One Pink Heart Quilt

This quilt was made for a young friend recently diagnosed with breast cancer.  When I asked what color she would like her quilt to be, she said white.  Then she suggested a single pale pink heart in the center.  I honored her color choices but the heart is place slightly off center.  The quilt is not a true whole cloth quilt but has that look.  The center is a 30 in X 42 in piece of plain white fabric quilted as if it where made of 6 in blocks.The border is of white-on-white striped fabric with mitered corners.

The quilt is machine pieced and quilted.  The heart is hand appliqued.  The quilt measures 46 in X 57 in.

This next photo shows the pink heart and quilting a litter better.

This photo shows the border quilting.

Between the Lines is a Must Read

I am one of the physicians Dr. Zilberberg  (@murzee) mentions repeatedly in her book “Between the Lines” who don’t understand statistics.  I know it is one of my weaknesses.  Her book has done much to aid my understanding.  I will re-read it and pass it on to my niece who has mentioned she might want to go to medical school.  I had already told her to make sure she took a statistics class.

The book is easy to read and @murzee makes the concepts easier to understand than anyone I have ever heard/read.  If you want to gain a better understandings of the different types of scientific studies, biases, and statistical analysis, then“Between the Lines” is a must read.  

Blue Silk Scarf

I recently finished knitting this scarf.  I used the pattern Three Sisters Scarves # Three by Monika Steinbauer.  The yarn is Blue Ridge Yarns Silk Shimmer Lace yarn (100% silk. Finished and blocked, the scarf measures 10 in X 66 in.  It has a light and airy feel which is lovely.

and here's a closer shot.  I really like how it turned out.

Scrappy Baby Quilt

This baby quilt is for fellow medical blogger Scutmonkey, so I tried to make sure there were several monkeys throughout the quilt.  Even though this baby is a girl, I wanted elements that would be interesting for boys and girls.  The quilt top was made in a crazy quilt fashion using scraps.  It is machine pieced and quilted.  The quilt measures 38.5 in X 48 in.

 

The next few photos are to show some of the fun things hidden in the quilt.  Here you can find Holly Hobby, a cowboy, a wagon, Winnie the Pooh, Piglet.

In this one there’s a pink monkey, a blue hippo, a butterfly, a clown, a parrot, and more monkeys.

In this one, more monkeys, a dog on a motorcycle, piglet, a race car, ladybugs, and Holly Hobby.

 

In this one, there is a sports car, a dancing girl, skiers, flowers, and lots of colors (yellow, green, red, blue, purple).

Here’s the back.  Remember my previous post about the quilt that I took apart. 

 

And here you can see some of the quilting. I marked and did the quilting from the back.

Rose Medallion Quilt That Was

This quilt is no longer.  I made it and entered it into a national quilt contest back in 2005 (I think).  It actually looks better in photos than it did in real life.  The roses, stems, and leaves are all hand appliqued.  The saw tooth borders are hand appliqued too.  The three areas are machined together.  I don’t recall the exact measurements of the finished quilt but think it was approx 60 in square.  It was machine quilted.

Here is a close up which shows how stuffed the roses are and some of the quilting.

I wasn’t happen with the quilt, so after the contest I took it apart.  I “harvested” the roses, leaves, and stems and have used them in various projects.  The background I am currently using as the back of a small quilt (40 in X 50 in) which I’ll have finished in a few weeks.  Here you can see where I have begun the quilting.

Happy 5th Blogiversary to Me!

Yes, it’s been five years since I started this blog.  The title underwent a small change this past fall when I closed my plastic surgery practice and took a job with the disability determination service office as an SMAC.  I have found the job interesting, am learning a lot, and have great colleagues.  I do miss surgery, but the positive changes have outweighed the negative.

I have found it difficult to blog about medical stuff on a regular basis but hope that will change.  I have also found with all the reading I do at my new job I don’t find myself reading as many blogs as I did.  I apologize to all you good medical bloggers.  I am happy @bongi1 continues to write at other things amanzi.   Dr. Rob resurfaced this year with a new blog:  More Musings (of a Distractable Kind). 

We lost a fellow blogger this past fall, but this past Monday another fellow blogger resurfaced on twitter.  You may recall the blog Rural Doctoring, she went by @ruraldoctoring on twitter, now is going by @madhungrymind. 

This week is tied to another anniversary for me, the loss of my mother who died three years ago this Saturday.

Thirty years ago this month I graduated from medical school.  Here is a post on a memory from my junior year:  My First Surgery Rotation  (August 7, 2008).

Thank you all for the allowing me to be a member of the medical blogging community.   I truly value your friendship.

Funtastic Baby Quilt

I have finished the baby quilt using a simple  pattern I have come to love.  It was mailed earlier this week to a new grandfather for the grandchild to use.  The quilt is machine pieced using multiple fabrics from my stash, many were scarp pieces or left-over squares.  It is machine quilted in a simple cross-hatch pattern.  It measures 42 in square. 

Here is a close up of some of the squares to show the fabrics better.  Check out the butterflies and the dog bones.

Here's another.  It's difficult to see, but the yellow fabric has red stars throughout.  I love the John Deere center in the green block.

And another.  The back of the quilt uses the green fabric from the upper-right square with the black center. 

In Progress

I’m currently working on two projects, one quilting and one knitting.   Here you can see the blocks of a new baby quilt.  I have actually finished piecing it and have begun the quilting.  The quilt will measure 42 in square when done.

The knitting project is a scarf using Blue Ridge Yarns Silk Shimmer Lace yarn (100% silk) and the pattern Three Sisters Scarves # Three by Monika Steinbauer.  

I know who will receive the baby quilt when it’s done, but I have yet to decide who will receive the scarf.  I am enjoying the process with both projects.

Small Messenger Bag

This is the latest bag I’ve made, a small messenger bag measuring 7.5 in wide X 9 in tall.  I machine quilted two layers of the gold batik.  This one has the optional chevron strip pieced pocket.

This photo shows the Chevron fabric better.  I used some denim as well as cottons.

Here you can see the zippers and the swivel snap for holding keys or small flash light.

 

Here is the back.

Tree of Life Quilt

I made this quilt in 1992.  I combined two pattern – the tree of life and maple leaves.  I used the fabric from a madras plaid skirt/shirt I had and loved, but needed to be retired.  Sorry the photos are better, but they were taken with the quilt on the bed and me standing on the foot board for most of them.

My attempt to get the photo more “straight-on” is slightly fussy.  The quilt is machine pieced and quilted.  I quilted in in sections (the sides, the end, and the main section) and then sewed them together.
The is shaped to overhang the sides of the bed and not get hung up.
Here is a better photo of the maple leaves.
Each maple leave block is 6 in square.
Here is a sketch of the layout with measurements.

Dog in the Yard House Quilt

This is the small quilt I made for the 2012 Alliance for American Quilt “home is where the heart is” contest.  The deadline isn’t until June 1, 2012 so there is time for you to enter if you are interested.

I used multiple techniques to make the quilt, beginning with machine piecing.  I initially screwed up the measurements with the base of the house being 12 in X 12 in rather than the 12 in high X 15 in wide specified by the contest rules.   I had to redo it, but the mistake worked it my favor (thankfully) and it looked better and gave me room for the windows.

The finished size is 15 in wide X 19.5 in high.  It is machine and hand quilted. 

I used Mistyfuse to apply the fussy cut dog with his house onto the quilt prior to doing the quilting.  I used Textures Magic (my first experience with it) to make the bushes which I hand appliqued after finishing the quilting.

I again used Mistyfuse to add the fussy cut cat.  I embroidered the ivy onto the house walls.
The windows, the door, and this attic window were fussy cut.
Here is the back before adding the ring and sleeve specified for hanging.
This photo and the next show the detail of the quilting better.

Small Voyager Handbag

I recently made this small handbag for a friend.  It is made using the Ghee’s Voyager Handbag pattern.  I used the small size, but made it an inch wider.  Open, as in this photo, it measures 7 in X 11 in.

Closed, as in this photo, it measures 7 in X 6.5 in.
Here’s the back.  It has a clip for keys.