Five Shadows

Last week I forgot to show the picture of my grandson with his train quilt.

He was so adorable pointing at the train and cars on the quilt!

This week was all about working on the appliqué quilt for my son and his lovely wife! Today is their anniversary, and NO I did not finish the quilt in time to gift the quilt today.

I did complete the quilting on the top and bottom appliqué sections.

And attached the two section to the rest of the quilt. I used a quilt-as-you-go method. See the white sashing sewn over the seam attaching them together? The vine now has to be stitched in place going over the joining sashing. I hope that makes sense.

Above the vine is now stitched in place so it continues around the quilt.

The quilt so far, appliqué vine border completed!

Next is a clam shell border.

This is what a pile of 228 clam shells looks like.

Cut at 5 1/2,”  5″ finished.

Top right – 90 of the 228 Clam Shells ready to line up on quilt border. I’m using freezer paper templates, pressing a 1/4″ edge over paper for a finished edge. Bottom of photo – 10 more in process.

Once the Clam Shells are all prepped they will be sewn around the quilt for a border of three rows of Clam Shells. I hope to start that process this week!

I feel like January is zooming by! May it be a good quilting month for all of you!

Last Week’s To-Do List:

1. Quilt the two appliqué sections.  ✔️ Completed!
2. Sew quilted sections to the quilt center.  ✔️ Attached!
3. If there is time start Clam Shell Border.  ✔️prepping 228 Clam Shells

This Week’s To-Do List:

1. Clam Shells!
2. Maybe create a Fussy Cut truck pillow for my grandson – Project Quilting 12:2 Challenge.

Linking to To-Do Tuesday hosted by Home Sewn by Us!

Progress! That is a good word for this past week!

This week the top and bottom sections of  appliqué vines, flowers, and leaves was completed!

Vines pinned in place and then blanket stitched. Flowers, leaves and buds added after stitching vines.

Oops, I did not have enough of the green bud bits.

So I got busy making more little 1″ green pieces for buds.

Work in progress – buds, flowers, leaves pinned in place ready to machine stitch.

Stitching complete! Sections are now sandwiched waiting for quilting.

Close up of turned appliqué machine stitched in place.

Quilting these two sections starts today! Then they will be attached to quilt using Pauline Rogers Quilt As You Go method. If all goes well with completing these 2 sections, the next step in making this quilt is creating a clam shell border.

Last Week’s To-Do List:

1. Applique!  ✔️  Applique is completed! The 2 sections are sandwiched!

This Week’s To-Do List:

1. Quilt the two appliqué sections.
2. Sew quilted sections to the quilt center.
3. If there is time start Clam Shell Border.

Linking to To-Do Tuesday hosted by Home Sewn by Us.

I could not resist! Last year I joined Kim and Trish’s Project Quilting Challenge  Season 11, which was my first time to play along. As 2020 ended, I was watching for Season 12 to be announced. Sunday, January 3rd the 12th season kicked off.

The first challenge is Illuminating + Ultimate Gray. Make a quilt, any size, using yellow & gray and post by January 10, 11am CST.

Here is my first entry

I just went with the first thing that popped in my mind once reading the challenge. Matthew 5:5 No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all in the house.

So here is my little candle with a bit of illuminating light. I used two gray fabrics left over from the train quilt I made for my grandson. The two yellow fabrics for the candle and flame came out of my scrap bag of leftovers already fused with Misty Fuse. I used several threads, Aurifil, Persencia, and Superior in yellows and gray for quilting. The yellow dot fabric was left from a FQ bundle.

That was a fun piece that went together quickly. We have one week to make the quilt, and then a week off, for 6 challenges total in 12 weeks.

Now I have to get back to appliqué!

These flower, vines and leaves go on the quilt I’m making for my son & DIL. Sadly I did not get this quilt finished in 2020. Their wedding anniversary is January 19th. I’m beginning to think I’ll not have this completed by then, which is all my fault as I am so easily distracted by QALs and quilt challenges – like PQ 12!

Good news though, I did finish the quilt for my grandson!

Quilted & bound! His 3rd birthday is Thursday the 7th. The quilt is washed and ready to gift!

May your New Year by Happy and Productive!

Last To-Do List of 2020:

1. Sandwich and quilt the train quilt. ✔️quilted and bound!
2. Maybe pull out the appliqué quilt for my son & DIL. Pin appliqué in place. – pulled out today to start pinning appliqué.

This Week’s To-Do List:

1. Applique!

Linking to To-Do Tuesday and Project Quilting.

Happy New Year! New year and new monthly goals! I plan to participate in Patty’s OMG each month. If you would like to join or see what others plan to quilt or craft each month follow this link.

I completed my December goal of piecing a train quilt for my grandson. I quilted it over the past 2 days. And now my goal for January is to get it bound.

I’m using the red and white print for the binding.

Once the quilt is ready to gift, I’ll turn my attention back to appliqué.

I have these pieces ready to attach to a quilt I’m making for my son and DIL. Then the last step is piecing a final border.

What are your plans for the first month of the new year?

Linking to OMG hosted by Patty of Elm Street Quilts.

My goal to close out the year of 2020 was to piece this All Aboard train quilt for my grandson -

Piecing happened!

Engine

Cargo

I wanted to include cars and trucks on the quilt.

Cars and trucks from these two patterns might work.

Orange car, my grandson’s favorite color at the moment.

truck

Dump truck – I used the same cab from Cool Cars pattern and then used a coloring page to build the rest of the truck.

Tractor – another coloring page helped with this design.

Now that the vehicles are all made, how could I include them?

Brain storm! I could load the vehicles on to the train bed!

 

And finish with a train track border.

The quilt is pieced and sandwiched, so I did meet my December goal!

Next up, quilting and binding. I’ll use the red print fabric in above photo.

Happy New Year everyone!

Linking to One Monthly Goal hosted by Patty of Elm Street Quilts.

I hope everyone who celebrates had a Blessed Christmas.

I completed and hung up my Christmas Countdown quilt on Christmas day. I’m happy with it! This was a quilt-along hosted by Helen Godden. If you want to stitch up one, find Helen’s instructions on YouTube.

With Christmas and celebrations, not much sewing happened this past week, as I expected. I did find time to finish the train track border for my grandson’s quilt.

And added one more border of the mottled gray. Tomorrow I hope to get it all sandwiched and ready to quilt. His birthday is January 7th, so that is my goal – have it completed to gift to him on his birthday!

I don’t think my family is doing anything special together for New Year’s Eve. That might mean some sewing time, or reading. I’ll see what mood I’m in that night.

I hope you all have a happy & healthy New Year.

Goodbye 2020!

Last Week’s To-Do List:

1. Finish Helen Godden’s Christmas Countdown quilt-along! Hope to hang it for Christmas! ✔️
2. Keep chugging along on that train track. ✔️

This Week’s To-Do List:

1. Sandwich and quilt the train quilt.
2. Maybe pull out the appliqué quilt for my son & DIL. Pin appliqué in place.

Linking to To-Do Tuesday with Home Sewn by Us.

Can you believe it! Christmas is just a few days away! And tomorrow my hubs and I celebrate 43 years of marriage! Yes, it was crazy to get married just 2 days before Christmas. But, there you have it. Young love does crazy things!

I’ve kept current on Helen Godden’s Christmas Countdown.

Poinsettia petals and leaves are quilted. Next up is the basket using yellow thread.

My grandson’s train quilt is coming along. I’ve been stitching up train track and have it attached to the top and bottom of the quilt.

Here is just a snippet of the bottom track border. Next up more track along the sides of the quilt. More photos to come, next week.

I really don’t know where this past week went. I sure didn’t get a full week of sewing in! I hope, you, my quilting friends have had a good week of seasonal celebrations.

Last Week’s To-Do List:

1. Stay current with Helen Godden’s Christmas Countdown quilt-along!  ✔️
2. Piecing train track for outer border of grandson’s quilt. ✔️ Getting there!

This Week’s To-Do List:

1. Finish Helen Godden’s Christmas Countdown quilt-along! Hope to hang it for Christmas!
2. Keep chugging along on that train track.

Linking to To-Do Tuesday with Home Sewn by Us. Go take a look and join in!

Helen Godden’s Christmas Countdown quilt-along is so much fun! Just a little bit of stitching each day.

Days 1 – 15 complete! 15 petals filled in with different designs, and then some little petals with stippling.

Train Quilt! Here is what I’ve got pieced.

Using Cool Cars by Sew Kind of Wonderful, I altered it a bit to create what I hope looks something like a tractor. Added to last week’s stitching, that makes 4 vehicles for the quilt.

Add more cargo boxes.

Load them all up on the train flat beds!

And here is the train quilt, so far, for my grandson.

Next up, a train track border using All Aboard pattern by It’s Sew Emma.

That’s it for this week. Seems I’m slowing down a bit on the sewing, Oh wait, there were 3 days of migraine headaches this week. Gah. Hate when that happens. Seems I get them more often as I get older, happens with change in barometric pressure.

Hope you are all staying well and enjoying the Holiday Season!

Last Week’s To-Do List:

1. Continuing on with Helen Godden’s Christmas Countdown quilt-along. ✔️ So much fun!
2. Continue stitching up quilt for grandson. ✔️ Train & vehicles completed! On to train track.
3. Maybe work on son & DIL’s quilt. ✗ Figured I’d finish grandson’s quilt first then get back to this one.

This Week’s To-Do List:

1. Stay current with Helen Godden’s Christmas Countdown quilt-along!
2. Piecing train track for outer border of grandson’s quilt.

Linking to To-Do Tuesday hosted by Home Sewn by Us.

Merry Christmas Month!

I’m keeping up with Helen Godden’s Christmas Countdown quilt-along.

After outlining the design in black thread, December 1st we started filling in the Poinsettia petals with a different quilt design each day. 8 days completed!

I had a fun week of piecing blocks for my grandson’s quilt.

First up the train engine. The pattern is All Aboard by Its Sew Emma.

Next cargo on flat beds.

I want to add other vehicles to the train quilt, but hmmm, how do I do that? Light bulb moment! I will load them on to the train! But first I have to piece them.

I’m using Sew Kind Of Wonderful’s Cool Car pattern.

I altered the long car turning it into a truck.

More playing around, I figured out a dump truck. I actually looked at free coloring pages to come up with this design meshed with Cool Cars.

Next up will be a tractor.

I didn’t touch my son’s quilt this week. I spent more time this week helping out a friend in a nursing home with her shopping. Kind of strange because of Covid we can only talk on the phone, no face to face. Some of the items she wanted are just not available, even with checking on line. The isolation is very tough on those in nursing homes, retirement communities, etc. Keep them in mind and in your prayers.

Last Week’s To-Do List:

1. Keep up with Helen Godden’s Christmas Countdown quilt-along. ✔️ Yep!
2. Stitch up the train for my grandson. ✔️ Fun creating!
3. Start pinning applique to top and bottom of my son & DIL’s quilt. ✗ Oops, no.

This Week’s To-Do List:

1. Continuing on with Helen Godden’s Christmas Countdown quilt-along.
2. Continue stitching up quilt for grandson.
3. Maybe work on son & DIL’s quilt.

Linking to To-Do Tuesday!

Wow! Even with all the Covid and other craziness of this year, it is still hard to believe that December is already here!

Thanksgiving has past, and Christmas is around the corner. I hope everyone is enjoying the celebrations even if it means not the way you would traditionally celebrate. That said, I do miss my adult children and grandchildren. We do manage to see them some, but not like in past years.

On to my goal for December. I will continue on with the quilt for my son and DIL. The next step is appliqué sections for the top & bottom of the center of the quilt.

BUT!

I need to start and finish a quilt for my grandson by his 3rd birthday, January 7, 2021!  I’ll be working on both, but my goal for December will be  to get as far along on my grandson’s quilt as possible!

I bought this All Aboard kit to make the train which will be part of the quilt.

And I have collected car & truck patterns and fabric that will also be in the quilt.

December OMG – cutting & piecing vehicle quilt for my grandson! Phew! What a month this will be!

Linking to One Monthly Goal hosted by Patty Elm Street Quilts.