"Railroads and telegraph and kerosene and coal stoves-- they're good things to have, but the trouble is , folks get to depend on em." - Pa , The Long Winter
Hello, Sweet Friends. Do come in and join me on this lovely Thursday morning. Eeeh I am so excited! Today Melva at Melva Loves Scraps is posting Block 5 in the Little House on the Prairie Sew Along. Last night, I finished Block 4 Rails just in the nick of time to start Block 5. This block was such a pleasure to piece.
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| I arranged my rails with a pinwheel in the center. |
By the Shores of Silver Creek was the book from the Little House on the Prairie series that inspired Melva to create the "Rails" block. As I pieced this delightful block using thrifted fabrics that I have collected over the years, I thought about some of my own family "Rails" stories.
Do you have any railroad stories handed down from your family?
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| The rail block is framed into a log cabin block. |
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| Most of my fabrics were thrifted. |
Like there was Great Grandpa David who as a child joined the Union Army during the Civil War. He not only worked long and hard on the railroad trestle bridge under the leadership of his uncle who was the Captain of a unit, but he became a spy as well. Great Grandpa David lived a long and wonderful life not far from where he worked on the rails as a child.
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| The dark blue fabric is from a cotton sheet. |
Then there was my Uncle Billy and Uncle Al. Their "rails" story was not a happy one. As children Billy and Al, had grand ideas of riding a train and seeing beyond the small rural town that they were growing up in . They had heard grandiose tales of the hobo life .
After much thought, one day, Uncle Billy and Uncle Al who were youngins' at the time, decided to hop on the train as it rolled through the countryside. As the train clanked and rattled by , they each reached and dove towards the train in hopes of a grand adventure. Uncle Al made the jump successfully, but alas Uncle Billy did not. He was pulled onto the tracks and was tragically killed at the tender age of 13. Such a sad story, and I am sure the fate of many who dared to ride the rails during the "hobo days." But Billy was well loved and is still remembered to this very day. ❤🤗
Now back to more quilty stuff.
As I pieced "Rails", I was able to finish 4 more Four Patch Fun blocks which is my Leader/ Ender project.
This was a block introduced by Bonnie Hunter in 2025. I will share my progress on these blocks in the coming days.
Gosh, I have chatted your ears off again. Please, do forgive me.
If you have the chance , drop over and visit Melva. There is still time to join in on the Sew Along . It is free until the end of the event. Plus Melva is hosting a Little House on the Prairie Sew Along Link Party. There you can see others who are participating . Your eyes will be delighted by the beautiful blocks shared in different color ways.
Melva's Little House on the Prairie Sew Along Posts:
INTRODUCTION of the Little House on the Prairie Stitching Along - January 29, 2026
Block 1 Maple Leaf- February 5, 2026
Block 2 Native Star- February 19, 2026
Block 3 Harvest Basket- March 5, 2026
Block 4 Shoo Fly- March 19, 2026
Thank you for spending time with me today. My morning will be filled with stitching time. Later this evening , Mr. Pinker and I will be heading back to the ballfields. Those grandbabies are keeping us busy! But what a joy!
As Always...
Happy Stitching and Quilting,
y'all
Melisa
"I've heard of the call of the wild, the call of the law, the call of the church. There is also the call of the railroad. " - Gary Krist
Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤
Other Posts That Might Strike Your Fancy!
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| I purchased these yummy fabrics at a yard sale in AZ |
I am joining these lovely ladies' link parties. I hope you check them out; they always have so many wonderful projects going on and provide the opportunity for other needleworkers to meet.
Melva at Melva Loves Scraps for Little House on the Prairie Sew Along
Jennifer at Inquiring Quilter for Wednesday Wait Loss- Wednesday
Denise at For the Love of Geese for Put Your Foot Down- Thursday
Nina at Creations, Quilts, Art , Whatever by Nina for Off the Wall Friday
Alycia's of Alycia's Quilts for Finished of Not Friday
Michelle at From Bolt to Beauty for Beauty Pageant - Friday
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| More Easter stitches. They will be hopping away soon. |
Tomorrow I will be sharing the "changing of the quilts" .So drop by if you have the chance. I always love company.
Really like the newest block but the sad "hobo story" makes me very sad. Yes, we had a train pass through the small town where I spent my childhood. Ironically, I pulled some fabric to make a small quilt with the rails. Can't wait to visit you to observe the changing of the quilts. Yesterday and part of today I paired a pile of completed blocks with my seam ripper. I decided to make a little quilt so I started cutting pieces parts. LOL Happy Thursday with lots of hugs, DarleneJ (time to go to bed) zzZZZZzz
ReplyDeleteHappy Thursday, dear Darlene. You are staying busy, busy, busy. I hope that the "taking part" with Mr. Ripper went well. Soon you will be buzzing away at the machine with a new quilt. Oh yes, Uncle Billy's story is heartbreaking. I can only imagine how different and hard times were back then too. Have a beautiful day, sweet friend. Hugs
DeleteReally great RR family stories, Melisa; we don't have any that I can recall hearing...the block came out so beautifully--love the colors you chose ;))) nice work . Hugs, Julierose
ReplyDeleteOh thank you so much, Julierose. I often think about things like that when I have quiet time to sew. I hope your day is off to a lovely start. I am enjoying some porch stitching this morning. Hugs.
DeleteYour Little House blocks are so pretty Melisa. The thrifted dark blue fabric is great in your rails block.
ReplyDeleteWhat a tragic story about your young uncle. Our first house in the town where I grew up was right next to the railroad, so it was loud. Daddy worked in the drug store that was 3 blocks away, and he came home at night after the store closed - at 10pm! Every night I watched out the window and worried and waited for him because my 5-year old self was afraid the train would run over him! Mom said some nights I cried I was so worried.
Aaaw Bless your heart. I say living so close to the train , it would be frightening for a child to hear that knowing that your dad would be arriving home late at night. I guess after some time one gets used to hearing the train. Did your mom ever worry about you going out to the tracks? I am sure you were too cautious to do so though. Thank you for the sweet visit and the "rails" story. Warm hugs.
DeleteI don't have any real railroad stories though dh used to live near one. He and his brothers used to play on the rails and near the cars. Fortunately, their house was by the "parking" area and seldom used tracks. We've been on a couple of trains traveling - in CA and traveling from PA to FL in sleeper cars. They're not as nice as they are in the movies ;-) We've taken the grands on a train trip - just a quick one. We also rode the train at the Grand Canyon. Thanks for the reminder of the Little House quilt. I've been wanting to do that. Blessings!
ReplyDeleteOh how interesting, Donna. I understand the lure of the railroad tracks for young ones. Good thing for the boys that these were the tracks that were seldom used. I have always wondered about the "sleeper cars" on the trains. They do look so nice on the movies and tv shows- like Murder She Wrote. I have always wanted to ride the train at the Grand Canyon- maybe some day. Thank you for the sweet Thursday visit. You brought back memories of when we would put pennies on train tracks as a kid. I think I still have the flattened pennies. LOL. Hugs.
DeleteI have one railroad story. . as a kid, I was riding my horse and practicing going over obstacles like train tracks. Well, the train thundered by. My horse was young. I thought he would bolt and buck. I was a long way from home so it would have been a long walk. I faced him to the train. I talked to him and petted his neck. He swayed and trembled; but, he didn't run. I rode home that day! Your Little House blocks are so pretty all together!--TerryK@OnGoingProjects
ReplyDeleteOh I bet you were so nervous as the train approached, but my what a quick thinker you were to calm your horse down in the manner that you did. It had great trust in you . I am so glad that it did not buck you off or run astray. Thank you for dropping by, Terry and for the sweet childhood story. Hugs.
DeleteBuenos días mi bella amiga. Me encanta como te ha quedado este patch. Los colores y tonalidades perfectas. Me encantan. Besos y feliz día! 🌹
ReplyDeleteHappy Thursday, sweet friend. I hope your day is as delightful as mine. Oh, thank you so much for the kind compliment on my quilt block. I am truly enjoying every moment of this sew along. Blessings and hugs.
DeletePretty block and your stories are always so interesting. Thanks for sharing. Hugs, B
ReplyDeleteHappy Thursday, Brenda. Aaw shucks thank you so much. I have always been a family history buff. I so enjoy hearing the stories of families from long ago. Thank you for the sweet visit . I hope you have a lovely day. Hugs.
DeleteYour block turned out beautifully, Melisa! I love the pretty colors you're using. Interesting railroad stories from your family, but sad also. There is a major north/south railroad line running through our town, and in the summer when the windows are open, you can hear the train whistle and the sound of the wheels on the track. I love that sound!
ReplyDeleteOh how interesting, Diann. I bet you can just about predict when the trains will be coming through. We used to have freight trains rumble through our county, but no longer. Most of the tracks have been removed. Thank you for the sweet Thursday visit. I hope you are enjoying some sunshine. Hugs
DeleteI like the rail fence in the log cabin! Unexpected and a fun twist! :)
ReplyDeleteOh thank you so much, Pat. Melva is knocking this sew along out of the park! And I am enjoying every minute of it. Her instructions are so easy too. Have a wonderful day and Happy quilting. Hugs.
DeleteGreat railroad tales but Uncle Billy's fate was a sad one. I hope Uncle Al wasn't seriously affected by the tragedy. I don't have any railroad stories to share but just recently there was a train running through my town and there was a young man sleeping on the tracks. He heard the train whistle but wasn't able to get out of the way quick enough. My brother & I used to walk some train tracks when we were young, skipping Sunday School. Lol! Guess the Good Lord was looking out for us anyway as we are both still alive on this Earth. Have a great sewing day. Your blocks are so pretty!
ReplyDeleteHappy Thursday, Susie. Yes Uncle Billy's story is tragic. Uncle Al later left the small town and moved westward to the city. He lived to be 98 years old. Oh, that is so terrible to hear about the young man in your town- that breaks my heart. I can imagine you as a kid walking the train tracks on a Sunday morning. ( I have to admit walking them is fascinating especially in the countryside where all is quiet). Did your mom ever find out you skipped Sunday school? Hee! Hee! Isn't it fun to reminisce about the good ole' days? My how time flies. Thank you for the sweet visit and for brightening my day. Hugs.
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