Welcome to Melva Loves Scraps and The Welcome to My House Hop (hosted by Carol Swift at Just Let Me Quilt. This hop is certain to be a fun filled and inspiring event!
There will be a list of participants at the end of this post. I have a pattern to give away as well! Details at the end...
When I signed up for this hop my idea was to create a wall hanging of only house blocks, all different colors and sizes and styles and call it "Won't You Be My Neighbor." I loved watching Mr. Rogers with my children. It was a favorite! I was certain that the houses would be super cute too!
I started pulling patterns and found that I couldn't find the blocks in the sized I desired... mostly 12", 6" and 9". What I found were 5", 8" and 10". So much for my idea...
I was determined that I could make my idea work... somehow!
I made up a few of the different blocks in their original size and pushed through...
And then I had two commissioned t-shirt quilts show up and I had to set aside the house patterns and blocks. I'll be honest... I was disappointed that my plan didn't come together easily.
I considered using my August block from the "It's A Wild Life" BOM...
Did you see it??? It is super cute and looks like our house and the mountains you can see from the top of the hill behind us!
I had to keep repeating to myself... "I am not a quitter." "I am not a quitter." I had to make something work!
Maybe I was avoiding my house project, but Save The Bees block caught my attention.
So I "played" with it...
Face it!
You have to answer the call when something captures your attention! Otherwise your focus is distracted and you don't give it your all...
Am I right???
And... (warning - rabbit trail ahead!) if you have been reading and following along this summer at all, you should know that I am not a fan of applique. I have whined and moaned about the amount of appliqued blocks that have been included in the monthly Wild Life blocks...
I am beginning to feel as though there is a conspiracy or something to force me to begin to love applique, because I caught a sneak peek of the September block... and it would appear that there is more applique. What???
Learn to love applique? **record scratching sound** NOT going to happen, but I am loving the look of the blocks... and the Save the Bees block is no exception.
My original idea with the Bee blocks was to machine embroidery or stitch the design on the blocks in hopes of giving it a hand embroidered look... kind of like the trail of bee. (I may still sneak back into the studio this weekend to try that. Stay tuned!)
But then I discovered that the block looked good with the houses... (rejoining the trail again soon...)
I pulled out some letters that were left over from a project several years ago...
I discovered that I could form the word "Welcome" if I combined an "N" and a "U" for the "W" and the "M".
Yep... signed myself up for another applique! Heck, let's throw in some sunflowers that had fusing on them from someone else's stash while were at it!
What is going on here???
Do I love applique??? No, but I am not whining about it anymore!
My finished project is 23" x 27" and has corner pockets to insert a dowel rod for easy hanging.
Wow... that was a bit of round about way to getting to my finished project! I generally am not quite so all over the place with my projects and my thoughts... something strange is going on. While it is not all that my mind's eye envisioned, it is a cute little hanging.
What do you do when a project (or life) just isn't quite going the way that you would expect?
Do you refuse to give up and stay on the main trail?
Do you abort the project and turn around to head home?
Do you modify your plans, sometimes following rabbit trails, discovering that the trails meet up again?
As I stated... I am not a quitter. I refuse to give up! Things may not turn out the way I thought... most of the time it is for the best! God's little blessings.
I have a pattern to give away. It is "Settler's Trail". It is a wonderful pattern for a super scrappy quilt!
Entry for the give away is easy. Simply leave a comment before Saturday, September 15th.
Be sure to leave your email address if you are a no-reply blogger so that I can contact you should be picked as the winner.
Thanks for stopping by and traveling down the winding trail with me.
Sew Happy!
Melva
Melva Loves Scraps - Home of the Quilters Through The Generations series
September 10
September 11
September 12
September 13
September 14
Linking with:
Movin' it forward Monday at Em's Scrapbag
Monday Making at Love, Laugh, Quilt
Linky Tuesday at Freemotion by the River
Fiber Tuesday at The Quilting Room with Mel
Melva, you certainly are not a quitter. I love your wall hanging. Save the Bees looks like a fun quilt, too. I'm saving the patterns as I've been covering up with drama. My children's dad had a seizure two weeks ago today. My son called me from Arkansas at 1:330 in the morning and I knew something was wrong. Their dad was in the hospital and he was on his way to OK. No idea what was wrong - possible stroke and we still don't know if he had a stroke. He had a seizure while my son was on the road. My daughter lives in NM and has not been here. My son and I have been at the hospital for L-O-N-G hours. Their dad's bottom half of his body is metal on metal. The doctors think he either had a stroke or a seizure at home and fell and it broke both the columns in his hip and ran the hip socket, which was a replacement, close to his bladder. He had surgery this past Tuesday to repair the front pelvis and Thursday to repair the back pelvis and redo the hip replacement. Now you know why I have not replied to your request for the info for a family quilter. I have it almost done and want to get a picture of the only quilt I have that my mother made that I still have. I love the giveaway pattern. I love primitive type quilts. I'm glad that you are not a quitter and put together an awesome quilt. You are not only not a quitter but you are very resourceful. Congrats on a job well done.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful ♥ love all the applique
ReplyDeleteHi Melva. Sure do love that block! I admit to being a rabbit trail follower. I have no idea how many times I get off on a side trail when making a quilt. Probably enough that it would be easier to try to count the quilts that have been counted exactly following a pattern. I seem to always need to adjust sizes or think that I should piece a border, or.............
ReplyDeleteThank you Carol. It comforts me in knowing that I am not alone in adjusting patterns in some way. Good luck in the prize drawing! M
DeleteWow. You are definitely not a quitter. What a fabulous quilt you made.
ReplyDeleteMelca, this is super cute!
ReplyDeleteYour quilt is wonderful. I think the Save the Bees block is a great compliment to the houses. Applique is fun lol!
ReplyDeleteYour project is really cute--love the rabbit trails you took to get to the end. I think most of us do that, don't we? I tend to--if something is not going quite the way I like, then I change, add, or whatever to work it out--or put it aside for awhile until I get a good idea for it. As long as we come out satisfactorily, I think that's the point, right? Thanks for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteI tend to put the project down and let the ideas simmer a bit. Usually within a couple days or a week, I am back on track. Pretty wallhanging! maryc76904 at yahoo dot com
ReplyDeleteI laughed my way through this whole post...what a great way to start my morning! Just between you and me, it is totally a conspiracy to get you to love applique. LOL I love your journey to the finished house project and how cute it ended up being. Your houses are adorable and the flower is a perfect addition. Thank you for hopping with us!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely love your little wall hanging....so pretty and clever. I was really impressed with the way you used the "U and N" to make the "L and M" in "welcome"....now THAT was clever! Love your blog...thanks for a chance to win.
ReplyDeleteI love your stream of thoughts as you developed your quilt and love of applique. It looks terrific! Thanks for sharing. Janice,snell@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteMelva, your little wall hanging is sooo cute. You might have came about it in a round about way, but it came together beautifully. (Hang in there. Applique grows on you. You might find that you love it after all.)
ReplyDeleteI am in the same boat with applique. I moan and groan, only to see blocks I love that need applique. Slowly I am making progress with that technique. Thanks for sharing your journey.
ReplyDeleteI do love applique, especially wool applique. I find it very forgiving. lol. Your little quilt is gorgeous. Thanks so much for sharing
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, Melva! Apparently you needed to let the project brew for a bit, because you ended up with a very cute quilt! I love it, and I love how it combines the flower from Save the Bees and how you embraced applique. (I don't like applique either, but now that I have a glue stick, I like it better). Thanks for sharing your process. As for me, sometimes I have to give the quilt a time out while I get over being frustrated. Usually during that time, a solution surfaces!
ReplyDeleteI love your houses!! Thanks for sharing and for the great giveaway!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Nancy! Good luck in the prize drawing. You may want to let me know your email address so that I can contact you if your name is selected. :)
DeleteMelva, like you I improvise and usually add what I love best-appliqué
ReplyDeleteOh my, your project had a mind of it's own didn't it. =) As for what I do with the projects that have minds of their own - any and all of the options you mentioned. I don't usually abandon them, but did this past weekend (it was to have been a mens shirt) because I just didn't want to do it any more after having had it cut out for over 5 yrs.....=)
ReplyDeletegreat houses, thanks.
ReplyDeleteHi Melva! Hurrah for you. All the bits came together into the cutest wall hanging! I feel the same as you about appliqué and my response is to use invisible thread because I am so bad it it! My handwork is also pretty suspect which is so funny on my finish because for the first time, I had to hand stitch my binding! Eek! I tried not to whine, I really did.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, you made me laugh and I loved traveling down the rabbit hole with you.
I love rabbit trails! It seems my life as well as my quilting life consists of myriad rabbit trails! I’ve been enjoying Save the Bees, too! How fun to incorporate that block into this little quilt!
ReplyDeleteVery creative house wall hanging & great to include the flower and bee. rozz01atcoxdotnet
ReplyDeleteYour imagination took over, and you combined lots of elements to make the CUTEST house wall hanging. I love it. However, I refuse to talk about my WIPs. :)
ReplyDeleteLove the trail to have found if I set it aside for too long it gets lost forever. I have taken partials to guild meettings and given them to anyone who thinks they might like to finish them up. I have also taken them to meeting show and tell for committment purposes. They will hold me accountable.
ReplyDeleteYour quilt came out great! I tend to put things always for a awhile when they aren't going well and hopefully will find it again another day to see it with fresh eyes. I have finished a lot of quilts that way and some are still not going to be finished. As for me I love applique! But that quilt pattern you are giving away is not me at all with all those pieces to piece, so don't choose me as the winner, pick someone else, lol!!
ReplyDeleteYour determination paid off because this is a wonderful wall hanging. I love scrappy quilts, this piece with the autumn colors and the sunflower work together well.
ReplyDeleteThank you Kay. I think it was the fall colors that helped me to see that the flower fit with the houses. Good luck in the prize drawing! PS - you may want to let me know your email address so that I can contact you if your name is selected as the winner. :)
DeleteYour quilt is adorable! When quilting (or life) isn't working the way I want it to, I step back and let the quilt (or problem) alone for a while. My brain always seems to work in the background, figuring out what needs to be done.
ReplyDeleteO Gosh! when I get overwhelmed, I sometimes put the project away for later inspiration, or I will make it smaller, or add a bunch of orphan blocks together to make a sampler. So many ideas!
ReplyDeleteWe all get side tracked and put things aside or give them to someone else to finish.
ReplyDeleteI really like the way you managed to put all your blocks together and make a lovely wall hanging.
Using the Save the Bees block turned out beautifully!
ReplyDeleteThank you for helping to make this hop a fun and successful event. Good luck in the prize drawing! PS - You may want to let me know your email address so that I can contact you should your name be selected as the winner. :)
DeleteI remind myself that I am a QUILTER - Not a Quitter! Thus the WIP syndrome - realizing it's not a bad thing. One project I dropped for 10 years...picked it up, finished and wondered how it got done so quickly. It just needed a TIME OUT more than me! lutzcats@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteI am one that will step back for a bit and then modify my plans, taking a few rabbit trails. I just did that while making a baby quilt for my niece. I do love your finished project and I enjoyed reading your post.
ReplyDeleteHi Melva and thank you for the welcome. I loved the story of how your little quilt came into existence! Like you, If I have a problem I get sidetracked but follow the rabbit trail and eventually wind up where I need to be. It would be easier to count the quilts I have made according to the pattern than it would be to count the modified quilts! I always seem to need to change sizes or add a different border! I am just now finishing a king size Lonestar which was to the adding borders when a dear grandson spilt his grape juice in my studio when Grampa was "watching" him. It is now a Lonestar Medallion with several alternating pieced and solid borders. One more finish by the weekend! That will be 15th UFO this year finally finished.
ReplyDeleteLove how you put everything together in this - well done!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, when a project is not going the way I want it to, I put it aside. Possibly, never to be brought to life again. Your house project turned out lovely! Thank you, peterstankovich@comcast.net
ReplyDeleteGreat little quilt
ReplyDeleteYour post was delightfully close to my heart! You really have a great eye for putting it all together. Lovely finish and inspirational. A life without rabbit trails would be rather uneventful, don't you agree?
ReplyDeleteThe rabbit trails can certainly add interest to life. :) Good luck in the prize drawing! PS - you may want to leave your email so that I can contact you if your name is selected as the winner of the pattern. :)
DeleteFinally your´ve made a wonderful quilt - looks beautiful!
ReplyDeleteGiving up is not an option, but a time out can be very helpful.
Your wall hanging is cute, and I think you did a great job on the applique!
ReplyDeleteHi Melva,
ReplyDeleteFancy seeing you in this hop, too! :)
I love how you were able to pull it together...even when it didn't go as you wanted.
Great creative thinking! <3
I think your wall hanging come out great. Clever idea to use all those elements to finish your wall hanging. Usually when things aren’t going right with my quilts, I put them aside and hope I will get back to them.
ReplyDeleteVery cute piece with lots of charm. I'm not a fan of applique either, but I can do it and sometimes it is the perfect fit.
ReplyDeleteI try never to quit a quilt. I have made lots of design changes to make things work sometimes. You turned these blocks into a very nice quilt. Thanks for sharing in the hop ... :) Pat
ReplyDeleteMelva, your finished project is too sweet and I'm glad you didn't quit. Any of the cuties you showed would have been fun to see, but the finish is a standing ovation for sure.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet appliqué quilt. I agree the houses look great with the bee and flower. Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteI love your wall hanging, wonderful job!
ReplyDeleteThank you Cindy. Good luck in the prize drawing. PS - you may want to leave your email address so that I can easily contact you should you be selected as the winner. :)
DeleteThanks for sharing your journey to this adorable quilt! And good job with not quitting. I really like patterns the combine piecing (my favorite too!) with applique (to add something different to the mix). Happy quilting!
ReplyDeleteWell if it's not coming out right..I put it to the side and sleep in it.... Sometimes it takes a few nites but I do my best thinking at nite when I am trying to sleep...lol ..happyness04431@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteThe quilt is super cute & happy. I love the story of how it came to be! And yes, I'm not a quitter, I'll make it work somehow!
ReplyDeleteLovely quilt!
ReplyDeleteThank you for helping to make this hop a fun and successful event. Good luck in the prize drawing! PS - you may want to leave me your email address so that I can easily contact you if selected as the winner :)
DeleteBeing a quitter isn't always a bad thing! As long as it isnt a permanent thing. When I get stuck, the project is put to the side while I "think" about what to do next. Sometimes it takes a lot of thinking!
ReplyDeleteWow! That's a fabulous save for blocks you were not loving. Your perseverance has shined thru with this darling little welcome home quilt! I'm to hear that applique isn't your thing, so I guess I better break it to you...Next month the Wild Life BOM is another applique block. :-O LOL!! Hope you enjoy it anyway!
ReplyDeleteWell, what kind of quilter am I? Maybe a little of each type but usually I hand in there and figure it or something else that will work. Congrats on staying strong. Your quilt is perfect and it's wonderful to hear how you incorporated other blocks and applique (even) and made it work.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great little wall hanging! Love that W! Love that you stuck with this project and saw it through to the end because it is adorable! Personally, I have been known to trash complete quilt tops, and other times have labored to unstitch everything and start again. Just how the mood hits me, I guess.
ReplyDeleteLOL, I thought I was listening to myself talk for a little there! LOL
ReplyDeleteYour piece turned out lovely.
I usually try to complete what I start (even if it is more than 20 years on -- like the wool table runner that is still not done), but I do follow squirrel trails down rabbit holes quite frequently.
But, I always get something done, not always what I planned, but it usually comes out pretty well.
Thank you for sharing.
I am a collecting sort of quilter....collecting fabric, collecting patterns and collecting lots of UFOs LOL
ReplyDeletemumbird3atgmaildotcom
love your home block
ReplyDeleteThank you. Good luck in the prize drawing. PS - You may want to leave me your email address so that I can easily contact you should your name be selected as the winner :)
DeleteWonderful wall hanging. I love rabbit trails. I find myself wandering them often. I put things away for awhile if I get too frustrated, but always get back to them eventually.
ReplyDeleteA nice wall hanging ! When my projects snag me, I let them rest a week, then pick them up again, trying to finish !! Sometimes done not as well as I like, but done !!
ReplyDeleteEileen ekmvalencia@gmail.com
Wow! That pattern you're giving away looks like it could take some time - all those tiny pieces!! (Could be fun!) I, too, am a glutton for punishment - I've signed up for more BOM's, QAL's, Row-Alongs, etc., than I will ever catch up with. But after all, that's what makes it fun, right? :-) Enjoy and don't worry about the small stuff! :-)
ReplyDeleteI like to see my projects through, even when they are not going the way I like. I am finally binding a quilt that has been stops and starts. Where I get into trouble is trying to incorporate another quilter's blocks with mine.
ReplyDeleteYour wall hanging is really nice!
ReplyDeletenikilsend(at)outlook(dot)com
Great quilt. And you wouldn't be the first appliqué hater to get hooked.... been there done that.....all it needs is a technique that gels for you and a few ideas that can't be pieced, and appliqué gets its grubby little hands on your heart.... :)
ReplyDeleteYou did a wonderful job on your wall quilt!
ReplyDeleteI love all the houses in this post!! I personally love applique, but don't do enough of it... Thanks for sharing all of yours! xx
ReplyDelete