Yahoo!

Wow, I have at last gotten some things finished, or good progress made at least! Above are my edge pieces for the Orange Crush Mystery Quilt.

And here are my twirling, swirling stars...

And here are my album blocks! Wow, a lot of work, because I did most of it today. Now, (to those quilters who are doing this quilt), are we setting them all together, or with any other blocks inbetween? Can I hurry and get ahead and set them together? I guess I will have to wait and see the next steps in the mystery.

This little quilt is a baby quilt for a friend at work's baby...machine done all of it and I am glad to have it done!

I finished this little postcard quilt...wrong season, I know, but it was started last fall! So I am glad it is done too.

And my favorite...a little heart quilt, hand quilted and appliqued, except for the fancy machine quilting along the little block edges. Fun!

This quilt went to college with our son. I made it about 5 years ago. It has appliqued borders.

Also, this one is our son's as well. I made three of this pattern, just alike: one red, one blue, and one pink.

This is my son's graduation quilt, quilted by Darcie! I love it...

So how is that for a lot of pictures and progress! Hope everyone had a marvelous holiday this weekend...

JulieK

Peace...

Does anyone know the name of this pattern? This little pillow top was in a chair in my mother-in-law's home when we closed out her house. The lily pad and the flower are appliqued, and the rest is embroidery. It is so pretty, and so old looking to me. I washed it carefully, and I think is is lovely.

Did anyone just have a few moments of utter peace among the chaos? I had one such moment today. I was at work, nursing in the critical care unit. My patients had been fed, bathed, clean linens were on the beds, meds given, and they were peaceful, pain free and resting well. One of them looked up and smiled so big at me as I passed. The other was, at last, stable, with a reasonable blood pressure. The charting was done, no doctors were yelling orders down the hall, no alarms bells were sounding, no V-tach was impending. Just....peace. I felt this way for several minutes, and for the life of me couldn't think of the last time I had felt caught up like this. It lasted about 16 minutes, then it all hit the fan, if you know what I mean. But...for that little while, I felt more peace than I have felt in a long time.

Weird, huh?

Hope everyone is having a peaceful moment at some point today!!

JulieK

Little Animals!

Well, I have decided to start making Amandajean's Star quilt blocks on her blog Crazymomquilts. Also...I have decided to make Paula's homespun blocks from her blog The quilter. I am going to make as many different eight inch blocks as I can and put them into a sampler quilt. Just have to be a bit different, don't I! But serious, these talented ladies are making such pretty blocks I wanted to join in on both sets!! Sorry for the shadow on the block, but here is my first block. I have more cut out and will do them as time allows. I have also been working on these stitchery blocks. Love them! They just make me smile. I still have to finish the rest of the rainbow on the cows block.

Ane here is another cutie, I just love this dove...

And the rabbits. I made the block too small and put fabric around it, and boy it really shows up in the picture, more than real life! I will probably redo that one.

I am feeling very nervous, don't know why...but I had quite a bit of caffeine today! Better take my blood pressure. :) Hope everyone is having a wonderful day! We are looking forward to our son graduating from college on Saturday. We are so proud of him we could burst!!

Gratitudes: A wonderful son, amazing husband and time off to spend with them both celebrating graduation this weekend.

Size-wise?

Hi to everyone! This weekend was our local quilt show. We had some beautiful quilts and it was great fun! This bear-paw variation, however, had to come home with me. It is made of old blues, some shirtings...and some burlap!! Really, burlap sacks are the fabric in the brown squares. It is totally intact, pieced and quilted by hand...for the grand sum of $30.00. A little old lady was selling it and some other quilts, and she said they were made by her great-grandmother. The quilting is pretty wonky, but fun. Probably the lady did not have electric lights or anything to mark this quilt. Bonnie, you would love this one!!

I think it is pretty!! The edges are turned from the back to the front to form a binding. And it will have a good home with me.

This quilt was amazing, hand quilted about every 1/4 inch in tiny rows of even stitches. Beautiful! and my favorite.

And this one won the best of show! It is fused applique, machine applied, and machine longarm quilted within an inch of it's life! Both quilts are lovely in different ways...

This is my latest little quilt. A broken dishes pattern ( like Finn's at Pieces from my Scrapbag). The squares finish at 3/4 inch. Now, this is too small! I had a hard time making the points meet at all...but loved making it anyway.

Happy Mother's day to all the Moms out there!!

JulieK

Drum roll, please!

This little quilt was quilted in crosshatches! Inspired by Bren, she showed the most wonderful quilting to me and I just had to try it. Of course, I still have to wash the pencil marks out, but this was so much fun!

But the big news is that the winner has been pulled out of the basket for the little hand-quilted quilt! I am so honored to have so many visitors, (153)and have met some wonderful new friends, as well as enjoyed old ones. We printed out all the comments, cut them up, put them into a basket and the winner was drawn...Karen Dianne at LeeHaven! Karen, please e-mail me with your snail mail address and it will be winging it's way to you! This was definitely fun, and I would like to do this pretty regularly...

Have a wonderful Wednesday!!

JulieK

Orange Crush Part 3! (and part 2)

Good Morning!!

Pretty bad picture! Nevertheless, I wanted to show you my embroidery. I see it called stitchery these days on all your wonderful blogs, but my Mom called it embroidering like this and had us doing it when we were really little! Is there a difference, probably so! Please let me know! :) I have a fingerprint on the picture, and a shadow, but still would like you to see my little dragonfly...

I have had a productive morning...Above is part three of Bonnie's Orange Crush Mystery. Of course, you have to see all the threads and no points trimmed...I love the way they turned out!
The pieces on the left lay more flat, as they have had that little point trimmed off in the middle. I am enjoying my new rulers, the Easy angle and the Conpanion angle! I never would have thought these would fit together so well! So have learned something new and am enjoying it so much. This is the completed part 2. The points even match in the middle! (sometimes) :) I used to be stressed (only slightly) when my piecing was not perfect, now it is such a joy to just enjoy it. The quilt police have left the building! I am using mostly 1800's reproductions, but if another pieces sneak in, that's ok too. I have been hoarding my little stash of reproductions for a long time, but I need to use what I have! I need to have faith that more fabric will be available when I need it, and that is can live in the store until I do(Bonnies' words)!!
I am wondering in anticipation...how will the blocks/quilt go together? That is the fun of it!! I love to get the parts done and wait in anticipation until the next clue.

I sincerely wish you joy on this Tuesday! I hope each person has a little time for themselves and their projects. My 67th post...tomarrow is the 68th and the quilt drawing!! fun!

JulieK

quilting stuff at last!! :)

Well, this has been a whirlwind last several days! A quick trip OOT, then working 3 -13 hours shifts straight...I have missed doing anything but working, sleeping and eating!!

Wow! How neat that so many people have commented on the little quilt I am giving away on my last post. It has been so nice to hear from friends and meet new ones, too! I should have made the drawing a shorter time frame, but I will still do the drawing on the 30th, because that is what I said, and I should honor that. But I can hardly wait to speed the little quilt to it's new home!

I am supposed to be working on a plaid quilt, and for evidence that I actually am, I present the above block. All the plaids are different, some from clothing, some from fabric samples, etc. It will be quite the mad mix when it is done.

OK, I just can't stop making little doll quilts! This bowtie pattern was sold in the quilt shop, and I bought it, took it home, and then proceeded to make my own sized pattern...hmmm, a problem there! It is hand pieced, hand quilted, and hand stippled in the border. FUN!! this is addicting...and I love it!

I am also working on the latest Bonnie mystery quilt, Orange Crush. I am on step 2.

A final note: I got a goldfish TWO years ago. The clerk sternly said not to put him in a goldfish bowl, and that he was only a feeder fish (12 cents), and may not live long. He has lived in the big goldfish bowl for two years...today, he is more than twice as big as he was when I got him, and he has teeth! I know, because when you feed him, he crunches the food with said teeth! Cool, huh...his name is Herbert!! (may be a girl for all I know)...

Grins!! Have a wonderful day with whatever occupies you this day!!

Julie