Disappearing four patch, and a mysterious quilt.

I am making progress on my disappearing four patch. Plaids!  What can be better?

Oops!  I see some misplaced blocks.  I will have to be very careful with this one.

This quilt is a whole cloth quilt, hand embroidered.  

It is yellowed and the top edge is frayed, from someone pulling the quilt up to their chin, I imagine.

 See the fraying?  It has some small bulges in the very thin batting, which I believe are cotton seeds.  The quilting is absolutely amazing.  The tiniest quilting stiches are throughout and the edge was turned to face and stitched together.

Any idea of the age or provenance?

Have a great day!

Julie

Good afternoon!!

Hello to all!!  I have been busily hand quilting on this quilt.  I have nearly all of the border done!  I have quilted around each square, on both sides of the tiny green sashing.  Hand quilting is addicting!!  So, the whole thing is stabilized, enough that I could apply the binding.  By the way, I used 2 inch strips for the binding on this one.  It turned quite well. Very tight and full, just like the quilt judges told me I needed to work on.  So, maybe I will use that width of binding strip from now on. What do you use, pray tell?   Such a lot of stitches! I wonder how many stitches are in a hand quilted piece!

I finished the above binding as well.  Dear Janet sent out some tumblers, and what fun they are!!  Thank you, Janet! I love the pink tumblers best.  This one is hand quilted, and the binding done.  Hurrah!!!  It even has a label.  Gasp!

Bonnie Hunter has a quilt along going on, as a leader and ender.  I made a different kind of quilt.  This one will be a quilt of valor.  Good progress on this one.  But borders are needed!

 I finished hand quilting this mini, too.  It lacks binding, so I will get on that job.  I added some spiral embroidery to a couple of the circles.  Just a thing to add some interest!

Please see Wendy, here, to take a peek at all the lovely mini quilts in the works!!

The Constant Quilter

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

Have any of you had a loved one with dementia?  I find this frequently, dealing with my patients as a nurse, but I am wondering about family dynamics and how it affects your world.  Just exploring how to help my patients best.

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Have a lovely day!  Big thanks to Kathy and Cindy for checking up on me.  I did not mean to be absent so

 long from the blog!

Julie

Progress!

Good afternoon!  I sewed a border on this quilt.  Hurrah!!  All from my stash, which feels great.  

Scrappy blocks rule!!  LOL!

I found this little block in the quilt closet and wondered why I did not do anything with it?  Hmmmm!!!

I found a purse pattern and made it.  It is a really good pattern!  Here it is:

Sweet Jane's Quilting: Quilting Tutorial to make a Library Tote from scraps! (sweetjanesquilting.blogspot.com)

Honestly, it is purse sized, not library tote sized.  I guess I check out too many books!  It is not quite big enough for that purpose, for me, but the PERFECT purse size, and I love it!!

I am making more of these blocks.  They are so fast, honestly!

 Here is the block.  Nice and graphic when put together.

Hope you are having a lovely day!

Julie K

Scrappy goodness!!

Good morning to all!!!  I have been enjoying working on whittling down my 2.5-inch-wide strip bin.  I selected some strips, kitted up these blocks, and here is where I am.  I did have a humility block in the middle of the quilt, where a black piece was turned around, but I correct that.  Now I see another one!  It is staying!  It seems that the black nine patches make the brighter colors that much more vivid. 

I tried to put the bright blocks in the center, and the duller, darker colors toward the outside of the quilt.  Now I am faced with the border dilemma, as usual!  I am not sure what to do for a border!

This is my mini of the month for September.  It is displayed under a small collection of Halloween goodies.  Great fun!

 I bought a couple of mums from Home Depot and will decorate my front porch with these things.  I love fall time!

How are you doing, each of you??

Julie

Gratitude!

I have the day off work today!!!  Hurrah!  I am working on my disappearing nine patch quilt.  PLAIDS!!  Rule the roost!

(And I am cleaning, honestly, I am)

So, may I ask your opinion?  Is this light-colored plaid an outlier?  Does it look funny in the quilt!  Should I take it out?

Thank you for your discussion and wisdom!

 Here are all my blocks on the cookies sheet...all cut out and ready to sew.

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

I am so very grateful for you, my friends.  I have been so stressed the past while, trying as I might to make an awful situation winnable.  Sometimes, to win, you have to let go.  I am grateful for that lesson!  I just love my new unit...great team, and all seem to be on the same page...PATIENTS first!!!

Thank you for your support!!

Julie

My green string quilt is actually quilted, at long last!  Hurrah!  

I used a scrappy binding, of all different green; pieces I have saved for years.

I bound it on the machine!!  To save time, and to get it in the hands of someone who needs it...I applied the binding on the back, brought it around to the front, and sewing carefully, topstitching along the inner edge of the binding.  Turned out very well, to my delight!!

Here is my binding pile to start with.

I used this tool to roll it up neatly, and wow!  It rolled off so easily and nicely.  

 I liked this tool!!

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

Well, here is my big news.  After 27 years in one hospital, all in cardiac, and 6 years in another...a mixed bag, but mostly cardiac.... I am quitting my job.  Rather, I am moving to another unit in the attached hospital.  I am going from open heart surgery recovery to hospice.  They are also orienting me to oncology, as well, because I am sure to float there at time.  Why such a drastic change????

Well!!  About 5 years ago, a new nurse came here from Houston.  She was a very loud, outspoken person, a true bully, and she just thought she knew everything there is to know about nursing. And doctoring...she regularly corrects the doctors. (they laugh at her).   She has banded together a band of followers self-called the "Bad Ass Bitches."  They are gossipers, backbiters, and just atrocious.  They have run off three other nurses...and guess what?  They ran me off too!  Every single day, I am run down, maligned, talked about, reported to my boss...for nothing.  Now understand that I am an excellent nurse...certified in my specialty, nearly completed with my master's degree, and have excellent rapport with all the docs and my patients. Moreover, I love my patients!  I am qualified in Impella, Balloon pump, Dialysis, open heart recovery, TAVR recovery, Vent support...and I am the charge nurse.  I don't call in and I don't be lazy at work.  

I just made up my mind that I am not going to put up with that anymore.  She runs the show there...and runs people off for fun and giggles with her group.

So, I decided I can fight her...administration did nothing...or I could leave.  So?  I left!!  Funny how the bosses begged me to stay, after allowing all of this torture to all of us go on forever! 

 And I am very excited about being the very best hospice nurse I can!  I also am keeping my toe in the water with ICU care...going to float to ICU and CCU sometimes, to keep my skills up.  I am delighted to be starting a new nursing adventure!  I had hoped to retire from my unit, but it became so toxic, I just could not cry another tear, or try and be friends another minute, or fight anymore.  I am a gentle person, and I think I am following God's path for me, right to Hospice.

So, I appreciate you all bearing with me.  I have been so stressed for months as I struggled with what to do, and I am so behind in answering any comments and correspondence.  Forgive me...I will do better now that this burden has been lifted from me. I have already worked through my month notice...I was only required to give two weeks, but I gave my boss an entire month.  I have already started my new job!

That is my big news!!!

Hope you have a lovely day!

Julie

Progress on the fishy quilt!

Good morning to you!!  I am just loving this scrappy quilt.  Thank you, Bonnie Hunter, for the leader and ender idea!!

 The quilting is very dense and I adore it!!

Hope you are having a really good day!!