Thursday, September 5, 2024

Pieces of My Life ~ Noon & Night


Welcome back to the Pieces of My Life Sew Along... Block #16 is called Noon & Night.  We could also call it Day & Night.  It features lots of half-square triangles in four contrasting fabrics, that with color placement and fabric choices, can offer very different results. 


The old saying is that opposites attract.  Dave and I are so similar... yet so different.  The first question posed in the memory book for this block asks:

What were some adjustments you had to make since you were living together?

He grew up in a metropolis area (45 miles NW of Chicago).  I grew up on the plains of southern Colorado.  He can be loud and rowdy and when he walks into a room, he will generally make his presence known.  While I like to laugh and have a good time, my entrances to a room are much quieter.

We both prefer to have things around us calm, well-organized and tidy.  He was known (and given a hard time) in the dorm to have the cleanest room.  

I don't recall having any real difficult adjustments since we had both moved from living with our parents to living as a married couple.  We had discussed how we would divvy up the household chores.  Since there was no "yard work" that accompanied the apartment setting we had, he helped out with a few dinners each week on the days he was off. (He worked weekends and had 2 days mid-week as his weekend.)  Once I found a job, I worked the more typical M-F, 8 am to 5 pm.  He would help with house cleaning so that I wasn't responsible for all of it when I was off.


I do recall that I had a few complaints about the toilet seat being left up. hahaha... I also recall that he would take his socks off and leave them wadded up in a ball.  He would toss them into the laundry basket, but all wadded up.  We must have had a night at the gym, and I was doing laundry the next day... I had to unwad those socks and one was still sweaty and gross! DISGUSTING!  I only asked one time for him to please make sure that his socks were not in a ball.  After I explained why, he understood, agreed that it had to be pretty gross, and complied.

We agree that over the years we have simply grown up together.  And attribute that as the reason that our transition to living together was so smooth.  I see some couples nowadays that struggle with the transition of living alone to having a roommate or spouse.  (I do admit that I struggled with roommates in college.  ;) The rooms were very small, and the first roomie was from Japan and didn't speak English, and a smoker... the second wasn't bad, but an anorexic partier.  The third became a bridesmaid in our wedding.  Third time's the charm.)

As I mentioned, Dave worked weekends and had two days off mid-week.  The business he worked remained open until "dusk".  Which meant that during summer, two nights a week, he would not get off of work until nearly 9 p.m.  But it was made up for in the winter when he would be home before 5 p.m.


I spent a fair amount of my weekends and evenings hanging out in the retail store and his shop.  Evenings that Dave was home, we always enjoyed watching prime time television.  Some of our favorites were Family Ties, Magnum PI, Growing Pains, Full House and MacGyver. I think ER and LA Law were a few years later, post-children and after their bedtimes.  I could often be found on the couch working on a cross-stich project as we watched the shows.

Dave and I both still enjoy television in the evenings.  We have learned that if we don't have the mindless downtime, we don't sleep well.  So, we have returned to some of the same classic shows or even older shows from our childhood era.  Since we cut the cord to satellite tv and strictly stream (Frndly TV and Netflix) we have enjoyed MASH.  NCIS is another staple for our evening entertainment.  

When with friends, we do enjoy a good game of some sort... though we will not sit next to each other because we have had a few good arguments about the constant beating that one or the other can get in a game like UNO or other card games. ;)

That covers most of the questions with this section of the memory book that accompanies the quilt.  This Noon & Night pattern can be found in my payhip store.  Head over HERE now.

But before you go, tell me what your typical evening looks like.

I'd love to hear from you!  And don't forget to come back to link up your finished block.

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

m



Sunday, September 1, 2024

Sew & Tell ~ September 2, 2024

We have turned the pages of the calendar to yet another month!  Here we are in September... I call it the "yellow" season.   My Grandma Teegarden's favorite color was yellow, and she loved going for a drive in the fall to see the turning of the leaves.  She marveled at the amount of yellow... not just the aspen trees, but so many of the grasses, small bushes and flowers are yellow as well.  She would mention multiple times, "It's all yellow."  LOL  She may have believed that the season of autumn was meant just for her ;)

Bed head gets cut off =D

The past week has had a few distractions.  On Monday morning I had planned on starting the Baby's First Year quilt for my customer.  But I kept eyeing the dress pattern and fabric that I had pulled out of my stash.  It was a free pattern ` the Benning Dress ~ from Seamwork.  

It was a simple dress to make and IT HAS POCKETS!  With the exception of the hem, I had it finished in one day.  When I showed it to Dave he asked me, "You don't make clothes.  What happened to my wife who makes quilts?"  Hahaha.

I like the dress... though I wish I had extended the bodice.  An empire waist is not the most flattering for my body.  I added a bit of elastic to draw in the waistline so that it doesn't simply hang like a gunnysack on me.  I found that wearing a different bra made a BIG difference as well. (I'll NOT share one of those photos... it was really bad. ;) )


With the dress complete, I was ready, truly ready to tackle the box of baby clothes.  They were small!  The majority of them were newborn and 3 months.  There were a few (maybe 3?) that were 6-9 months.

This meant that I needed to re-think my plan and, in the end, redesign my block to accommodate smaller pieces.  I had decided that a "potato chip" block would work since all pieces for that block were 2" x 4" finished.  The problem was that there were items that required larger than that to get the full graphics on them.  

I redesigned my block to use a 4-1/2" block, and 2-1/2" x 4-1/2" and 2-1/2" x 6-1/2" rectangles.  I even managed to get a few 6-1/2" pieces from a few dresses and the larger pieces.

My customer has asked for a twin-sized quilt.  Here's what I have so far. I'll continue piecing blocks until I run out of clothing pieces... I may be supplementing some additional blocks from my stash and large borders will help to bring the top to the proper size.

The other distraction that arrived was this sweet gal!  A vintage Franklin sewing machine that was rescued from an old farm building that was being demolished.  I was touched that our friend thought of me!  She is dusty and dirty and has one cover plate missing, but I cannot wait to clean her up.  

Dave located some replacement parts on ebay and they are on the way to us. :)  I am enchanted with her fancy decor which is in excellent condition.  The bobbin is still mounted on the front of the machine... which is a small miracle!

She will reside on a cabinet in the hall just outside of my studio so I will get to pet her, love her and admire her every time I pass by.  I have dreams of being able to use her one day.  I want to look into having a hand crank added to the wheel so that she can travel with me. Maybe it is just a dream, but wouldn't that be cool?  When Dave and I reach the real age/stage of retirement, i.e., collecting social security, we want to travel the US for 3-4 months and take time to really explore different regions.

I'll get to last week's Sew & Tell feature really quick, but first...

What do you like to dream of?


Deb at A Scrappy Quilter shared not one, but TWO string quilts that are gorgeous!  One was a wedding gift and the second will remain in her Cozy Collection.  The backs of the quilts are what set them apart.  Want to see them???? Head over to her blog by clicking on the link at the beginning of this paragraph.

Let's get this party going!  

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

m


Thursday, August 29, 2024

My Heart Beats for You ~ TGIFF


Welcome to TGIFF and Melva Loves Scraps!

This is the place where quilters get to celebrate their recent finishes.

I'll get the party started with a Plus Quilt that I started in June


I had it sandwiched and ready to quilt but had to set it aside as it was (finally) time to get my Mom moved. There were several other interruptions that happened before I was able to focus on the quilting in August (but I'll skip all those details).


As I quilted this wedding gift for a nephew and his soon to be bride, prayers for the couple were stitched in with each heart and "rhythm" that was made.  Hearts were stitched only in the center of each plus.

I'm sure any cardiologist or doctor, nurse or medical professional would have something to say to me about the inaccuracies and irregular rhythms, but sometimes, when newly in love (or even years later) your heart can be all a flutter for the one you love.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it. ;)


The back of the quilt includes a vintage marriage certificate panel that I have filled out with the names, date and location of Brett's & Julie's wedding day.



Here are a few more "glamor shots".





































Now it's your turn!
Let's see your finishes :)

Keep Piecing,

Melva


Sunday, August 25, 2024

New Week = New Quilt~ Sew & Tell

Man-o-man, oh-man, the weeks are flying by!  Everyone seems to be surprised that it is late August... So, at least I am not alone!


After returning home I needed to sort through all of my sewing stuff and get my mind square with the Camping Journal Blocks that I pieced on the road.  I was able to get a small section ready to add to the borders of the quilt (sans the embroidery on the signs).  Here's a quick peek at what I have ready to add...

It was a good project to focus on for a few hours as I did laundry and cleaned house.

It jumpstarted me to have an interest in getting back to the wedding quilt that was placed on hold due to life getting busy with grandchildren, Family Camp and Mom's move.

My original hope was to have the wedding quilt finished before our trip for the 50th anniversary party to be able to leave for the bridal shower just one week later.  

Since that didn't happen, it will be gifted in October when we include the trip to the wedding in our "fall trip".  In the words of the old Doris Day song... Que Sarsar. :)


I will be hosting the TGIFF party this week and "My Heart Beats for You" will be the star of the show.  Be sure to come back to see her finished and showing off in her Glamor Shots.

Next up is a Baby's First Year quilt.  The customer is a repeat customer and has requested "I just want it all patch work and dark deep colors like the one you made for Scarlett… we all covet that one."  

I believe the top will come together quickly... 



There was another Pieces of My Life pattern release.  Block #15 ~ Cornerstone & Chimney accompanies a story of our first apartment, pets and friends.  (If you are doing the QAYG layout and are ready to join the first two sections together, you can find the info here.)

Our wedding and having our first place together to call "home" was when I felt as though I was an "adult".  We had full responsibility for our bills, rent, housework and meals without help from anyone else to assist.  Included in those bills was the responsibility to repay Dave's parents for the cost of his schooling to become a Gunsmith.  Since he was paying out-of-state tuition, it was quite hefty... though in comparison to the cost of a college education these days it was insignificant.

It got me thinking... What was the event or moment that you felt like an adult?

Leave a comment... I'd love to hear your thoughts.


Last week's party was fun and inspirational! Melisa at Pinker 'n' Punkin Quilting invited us to join her for a dish of peach ice cream as she showed off Flaming Butterflies ~ The Butterflies are set with a Whatcha MaCall It blocks and is quite lovely...  Hop over to her blog to see more photos and to show her some love.

"This quilt is in memory of my sis, who Papa called Flaming Amy. She was a spitfire.🔥🎇 I finished Flaming Butterflies just in the knick of time. I will put it in the hoop tomorrow.  Tomorrow marks three years 😔😢💔. How can that be?" 

That's all I have this week. Don't forget... Come back for the TGIFF party at the end of the week!

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

m


Thursday, August 22, 2024

Pieces of My Life ~ Cornerstone & Chimney

 

Welcome back for another session of the Pieces of My Life Sew Along!


This session features a block I call Cornerstone & Chimney.  
The questions revolve around your first homes, jobs, pets and friends.  For Dave and I both, aside from dorm rooms, never lived anywhere but at home.  And it wasn't until our marriage that we had our own "Home Sweet Home."

Since we just returned from a trip to Illinois, the subject matter of our first apartment and memories are fresh in my mind.  



Dave's sister and BIL had purchased their first home just months before our wedding and we were lucky enough to become the new residents of 408-1/2 La Fox River Drive.  It was the upper floor of this Victorian style home.  

The entrance was on the side of the house, near the back.  I can very nearly recall the sound of the door, creaking floor and stairs as well as the scents that come along with the old homes.

The yard was open when we lived there... it has since grown up and has iron fence and gate that prevents people like us from walking up and wandering around as we reminisced about our first 2 years together there.

We talked the sweet landlady into letting us get a cat.  Rusty was an orange tabby Tom cat that had interesting markings on his side... (think target).  We got him when he was about 9 months old from an animal shelter.  He had a great personality and demanded that we pay attention to him when we were there.  He picked us!  He was well behaved and loved watching the squirrels and birds from the upper windows.

He would follow the squirrels from the kitchen window to the living room window.  Mrs. Schuett (the landlady) would often sit on a bench by her back door.  Rusty would sit in the kitchen window and talk to her.

One hot summer night Dave moved the small window AC unit from the living room window into one of our bedroom windows.  Rusty would sleep with us and he enjoyed the cooler temp offered by the AC unit.  Sometime in the early morning hours Dave had gotten up and Rusty followed him out of the room.  It wasn't until Dave needed to get up to get ready for work that he realized that the living room window that no longer held the AC unit was wide open (without a screen)... and Rusty was nowhere to be found inside the apartment.

Ummmm... Rusty was under the tree outside the side entrance to the apartment... and he was NOT happy.  Ooops!


After moving from the apartment and having children, Rusty eventually became an indoor/outdoor cat. This was with much thanks to a toddler releasing him from his harness while unsupervised outside.  He never wandered far, and he would ALWAYS ask to be let back into the house when he had to use the litterbox.  He was the best cat and never gave us any problems.  He even welcomed a yellow lab as his bestie.  Samantha Amber joined our family in 1988.  

Sam and Rusty would play and wrestle together until Rusty's entire head was wet from being in Sam's mouth.  LOL.  It was a regular event every afternoon following naptime.

Sammie Girl had one litter of puppies... 8 black labs.  We sold all of them. Sam lived for a long 15 years.  We heard from several of the owners of her puppies over the years and learned that she had outlived a few of her babies.  She was a great dog!  Right up to her last days on earth.  She was irreplaceable.  So much so that we waited a full 10 years before getting our Shelby Grace.


It is the memories like these that become the cornerstones of our lives.  Which means... now is the time to get over to payhip to grab the pattern for the Cornerstone & Chimney block.

It is a simple block to piece.  But be careful with your 1/4" seams.  If you have mastered the scant 1/4" seams your block will be oversized.  

If you have not, I have built in a fool-proof insurance by making the final pieces 1/2" larger than the other "log" pieces.  

This was a trick I learned from Eleanor Burns' patterns for log cabins.  Either way... if needed, trim your block down just a little, center your 12-1/2" ruler on the block and trim.

Be sure you come back and link up your finished block!  

What was your first place like?  
Did you have an apartment or house?  
Did you rent or did you own?
Did you have a roommate?

Leave a comment... I'd love to hear from you!

Keep piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

m


Wednesday, August 21, 2024

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity-Jig

We have returned home after a fast and furious trip... 1200 miles from Trinidad, Colorado to Algonquin, Illinois.  Two days of driving there, two days there and another 1,200 miles in the two days back.  If you're wondering... that about 18 hours of drive time one-way.

Totally worth it to have all 8 of the Nolan siblings together to celebrate 50 years of marriage with the first-born of the family and her husband. It has been 15 years since that last happened.

In birth order, right to left...
Linda, Mike, Marcie, Sharon, Dave, Pat, Chris, Amy

If you missed seeing the Golden Anniversary quilt that was given as a gift, go HERE.  The fact that there was an intersection with their last names meant that we HAD to drive the 20 minutes from the hotel to get photos... Totally worth it.  Go check it out ;)

I passed the time on the road with some hand sewing and we listened to a few audio books.  One we enjoyed... the author was Tracie Peterson; the story was Under the Stary Skies.  We tired a few other books, but either the narrator was not appealing to us, or the storyline was lame.  Maybe we are too picky.  Either way... they were all free to listen to through the Libby App.  (The app worked really well as long as we had cell service.  But when you are traveling on the remote eastern plains of Colorado it gets a little hit and miss.)  


I had prepared several EPP blocks that will be included in our Camping Journal Quilt.  These included a couple campfire blocks, a modified Mesa Verde block, a portion of a petroglyph block, and a block to represent the fabulous sunrise we saw while camping near the Organ Mountains.  I still have a few more to make to complete the "journal" of our spring trip to Arizona and New Mexico.


I had been feeling a little bored with this ongoing project... I started it in 2018 and I have been missing our quick get aways but this was a good time to somewhat caught up and renew some energy and interest in the project.  I have blocks selected for the remaining trips/nights that we have had this year.  Now, all I need to do is pull fabric and prep my "kits".

While on the road, Dave and I talked about our fall trip.  We will be returning to Illinois in October for a wedding.  We have a tentative plan the direct route (I-80) there with stops planned for Ogallala and Fremont, Nebraska, one night in Iowa and then the Paul Wolff Forest Preserve near Elgin, IL.

Our return trip will find us gettin' our kicks along Route 66.

I finished a few quilted hearts and sprinkled them around as well. 



I like to have a variety of projects to work on when I travel so that if I get bored with one, I can pull out something different.

One project that will be included in my travel sewing bag next time will be some embroidery.  I found these peel and stitch transfer sheets in one of the "deal of the day" emails about a week before we left.  I was excited for them to arrive since I have a few jeans that I wear when camping that have some minor repairs to them and I have wanted to add some embroidery to them to help disguise the repairs and "dress them up a little."

While I was excited for them to arrive the day before we left, I quickly realized that they are blank sheets to be printed on.  I thought they came with a few designs already printed on them... but they are blank.  No big deal... I just decided to leave them for another trip.

I know that there are lots and lots of free embroidery patterns out there.  I'll have to look back at what the Texas Quilt Gal linked to a few weeks ago when she joined my Sew & Tell Party. 

Speaking of my Sew & Tell Party... It is still open.  Feel free to drop by.

Do you travel with projects?
What sort of projects do you like to work on?
What supplies do you need to take with you?

Leave a comment... I'd love to hear from you!

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

m

Sunday, August 18, 2024

Secret Sewing Reveal ~ Sew & Tell


It's official!  The 50th Anniversary quilt has been gifted and I can finally give a full reveal.

This quilt began with inspiration from Amanda's Westwood Acres Fabric and her Golden Afternoon quilt.  I would have loved to have purchased a kit or pattern from her, but neither were available.  

Since I needed to come up my own design, my intent was never to copy her pattern or quilt exactly so I didn't spend a great deal of time staring at her picture.  I knew there were stars and an Irish chains.  I also knew I needed the center of the stars to be 6" squares... large enough to hold congratulatory messages to the lovely couple.  

I also knew I needed 12 blocks.  Enough to include a message from each sibling of both families.  One block features the names of the couple and their wedding date.  One sibling of the groom has passed away, but was included with his name in a heart.  Each message is as unique as each sibling.

This is the finished quilt.  It is quite different from Amanda's but I am so pleased.  


Linda Nolan married Carlton Hopp on August 17, 1974.  When considering options for taking photos we had a winner when we discovered that there was an actual intersection of Hopp(s) Road and Nolan Road. 💛 It was a 20-minute drive from our hotel to the location, but worth every minute!

We then traveled to a few places that have been significant landmarks of their lives.


They lived in the upper floor of this Victorian home when they started their family
When they purchased their home, Dave and I started our married life together here.

Saint Margaret Mary Church where they have been involved
in the music ministry for all of their marriage




The quilt was well received and brought a few tears as they realized that there were personal messages included.


We'll be headed home soon... so time to start the Sew & Tell party!

Keep Piecing,

Melva

linking with:

m