Sticking to just one project works wonders! Who da thunk it?

 Yahoo!!  I have found my grove!  By just sticking to one project, I have finished something...at least to the flimsy stage, LOL!  I thought the orange border would be it...but the quilt demanded to have an infusion of light in it.  I added the white border, then the string border, then the second white border.  The quilt says it is now finished, thank you very much.

 The whole thing.  A challenge I encountered was to use every string.  Straight or wonky, I used them all.   This ends up to be a quite wonky border!  So I took strange seam allowances and tried to make it  all as straight as I could...some strings were two inches wide on one side and 1 inch wide at the other end.  But I used everything in the bag...well some of everything.  There are still more 6 inch cut border pieces.  Quite a few more, so I anticipate another quilt or two from this same batch of scraps.  My imagination is running, designing those.

 I prepped a few more leaves for the flying goose quilt too.  Multi-colored leaves!!  Love that...using up scraps here, and it is so much fun!!



Hope each of you is having a marvelous day!

Julie

Storm stories and Focus!!

 Well, I wrote earlier about being adrift with too many projects on the brain...so I decided on one hand project, and two piecing projects to go for!!  I mean to really focus on...and one had to be a UFO.  so...TADA!!!  I am working on my flying geese quilt!!  I am working on the applique.  The quilt will have a top and bottom border of the cheddar fabric, and then a pretty fabric outer border...which I don't have.  But I will have it...maybe I will have to go SHOPPING!!!  Hee!

 Another view...the geese are 3 x 6 inches finished.

 And I love the multi-colored leaves!!  This is all needle turn applique.  Since I have a couple not-good results from my blanket stitched and fused applique, I am going to try and stick with needle turn.  I love it too!  Just takes longer...

 And these stars...I added 12 new ones, completed this morning.  It is still pretty small...so I will keep going until I run out of squares that I have cut out.

And the border on last post's quilt...working on that one too!!

So...I focused!  And feel so much better, and much more productive than dithering hither, thither and yon....




*****************************The STORM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was at the hospital, at work, last Thursday.  Just a busy day...people on the ventilator, lots of drips, some sick, sick patients there.  Busy and just a normal kinda day.  Then the operator announced, " Code Black!".  This means there is a tornado in the immediate area!  So we all ran...moving the patients to the center hallways, shutting blinds and windows and doors...and all stuck together, close and listened to the wind.  The windows bowed in and out...seemed like a couple inches...I did not know glass could give like that!  But it was the pressure changes. Debris swirled by...huge oak trees in front of the hospital came down...not on the building, thank goodness!  The air was full of darkness and trees limbs and the trees were just sideways.  (yes, we went into an empty room and watched out the window for a time.) Electricity went out...the generator kicked on thankfully. We made sure every patient had slippers or socks or shoes on their feet, so if glass were broken, their feet would be OK.  We monitored the vents and iv pumps and reassured patients too.  Counted wheelchairs, gurneys and decided how we would get patients out if need be.  Who was sickest...who could walk...who needed oxygen, etc.  Then....it was silent.  And the sun came out so quickly!!  

Buildings collapsed up the street.  Many, many trees down.  I did not even think about my own house because I was too busy!  But we lost several large limbs, and our old, old cedar tree...thanks be to God, it went toward the street and not on our house.  I came home and immediate started helping dear husband clean up the tree...and a neighbor came with a chain saw and cut up the parts that was blocking the road.  Next day I raked and picked up debris all day long.

And now?  what a glorious day!!  And I feel so blessed...no damage to the house, and we have our electricity back...it only took four days...snort!!!  A hot shower feels amazing, doesn't it??  instead of a cold spit bath....

Many people had significant damage and lots of injuries were told of...but no deaths that I know of.  We were quite lucky indeed.  Praying for those who had worse trouble...and guess what?  The day after, lots of church men from lots of churches came through the neighborhoods looking for people they could help!!  Loved seeing that too!

click HERE to see a crazy picture of the storm cloud


So that is my storm story!   One news agency said 2 tornadoes touched down.  Another said straight line winds 90-100 MPH.  I don't know...but it was a big Storm to this girlie!!!
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\Have a great day, all!!


Julie

Scrappin' it!

 For me, there is nothing like a little mindless string piecing to set my mind at complete peace (piece).   LOL!! Just sewing away, not worrying too much about what goes with what.  These scraps were all in a bag, and I think they need to all stay together.  A collection...I am sewing with a collection!!

 I have all the center blocks together, and now I am working on the border.  The colors are pretty vibrant, and I am sorry that the flash washed them out a bit.  There is a lot of orange and black in the strings, so that is why the orangish inner border was chosen.

 In the future, I will not use scraps for the sashing, but a pure white.  I shouldn't muddy up these pretty colors!

There was only one of this center string in the sack..."loves me, loves me not"... maybe as a girl you took a flower and pulled the petals off one by one, wondering if your sweetheart loved you!!  Salvages and all, they all came together in this quilt. 

*********************Pondering************************

I am really trying very hard to use up every bit of every piece of fabric that I have ever bought, or been gifted, or thrift store acquired.  Seems like I try so hard to do this, that I may have lost sight of what I really, truly love.  I want to work with my plaids...I want to work with my scraps too.  I think I just need to set a plan, each month, of one UFO, one hand project, and one other quilt to concentrate on.  And put all the others away, so the scraps stop calling me to them!!!  Don;'t worry, pretty pieces and strings and squares...you will wind up in a quilt someday!!

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Thankfulness

A darling son

Lunch with dear husband

A warm snug home

Have a great day, everyone!!

Julie

A pumpkin-ish post

 Just a little pumpkin for the season...although it is still summer here, at least the temps are a tiny bit cooler.  This is from Quilt vine; just click on their name to see their website.  It was a kit...but I changed the borders.  Just can't leave well enough alone, can I?

And I added a bigger pincushion under the tiny one I made...just playing here.


ALERT!!!  ALERT!!! ALERT!!!  

A  couple things!  Please see this post...Audrey of Quilty Folk's mom lost all her stash and quilts in a horrendous fire.  Let's just fill her mailbox with pretty, pretty stash fabric...and rebuild her stash!  What do you say??  Quilters can do it!!   Sweet Paulette blogged about it HERE!

And another thing...Stephanie of Ditchin time quilts is having a wonderful giveaway...please see it here...and guess what?  She is a nurse too!!!  HERE!!




Have a great day, everyone!!!  Thank you for you friendship...when I am having a rough day,  you always lift me up!!



Julie

Quilt along

 I read Karen's blog, the Log Cabin quilter each day.  She is quilting along on this quilt.  Please click HERE to see hers.  So I am doing it too!  I am using scraps, and Karen is using wools.  I am doing needle turn applique and really enjoying it so much!  You can join right in ...please see this SITE!

And working on these blocks too...a little piecing!!



**********************Nurse's notes*****************************
Warning!!  This is not the most postive thing in the world!!!  But since this is my blog, I am going to write about it...kind of purging my heartache in a way.


I had the most wonderful patient!!  He was so very, very sick...so very young...so very much cancer invading his entire body.  Each and every time I entered the room, he lifted me up.  I was supposed to be taking care of him..and I did this of course with love...but he also took care of my spirit and soul too.  What a darling brave man...a humongous eight hour surgery...four huge incisions...infections, chemo, radiation...just everything he could have, he did have.  His sweet nature is a blessing to me in every way!!



I had another patient too...the antithesis of the above.  I wrote a whole paragraph about it...but let me just summarize...I was told I was too little, too incompetent, too slow, to "get my a$$ moving"...I tell you, I just loved going in my other patient's room for a little relief from the abuse!!  After a 12 hour shift of this, and fretting about it all night...hopefully I can let it go RIGHT NOW!  My husband says to just let it go...but my heart is really involved in my work, and it hurts my heart...

Thanks for letting me vent, friends!!

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So back to quilting...I hope you get to do some today!!

Julie

Winners! And a couple little things before I disappear...

 I made the little wall hanging from a previous post in other scrap fabrics I had.  I know that yellow print in the watering can is at least 25  years old!  This is a little portable project; one I can take in the car with me.  I love those, don't you?

I have been cutting!!  Scraps all...I just love them!  The OMIGOSH pattern by Sue Garmer uses one inch strips.  I always save that size, thinking log cabin quilts, and now I have just the project to use them up!  I am sure this will not be near enough...so I have been going through the strings and anything suitable is being cut up.


Randomly selected winners of the two patterns from Sue Garmer are:

Kathie at Antique Quilter http://inspiredbyantiquequilts.blogspot.com/

Leeanne at http://quiltmekiwi.blogspot.com/

Congratulations you two!!  I wish I had enough patterns for everyone who so graciously replied...thank you, everyone!!


Would you do me a favor and go over to Sue's blog and leave her a comment, thanking her for the pattern giveaway? What a nice thing for a famous designer to do! I know she would appreciate it...but be prepared!!  You will want to take hours there, and read every single post!  HERE

What I mean by my disappearing is going back to work at the hospital...lots of days coming up!


Julie

Try a brand new bag!

 This morning was kind of a tough one!!  I find myself wandering, not being able to settle on a project or a cleaning place in the house.  A little project is usually just what I need to get back on track.  I have been really admiring these bags, so made a couple little ones from my plaid scraps and shirt yardage for the linings from the thrift store.

Another view...the little one's pattern is here, by Rachel Griffith. The larger one is just about twice as big, and I tweaked it as I went to make it the size I wanted. I did put double batting in the large one, and interfacing in the handles to give them some strength and shape.   Each one took about one hour to make...easy-peasy!!



Have a great day, everyone!!  I am off to clean the kitchen...having found my focus!

Julie