Five Shadows

For February, I’ll be working towards completing the 2019 Happy Little Things BOM hosted by Jacquelynne Stevens.

I hand embroidered the flower motif for the center of each of the 4 blocks.

Using Carolyn Friedlaner fabrics, I built the block around the embroidered center.

Each block needs to be sashed. Once sewn together, there are two borders to complete. My plan is to get the top all pieced. If all goes well, maybe I’ll even sandwich, quilt, and bind. This will be a nice quilt to display in my living room this Spring.

What are you working on this month? Check out everyone else’s plans at Elm Street Quilts.

Linking to One Monthly Goal.

Only eleven more months until Christmas!

2017 Christmas Countdown, 21″ x 20″

I am actually very late – as in two and three years. But I finished two UFOs that are now ready for Christmas 2020!

Christmas Countdown 2018, 15″ x 23″

This next one was the Christmas countdown for 2019, which I did manage to keep up with all the daily stitching.

Christmas Countdown 2019, 19″ x 21 1/2″

These are Helen Godden Christmas Countdown wall hangings with a little stitching to be done every day December 1-24th. She demos in a short video which she posts on her Facebook page. I didn’t keep up in 2017 & 2018. They are done now! Helen has lots of teaching videos and online classes. Take a look!

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

I spent the first day of January 2020 cleaning my very messing and disorganized sewing room. I thought of taking photos, but then decided against that!

If you are anything like me, you won’t be surprised that I unearthed a few forgotten projects. Having just finished Helen Godden’s Christmas Countdown Quilt-Along for 2019, I knew I had at least one other of her Christmas Countdown quilts from previous years in progress. Found it!

Not only did I find that one, but also another one which I don’t even remember starting.

Finishing these 2 UFO Christmas projects will be my January goal.

As I was cleaning, I packed a box and labeled it “Christmas in July Projects.” My plan is to pull it out in July and start the projects I have not gotten to, other than buying fabric. They are all Christmas related, stockings, tree skirt, etc.

I seem to be a “quilt topper” not finisher! That needs to change! This might be a year of finishing. But time will tell as there are always so many lovely designs out there to distract me!

Happy New Year, fellow quilters!

Linking to One Monthly Goal with Patty of Elm Street Quilts.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays!

Season’s Greetings!

For December’s OMG I planned on keeping up with Helen Godden’s 24 day Christmas Countdown Quilt Along.

Success!

I did keep up with the daily quilting, which was just a little bit each day. Then Christmas Eve was also quilting the background.

Christmas Day I finished with the binding before family came over to Celebrate Christ’s Birth.

In December, I also wanted to make six small quilt gifts for my quilting friends.

I used part of the Christmas Countdown Quilt Along design to create six little quilts.

I made little ‘pillow cases’ and slipped them over clear plastic free standing picture frames.

The Merry Christmas is hand embroidered.

The yellow flame, holly berries, and outline of holly leaf are colored with Sharpie markers.

These were really fun to make!

Happy New Year, All!

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

My December One Monthly Goal will be to keep up with Helen Godden’s Christmas Count Down Quilt-a-long. Helen is posting daily videos on YouTube and Facebook.

Here is my piece all ready for the first day of free motion quilting.

From December 1st – the 24th, Helen will demo filling in one part of the her holiday drawing with a different FMQ motif. She offers a free download of the drawing, follow the links above to join in.

And here is my first FMQ for day one.

Echoing the candle flame in yellow thread. That was easy enough.

I also have a snowman mug rug to finish and mail.

Plus I’d like to make 6 little quilty gifties for my quilting friends. I haven’t landed on an idea yet. We’ll see how that goes. I might just have to do store bought gifts this year.

I’m linking to One Monthly Goal hosted by Patty over at Elm Street Quilts.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays All!

As stated at the beginning of the month, I pulled out this UFO to baste and work towards quilting as my goal for November.

I’m glad I worded it “work towards” quilting. I did get the quilt spray basted. This is the largest quilt I’ve attempted to spray baste at 92″ wide by 104″ long.

I only completed the quilting 4 of the twelve 16″ square blocks. That’s a start.

2 of the blocks photoed below

With the large expanse of white background, I think I’ll just do diagonal quilting. Not sure. At this point I’m just not enjoying the process. And with Christmas just around the corner, I will set this quilt aside – again – and switch to some Christmas gift quilting.

I’m counting this as a finish for November as I was not anticipating finishing the top back when I wrote up my goal in the beginning of the month.

How was your month? Check out other OMG at Elm Street Quilts.

I’m pulling out another UFO to finally baste and work towards quilting as my goal for November.

This was the start – pulling fabric back in 2014.

I taught this as a class at a LQS, Curve it Up by Sew Kind of Wonderful using their Quick Curve Ruler.

After completing the class, it just hung in my “to be quilted” closet until my sister-in-law saw it and said she’d love it for her lake cottage. We shopped and bought fabric for one more border to enlarge it, and bought the back and binding fabric.

She liked the yellow for the border saying it will go in a guest bedroom that is painted yellow.

Now to get it basted and start on the quilting.

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

This is a seven year old UFO finally completed and gifted!

Angela Walters says something along the line of ‘finished is better than perfect’. This quilt is far from perfect, now that it is finished, I have to agree with Angela.

It’s looking pretty good in the above photo. Hopeful the quilt police will not come by and take a closer look! I know where all the mistakes are. Gah!

The pattern is Remembering Victoria from the book Traditions from Elm Creek Quilt. My son and daughter-in-love selected the pattern and fabrics before their wedding. I’m embarrased that it took me so long to finish this quilt, but am more than happy that is it finally completed! I finished up the machine quilting on Friday, October 18th and got the binding on Saturday, October 19th in time to gift it on Sunday, October 20th for their 7th wedding anniversary.

The quilt measures 90″ x 100″

Northcott and Moda fabrics, Superior Master Piece Thread for quilting Color #131.

Completing this quilt was my One Monthly Goal for October. Done! I dragged it out of the corner, and made myself finish it! PHEW! Completed it good!

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

What do you do when you started a quilt and just really do not like it?

What do you do when that quilt was selected by your future daughter-in-law, and she and your son also selected the fabrics?

I’ve struggled with this quilt for several years. I originally told the happy couple that I hoped to have it completed by their first anniversary. That did not happen.

So many points are just not matching, or worse yet – cut off. Ugh! I just don’t like it! Or maybe I should say, I really do not like my piecing in this quilt. I tried at least 3 different ways, rulers, to cut and get accurate seams and points to no avail. Sigh.

I considered scrapping it and starting all over again with a similar pattern. But, I showed it to my quilty friends and they encouraged me to just finish it and move on!

January of this year, I pulled it out of the corner of my sewing room and started quilting it. Then once again abandoned it.  Last month I started machine quilting it on my sit down Baby Lock Tiara III.

I still don’t like it, but I am plugging along.

October goal? Finish it! And finally give it to my son and DIL as October 20th will be their 7th, yes Seventh! Anniversary.

I need some positive vibes to get flowing, and get ‘er done!

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

Down to the wire! I was beginning to think I’d miss my goal for September, but phew! made it!

I did quite a bit of seam ripping. But finally got the hexies all properly lined up and spaced out. I sewed all the hexies together like a picture frame to be placed over the panel.

Photo above shows the “picture frame” with inner seams all pressed under 1/4″ and ready to be pinned to the panel.

Close up of hexie frame pinned to panel

And TaDa! The picture frame stitched in place on the panel.

Finished feels good!

My goal for September was to finish the Hexie Panel quilt top. I should explain that this was a demo I saw at the Shipshewanna Quilt Festival but I did not buy the book _One Block Wonders_ by Maxine Rosenthal. My quilt is made with a variation of the old Stack-n-Whack method. I used 7 panels to make this quilt. 6 panels piled exactly on top of each other with the floral print all pinned to line up. Then cut into strips, I cut at 2 3/4″ and then used a 60 degree ruler to cut triangles. Each cut should give you 6 of the same print, and when sewn together give you the kaleidoscope hexie. Those hexies are sewn around the 7th uncut panel. Cool! I’m loving it!

If you like this quilt and want to see more truly amazing panel quilts, type in ‘one block wonder panel quilts’ at Pinterest. And be amazed!

I’m placing this quilt into the ‘to be quilted’ pile for a while. Next up, my son’s wedding quilt. More about that in October’s OMG post!

Linking to Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal. Hop on over to see what other quilters worked on during September.