it to be quite fragile and it probably had just better stay a quilt top only.  The edges are ruffly and will probably never be "quilted out.".  So I will carefully fold it and refold every few months, and just enjoy it as it is.






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


Death is just hard.  I had a friend in my unit, and neighbor, die this week.  It has been so difficult; a long and arduous struggle.  The widow is all alone.  She is just so dear...and it breaks my heart to see her suffer.  Sometimes being a nurse is just tough!!

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



On another note:

I heard some wisdom this week:

"Do not have anything in your home that is not useful, or that you think to be beautiful."  There is so much wisdom is that, I think, as I look around at my cluttery corners!!!



Have a great day!


Julie

Here and there...a little progress!

 Happy Monday!!  I made a tiny bit of progress of these rainbow blocks...I decided to set them together this way.  This is my own invention...just a little something different.

 I did make some progress on my "Sweet Land of Liberty" quilt along, with Lori of Humble quilts.  I made these two blocks...and they are indeed humble, like Lori's blog name, LOL!!  I have decided that I just don't really like paper piecing, or maybe I really don't know how to do it!  Anyway, I made a pattern to paper piece for the pineapple top, and it was STRESSFUL!  HAHAHA!  I decided to leave it just the way it was and it is good enough for me.

 Here is the center of my star block.  It was fun to do the embroidery!  I sat still and did it all in one setting.  Yahoo for progress!!

I cleaned, mopped, swept, vacuumed, scrubbed bathrooms, washed my car, did laundry and mowed the lawn yesterday!  WHEW!!  So today?  I messed around, sewed, went to the silliest of In-Services at work....

But I want to know...is the above picture poison IVY?  Do you know???  Thank you for any wisdom...it is in my yard.

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

Our dear Cheri Paine, a famous primitive quilts designer, passed away yesterday.  My heart is so sad for her and her family.  The "Sweet Land of Liberty" quilt that we are making as a group is her design, so the stitching is bitter sweet.

 I know I am just missing her.  Cancer is just a terrible thing.

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

Hugs to all from Julie

Just a tiny note!

   This little quilt got bound!!  Hurrah!!  It is all scraps, made from my 2 inch strip and square box.  There are some fabrics that were my mother's scraps in this one.

 I love that, because her precious hands touched these pieces!!  What an amazing quilter she was...making something lovely out of practically nothing...feed sacks, scraps of aprons and leftover dress fabrics.  I hope she approves of my quilting and I wish she were here!!!

Above are my little fat quarters...where did I get them, you may ask?  Why, Walmart, of all places!  And they were 97 cents each.  I kinda like them!!

Isn't this a cool quilt?  I ordered and received the pattern for it!  Wow!!!  It is so much fun to just look at it!!!








Have a great day, each of you!  I have started a gratitude journal, and I am adding to it each night, before I close my eyes.   I am grateful for all of you!





Julie

Linda Brannock's flowers

I am slow but steady progress on Linda Brannock's Flower quilt.  I have been wanting to applique this quilt since my friend Karen (see her blog here)  http://karen-logcabinquilter.blogspot.com/  made it last year.  Of course these blocks need pressing and trimming, but here is where I am!!

Have a super day, everyone!!

Julie

A blessed Easter!

 I am sewing rows together, for this quilt, the Batik rail fence.  This was made entirely of scraps, except the white pieces.  It is so pretty and bright...I love that, and hope it will cheer up a patient someday.

 A few more stars...these are for the Sweet Land of Liberty quilt; for the border.

 A few more bow tie blocks sewn...I am trying for 5 a night.  Which takes about 10 minutes!  So, no excuses for me!

 Some gorgeous stars from my friend Randy!!  See her blog here:
www.barristersblock.blogspot.com

 My new ironing board cover!  I was going to make one, but I found this one at Walmart for less than $10.00...so I went with it.  Want to see the old one?  Brace yourself!!

Gross, huh?  I made this one out of an old sheet.  It was so yucky that I mostly kept it covered by a towel and ironed on that...time for a new one!!!!



Question for you:

Are you a hand quilter, or a machine quilter?  Quilt by check book or do it all yourself?  Thank you for your answers in advance!!








Have a great day, each of you!!!


Julie