Riding the Rails and Four Patch Fun

 "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. 

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? 

The rail block is framed into a log cabin block. 

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. 

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

Block 5 Rails- April 2, 2026

Block 6 Snowflake- April 16, 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!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy. I love and miss you so much.. Love you , Amo. 

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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

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. 

Beehives and Matchsticks- Making Progress

 Just a quick Howdy Do! Welcome, sweet friends and a very lovely sunny day to you. I just wanted to drop in to say hello and share my plans for the day. Mr. Pinker and I just returned from a quick trip to the great state of Louisiana so I am trying to get back into my daily swing of things. 

The kitchen tiered tray by the corner sink is decorated with stacks of condiment bowls , eggs and chickens. 

Anywhooo... Summer Stamp stitching is going on. I will finish this little stamp today, and then I have 2 more to stitch before I will be ready for the big stamp sampler. 

"In the Apiary" Summer Stamp is in the works. 

Also a small quilt that I am calling Matchsticks is in the hoop. It was made using leftover 2 1/2" x 4 1/2" strips. 

Well that's it for me! Hee! Hee! I told you this was short and sweet. 

Of course, I had to add a little  vintage piggie to the tiered tray. 

May your day be filled with sunshine, beautiful blooms  and remember to stay as busy as a bee! Love ya'! 

As Always, 

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa

Thank you for the sweet visit. 

"Create your own sunshine!   " - unknown.

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Lots of cabbages on the 2025 Easter shelf display. 

Dedicated to my baby sister, Amy. Love and miss you, Amo. 

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 needle workers to meet.

Frederique at   Quilting Patchwork Applique for Patchwork & Quilts - Saturday

Kathy at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Stitching Sunday

Kate at Life in Pieces for  Stitching Stuff ( Sunday) 

Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework for Oh Scrap - Sunday 

Melva at Melva Loves Scraps for Sew & Tell- Sunday

Brenda at Songbird Designs for Monday Musings

Judy at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday

Carol at Quilt Schmilt  for To Do List Tuesday

Paint Pot Quilt and Rose Garden Mini Sampler- A Spring Freebie

 Good Monday Morning, Sunshine! Welcome. 

So how was your weekend? I hope it was a good one. I am still filled to the gills with all of the food which was served for our Easter dinner.  Mom made a big bowl of mac and cheese and it was sopped up in no time by the youngins' . 

Later they enjoyed hunting eggs and playing games.

Hmmm. Any eggs up there? 

 It got a little hot.  The boys in fact pulled out a slip and slide and started playing. But today is supposed to be cooler with a chance of rain. Oh well- Spring weather- how fickle. 

The ivy garden is starting to brighten up.  Flowers are blooming in yellows and purples. 

This new thrifty quilt looks like a paint pot of color in the ivy garden. It makes my heart go thumpity thump!  💗💓💗

I am calling this the Paint Pot Quilt.

I bought this quilt in Arkansas in February while we were on our camping trip. 

The quilt is filled with color. 

Is this a Courthouse Steps variation?

 Each block is made up of various sized strips. It is certainly a  "scrap happy" quilt. 

Machine quilted with curvy lines.

Speaking of brightening up. My roses are doing fantastic this year. Thank you, dear Joan for the tips. I did a little pruning earlier this year and they are looking as happy as lark as of now. 

Mom and I were talking about our roses yesterday and how we dread the invasion of the Japanese beetles in the summer.  Oh, I do hope those little devils will leave my blooms alone.  Do you have problems with them in your gardens? 

Today we are going to the grandsons' ballgames . While there, I plan to take along a project to work on which will be a new mini sampler. 

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This one is called Rose Garden Mini Sampler - real creative  name huh!😀 Hee! Hee! 

Anywhoo... I hope to get a good start. If you are interested , this is a Choose Your Own Colors chart. I will certainly post what floss colors I use when I get further along in the project.

UPDATE : April 27, 2025 I finished Rose Garden Mini Sampler. The floss colors that I used were DMC 730, 815, 223, and 844. I finished it as a little pillow with twisted yarn as the trim. 

 

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If you are interested in stitching this piece,  just grab , the images. For printing tips, refer to the post Tips for Printing which has loads of tips from my sweet friends. 

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QUESTION: Are any of my Instagrams friends having problems with IG? I can post a photo, but I cannot see the comments made , edit the text or see messages.  If I try to click to see my photo with the comments ,it acts like it is frozen. Weird . 

 I know. I know . Some of you are saying "What is it with this gal in respect to her lack of ability with  computers and technology?"😲😏 Mr. Pinker says the same thing. He  always shakes his head and says me and technology does not get along. Yeah, he is right.😜 LOL

Well I have rambled long enough about this and that and a whole lot of nothing. I better get off here. 

 Have a beautiful start to your week! And...

As Always, 

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa

Thank you for the sweet visit. 

"Life is a great big canvas; throw all the paint you can at it.  "-  Danny Kaye

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my baby sister, Amy - my sweet thrifting buddy. I  love and miss you, Amo. 

My  Merry Monday project will be Winter Wonderland Sampler by Blackbird Designs. It was a darling gift from dear, Sonja. Thank you Sonja. Hugs. 

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Slow Sunday Easter Ramblings

 Happy Easter Sunday, sweet friends. It is a beautiful , glorious day.

  In a short spell, Mr. Pinker will be manning the grill as I bustle about  in the kitchen. 

The family is coming over for Easter dinner. Because of health  issues  and dietary concerns , we  had to tweak our menu. Grilled chicken and vegetables will be the stars of this year's Easter meal.  I just had to include a carrot cake though.  I shared the recipe in yesterdays post. 

Later in the evening , the grandchildren and nephews will be  hopping here and there  searching for hidden colorful eggs. Perhaps they will find a golden egg or two filled with a $1.00  or  some candy.  

Beatrice Bunny 

 The Easter stockings were hung! But bummer, Peter Cottontail did not deliver any goodies in my stocking. Oh well, that is ok.  😀

Since my Easter quilt is complete, I will pull out my Alabama Beauty for my slow stitching project.

 There are a few triangles that need to be replaced before moving further in the  quilting. 

All of the burgundy florals have holes in them.  Hmmm 🤔 I wonder if it was from the dye that was used. I chose a brown floral fabric to replace them with. 

I will replace the worn triangles using the brown fabric. 

I finished the buttonhole stitch on Buttermilk Basin's April Bunny Mat. 

 

 

 I do not have the  buttons to finish it  and being the Miss Cheapskate that I am -   I may use decorative stitches in the flowers. I still have the vine to stitch too. 

Hmm , What else?  

By evening time, I hope to add more stitches to the "America Sampler", a sweet gift from my dear friend PJ who knows I love all things Americana. Thank you , dear PJ.  I am loving this sampler. 

And I must not forget to share a sweet stack of Easter quilts. 

The grandsons' bed stand table is decorated for Easter. Isn't the yarn chick in the basket the cutest? It was a darling gift from dear Sonja. Thank you, Sonja. This little chick makes me smile every time I see it. 🐤🐥🐤 It reminds me of when I was a youngin' . Mom would take my sister and I to a local store called Elmores where live dyed chicks would be for sale. I always chose a pink one - sometimes blue. My sister usually chose a green or purple one.  We would take them home in our boxes , sit in the living room, watch the chicks peck about for their food.  I do remember  over a few weeks some began to get their feathers and lose the dye that had been applied. Sweet childhood memories.   

Did you ever receive a dyed chick for Easter? 

Gosh - here I go rambling. 

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Now onto the plans for the week. 

Hmm.... What Should I do This Week? 

🌞1. Post progress of Flaming Butterflies

🌞2.Work on Alabama Beauty quilt

🌞3. Begin a new cross stitch mini sampler

🌞4.Begin a new Farm Stamp . 

🌞5.Work on Buttermilk Basin applique.    

🌞6. Sort through my WIPS and find a project to work on. 

Well Sweeties, I have to go outside to  check if the Easter bunny hid a bunch of eggs. If you are in the neighborhood, drop by for the big Easter egg hunt. I am sure the boys would keep you entertained with all of their shenanigans. 🐇🐰🥚  I wish you a very Happy Easter and  thank you for hopping by. 

As Always, 

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, y'all

Melisa

Thank you for the sweet visit. 

"He has risen, Have faith in him... And he will always be there for you. "

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my baby sister, Amy who was such a  blessing. Happy Easter in Heaven, Amo. Love and miss you!❤❤❤ 

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 needle workers to meet.

Frederique at   Quilting Patchwork Applique for Patchwork & Quilts - Saturday

Kathy at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Stitching Sunday

Kate at Life in Pieces for  Stitching Stuff ( Sunday) 

Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework for Oh Scrap - Sunday 

Melva at Melva Loves Scraps for Sew & Tell- Sunday

Brenda at Songbird Designs for Monday Musings

Judy at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday

Carol at Quilt Schmilt  for To Do List Tuesday