red stars

I've been working on this red quilt for a while--finally at a place where I can concentrate on it and finish the top. Trying to figure out borders.
The reds are from my stash.

cowboy quilts

I buy plaid cotton shirts at the thrift stores--here in Chicago the big chains are Unique Thrift (half price on Mondays!) and Village Discount. I take them home, launder them to get rid of that "thrift store smell" and take apart the shirts.
I'm always looking for good cowboy prints to use for these quilts.
My neighbor and friend, Sharon, is a quilter and a thrift store treasure seeker too, and we have a deal where we give each other a sleeve off each shirt we buy.
Lately, I have been finding lots of yellow and orange shirts--must have been a fashion trend a year ago that passed me by.

go go white sox!

Chicago is full of Sox fever and I laughed when on the radio this morning the sports guy went on a rant about how there were no hotel rooms to be had in Houston because there were "all these damn quilters all over the place." He had to be in a hotel 15 miles out of town because of "these little old ladies who have a compulsion to quilt booked every hotel room in town."
I may invite him to our show in November...

cats

I guess I can join the Halloween bandwagon with this quilt--not Halloween colors, but has cats. I am not a cat person. We had cats on the farm growing up and we played with kittens, but they were there to do a job in keeping the mice and rats under control. I can see no reason for the existence of the cat that lives in our house other than my husband and children adore it.
I do like cat quilts, though, and have a popular cat quilt class. This one I gave to my sister who gave us the cat. She has the better end of this deal.

hospice

I am a hospice nurse and have days where I come home feeling like I have carried too much, and others when I come home exhilarated by the events of the day.
It is a priviledge and honor to be with people at the end, and I take it very seriously.
It is also a job, with typical job stresses, companionship with co-workers, and trying to get out on time to be with my family. I have finally gotten the message from my teenage children that there be no more "Death Talk" when I get home. I try to have funny stories, or hopeful ones. But, it being hospice, Death is kind of the point. So, my sisters and husband get those thoughts.
And, I guess you too, as it is 2am and I've been home 2 hours and they are all asleep!