Sweet Land of Liberty blocks

 I have a silly looking bird here...looks like a seal with a red wing!  LOL!!!  I like the remembrance banner, however.

 Here is where I am on this months blocks.  More to come.

For my "pickle" I was in last week...I added another red tiny geese row, and three more rows of pieced blocks.  TADA!!!  Almost finished...the border will take some doing, however, being 1 inch finished piecing.  This one is closer to being marked off the list for this year!  Whoop!!!



Have a super day, each of you!!

Julie

A bit of a pickle!

 I have been making progress on my row-by-row quilt this past month...and here is my progress up to today.  There is only one more row left!!  Which makes...a nearly square quilt.  Which is NOT what I was hoping for, LOL!!  I blithely flung myself into this project, and didn't even think about the length.  I need quilts that are big enough for a hospital bed, or couch sized, and a square one does not work for what I need.  I thought of adding just a plain border top and bottom, or an applique piece, or a string border...but I just think I am going to make another three rows of little blocks of my  own design.  I got to hunting in the pieces and parts basket, and I have some little blocks that may work.  What would you do??

Stay tuned!!

Many of you will recognize this quilt  as a sampler that was running last year...I have been gifted with this quilt.  I treasure it, and the maker.  Thank you so, so much!!!  I am just overwhelmed.





Quilting friends are simply the best ones, ever.


Julie

Calling all Log Cabin Loonies!!

 It is Tuesday!!  So that means...it is time for those little Log Cabin blocks!!

Are you a super fun quilter?  OF COURSE YOU ARE!!  Are you ready to start making tiny log cabin blocks?  As I am, maybe you are...maybe we are LOG CABIN LUNATICS!!!  A wonderful, fun group of us played here with log cabin blocks before on this blog...so the LOONIES ride again!!   WHOOP!!

As I blogged about last week, these tiny blocks are 4 inches finished.  They are so much fun to make!!  I think contrast is a big factor, so see that tannish print on the dark side of the block?  It would have looked better if it were a more saturated color.  Just keep that in mind as you are selecting fabrics and cutting logs; it really helps!


I have been cutting one inch strips for a long time, in an attempt to clean up after scrappy projects, and to make something useful from my strings.  I grabbed a random handful, and cut out one block.  This week, I cut a whole bunch more, using pieces in that string basket.  So I have lots of random one inch wide strips.


MAKE A TEST BLOCK...JUST ONE!!!  Make sure your cutting is accurate and my measurements are right and your seam allowance is good, etc.  TRUST ME on this...make a test block. Make it with fun fabrics and good contrasts.   The block  should measure 4.5 inch unfinished and 4 inch finished.  I laid out logs for one block on my cutting board, just for grins.

Red is the center----1.5 inches square (or whatever color you choose, or could be a random color)

Log measurements are as follows:

….light 1 inch x 1.5 inch
….light 1 inch x 2 inch

…..dark 1 inch x 2 inch
….dark 1 inch x 2.5 inch

….light 1 inch x 2.5 inch
….light 1 inch x 3 inch

….dark 1 inch x 3 inch
….dark 1 inch x 3.5 inch

….light 1 inch x 3.5 inch
….light 1 inch x 4 inch

…..dark 1 inch x 4 inch
….dark 1 inch x 4.5 inch

Start piecing this square with one red square and your first light strip, then add strips in a counter clockwise manner around the block, until you have used all your test block strips...All strips are pressed away from the center, to the outside of the block, not necessarily to the dark side. Just press outward, and your blocks will lie nice and flat.  I just finger press, until I am done piecing the blocks, then I press them nicely flat.

Measure your block...it should be 4.5 inches square.   I guess if all your blocks are the same size, it would work out just fine, but if you are accurate with your 1/4 inch seam allowance, it will be 4.5 inches square.  

 So last week, we wrapped our minds around the actually cutting and construction of these little babies...so here are my centers.  Yes, I use my casserole dishes as a pieces and parts receptacle, LOL!!  I use what is at hand, and that casserole dish was just right there! ...Believe it or not, there are 400 little 1 1/2 inch squares in here!!  Red...for the fireplace, the "heart" of the log cabin.  Took me about 10 minutes to cut them from strips...easy peasy.



How I cut the logs:  I stack the pressed strips together, and cut the largest pieces out first, to make the best use of my fabrics.  About 5 strips per stack to cut...too many more and accuracy suffers a bit, for me.

But of course, to sew, I start sewing with the littlest pieces first!  So cut the biggest first, and sew the littlest first, LOL!!

I do not sew a block at a time, but rather, chain piece all the first log to all the centers, finger press, then add the next to every center, finger press, and so on!!  This makes the best use of my time to chain piece.    Of course you can hop up and press each time...but I just have to use every moment I have, so finger pressing is fine with me on these tiny pieces.

So there you go!!!



This size block is just one example of what you can make...so if you have bigger strips, you can make your own pattern and have bigger blocks!!!

Won't you join us?  Bust that stash of strings!!!  Make a log cabin quilt!  Maybe you just want 12 blocks, or 20, or 80, or (gulp) 500!!!  or a zillion!


Ready?  Set?  Go!!!

I have several stacks of fabrics to give away for prizes for our linky parties, which will be on Tuesdays, unless they call me into work or something crazy happens.  Next week, be sure and come back and share your plans and progress, no matter what size blocks you make!!




Hugs to all!


Julie

House cleaning day!! So not much sewing...

Happy Summer!  Just a bitty quilt for today.  Have a wonderful day, on this hot summer day!  The sunflowers are growing with wild abandon along the roads!!

Julie

Are you ready???!!!!!!!!!!

 So....are you ready???    For the next 14 Tuesdays...I am working on log cabin blocks!  Want to make some tiny blocks with me, that are super easy and make an amazing quilt???  Do you have a heap of strings that you have been saving simply forever?  Would you like to use some of them up???!


Here we go!!!

 This quilt is made from 400 of these 4 inch finished blocks.  There are 5200 pieces in this quilt, not counting the pull border.  It went extremely fast...seriously!!  Simple, fast straight sewing...

 So here is the block.  4 inch finished.

 So this week...look through your strings.  Look for smaller patterns with your fabrics, because these tiny pieces really look better cut from small prints.  Look also for contrast...make your lights pretty light, and your darks pretty saturated.  It just looks better that way, trust me.

I ironed a lot of these strings, then cut them to one inch wide.  Yep!  One inch wide, that finish at 1/2 inch.  Don't let the size daunt you one bit...easy peasy!!


The centers are 1 1/2 inch squares, and finish at 1 inch.  So this week, cut as many centers as you would like to make blocks.  Maybe you just want to make a few!  Maybe you want to make a KING sized quilt.



http://www.aqsblog.com/log-cabin-quilts-a-short-history


Above is a link to a history of the log cabin quilt pattern and blocks...it is fun to read! I especially love the history about red and yellow centers of the blocks... 






There will be gifts and fun along our journey and linky parties!!


LET'S Go!


Hugs to all!


Julie

Dearest Boy update

This is my rendition of the Dearest Boy block for this time.  I tried to match the original fabrics, but I really did not have those particular fabrics, and I though...what do butterflies mean to me, anyway!?  I love those tiny yellow and blue "flutterbies" from when I was a tiny child.  So...my block is yellow and blue!  I think the secondary pattern is very pretty, formed by the antennae and placement of the butterflies.

Please see all these quilters, who are making blocks for this quilt!!

Karen:  Log Cabin Quilter

Cathy:  Big Lake Quilter
Julie:  Juliekquilts (me)
Carole: Wheels on the Warrandyte bus
Doreen:  Aunt Reen's Place

This is the whole quilt.  I am a little in love with that cow!!!  Mooooooooooooooo!




Hugs from Julie

Happy Sunday!!

 Working, working, working!!  Lots of sick patients at the hospital  It has been busy and rewarding, seeing those very ill patients get to go home.

Above is some progress on the row by row quilt, with bitty blocks.  The log cabin blocks are made from 1 inch strips, so the logs finish at 1/2 inch.  I am in love with them, and plan to use some of my much cherished and hoarded strings to make another quilt with them.  I love strings!!!

 And then, I added the star blocks.  I cheated on this row, because I make those stars all the time and have a big tub of them already made, so I just pulled out a few and put them as the next row!!!  They are four inches, finished size.

 Here is my block for Lori's quilt along, for this month.  Humble quilts rock!!

And here is where I am so far.  Not too far to go!!!




Hey, would you like to sew some of those log cabin blocks with me!  They are super easy and fun and mindless...and can use some of your ugly and funky strings up, and make a super beautiful quilt!!! Let me know if you are interested in the pattern and a sew along!!  Not too tough to figure out the log sizes...but fun to sew!




Also, is anyone interested in making some table runners with me!  TABLE RUNNER TUESDAY!!!  I am thinking about that, too...

Just some fun stuff to play with, that is not too labor or thought intensive, LOL!!




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



I have a theory about some of my patients.  It seems like the most innocent and naive patients just get over things a lot better than some of my most educated and micro-managing patients.  I had a recent lady, who had mentally challenged from birth, but the most sweet and darling thing you have ever met.  She had a super deadly problem, which kills a lot of people, but she just sailed right through it, because she didn't know that she was supposed to, by all rights and medical knowledge, die from it.  It was so inspirational!!

On the other hand, I had a patient with the exact same thing, very knowledgeable and up on every thing, who died from it.

Now, this is not acknowledged medical fact...but just something I have observed.  When I used to work pediatrics, those kiddos, some of them, should by all rights pass away...but if they were not told that, they seemed to get better!!  Not all, of course...but some.


Just an observation...I am not sure it has any basis in fact, whatsoever...Just musing here!!



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Have a super day, each of you!!


Julie