Five Shadows

I hope everyone has had Happy Christmas celebrations with family and friends.

My family’s plan of meeting at my son’s home Christmas Day was postponed due to a Covid. One fully vaccinated person we had all been around tested positive the Thursday before Christmas. So now we wait to all test negative, and plan a date we can all get together.

Hubs and I enjoyed a quiet Christmas Day together taking us back to the days before we had children & grandchildren! We Face-timed with our son’s family – got to see the grands and their favorite gifts.

To-Do Tuesday December 21st

1. I’ll be working on the Clam Shell borders. ✔️
2. Gift wrapping and stocking stuffing! ✔️
3. Hubs and I celebrate our 44th wedding anniversary on the 23rd! ✔️
4. Christmas with family at my son’s house! ✗

What did I accomplish this week?

1. Clam Shell borders are all quilted! but not attached yet to quilt. I’m doing quilt-as-you-go and will share a photo once complete.

2. Gifts waiting for our delayed celebrations!

3. Hubs and I went to a local park for a walk to a water fall. Got carry out for dinner, staying away from others just in case we too contracted Covid.

4. Christmas gathering … still waiting!

I finished the Helen Godden’s Christmas countdown which was my One Monthly Goal for December, read about it here.

Partridge in a Pear Tree. Finished 21 1/2″ wall hanging.

I’ve been prepping pieces for a new project for the New Year. Lori Holt’s Granny’s Garden. I’m using Christina Cameli’s fabric line Saguaro for the quilt.

These fabrics will give a totally different look to Granny’s Garden, I’m excited about it!

To-Do Tuesday December 28, 2021

1. Sew Clam Shell border on to quilt.
2. Prep pieces for Granny’s Garden.
3. Hopefully have family time to Celebrate Christmas!

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

Oops! I missed a week, but I have been sewing! And not all items on my To-Do list.

First up, gifts for a friend -

This is for a friend currently in a nursing care facility. She has a large stuffed polar bear that is her ‘child’ who is named Bingo. She informed me that Bingo wants a Christmas gift from me. And since I need to also give her a gift, I decided on making a Christmas Stocking with a polar bear appliqué. I’ll pick up a few little items for the stocking before visiting her.

Bingo the Polar Bear gets a kerchief with a polar bear appliqué to tie around his neck. I hope my friend will be tickled with her gifts.

Next up is a gift for a friend visiting from Arizona.

She is a seamstress, needle worker,  and quilter. I saw this Cactus pincushion on Missouri Star Quilts last year, and thought of my AZ friend. I will also gift her a tea towel designed by Fancy That Design House for Moda. I love Stephanie’s Song Book fabric line. I’ve bought several pieces from two quilt shops and hope to create a quilt from the line in 2022.

Another project I’m working on is my December Goal – I’m doing Helen Godden’s Christmas Countdown. Each day December 1 – 24 Helen shares a free motion quilting design to complete her drawing of a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

The first 15 days were filling in the leaves. Days 16-21 focused on the Partridge. Only tree, pear, and background remain to complete!

To-Do Tuesday December 7th

1. Clam Shell Quilting! Since I pulled this UFO out, I’m determined to finish it this year! ✔️
2. Work on coasters for my daughter.  ✔️
3. Wool Applique? I have to be in the right frame of mind to work on it.  ✗

So how did I do on my To-Do Tuesday December 7th list?

1. Clam Shell Quilting. I have one border completed and started on the second! I’m not sure this will be finished this year, but at least I’m making progress. I’ll share a photo once this quilt is finished.

2. Work on coasters for my daughter. Finished and delivered as she invited us over for dinner last Sunday. But I forgot to take a photo!

3. No progress was made on the wool appliqué. Oh well! But I’m pleased with the last minutes gifts I did make these past two weeks.

To-Do Tuesday December 21st

1. I’ll be working on the Clam Shell borders.
2. Gift wrapping and stocking stuffing!
3. Hubs and I celebrate our 44th wedding anniversary on the 23rd!
4. Christmas with family at my son’s house!

Merry Christmas everyone!

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

Happy December!

To-Do Tuesday November 30th

1. Finish 3 mini quilts for Christmas gifts! ✔️
2. Work on flying geese charity quilt.  ✔️
3. Not sure I’ll do the wool appliqué – listed just in case!   ✗

Last Thursday I exchanged gifts with one of my sewing groups. There are only 4 of us in the group. Today my other sewing group met, and again we exchanged gifts. This is also just a small quilt group of just 4 of us.

1. Finish 3 mini quilts.

I found these cute hangers at Creative Fires quilt shop in Springfield, Ohio while traveling this summer and thought they would be a good start for Christmas gifts. Hmmm. What to make? I decided on three basket quilts 8″ wide to display on the hangers.

This one for a friend whose favorite color is blue.

This little quilt is for a friend who likes burgundy. I didn’t have much in my stash, so hers gets the flange binding to add burgundy.

And this is for my friend who likes blue & yellow.

The baskets and flower pieces were cut on a friend’s Accuquilt Go Cutter. The background was quilted before adding the appliqué pieces. Blanket stitched around all the pieces. The mini quilts measure 8″ x 13″ and the hanger adds about 2 1/2 inches.

2. Work on flying geese charity quilt

Geese Blocks are growing!

3. Wool – I did not touch.

I did pull out a UFO and started quilting around clam shells. One side complete and three more to go! Fingers crossed this will be finished this month!

To-Do Tuesday December 7th

1. Clam Shell Quilting! Since I pulled this UFO out, I’m determined to finish it this year!
2. Work on coasters for my daughter.
3. Wool Applique? I have to be in the right frame of mind to work on it.

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

What a wonderful family Thanksgiving was held at my house! Good food, good fellowship, fun times. I hope you can all say the same.

I’m glad I had a short list this past week as not much sewing happened.

To-Do Tuesday Week of November 23rd

1. Continue making quilted Christmas gifts. I’m making 6 total. 2 completed, 4 to go. ✔️
2. Maybe work on the wool appliqué.  ✗
3. Enjoy Thanksgiving with family!  ✔️

1. Christmas gifts. Three are completed and 3 more are underway.

This is for a friend who loves pink, purple and Butterflies! It measures 6″ x 8 1/2″ with the hanger adding 2 1/2″ total in length. This makes 3 of 6 mini quilts completed.

I also have three more little quilts under way. You can see them here.

2. Wool appliqué was not touched, but thought about. Ha Ha! After cooking and visiting with family on more days than just Thanksgiving, no hand work happened.

3. Thanksgiving day was just wonderful this year! I don’t know what made the difference, maybe more casual? We had good conversation, played games in several groups, grandkids stayed engaged in activities. And food! I did turkey and dressing, and 6 others pitched in to complete a traditional meal with all the trimmings.

To-Do Tuesday November 30th

1. Finish 3 mini quilts for Christmas gifts!
2. Work on flying geese charity quilt.
3. Not sure I’ll do the wool appliqué – listed just in case!

Happy Thanksgiving Week to my USA readers!

After a lovely time of traveling to a wedding celebration, time spent in Smoky Mts National Park, and time with friends, hubs and I are home and getting back into our routines.

Daniel & Carrie

View from Newfound Gap

On to quilting and stitching -

To-Do Tuesday for November 9 – 23 

1. Wool Applique  ✔️

2. A Quilter’s Dream Embroidery  ✔️

3. Once home, start on quilted Christmas gifts.  ✔️

1. Wool Appliqué – A little progress was made. I read books most nights instead of doing hand work while traveling.

Tree & bee hive completed. Stems for flowers underway. The stem stitch was new to me. Had to rip out first attempt and practice on another piece. I’m learning! This is relaxing, right?

2. A Quilter’s Dream Embroidery – Before leaving on our trip, I did get the design traced. But I decided to set it aside until the New Year.

3. Christmas gifts – are underway!

I picked up this small holly leaf  hanger from the discount area of a quilt shop a few years ago. I decided to create a little quilt to hang from it for a friend who likes yard art.

All finished and ready to gift! The hanger is 22″ long x 10″ wide. And the little quilt is 5 1/2″wide  x 12″ long.

Next up is a little collage of flowers for a friend who loves the color orange.

The background was filled with a mixture of quilting motifs, and the flowers are fused on top.

The next step was stitching in the flowers and leaves. Binding and done! The tiny quilt measures 6″ x 9″ and the hanger adds another 2 1/2″ to the length. I have 4 more little quilts to make for gifts.

To-Do Tuesday Week of November 23rd

1. Continue making quilted Christmas gifts. I’m making 6 total. 2 completed, 4 to go.
2. Maybe work on the wool appliqué.
3. Enjoy Thanksgiving with family!

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

This past week I did move forward on two items on my list. Plus I prepped a new project that I thought would be good to take along as Hubs and I travel out-of-state to a wedding this weekend.

Here’s my list for the past week -

To-Do Tuesday November 2 – 8

1. Continue working on Flying Geese at my Thursday quilting group.  ✔️

2. Continue wool applique.  ✔️

3. Maybe pull out a UFO to quilt.  ✗

Here’s how this week has gone -

1. Flying Geese

I finished piecing all the flying geese and started piecing them into blocks. I’ll be using the geese to make 5 small quilts instead of one large quilt. These will be small, 32″ – 36″ square, and are destined for either a charity my church donates to, mostly for people in wheel chairs. This small size is perfect to fit over a lap. Or one or two might end up as baby quilts. I’ll just need to add borders to reach the needed size.

2. Wool Applique

I’m slowly moving along on the wool appliqué. And I do mean slowly! I’m new to this and not fast at hand stitching on wool at all! I finished the tree and started the bee hive, which is sitting on gray rocks.

Stitches show up a bit better in this photo. I’m in learning mode on this piece. The white rectangle is going to be a bee hive. Figures crossed it turns out ok!

And as if I am a glutton for punishment, I’ve purchased and prepped a new handwork piece. This one is on cotton, which I’m just a bit more familiar with so I hope I enjoy it.

The Featherweight Shop offered this kit in two color ways. I bought the brights. The piecing and embellishments around the embroidered Featherweight sewing machine are adorable. Here’s hoping I can manage the embroidery. There is one new stitch for me to learn in this piece. I’m thinking Hubs and I will have some down time over the weekend at the wedding so I’m taking this along and the wool appliqué. Any amount  of progress I make on either will be considered an accomplishment!

To-Do Tuesday for November 9 – 23 (I won’t be home to post next Tuesday, so this is a two week list)

1. Wool Applique

2. A Quilter’s Dream Embroidery

3. Once home, start on quilted Christmas gifts.

I’m linking to To-Do Tuesday hosted by Linda of Texas Quilt Gal.

It’s already November! Cool weather has arrived here in NE Indiana. The weather seems to be a bit behind schedule this year. Last week was lovely in the 50s and lower 60s most days altho very rainy. Trees seem to be at their peak in Fall colors now.

Our family met at Chain-O-Lakes State Park for a walk Saturday. It was a lovely time, mid 50s, and no rain! We walked a 3 1/2 mile trail that meandered mostly along a stream, which was high because of all the rain. The grand kids loved the foot bridges. And a certain 3 year old did his best to splash in each and every puddle!

To-Do Tuesday October 26 – November 1

1. Pumpkin hot pot pads/mug rugs  ✔️

2. Quilt block mug rug – birthday gift  ✔️

Goals were met this week!

1. Pumpkins!

These measure approximately 9 1/2″ square. I used orange fabrics from my stash. There is just a bit of foundation piecing in each pumpkin adding interest. I Mistyfused the pumpkin parts to the background fabric and then machine blanket stitched around the parts. The pumpkins with foundation piecing are all my own design.

2. Mug Rugs!

This 8 1/2″ mug rug in purples is a This & That Pattern Company design.  This & That has created a Bitty Barn Block for each month of the year. Above is November’s Bitty Barn Block.

Once I finished the Mug Rug for November I got busy on a gift for December. This 9 1/2″ Bitty Barn Block is December’s design. It goes to a friend whose favorite color is orange.

Although not listed, I did finish the hand stitching on I Picked a Posey design by Jennifer of elefantz.com. -

Now to figure out what to do with it! Frame in an oval hoop? Work into a quilt/quilt block? Mat & frame? The background is 9 1/2″ x 12″ and can be trimmed.

That’s my successful short list for this past week!

To-Do Tuesday November 2 – 8

1. Continue working on Flying Geese at my Thursday quilting group.

2. Continue wool applique.

3. Maybe pull out a UFO to quilt.

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

This past week I did make progress on my simple goals for October 19th To-Do list.

1. Some hand stitching. ✔️

2. Prep wool appliqué. ✔️

3. Begin piecing a top for charity. ✔️

1. Ripping out stitching on I Picked a Posey embroidery happened.

Next I added fabric and blanket stitched around it.

I have a few more stitches to add to the top of the vase. The lighting in my sewing room sure changes day to day!

2. The wool appliqué – Sweet As Honey – I am slow going on this!

Pieces are prepped, and embroidery stitches in progress.

All those little pieces, leaves, flowers, bee, might take a while. And then the words. I hope I’ve not taken on too much with this kit!

3. Charity quilts -

Those piles are 88 flying geese. There are 68 more in progress. This is what I’m currently working on at my once a month quilting group. Next time I work on this quilt will be November 4th.

Other happenings in the sewing room -

Playing with quilting rulers! I purchased two of Amanda Murphy’s panels to use for practice quilting with her rulers.

Here is one of the panels sandwiched and ready to quilt.

Instruction book and Lollipop quilt rulers.

Panel quilted, front.

Quilting shows up well on the back.

This has been fun! I’m thinking of adding to the panel to make a lap size (wheel chair size) charity quilt.

A friend asked if I would make her some pumpkin hot pot pads. So that looks like what I’ll be doing this week.

To-Do List for October 26 – November 2

1. Pumpkin hot pot pads/mug rugs

2. Quilt block mug rug – birthday gift

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

I’ve not posted on To-Do-Tuesday since April. When I recently went looking for the host, ChrisKnits, I discovered there is now a new host. I’m not sure when the switch happened, but I’m glad to find Linda of Texas Quilt Gal hosting TDT. Thanks Linda!

This week both of the quilting groups I belong to meet. One today, and one on Thursday. That means figuring what to take along to work on. The Tuesday group only meets for about 4 hours with a lunch break. I’m taking along a little hand stitched piece to finish up.

The flowers are a design by Jennifer of elefantz.com. I changed the bottom, and am not happy with it, (sorry Jennifer, should have stuck with your design!) so I’ll be changing that out again. I’m rather new to embroidery, got to be patient with myself!

I’m also taking along Sweet As Honey wool kit by Primitive Gatherings. I have even less experience with wool appliqué, so this might be an interesting week! Here’s to learning!

I’ll be taking my Singer Featherweight and a sewing project to Thursday’s group. Most likely I’ll work on a charity quilt.

Simple goals for this week.

1. Some hand stitching.

2. Prep wool appliqué.

3. Begin piecing a top for charity.

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

Oh My Goodness! I’m sending the Bargello quilt to one of my favorite longarm quilters this week! I am just so totally happy with how the appliqué has turned out on this quilt.

I used a monofilament thread on most of the appliqué pieces, and Aurifil all match-y match-y on the seaweed, turtles, canoe and paddle.

(Oops! I forgot to stitch the black of the eye!) On the close-up of the turtle, you can see the monofilament thread used for the blanket stitch. And on the turtle shell – can you see the spiral stitching in a brown matching thread?

Seaweed stitched in place.

And here is the completed Bargello quilt top! It is 108″ square, so it was hard to hold up for a good picture! My daughter and I are standing on our raised fireplace hearth, we are touching the ceiling with the top borders folded down and it is puddling on the floor.

This quilt is the brain storm of my sister. She lived in Hawaii, and when her husband was being transferred to the Mainland east coast, she wanted a King size quilt that spoke of her love for Hawaii. She saw a small Bargello wall hanging at a quilt shop, and wanted to know if I could make a King size Bargello. Then she found two wall hanging patterns, one with the outrigger canoe & paddle, and one with the turtle (Honu) scene. Her idea was to enlarge them to appliqué on the bargello quilt. My sister was a member of an outrigger canoe racing club. She loves the ocean, and the sea turtles that you could see feeding along the beaches.

Now the quilt goes to the longarm quilter for her to work magic in those bargello waves! I am so looking forward to getting it back and bound and delivered to my sister!

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

1. Bargello –  appliqué stitched in place! ✓
2. Bargello –  back sewn together.  ✓
3. Bargello – Hopefully, deliver to the long arm quilter! I’m so excited about completing this quilt! I’m waiting for the date from the longarm quilter!
4. Bargello – binding ready and waiting! ✓
5. Down load September pattern on the 1st for the Machine Block Party.  ✓

To-Do List for this week:

1. Binding t-shirt quilt (picking up from quilter this week)
2. Piece September’s block for the Machine Quilting Block Party.
3. Download last One Block Wonders BOM pattern. Can’t believe we are already on the 12 month!

I’m linking to To-Do Tuesday and Linky Tuesday