Five Shadows

My list of finished quilt tops needing quilting is growing.  That’s a good thing, as I want to piece all the wonderful quilt tops I have planned over the years.

Here’s one I bought in 2015. It was a kit that makes a 48″ square quilt top.

This summer my daughter & her husband bought their first home. She asked for a quilt for her family room. Looking through a few kits I had purchased, she liked this Tropical Snowball kit. But it needs to be enlarged to lap quilt size. I bought more batiks to enlarge the quilt to 72″ square. This past week I cut out all the batiks for the quilt top. Still to be cut are the white background pieces and the black set stones.

For September, my OMG is to sew together the batik units for this Tropical Snowball quilt.

If all goes well, maybe I’ll even cut out the white and black pieces for the next step of piecing.

Linking to OMG. Go visit Elm Street Quilts to see what other people are setting for the One Monthly Goal.

How many quilts or projects do you have planned?

Just a quick look around my sewing room, and I’m coming up with 5 in view. There are more stashed away in closets. Yet, often something else grabs my attention, or needs my attention, so what I thought I’d be working on gets replaced.

Lately this is bugging me. Why am I not getting to the quilts I really want to make? I bought the fabrics, patterns, and even rulers or templates needed to follow the patterns. Yet, I keep replacing my plans with others.

Giving this some thought, I have an idea that I hope will help. My plan is to go ahead and prep & cut the pieces for the planned quilts. Hopefully, having them ready for sewing, I’ll actually get to just that! Piecing the quilt tops!

Here is my first attempt in preparing a project for sewing. I bought this kit in 2015. This week I cut all the batik pieces for this Tropical Snowball quilt. I added many more batiks, purchased during a June Shop Hop, to enlarge it from 48″ square to 72″ square.

Hey look! A finished top, Facets! It is now on the ‘to quilt’ pile. This was my OMG for August.

My hubs has a native garden in our yard. Happily the Monarchs like the Butterfly Weed plant. We have spotted 3 Monarch caterpillars.

I hope we get to watch them form their chrysalis and emerge butterflies!

How did I do on last week’s To-Do List?

1. Start cutting pieces for next quilt top on my list- Tropical Snowball. ✔️ All the Batik pieces are cut.
2. Sandwich baby quilt and begin quilting – a friend’s quilt. ✔️ 2 quilts sandwiched, and one started quilting.
3. Catch up on Sit Down Free Motion Quilting BOM ✗

To-Do Tuesday List for this week:

1. Continue quilting on friend’s baby quilts.
2. Got to catch up on the Sit Down Free Motion Quilting BOM – August block.
3. Piecing – Tropical Snowball batik units.
4. Start prepping another planned quilt top.

Linking to To-Do Tuesday and Linky Tuesday.

My OMG for August was to finish the Facets quilt top!

Ta da! Finished!

I pinned the 88″ x 84″ quilt top to my front window curtains and moved a chair for this picture. Laughing, because I wanted to get this posted and no one was around to help me hold the quilt top up!

Linking to OMG.

Hubs and I took a trip back east, visiting family in PA and MD. While visiting my folks in PA, I stopped at Simply Stashing in Littlestown. Every time we drive to Hanover, PA I do declare that shop is closed when we pass it in the evening, and it has not yet opened when we head back home in the morning hours. Usually I don’t fit in a stop at the quilt shop, but managed to this time. I told my husband I was popping in to ask for their Row by Row pattern, a cute Flying Geese pattern. Of course I had to look around while there.

I found the bicycle fabric which I could not pass up. And those two fun prints were on their discount wall.

While checking out, the gal asked if I would be visiting other quilt shops in the area. I asked where they are located and one she mentioned is in Hanover. It ends up that it is just around the corner from the retirement community where my parents live! (Ok, around the corner in a country mile.) My folks have lived there for 11 years! And I never known about this shop! I do recall passing a shop last year with a Bernina sign, and wrongly assumed it was just machines. Nope, it is a nice quilt shop too! Danners Bernina Shoppe. I bought a book that goes along with the Westalee quilting rulers I own, and another ruler. With practice, I hope to up my ruler work using my Baby Lock Tiara III sit down quilting machine.

Sneak peak of the Facets quilt. Design by Christa Watson.

The top is completed and measures 88″ x 84″ enlarged from the original pattern to fit my son’s bed. I don’t have the back or binding prepared yet, but the top now goes into my ‘to be quilted’ pile. I’m so happy to check the making of this quilt top off my ‘to-do’ list!

While cruising some quilting websites back in July, I came across a Christmas block Quilt Along.

This snow flake was the first block presented August 1st. The quilt along is called I Wish You a Merry Quilt-Along. I’ll be keeping an eye out for the upcoming designs presented, but with a personal reality check, I’m realizing I should just not join another quilt along right now! …  she said backing away from the internet!

I finished a quilt today! Yesterday I completed the straight stitch quilting, and today I attached the binding.

This quilt design is On The Wave from Sew All Around Quilt Along.

I love this fun back used on my little wall hanging. It measures 30″ x 34″.

How did I do on last week’s To-Do List?

1. Safely travel to PA to visit my folks. ✔️ We also visited relatives in MD and IN.
2. Gift Monkey quilt to young nephew.  ✔️ Happily gifted!

To-Do Tuesday List for this week:

1. Start cutting pieces for next quilt top on my list- Tropical Snowball.
2. Sandwich baby quilt and begin quilting – a friend’s quilt.
3. Catch up on Sit Down Free Motion Quilting BOM

The monkey quilt is all ready to gift!

I’m pleased with it.  Finishes at 39″x 47″

Here are a few close ups.

For quilting, I did three sets of curved lines using my walking foot. Robison-Anton thread in Green Dust. The quilt is finished with a Flange Binding.

Above you can see where two sets of curved quilting intersect. The curves give those monkeys some movement. Don’t you just love that monkey print used for the back? I think it is such a fun print! Monkeys climbing, swinging, and standing in trees!

Friday, July 28th, a friend and I attended the Kokomo One Stop Shop Hop. There were 28 quilt shops vending under one roof. I went with a shopping list. I didn’t find a few things on the list, and I sure was tempted by many more quilting goodies not on my list!

A few of my purchases include Carolyn Friedlander’s Rin pattern and a Fat Eighth pack of her fabric line. I wanted a Fat Quarter pack, but the booth had already sold out. I bought Thread Heaven to condition threads for hand work. I have used bees wax, but heard that Thread Heaven is so much better, I thought I’d give it a try.  I also bought several cream print FQ not show in the photo, and a 6 1/2″ square ruler by Quilters Select.

Photo from quiltersselect.com

Have you tried Quilters Select Rulers yet? They are amazing as they do not slip when you are cutting your fabric. I want to slowly replace several of my favorite sized rulers with this brand, as I can afford doing so. If you are at a shop that carries them, ask to give one a try. I think you will be convinced that they really do grip the fabric making cutting accurate.

How did I do on last week’s To-Do List?

1. Monkey quilt – need to gift it next week! It is ready to quilt so get at it and bind! ✔️Yep, see above!
2. Do some quilting on –  On the Wave quilt??? ✗ Nope. I switched to some light house cleaning, and packing for my quick trip to PA.

I’m linking to To-Do Tuesday .

My goal for August will be to complete the piecing of the Facets quilt top.

The top is for my son who would like it for his bed. When I started it for him, I was going for a lap size quilt for his living room! So calculating the fabric I already had, I did have to buy more background to make it larger. But the LQS was out of the light blue batik. As a matter of fact, I think I had bought the last of the bolt for this quilt. I settled on another light blue and think the two will blend well together once quilted.

I first made a Facets quilt last year following Christa Watson’s QAL.

This quilt I gifted to my DIL and younger son for their new home. My eldest son commented on how much he liked the quilt, so I started collecting fabric to make one for him – then he tells me he wants it for his bed! Time to get it done!

I’m linking to Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal for August.

For July, I wanted to get the Fence Rail Star quilt top sewn together.

Happily, I accomplished that.

And I also purchased fabric for the back.

The print has a saying starting with each letter of the alphabet: Act kindly, Be honest … Jump for joy … Make someone happy … Read good books, are a few of the saying.

Cute, right?! The fabric line is Ron’s World by Buggy Barn for Henry Glass & Co.

I’m linking to Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal. Hop on over and take a look at all the other finishes, and then join in the OMG party August 1st!

This was a slow sewing week, as in I was just not motivated to sew. I did a lot of reading for relaxation, and spent time looking around the web. I found a few things that interested me. I came across two quilt-alongs – like I should be joining more of those at this time in my life with my lack of sewing motivation! But still, they look fun, and I just might throw all my current sewing plans to the wind and join these quilt-alongs.

Jacquelynne Steven of Art at Home is offering I Love Home Block of the Month starting August 7th and will run through December.

I learned about her BOM on Lori Kennedy’s In Box Jaunt blog.  Lori, instead of doing the houses in appliqué, is going to Free Motion stitch them. That intrigued me! I’m woefully behind right now in Lori’s Spring QAL, so I really should finish that up, and then move on to the I Love Home BOM, following Lori’s FMQ instructions.

Next, I came across I Wish You a Merry Quilt-A-Long.

This is a Christmas themed mystery quilt starting August 1st and running through December 5th. A new block will be presented every other week. There is a Facebook page for this QAL, just search for it by the name I Wish You a Merry Quilt-A-Long if you are interested in joining.

So as this week was coming to an end, I did push myself to finish piecing On the Wave quilt top – yes, it is a QAL I joined earlier this year. Here it is pieced, pressed, and sandwiched, with a few threads debuting for quilting.

I think Gosia has 3 quilts total planned for this year in her Sew All Around QAL. I think I will love the finished wall quilt, but I didn’t enjoy the piecing process. Must be that lack of motivation thing I’m stuck in right now.

Hubs and I will be visiting relatives next week, so that means I better get a baby gift finished for a new little great-nephew who has joined the family. That means pull out the monkey quilt top and sandwich, quilt and bind it.

I got it sandwiched today. Time to set up the machine for some walking foot stitching.

What do you do to inspire your quilting spark when it is about to snuff out? I’d love to hear!

How did I do on last week’s To-Do List?

1. Piecing On the Wave quilt top. ✔️ I actually forced myself to work a little bit on this through out the week with a big push to finish it yesterday. Sandwiched today.
2. Piece back for Fence Rail Star. ✗ Nope, didn’t touch it.

To-Do Tuesday List for this week:

1. Monkey quilt – need to gift it next week! It is ready to quilt so get at it and bind!
2. Do some quilting on –  On the Wave quilt???

One more picture -

Royal Catchfly blooming in my husband’s native plants garden.

Linking to To-Do Tuesday and Linky Tuesday

This past week I fit in two full days of sewing with friends. I focused on completing the Fence Rail Star quilt during those two days. And ta-da! I did complete that quilt top!

Yesterday I made a quick trip to my LQS to pick up a ruler set I had ordered. And while there, I looked through the fabrics in their clearance section and found this piece for the back of the Fence Rail Star quilt.

I just thought the sayings on this piece worked perfectly with the scrappy quilt top!

The print has a saying starting with each letter of the alphabet: Act kindly, Be honest … Jump for joy … Make someone happy … Read good books, are a few of the saying.  Cute, right?! The fabric line is Ron’s World by Buggy Barn for Henry Glass & Co.

I also spent some time catching up on a BOM I’m doing this year. Here are blocks 6 & 7 completed for the Facebook Sit Down Free Motion quilting BOM.

Block 6 has a zipper pocket in the center of the star. I can see this block used in future quilts to tuck little notes in for kids quilts, or maybe wedding quilts. Where would you use a zipper pocket in a quilt?

Block 7 was paper pieced and has those dreaded inset corners and triangles. Our instructor is doing just a bit of pushing to help us all overcome some piecing fears! Have you conquered inset and ‘y’ seams in your piecing?

And I did get a few of the On the Wave units sewn together. This is a quilt-along sponsored by Goshia of Quilts My Way.

Goshia’s quilt-along is called Sew All Around. That may be a clever play on words as both of the quilts she has presented have curved piecing! Have you ever made a quilt with curved piecing?

How did I do on last week’s To-Do List?

1. Fence Rail Star quilt – sew together rows, maybe get to borders. ✔️ top completed and back purchased!
2. Layout On the Wave quilt pieces, start stitching. ✔️ layout ready and stitching started!

To-Do List for this week:

1. Piecing On the Wave quilt top.
2. Piece back for Fence Rail Star

Today I made progress on the Fence Rail Star quilt. The star points are all attached, the 12 blocks are constructed, and some sashing is sewn on. I hope to get this top completed this week!

I have all the corner stones cut, and most of the sashing. Here is a quick peak with a few pieces of sashing in place.

Yesterday I finally sat down to work on the BOM from the Sit Down Free Motion Quilters group on Facebook. I was 2 blocks behind.

Block #5 is now complete.

This block has some dimension because the pink and light green triangles are actually Prairie Points.

New project alert! I have been following Gosia Pawlowska’s “Sew All Around” quilt along on Facebook. She has introduced a new pattern design, On the Wave. I’ve decided to once again play along.

I think she likes curved piecing! This is the second quilt in the series, and both have had curves in the construction. My pieces are all cut and ready to lay out for stitching together.

How did I do the last To-Do List?