Five Shadows

Finished! Such a nice word!

The quilt my 4 year old grand daughter designed is completed and ready for some picnic activity!

Most of the blocks are quilted with a motif my grand daughter selected from these two books: 250 More Continuous-Line Quilting Designs by Laura Lee Fritz and Free-Motion Machine Quilting 1-2-3 by Lori Kennedy.

This was a fun one to quilt, here are some of my fav blocks.

Lollipop Flower page 91, Lori’s book.

Claire’s Peony page 98, Lori’s book.

Trees & clouds page 54, Laura’s book.

Stars and loops, I cut out freezer paper stars and traced around them.

Butterflies and loops, using Little Butterflies Stencil by Laundry Basket Quilts.

We used a striped fabric cut on the bias for this fun binding. And in the white border I stitched ‘Let’s have a picnic!’ ‘Time for a picnic!’ etc.

The back is a bright kitty print.

The quilt is 59″ square. Warm & Natural batting.

Next up is planning a picnic with my grand children!

Linking to One Monthly Goal sponsored by Patty at Elm Street Quilts.

I’ve had two sewing days with the two quilt groups I’m in since last Tuesday. That means finding something to take along to work on during our sewing time. I’m grateful for the friendship and encouragement I’ve found in this two groups.

Back in June, I attended the Shipshewanna Quilt Festival in Northeast Indiana. I purchased this little kit from vendor Sewing the Good Life. I took it along to my first meeting.

It’s my finish this week. I’m fairly new to embroidery, and I’m pleased with how this worked out.

Meeting with my next group, I moved on to an old Block of the Month. Gah! It’s from 2012! I found it a while back when I was looking for another UFO.

The blocks for July 2012 were 2 variations of the Dresden Plate block.

I only have 2 more blocks to complete this 7 year old BOM. Both are using English Paper Piecing hexies.

While at the Shipshewanna Quilt Festival, I saw a demo using panels in the One Block Wonder method. I could not resist buying panels to give this method a try. 7 of the same panel are needed. 6 of which are cut into triangles to form hexies that are placed around the remaining panel. Here is the beginning of my playing.

These are about half of the hexies I will be able to create from the 6 panels. I know I’m late to the game with this method that has been circulating around for a while. I’ve never been drawn to the Stack-n-Whack method, but once I saw what you can do with panels, I was hooked!

Do a search on Pinterest of “One Block Wonder with Panels” to see some fabulous quilts others are making!

Have you ever made a Stack-n-Whack or One Block Wonder quilt?

Last to-do list:

1. quilting grand daughter’s picnic quilt.  ✔️ Started, not much to show yet.

To-Do List:

1. Continue and hopefully finish grand daughter’s picnic quilt.
2. EPP 2 BOM blocks

I’m grateful to be ticking off some old projects this year. And I’m grateful for the resources to start new projects.

Linking to To-Do Tuesday.

My husband thinks this was the best stop on my recent road trip with my two grands and DIL!

It was our stop in Hamilton, MO at Missouri Star Quilt Co.

Why was this the best stop? Because it was Sunday and all the shops were closed! That saves a lot of stress on a wallet! But we stopped to give the two grands a bit of time to run around and eat a snack. Plus DIL loved window shopping there for a bit of a break from driving. She is definitely putting it on a future road trip stop when heading back to MO but during open hours!

At the mural with 4 quilts, my grand daughter liked this quilt the best, so we posed for a photo.

(photo from Pinterest)

I did shop at a lovely quilt and yarn shop in Rolla, MO. Uniquely Yours at 404 East State Rte 72.

I bought fabric for a new project. Gasp! I broke my no new project rule again! Thing is, I’ve been keeping an eye out for a summery design for a wallhanging for my living room. Once I saw this panel at Uniquely Yours, I bought it and a coordinating print.

I also bought Deborah Easter Rubles’ book.

I had seen her cutting method demoed at a quilt show, but didn’t buy the book at the time. I’ve asked about it at quilt shops, but this is the first time I’ve seen it at a shop. Turns out she’s from Missouri and had demoed at Uniquely Yours. The gals at the shop kindly did a demo for me that refreshed my memory as to why I thought it would be a worth while purchase. Next project, I’ll be cutting strips with this method. Oh, and I have an autographed copy of the book.

Last to-do list:

1. Pooh quilt ✔️ Finished and delivered. Take a look here.

To-Do List:

1. quilting grand daughter’s picnic quilt

Linking to To-Do Tuesday.

Picnic time!

Which means time to finish the picnic quilt my grand daughter and I are making together.

Four year old grand daughter selected fabrics from my stash, and showed me where to place them in the 4 x 4 quilt design. Then we looked through free-motion quilting books where she selected way too many designs for each square. Her mother joined in the fun drawing out the designs and even coloring in the paper plan to match the quilt.

Grand daughter selected the kitty print for the back of the quilt, and we are going with the strip for the binding.

My July Goal is to get this quilt sandwiched and quilted! Have to make that back first tho. Then we will have ourselves a nice little picnic!

Linking to One Monthly Goal with Patty of Elm Street.

After a bit of traveling the beginning of this month, I plan on repurposing a Winnie the Pooh crib/nursery set into a floor/picnic quilt.

I’ve got the set ripped apart. I didn’t think to take a “before” photo.

Fingers crossed I can come up with something useful for this friend of the family.

Linking to One Monthly Goal hosted by Elm Street Quilts.

A family friend asked if I could make a picnic/floor quilt out of an old crib/nursery Winnie the Pooh set.

That will be my goal for this week. I’ve ripped apart the bumper pad and crib skirt, thinking I’ll use them for the top of the quilt. I also have a faded curtain, but I think that fabric is to fragile to include in the quilt. There is a quilted valance that I might be able to work into the quilt.

We’ll see. I’m just playing with some ideas at this point.

I finished a quilt top, the Snowman table runner top, and a baby quilt. Check them out here.

Last week’s to-do list:

1. Snowman table runner or  ✔️
2. Quilting son’s quilt

To-Do List:

1. Pooh quilt

Linking to To-Do Tuesday.

Done!

My Goal was to organize my sewing room and get going on found projects. I have now organized my projects into the following categories:

1. UFO piecing list - 5  listed,  finished 1, down to 4
2. Tops to quilt – 5 quilts listed
3. New projects – 7 projects listed
4. Appliqué projects – 3 listed
5. Handwork – 2 listed
6. Customer quilts – 6 quilts listed
7. Charity quilts – 4 in the making

Maybe I’m crazy as that is a total of 32 projects! It is crazy what I found while organizing. For example, I was looking for the Basket BOM quilt I started ages ago, wondering where I was in the piecing when I walked away from it.

I found it, only 2 blocks needed to be pieced. BUT under those 10 blocks was another BOM that needed only 5 more of 20 blocks to be completed!

I neatly placed projects in clear plastic project boxes, and stacked them together by like kind. My sewing room looks much better. Re: tops to be pieced in boxes stacked together, handwork in boxes stacked together, quilt tops ready to quilted on hangers with fabric for backs, etc.

Once my sewing area was considerably neater, I got busy sewing. First up – I finished the Basket and Blooms quilt top pattern by Joined at the Hip from my UFO list.

As I was piecing the last 2 blocks and sashing, I noticed I had 2 blocks missing their stars. I added the blue star to the top left basket, and the yellow star to the left of the bottom center basket block. Once the back is pieced, I’ll add this to the Tops to Quilt list.

Next, I got going on a machine appliqué table runner from my New Projects list. This was supposed to be a monthly block or runner that my Sassy Quilters Group choice to make this year.

Yikes! I’ve only started the January block as a pieced & appliqué table runner. I don’t know if I’ll ever get caught up. Maybe I’ll just pick my favorites to work on the rest of the year.

Plus I finished a customer quilt, but then picked up another order. Which is fine as a little cash flow is nice!

So yea! I’m better organized, and I’m marking things off my lists! And I’m determined to not buy any more new projects for the rest of the year! Let’s hope I don’t run into any ‘squirrels’ that grab my attention!

Speaking of squirrels, look at this cutie I created for the baby quilt I just checked off my customer quilt list.

Linking to One Monthly Goal

One of the gals in my Curvy Quilters Group made each of us an adorable quilty.

She dressed us each in our favorite color, and gave each of us a “tool” of our trade. Twila is dressed in the reds and is surrounded with fabrics, Pat (the maker of the quilty) is dressed in green doing hand embroidery, Teresa is in purple holding a panel quilt, and I’m in turquoise holding rulers. I just adore this unexpected gift!

The baby clothing quilt is complete.

I asked my customer if she would be agreeable to having the clothes hanging from a clothes line. She liked the idea. I suggested adding a cardinal sitting on the line to add interest, since most of the clothes are Christmas theme. She suggested a squirrel, as the baby loved watching them. I am really not a fan of quilts made from baby clothes. To me they are usually just too clutter. I prefer the more traditional t-shirt quilts. These clothing items including bibs, hat, booties, would just not work this time as a t-shirt quilt, plus she didn’t want the clothes cut down. I thought a clothesline arrangement would work. She also specified a wallhanging no wider than 36″, not a functional quilt. This quilt is 35″ x 45″. Those are 1 3/4″ wooden clothespins! The baseball bib is actually the label she requested to include a baseball. And … isn’t that squirrel just the cutest ever!?

UFO Report!

I finished a quilt top I believe I started in 2000.

Baskets & Blooms by Joined at the Hip. This was a BOM I found the patterns for on sale at a quilt shop going out of business. I only had 2 blocks of the 12 to complete, when I finally dug it out to see where I was with it’s construction. I’m happy with it! Once quilted, I plan to hang it in my living room.

How was your week?

Past to-do list:

1. Work on granddaughter’s quilt  ✔️ DIL decided to take over marking quilting motifs. I’ll quilt it once she has completed her drawings. I promise to share photos soon!

To-Do List:

1. Snowman table runner or
2. Quilting son’s quilt

Linking to To-Do Tuesday.

Saturday the local quilt shop held their annual PJ sale. Most items in the store started at 30% off from 8am – Noon. From Noon – 3pm the discount was 25% off. Very generous!

Recently, my 4 year old granddaughter came for a visit bringing along a drawing she had created. She showed it to me saying it was a quilt. Got to love her for that, right!?

Then she said we needed to make it. OK! I asked what size she wanted it, and she replied, “The size of the drawing.”  Hmmm. I asked her what she planned on doing with a quilt that small, to which she did not have an answer. I suggested making it a doll size quilt. She thought about that, and then stated it could be bed size. Hmmm. I reminded her that I just gave her a new bed size quilt for Christmas. Then I suggested a picnic size quilt. She jumped on that idea and was ready to get started on her quilt.

She ‘shopped’ from my stash and these were her first selections.

During her next visit we sewed together 14″ squares to create her quilt. She carefully laid them out in the same order as her drawing.

Then Saturday we took advantage of the PJ sale at the local quilt shop,

and she selected fabric for the back and binding. She loved just about every fabric in the clearance isle, but we finally narrowed it down to the cats, and stripe for binding. The sale was perfect timing as there was just no right fabric in Grandma’s stash!

Next up will be deciding on quilting motifs. She is anxious to see the quilt completed and ready for a picnic! Looks like I better get that back made and quilt sandwiched!

Last week’s to-do list:

1. Work on Mystery quilt or
2. Work on Basket & Blooms or
3. Work on granddaughter’s quilt  ✔️

This week’s to-do list:

1. Work on granddaughter’s quilt

Linking to To-Do Tuesday

Reorganizing. That will be my goal for May. I hope that counts!

When looking for a quilt project to take along to my sewing group, I thought of a long abandoned basket quilt.

Baskets & Blooms by Joined at the Hip

When I located it stuffed into a box, I discovered I only had 3 baskets of the 12 blocks to finish.

Under the basket blocks was another long forgotten partially made quilt. It appears I have only 5 more blocks of 20 total to complete.

Craftsy 2012 Block of the Month with Amy Gibson

It seems I have a plethora of unfinished projects. I did not meet my March One Monthly Goal, and in frustration, I didn’t set a goal for April.

And now, here we are in May!  I hope to organize the old stuff, the unfinished quilts, and make a plan to get them done!

Finish! should be my word for the remainder of the year!

In May I’ll make a list of those projects. And will make progress on at least one of them, maybe more than one! Some of the projects are easy to carry to group sewing days. Some need brain power and are not suited for travel since group sewing days are filled with talking & visiting, not deep thinking while sewing! Do you know what I mean?

Okay! Here goes to a month of organizing my messed up studio, making a workable to-do list, and completing projects on the list!

Linking to Patty’s One Monthly Goal hosted at Elm Street Quilts.