Five Shadows

What a week! Two birthday parties, road trip to 3 quilt shops, hosting my quilting group, and helping my daughter at her newly purchased house. All that didn’t leave much time for sewing. I don’t have much, or really anything new, planned in quilting this week. Yesterday was spent shopping with my daughter for new bathroom everything – her main bath has been gutted to the studs. Today I met up with a friend to pick up native plants my husband wanted. Then stopped by two quilt shops to try to match a fabric. No luck there.

After posting this, it’s back to my daughter’s house.

To-Do Tuesday, September 13, 2022

1. EPP Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden, week 26  ✔️
2. Birthday gift – mug rug  ✔️
3. Finish Halloween panel wall hanging.  ✗
4. Thursday, Road Trip with DIL – quilt shops! Kim found a Batik Quilt shop ~2hrs away, with 2 more quilt shops in the area. Kim does love batiks! And I’m happy to tag along!  ✔️
5. Friday, hosting my little quilt group  ✔️

1. Complete week 26 Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden and attach to quilt.
2. Continue on with  Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden, prep week 27?
3. Maybe finish borders to eagle panel quilt.
4. Helping out at daughter’s house!

Short list this week! I’m hoping time will be well spent at my daughter’s house!

Linking to To-Do Tuesday hosted by Linda of Texas Quilt Gal.

This was the week I realized I had a few gifts to make that I had totally forgotten about!

15″ canvas bag with 7 1/2″ pocket.

This is not the prettiest item I’ve ever made. A young-in-mind friend asked for a canvas bag with a pocket and the pocket should be a bear. This is fabric I had on hand. I think the results will make her happy.

She also requested a doll quilt for one of her stuffed animals. This is a block I had in my box of orphan blocks – we all have those, don’t we!? I added a border to make a 16″ square doll quilt.

I also have a Halloween Panel to finish up for her to hang on her door. If I don’t finish it by Saturday, I can just gift it to her early October. I’ll be attending her birthday party Saturday.

Plus I have to get a little mug rug sewn up for a birthday gift for one of my quilty friends who will be here Friday for our quilting day.

Her September birthday snuck up on me! I’ve made Bitty Barn Blocks for the gals in my quilting group in their fav colors as mug rugs for their birthdays. This will be the last one of six.

Along with all the “extra” sewing, here is what I accomplished from my To-Do list.

To-Do Tuesday, September 6, 2022

Another week flew by bringing us into September! My lovely daughter gave me some beautiful Fall flowers from her garden.

I pulled out some of my Fall table runners and paired the flowers with this one. I do love Fall!

Here is my short list from last week and what I actually accomplished.

To-Do Tuesday, August 30, 2022

1. EPP Homage to Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden, Week 24 ✔️
2. Tomorrow, Wednesday, I go to my friend Ruth’s studio to use her longarm to quilt my nephew’s t-shirt quilt. ✔️
3. PUP Previously Unfinished Project - quilt whole cloth table runner. ✔️

The evening stitching of Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden continues. Unless something comes up like spending two evenings with family.

1. Here’s week 24

All stitched, but I didn’t get her attached to the quilt.

Week 25 progress.

2. Nephew’s t-shirt quilt

Here he is on my friend’s longarm. She so graciously allowed me to use her longarm.

I did a large meander. Simple and done!

My nephew said he didn’t want the usual straight row layout, he wanted something crazy. I told him there is such a thing as a Crazy Quilt but I’m sure he didn’t mean that! So thinking outside the box to give him “crazy” I cut some t-shirts on the diagonal and came up with this rather unusual setting. I hope it is crazy enough for him!

I thought this wide back worked well for a guy’s quilt. Binding same as back fabric. Quilted with black Superior thread, 50 weight.

3. PUP Previously Unfinished Project - quilt whole cloth table runner.

Straight line quilting started. It’s easy yet slow going.

Here’s my new list -

To-Do Tuesday, September 6, 2022

1. EPP Homage to Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden,  attach Week 24.
2. EPP continue stitching Week 25.
3. PUP Previously Unfinished Project - quilt whole cloth table runner.

It’s another short list. See you next time!

Linking to To-Do Tuesday hosted by Linda of Texas Quilt Gal.

While stitching the binding on the last of four baby quilts last night, a strong wind storm passed through causing our electricity to flash off and on several times. We have a few small branches down, but didn’t lose our electricity! I’m so thankful!

Here’s how my sewing went this past week -

To-Do Tuesday, August 23, 2022

1. EPP Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden, Week 23 ✔️
2. More PUP charity quilts. I think I offered to quilt and bind 6 total this Summer. ✔️
3. Select a PUP from my own on going projects.  ✔️

English Paper Piecing continues on Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden. This is my almost nightly routine. After clean up from supper, I gather the EPP supplies and stitch while watching TV, or a movie, listening to a book, or talking to Hubby if he is not busy on one of his hobbies. His hobbies are native plant gardening and building train models. Sometimes walks or bike rides are added in to the evening.

Here’s my To-Do list from last week -

To-Do Tuesday, August 16, 2022

1. EPP Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden, attach week 21 to quilt. ✔️
2. EPP – continue week 22 ✔️
3. Wednesday – meeting with church friends to finish some heart pillows. ✔️
4. Friday – friend graciously allowing me to return to use her longarm and quilt the last two clothing quilts. ✔️
5. Maybe work on a PUP meaning Previously Unfinished Project! Isn’t that a cute acronym? Coined by a quilting friend. I’ve not heard anyone else use it. So I’ll give her credit. Hello Ruth! I like it better than UFO. ✔️

1. EPP Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden

Week 21 sewn and attached to the quilt but I forgot to take a photo of the growing quilt.

2. EPP

Week 22 – stitched and ready to attach.

Weeks 1 – 22. The rosettes are now showing they will be a ring of flowers!

3. Heart pillows

The tag says Blessings & Love, Made for you, Christ’s Community Church.

Here are just a few of the 24 heart pillows made to donate to Lutheran Hospital where they are given to patients who have had mastectomies. The heart shape pillow fits under the arm to add comfort while healing.

A few more hearts cut for pillows. This is an ongoing project ladies at CCC make through out the year.

4. Longarm quilting clothing quilts

A friend offered her longarm for me to use to quilt the 4 clothing quilts. Since I don’t know anything about using a longarm, other than what she taught me, here is the setup with quilting in progress. She only attaches the backing to the rollers, and lets the batting and top hang free. This worked well for these smaller size quilts, 54 x 60 inches. I’m not sure how it would work for a bed size. Any longarm quilters reading this? Your thoughts?

Quilted, bound, laundered.

Close up of one of the quilted shells. The quilts are ready to gift to the grieving family. Prayers lifted for them as they grieve the loss of their mother.

5. PUP - Previously Unfinished Project!

I worked on two PUPs yesterday. A few weeks ago I volunteered to do a simple quilting to finish tops that are made for two charities to which our CCC group donates. I used stitch 99 on my Janome for the diagonal quilting. Hopefully I get to the binding today.

To-Do Tuesday, August 23, 2022

1. EPP Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden, Week 23
2. More PUP charity quilts. I think I offered to quilt and bind 6 total this Summer.
3. Select a PUP from my own on going projects.

Linking to To-Do Tuesday hosted by Linda of Texas Quilt Gal.

Another week speeds on by! I’m still hoping to get caught up on Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden, pattern by Katja Marek. But, alas, I’m actually falling more behind. I started several weeks late waiting for supplies to arrive. The quilt along is on Week 33 and I’m just on Week 22. Oh well! I do enjoy my evenings of EPP even if it will take longer than a year to complete the quilt.

Here’s how my sewing and quilting week progressed -

To-Do Tuesday, August 9, 2022

1. EPP Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden, attach week 20 to quilt. ✔️
2. EPP – start week 21 ✔️
3. Wednesday, meet with DIL to cut backing and batting for mug rugs. And maybe some heart shapes for pillows. ✔️
4. Meet with quilt friends Friday for a sewing day. Take EPP. With a full day to sew, I’m hoping to get to week 22 and maybe even 23 of Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden! ✔️
5. Stitch “Gene” on to bag. ✔️

Progress made this week -

1. Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden

Weeks 1 – 20 all attached!

2. Week 21

Stitched and ready to attach to Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden.

3. Mug Rug kits all made and packed for a future sewing day.

My DIL and I cut batting, backing, half hexies, and used precut hexies for 43 kits for Mug Rugs. These will be sewn up later in the Fall by ladies at our church to gift to school teachers at Christmas.

We also cut out 39 pairs of hearts for pillows that will go to a local hospital. Some one has to sew these up and stuff will poly fill! Wink wink!

Update! DIL came over Monday and made great progress on sewing heart pillows together!

4. Sewing day with quilty friends. Apparently I get more handwork completed at home than while visiting with friends!

Some stitching did happen on Week 22 of Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden. But I didn’t get to Week 23!

5.  Canvas Bag

“Gene” stitched up nicely on the canvas bag. My machine didn’t have any problems stitching through the heavy straps.

Other quilting that happened -

With two of the four clothing quilts for a grieving family actually quilted, I got busy with making flange bindings and got one quilt bound.

I made a flange binding using 1 1/2″ strips of orange for the binding, and 2″ strips for the flange.

Binding strips sewn together and pressed, ready to sew on to quilt.

Binding is sewn on to the back of the quilt and then flipped to the front. Machine stitch in the ditch between the flange and binding through all layers of binding and quilt. Photo above is showing part of the quilt top with simple meandering quilting with an occasional sea shell, and flange binding.

This photo is showing front of quilt with flange binding and the back where it looks like a regular binding. The ditch stitching between flange and binding shows up as straight line stitching on the back. I’m pleased with how the binding turned out. The flange is looking black in the photos, it is really a mottled dark blue fabric.

I just got word that one of the recipients of the clothing quilts is in town this week. Perfect timing to gift a finished quilt!

To-Do Tuesday, August 16, 2022

1. EPP Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden, attach week 21 to quilt.
2. EPP – continue week 22
3. Wednesday – meeting with church friends to finish some heart pillows.
4. Friday – friend graciously allowing me to return to use her longarm and quilt the last two clothing quilts.
5. Maybe work on a PUP – Previously Unfinished Project! Isn’t that a cute acronym? Coined by a quilting friend. I’ve not heard anyone else use it. So I’ll give her credit. Hello Ruth! I like it better than UFO.

Linking to To-Do Tuesday hosted by Linda of Texas Quilt Gal.

Another week has flown by. It sure has been a hot and muggy one here in NE Indiana. I’m continuing with handwork in the evenings doing English Paper Piecing (EPP). Plus, that’s when I turn the AC down to try to get our bedroom on the second floor to cool off for the night.

Here’s what happened in my quilting world this past week -

To-Do Tuesday, August 2, 2022

1. EPP Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden, attach week 19 to quilt. ✔️
2. EPP – start week 20 ✔️
3. Wednesday quilting day with friends, I’m taking the EPP project to work on, oh and cutting out “Gene” on friend’s accuquilt cutter since that didn’t happen last week. ✔️
4. Charity quilts, need sandwiched and being quilting. ✗
5. Meet up with friends to start quilting clothing quilts this Friday. ✔️

Week 19 attached to the growing quilt.

2. Week 20 of Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden

Week 20 all stitched and ready to attach to quilt.

3. ”Gene” cut on friend’s accuquilt cutter

“Gene” cut and fused in place. Next up,  stitch around the letters.

4.  Charity quilts, need sandwiched – didn’t happen.

5.  Quilting clothing quilts

Two of the four are quilted with large meandering and an occasional shell. These two are now waiting for binding.

I added in an unplanned project this week. I’ll be getting together with some gals from our church some time in the Fall to sew together 40 mug rugs to gift to school teachers. My DIL and I cut and kitted 40 some hexie mug rug kits.

I had three sets of Moda Honey Comb precuts, which are hexagon shapes, prefect for quick mug rugs. I’ll be looking through my stash for backing and I’m sure I have enough batting scraps for the mug rugs. Other gals from church will contribute too. Honestly, I’m just happy to be using up what I have on hand which helps clean out the sewing room! Anyone with me on that?!

To-Do Tuesday, August 9, 2022

1. EPP Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden, attach week 20 to quilt.
2. EPP – start week 21
3. Wednesday, meet with DIL to cut backing and batting for mug rugs. And maybe some heart shapes for pillows.
4. Meet with quilt friends Friday for a sewing day. Take EPP. With a full day to sew, I’m hoping to get to week 22 and maybe even 23 of Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden!
5. Stitch “Gene” on to bag.

Summer native flowers, cultivated flowers and English Paper Pieced Flowers are all blooming!

Bumble Bees enjoying the Cone Flowers.

Our Hydrangea only but out a few blooms this year, but they are so pretty!

Here is last week’s to-do list and what did get accomplished -

To-Do Tuesday, July 26, 2022

1. EPP Grandmother’s Flower Garden, Week 19 ✔️
2. Start sewing together the t-shirts, nephew’s quilt.  ✔️
3. Meeting Wednesday with quilting friends. I’ll take along the EPP. Also, I plan on cutting out “Gene” on friend’s accuquilt cutter for an upcoming project. ✗
4. If possible, start quilting the 4 clothing quilts.  ✗

Next I added borders on the sides with 12″ finished squares.

It was a fun coming up with an unusual setting. Not that I want to do this again for a customer, but still, I enjoyed the process for a relative! I need to purchase backing. And get it quilted and bound before November.

3. I skipped meeting with my quilting group Wednesday. Low energy day struck me.

4. Friday did not work out to meet with friends for quilting clothing quilts. Plan switched to meet this Friday.

That’s it for quilting, let’s move on to gardening.

Last Saturday the Indiana Native Plant Society Garden Walk was a success with 6 gardens in the area open to visitors. We had about 75 people visit my husband’s native garden. It was fun chatting with people interested in native plants, and some mentioning they hoped to start native gardens in their yards. I could even answer some of the questions about native gardening – Hub’s knowledge rubbing off on me. Yesterday a landscaping business owner stopped by with part of her crew to show them how my husband uses native sedges as a border. She uses natives and cultivated plants in her garden planning.

When you join the Indiana Native Plant Society this is the sign you are given to display in your garden.

Just past the sign along the south side of our house we have Cup Plants growing. Goldfinches like for drink water held in the cup formed by the leaves at the stem of the plant.

We have seen Hummingbirds visiting the Royal Catchfly. Too hard to catch them in a photo though.

Here is Blue Vervain to show another color added to the summer natives. Right now there is a lot of yellow flowers blooming like False Sunflowers, Cup Plants, Compass Plant, Prairie Dock, Black-eyed Susans just to name a few.

Back to quilting. Here is a hopeful list for this week.

To-Do Tuesday, August 2, 2022

1. EPP Grandmother’s Flower Garden, attach week 19 to quilt.
2. EPP – start week 20
3. Wednesday quilting day with friends, I’m taking the EPP project to work on, oh and cutting out “Gene” on friend’s accuquilt cutter since that didn’t happen last week.
4. Charity quilts, need sandwiched and being quilting.
5. Meet up with friends to start quilting clothing quilts this Friday.

Linking to To-Do Tuesday hosted by Linda of Texas Quilt Gal.

Phew! I’m so happy to be able to say the 4 clothing quilts, tops and backs are all pieced together! It turned into a group effort with help from two friends! Read below and see photos of the quilts.

Last week’s list -

To-Do Tuesday, July 19, 2022

1. Finish Week 18 of Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden, attach to quilt. ➞ Stitched, not completely attached to quilt.
2. Prep and stitch Week 19 ➞ prepped and stitching well underway.
3. Nephew’s t-shirt quilt ✔️t-shirts all prepped and cut to size.
4. Meeting with friend Friday to work on 4 clothing quilts for grieving family. ✔️ All four tops and backs are sewn together.

Week 19 under construction.

3. Nephew’s t-shirt quilt – lots of fusing, cutting & sewing to prep t-shirt has happened.

Layout and sewing rows up next.

4. Four clothing quilts

Tops are all sewn together. They all have the same fabric in the same layout for matching quilt tops.

Friday I met up with not just one friend, but two, and we got the backs all sewn together! I wanted to buy a wide back for the quilts, but that got vetoed, so piecing the backs became the plan. I’m just happy that the backs are completed and we can move on to quilting.

We did a heart and shell embroidery in the corner of the large pillow case pieced into the quilt top.

I’m so happy to have these 4 tops and backs ready for quilting. I have another friend who has volunteered the use of her long arm. I’m hoping to get over there soon to do an easy all over meandering for the quilting.

Other happenings in our lives -

This Saturday my husband’s Native Garden will be part of the Indiana Native Plant Society Garden Walk. Just recently he applied for and was approved as an official native garden spot.  He’s busy tidying up the garden for this weekend. We’ve had rain the past two weekends, forecast is looking good for Saturday!

Here’s my new list. Not much change lately from week to week.

To-Do Tuesday, July 26, 2022

1. EPP Grandmother’s Flower Garden, Week 19
2. Start sewing together the t-shirts, nephew’s quilt.
3. Meeting Wednesday with quilting friends. I’ll take along the EPP. Also, I plan on cutting out “Gene” on friend’s accuquilt cutter for an upcoming project.
4. If possible, start quilting the 4 clothing quilts.

Linking to To-Do Tuesday hosted by Linda of Texas Quilt Gal.

Yesterday my hubs had a speaking engagement at a Master Gardener’s event. His topic was Native Plant Gardening. I tagged along taking my EPP. With three people speaking on different topics during three hours, I made some good progress on the Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden.

Here’s my list from last week -

To-Do Tuesday, July 12, 2022

1. Prep week 18 and start stitching EPP for Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden. ✔️
2. Continue work on T-shirt quilt for my nephew. ✔️
3. Meeting with quilting friends – I’m taking along my EPP.  I’m 10 weeks behind on HTGFG and would love to catch up, but am beginning to wonder if that is at all possible! ✔️
4. Sandwich a charity quilt or two? A gal from church is making the tops and backs, and I volunteered to do quick machine quilting. I better get to them as she is faster than I am! ✗

Here’s what happened -

1. Week 18 Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden

There are two leaves that need to be prepped and attached, along with the 4 little hexies. I always save the leaves for last so I’ve not cut them out yet.

2. T-shirt quilt for my nephew –  it’s moving along but not photo worthy yet.

3. Meeting with quilting friends – I took my EPP and sat with a friend while we both worked on our hexies. Two other gals worked on machine appliqué. Then we sat by the pool to eat lunch. It was a lovely time and day!

4. Sandwich a few charity quilts – This didn’t happen, but our meeting for tomorrow has been postponed, so I have a few more weeks before I need to get to these. I hope to add these to my To-Do list next week.

To-Do Tuesday, July 19, 2022

1. Finish Week 18 of Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden, attach to quilt.
2. Prep and stitch Week 19
3. Nephew’s t-shirt quilt
4. Meeting with friend Friday to work on 4 clothing quilts for grieving family.

Linking to To-Do Tuesday with Linda of Texas Quilt Gal.