Thursday, January 16, 2025

TGIFF - Another Bride's Quilt


Welcome to Melva Loves Scraps and this week's edition of Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday.  I hope that you enjoy the story of the quilt I share and that you'll join the party with a recent finish of your own. :)

For the past two years my Sew along events - Pieces of the Garden and Pieces of My Life - have been centered around the story of the "Bride's Quilt... (Patterns for both of these sew alongs are still available.  Simply follow the links provided to find out where.)


The story came from a crafting magazine (in about 1985) that featured a needle-point pattern and the story.  This is the needlepoint I made for my Grandparents' 50th Anniversary. (I'm certain that Kelvin & Loressa - brother & SIL - had been gifted one, which inspired her idea of an actual quilt.)

In olden days, it was traditional for young girls to make a “Baker’s Dozen” (13) quilts by their wedding day.  The patterns, often handed down from generation to generation, were usually planned when the girl was very young; and, as soon as she could hold a needle, she would start sewing her first quilt.  The last (or 13th) quilt was the fanciest of all.  After a girl became engaged, she would invite her friends to a party to quilt the top of this “Bride’s Quilt”… and in this way she would announce her engagement.

The twelve patterns were chosen to tell the following story…

Once upon a time, there was a little girl, who wore a bow in her hair.  When she grew up, she began a friendship with a young bachelor.  As the hours and days passed, they began to look at each other with stars in their eyes, and as their love grew, they thought about taking steps to the altar.  So, the young girl got out her spools of thread and made clothes to get ready for their wedding ring day.

After they are married, some of their times together will be bright as noon and others will be dark as night.  But they will try to share their happiness, their miseries and their chores – she grabbing a wrench to help with household repairs and he grabbing a towel to help with the dishes.  Sometimes they will have broken dishes but they will try to remember that “things” can be replaced, whereas harsh words, possibly spoken about the broken dishes, could chip away love.  They will try to follow the Golden Rule as they are learning to communicate openly with each other.

They will also try to keep in mind the symbolism of Jacob’s ladder – “steps of communication” between themselves on earth and God in heaven.


My brother's wife passed away in July following a very short battle with cancer.  She was a crafter for much of their married life and she enjoyed a variety of activities... cross-stitch, scrapbooking, home decor and much more.

As my brother has been slowly sorting through her items, he found this quilt.  Loressa had made the blocks and used a quilt-as-you-go method and had them all joined together.  Kelvin thought this might be a nice sized throw quilt for the back of his couch.


As I examined it, I saw that it was imperfect, with points missing, but it doesn't matter... I am not the quilt police!  She made it with love, and that is all that matters and it deserved to be finished.

Since there was no fabric in the bin that it resided, I skipped any kind of border.  I used some large sashing strips to cover the raw seams on the back of the quilt.  I went with pink... I had it, and it matched pretty well.

I enjoyed a few days of slow-stitching and watching a new (to me) show "Wind At My Back." The arrangement of the sashing strips on the back reflect the quilting she used on the blocks.

I thought the timing of this quilt finding its way to me was interesting... 

When a particular word, topic or subject appears to me repeatedly, I stop to consider just what it means to me... more specifically, "what does the Lord want me to see in this?"

For this quilt and in this particular situation, I believe it is the message and idea that Loressa did love Kelvin, despite the fact that they had been separated for a bunch of years... Who am I to judge their marriage/relationship?  I need be only concerned with my own... a stay in your own lane message. LOL

It's time to get the TGIFF party started.

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

m


Sunday, January 12, 2025

Sew & Tell ~ January 13, 2025 ~ RSC & Golden Afternoon


As the snow came down on two separate days last week, I stayed tucked away in my studio making slow but steady progress on the scrappy red Golden Afternoon. 

There are lots of pieces in each unit... and because I am working with scraps, strip piecing for the 4-patch units didn't really happen.

Here's what I have so far...


I need 13 of the star units and 16 of the chain units. I need many more low volume 4-patches... many many more.  

On Friday I shared some thoughts about the losses our family experienced in 2024... three members of my family tree of quilters...


I also mentioned that I would begin my Rainbow Scrap Challenge project. I ended up with 25 pink hexies as I sewed as we traveled to my Uncle's service.  It was a sweet time as family remembered him and stories were shared.  
Mom thoroughly enjoyed the trip. (front row, on the left)

That's all I have for now...


This week's Sew & Tell feature is Melisa at Pinker Punkin Quilting.  She showed us the progress she made on her Merry Little Winter quilt.  She shared several cute little snowmen.  Go check it out!

Let's get this party started! 🥳 

Keep Piecing, 

Melva

Linking with:

m



Friday, January 10, 2025

Flashback Friday - Quilters Through The Generations

As I have spent time this week going between housework, studio time and doing year-end (monkey) business, I have been contemplating some of the "hard" that Dave & I experienced in the last half of 2024.

There were multiple losses... not all of them were shared here at MLS.  Individually, not that big of a deal... The cycle of life continues.  The news in our family Christmas letter revealed that we, along with both of our daughters lost some beloved furry friends.  Three households and three dogs crossed the rainbow bridge. :'( In August I shared in a Pieces of My Life story (newsletter, possibly?) that a grandchild had been lost through a miscarriage.  


In July I did share with you about the passing of a quilty cousin - Diane.  In November, my Uncle Forrie, slipped away peacefully and in December another quilting cousin, Mae passed away.  All three of these family members had feature stories about their love for quilts and quilting in my Quilters Through the Generations series.  

As I prepped 3" hexies for hand-stitching to pass the time during our trip to my Uncle's celebration of life service, I thought of all of these losses... and how I have been blessed by their presence in my life - for it is in the valley that we suffer, but also the place that we can see the most growth.  I offered thanks and experienced deep gratitude for the fact that I preserved some of their personal thoughts about quilting and what it meant to them.


As I sorted through an old collection of scraps and "chunks" of pink that came out of deep storage for my RSC hexies it was like revisiting some old friends!

Fabrics that were used in many baby girl quilts... and purses.

The colors of pink range from light pinks, deep fuchsia, puce, and dusty roses... some of the scraps lean toward a lavender.  Some are playful with polka dots and multi-colored.


All this to say... 

Tell those that you love how you feel.... make sure they know.  And tell them often!

Find joy in each and every day... even if it only for a small, seemingly insignificant thing.  I started a blessing jar on January 1... one small note of paper with a blessing that made the day special.

Pet the fabric and make beautiful things!

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

m

Sunday, January 5, 2025

Sew & Tell ~ January 6, 2025 - A Grand Finale


Happy New Year! 🎉We welcomed 2025 with little fanfare or celebration... it was simply "another day."  Though we did "take the day off" of our regular work.  As we watched the Rose parade, the Christmas tree came down and all decorations were packed away until mid-December, when we will repeat the traditions.  Our tree is so big... and it takes up so much space in our living room.  **sigh** It cramps my style for sandwiching quilts!  (I'd love to get one not so broad but that won't happen until Dave is unable to get the boxes {yes, plural...boxes} in and out of the crawlspace.)  

I was forced to use a different space in the living room to sandwich the Camping Journal quilt... and do it in sections.  I had promised you that there would be no mention of this quilt until it was complete.  And... D.O.N.E., it is!  **insert happy dance **

I finished the binding by noon on December 31.  I washed it and dried it to get the full effect of the squished up, wrinkly, well-loved look that the Heirloom batting that is 80% cotton offers. Ta-da!!!!!  

I had planned on getting it placed on the camper bed as proof that it was done... and then after lunch, this happened.

Dave and I have discussed the need to replace the flooring in the 5th-wheel for months... since Shelby is no longer with us. :(  The camper is 30 years old... which means the carpet is also 30 years old.  Bleh!  I know how much dirt, mud, sand and spills happened in just the 2 years we have owned it.  And carpet in any bathroom is just gross!

We have vinyl plank to install throughout the entire "lower level".  Did you know that when campers like this are built that they start from the bottom up?  Meaning, the flooring goes down first and then the walls and cabinets are set over it.  The carpet was heavily stapled along ALL of the edges.  Neither of us anticipated the challenge it would be to get the carpet out.  There was a horrible squeak in the stairs that Dave wanted to fix while there.  We have decided to redesign the stairs so that we can use the "empty space" for additional storage.  It's a brilliant idea!  

The weather forecasters are calling for a snowstorm to come in on Monday night... this will stall our advancement and progress in the camper.  Not to worry though!


I have a list of projects waiting in the wings... 

First up is this quilt that was started by my brother's wife. She passed away in July. My brother, Kelvin, has been slowly going through some of her things and this was among them.  

I'll share the whole story of this quilt with you when I host the TGIFF party in a few weeks. 

When I finish hand-stitching the strips on the back of the quilt to cover the seams, I will do the binding.  

It will then be returned to Kelvin for him to display on the back of his couch. :)


Next up will be a scrappy red quilt using the Golden Afternoon pattern by Amanda Woodruff at Westwood Acres Fabric.  This was the quilt that inspired the 50th Anniversary quilt that I made last year.

Amanda has a few patterns available, but the only way to acquire this pattern was to purchase a kit.  At the time that I wanted to make the anniversary quilt, the kits were out of stock.  You may remember, I made up my own design/pattern loosely based on her quilt.

After Hurricane Helene, Amanda offered a few copies (less than 10) of the pattern for "free" if you offered proof that you made a $50 donation to one of the specified charitable organizations she selected, in support of the hurricane recovery.  I took advantage of the opportunity.  I felt it was well worth it.  My red version of Golden Afternoon will be used as a fundraising opportunity for our grand-daughter's softball team.  

What other items are "waiting in the wings", you ask? Two t-shirt quilts - one to finish for our oldest daughter.  She started it 12 years ago... I just need to decide on a layout and join the blocks together.  The second t-shirt quilt is for a friend.  Gina had been in a "purging mode" and sent them to me (along with others but stated that she was in no hurry for this quilt).  I have trimmed all the blocks and prepped them with the fusible stabilizer.  I even have the fabric selected for the sashing strips.  I just need to get them on the wall.  Both t-shirt collections are from the same university.  What a coincidence!

And lastly... I have an empty bin ready to gather all of my pink scraps for a RSC project.  I am still undecided about what sort of blocks I'll be making.  Three-inch hexies or scrappy/wonky log cabins.  The hexies lend themselves more for a traveling project.  The log cabin blocks would be perfect leader/ender sewing.  Hmmmmm...


Rather than continue to sit and ponder this decision and take up your time with my reasonings for one or the other (or something completely different), it is now time for this week's Sew & Tell feature... Maggie at Making a Lather has a unique method for making progress in completing her UFOs.  
I try to work on these 5 quilts until they are done. Their turn in the UFO closet is over, and they need to be finished one way or another. 

Maggie's finish of her Midnight Flight, pattern by Bonnie Hunter, is stunning!

Follow the link above and see what other projects she has on her list.

I have never made participated in one of Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilts... I am intimidated by the small pieces - more specifically, the number of small pieces required.

Have you ever done one of Bonnie's quilts?

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

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

m


Tuesday, December 31, 2024

2025 Planning Party

 




As the year draws to a close, I am looking forward to 2025 and enjoying the calendar of Pieces From the Past quilt blocks that I made.

I did a review of 2024 last week.  Take a quick peek HERE for that story.  You'll find my comparisons of the what the stats show as the "Top 5" versus what my "personal favorites" were.

As a quick review of the goals I had for 2024...

❧ Taking my Pieces from the Past and Pieces of the Santa Fe Trail programs on the road.  
 
❧ Continue with my custom quilting and t-shirt quilts... I will also continue leaving a trail of love from my quilted hearts.
 
❧ With my fingers crossed, I think I may be able to complete our Camping Journal Quilt. 
 
❧ Make certain that I am creating and finding joy in life even in the midst of the move for Mom.  

I am pleased to say that I did reach every goal listed.  

Looking forward many of the goals remain the same:

❧ Taking my Story Telling Quilts program on the road.  I have multiple quilts now that could be included.  
I was blessed to be able to present to a wonderful group of quilters in Greeley.  Would you be interested in having me visit your group?  Let me know, we can make plans!  I will have the new quilts hanging at the local library again in March to celebrate World Quilting Month.
 
❧ Continue with my custom quilting and t-shirt quilts... I will also continue leaving a trail of love from my quilted hearts.

❧ I'll continue my weekly Sew & Tell party, and I've signed up to be the hostess for three TGIFF linky parties.  In early December I saw that many participants of the Virtual Cookie Exchange party were disappointed that it was the last one as the hosts were ready to hand up their party hats.  I'm considering picking up that "baton" and running with it.  If I were to continue the tradition, who would be interested?  Leave me a comment... If there is ample interest, I'll make plans for it.
 
❧ With our Camping Journal Quilt complete, I am thinking of taking up a hexie project for some of my hand-stitching.  I've printed and cut 3" tall hexies.  These large hexies could easily become a Rainbow Scrap Challenge project.  But I haven't settled on that yet.  TBD


❧ I need to compile all of the stories from our camping adventures into a book to accompany the Camping Journal quilt.  Which means I will be looking into a blog-to-book option.  While I am at it, I will gather all of the patterns and memory book pages from the Pieces of My Life quilt and get them in a published format as well.  
 
❧ Above all, I want to make certain that I am creating and finding joy in life through my quilting projects.

It seems like a pretty vague list... but I am okay with that.  

Like last year, I have no plans for another sew along.  Of course, we know how that turned out ;)  The idea for the Pieces of My Life quilt came along in February.  Will the same happen again???  I will simply wait and see.

Last year my focus Scripture was:

This life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him!  ... the joyful anticipation deepens.

In looking back over all that happened, I feel that the year was more of a lesson of patience. A very long lesson of patience. ;) Patience and anticipation are similar... As the year went on and the lessons continued, I forgot the joyful aspect. We had some camping adventures... most with our little brown dog, Shelby which helped to make the adventures more exciting and joyful.  I mean an excited and friendly dog that loved to smell and explore and say "hello" to everyone she met certainly helped with the "childlike" joy.

I've been considering a focus word or Scripture for the coming year and Proverbs 3:5-6 has been showing up in numerous places... since October!  Just recently, verses 7 and 8 were included with it...   

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

Do I understand exactly what the Lord intends to do with this?  No.  But I would be foolish to think that I did!  

Happy New Year!

Melva

Linking with:

m

Sunday, December 29, 2024

Sew & Tell ~ December 30, 2024


 

Wow!  The year of 2024 is nearly gone... tick, tick, tick.  I can hear the clock counting down.  Can't you?


This is my current view... I am spending every free moment I have at my Babylock Jazz quilting wavy FMQ lines on my Camping Journal Quilt.  I know (and understand) that you are tired of hearing about this quilt.  Trust me!  I want it D.O.N.E. as well.

I promise that (after today) the next mention of it will be that it has the binding complete, and it is ready for the bed in our camper. 



This is the sample of the quilting design


While progress is getting made it is slow... though I have had a fair number of interruptions.  Like having to address a septic line issue at my Mom's house (yes, the one that we are still trying to sell).  

One buyer cancelled the contract because their "inspector" found issues with the line (they said crack).  It was not a crack... rather, there had been a minor shift in the ground and the tiles were not aligned properly.  "Tomāto, tomato".  It is now officially inspected and repaired and certified as so.


Christmas was quiet for us.  We enjoyed a leisurely morning, a late breakfast and Christmas movies on the Family Movie Channel (Classics... from 1940s and 50s).  We had a long hike at Trinidad Lake and then more movies and a spaghetti dinner.  

Dave won the prize for creative wrapping.  Any guesses of what it is???  If you were to guess new cutting mat, you would be correct.

We celebrated Christmas on Saturday with Mom, our girls and their families.  A joyous time with plenty of food!  Most of it even fell within the various dietary restrictions. ;) 


As Dave and I watched the classic movies I enjoyed doing some paper embroidery on old Christmas cards.  I was purging 7 years' worth of cards.  A few of them avoided the trash for this purpose.  They will make for some nice tags next year.  :)


I've been looking back over 2024... If you missed my "Best of 2024" story, you will find it HERE.  I am not a huge believer in making New Year Resolutions, but I will be sharing some goals for 2025.  Here's a quick look at what I had set out to accomplish this year...  I'll share a full review with some new goals on December 31.  There have been years that I "failed" horribly... and others that I was an overachiever and super productive.  But throughout all of the years of participating in the planning party I have learned that my #1 unwritten goal, is to enjoy entire process.  If a task or project is just too hard, I give myself permission to bail or set it aside for a time.  Let's be honest... some projects just earn themselves a time-out. ;)

❧ Taking my Pieces from the Past and Pieces of the Santa Fe Trail programs on the road.  
 
❧ Continue with my custom quilting and t-shirt quilts... I will also continue leaving a trail of love from my quilted hearts.
 
❧ With my fingers crossed, I think I may be able to complete our Camping Journal Quilt. 
 
❧ Make certain that I am creating and finding joy in life even in the midst of the move for Mom.  
 

It is time for the Sew & Tell feature!  This week Astrid from Red Needle Quilts showed off her Star Streams quilt top.  What started out as a RSC quilt became a beautiful two-color quilt in varying shades of blue.

It is just beautiful!  Head over there and show her some love. 💙

Do you make goals or resolutions for the year?  

I'd love to hear from you... leave a comment.  Now, let's get the party started 🎉

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

m

Thursday, December 26, 2024

Best of 2024


Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs has been hosting the "Best of" linky party since 2015.  I have participated in the party each year and it is always interesting to take a look at what some of the stats reveal... and what my personal feelings are in regard to those stats.  I am sometimes usually at little surprised at what posts/stories appear (by the numbers) to be the most popular (and this year is no surprise)... And then there's my personal favorites.

By the numbers:

Several older posts (I mean years old) made the list.  I'm not quite sure why but when I pull them out of the mix the announcement of the Pieces of My Life Sew Along tops the list.  I am not surprised at this.

The Maintenance & Self-Care story was nothing exciting (I wanted to say it was nothing to write home about, hahaha) but obviously it was a topic that resonated with my readers.  Perhaps we need more frequent reminders that we need to take care of our machines AND ourselves... to be reminded that not every project needs to be completed at a record pace.  Slow and easy can be just as enjoyable... possibly even more so.


The Sticks & Stones (II) quilt (pattern from Missouri Star Quilt) was popular... both when the top was finished and when it was fully finished with quilting and binding.  Dave called this quilt "Christmas Morning" because it reminded him of the excitement of children unwrapping gifts, bits of wrapping paper, bows and gifts. It has been purchased by a customer and will certainly bring some bright joy to their family on Christmas Morning.


The November 4th Sew & Tell featured a table topper featuring a vintage piece on linen that I hand-quilted.  


Just behind that was a story telling of my repurposed full-length mink fur.  There seems to be a great interest in the fur since the furry poms were viewed more than the mink bed runner(Or maybe it was just that they were with the Sticks & Stones quilt...)


And finally, the 50th Anniversary Quilt that had been sewn in (semi)secret. 

My personal favorite list is a touch different.  If I stick to strictly quilted projects of the year - 17 in all- (and cheat just a little by grouping a few projects) I have four categories... And let's face it... choosing a favorite quilt is like admitting you have a favorite child ;)


#4 encompasses the custom memory quilts I made: two quilts using baby clothes and three that included shirts from a father/grandfather for his daughters and grandson.  


#3 includes the four items I created from vintage linen pieces.  The small elephant runner was a silk scarf, the teal table runner was made with a dresser scarf that was made by my Grandma T, the tablecloth found its way to me from a friend who was selling her mother's items after her passing and the coffee cup table topper with a vintage center that had been gifted to me several years ago.


#2 includes the two storytelling quilts from the Pieces of My Life Sew Along.  When I started the sew along, I was only going to offer one non-traditional layout that incorporated the twelve 12" blocks as well as the eight 6" blocks using a Quilt as you go method.  I was concerned that not everyone would want to have a non-traditional layout... and being the (recovering) people pleaser that I am, I decided that I would include the fabric requirements and directions for a more traditional quilt.


After deciding this I realized it would be best (and easiest) to make an actual quilt so that I could verify and confirm the information I was offering.  I chose purple as the colorway... and about 4 blocks in I learned that the full range of purples was a challenge to get to work together and keep the red-violets and blue-violets from fighting clashing with each other.  In the end, it all worked out well with the help of the sashing fabric that I used.

#1 is the Camping Journal Quilt that has been a labor of love for years.  Oh, ok... this is not a "group" of quilts... but since it is my most recent finish, I can claim that it just might be my favorite finish of 2024.  (That's ok, right???)  Quilting is still in process as I write this post, but it is my hope that it will be completely finished, binding and all by December 31. 

The number of quilts I made this year was a little lower that past years but given all that life included with a major move for my Mom, I feel okay with that.  I trust God to send customers my way and if there is a lack of custom work... He inspires ideas for quilts to make and the time to do so.

Do you have a favorite quilt that you made this year?

Leave a comment telling me all about it.  I'd love to hear from you!

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

m