Melva Loves Scraps: September 2019

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Quilter's ADD

Help!!! I have been so busy lately and have so many different projects going that I think I need a serious intervention.

In the last month I have had two pattern tests going, trying to finish my Scrappy Mystery Minuet (hosted by Carole at From My Carolina Home), a project for the Witchy Stitchy blog hop hosted by Carol at Just Let Me Quilt and some fun little "postcard" blocks designed by Rachel at Fiona Sandwich that are like a journal of our camping journeys...

Plus a promotion of Memory Quilts with a fundraising opportunity to a hand-picked selection of high schools...

And the preliminary plans of a new blog series that will feature quilt blocks from some old patterns that my Grandma Schleich saved from the newspapers. You know the ones... the Kansas City Star quilt blocks.

I will also be sharing the letters that my Grandparents received from some the German Officers that had been POW's held at Camp Trinidad during WWII. You can get a sneak peak into the letters over on my Grandmother's Flower Garden post.

I am open to suggestions for the series name. Leave a comment...

And to top it all off my friend has introduced me to Eco-printing. I process of fabric dyeing using gifts from nature! Not to worry... I will be doing a post that outlines the various steps of getting to this point. 😁

Ok, now that I have it all listed out I say "No wonder I am feeling overwhelmed!"

I can check off a few items...

✔The Mystery Quilt will just have to stay on the guest bed sandwiched and ready to quilt until inspiration hits me for just how to quilt it.

✔The pattern tests are done except for a photo shoot with one of them...

✔I wait to hear from the schools and I am waiting for permission to copy and share the Kansas City Star block patterns I am left with the Witch Stitchy project that will come together pretty quickly...

I have it more than 1/2 done. It will be a "magical" quilt that will probably be done by the end of next week...

That then leaves the last two items that have captured my attention lately... the postcard blocks and more eco-printing.

These little postcards are 4-1/2 inches and designed for english paper piecing or foundation paper piecing. I have opted for the EPP because I can prepare little kits of the block and take them with me when we go camping!

Last time we went we were in the National Forest near Red River, NM and I had three blocks to sew...

The campfire >>>

Mountains and Pine Tree - ⇓↓

Since we are getting ready to head over the Sangre de Cristo mountain range to Ouray, CO for a weekend of bike rides I need to get a few more blocks ready to go.

I'll be using some of the yummy eco-printed fabric in the next few postcard blocks!

And I have a date with my friend to make more next week. It is so fun! And so unpredictable. You never quite know what sort of colors and outlines you will end up with!

Thanks for "listening" to me ramble on about so many projects. I feel better since I have made a list and can see exactly where I am with each project and the deadlines.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed?

Are you a list maker?

What are some of your organizational tips?

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

Stay Piece-full!

Melva

Melva Loves Scraps - Home of the Quilters Through The Generations series

Linking with:

Put Your Foot Down at For the Love of Geese

Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Creative Compulsions at Bijou Bead Boutique

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Off The Wall Friday with Nina Marie
Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty
Peacock Party at Wendy’s Quilts and More
Colour & Inspiration at Clever Chameleon Quilting
Mid-week Makers at Quilt Fabrication
Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

Monday, September 23, 2019

A Time for All Seasons - September

The calendar turned to a new month and SOME HOW it is suddenly September! ALL the fall colors, hoodies, sweaters and fragrant fall scents are appearing everywhere! Even the cooler temperatures are finally arriving.

And Joan's "sunflower" block (also known as the Missouri Puzzle) which is part of the Sew Incredibly Crazy & Friends block of the month is no different...

My green scrap stash is well picked over but I thought the gingham would offer a nice country look along with the brown calico... and my black batik looks much more blue than black.  **sigh**  I should have taken a photo of my fabric pull BEFORE cutting and piecing it... (I refuse to dwell on such things for too long)

BUT because Joan emphasized in her pattern the need for SCANT 1/4" seams on the tiny 9-patch and strip-pieced blocks my seams nested beautifully!

At one point in my quilting life I probably would have avoided such a block or been frustrated because my seams would line up.

However, it is because of my ~~willingness~~ stubbornness to not give up on improving my skills that I have grown as a quilter.  Just last year I improved my (raw edge) applique skills and no longer shirk from the blocks that include it. Maybe some day down the road I will attempt needle turn applique. However, I think a class may be the thing to get me try it. It is the only way of improving anything that you do... continue to challenge yourself and try new things!

What sort of quilting skill do you want to improve?

I feel quite comfortable with free-motion feathers and vines, but I still hesitate when I think of free-motion stippling. Any tips or suggestions you have for this skill would be welcome! Of course, I know that practice is the thing that is really best.

Leave a comment telling me what quilting skill you would like to improve... or learn. I would love to hear from you. Let's be each other's cheerleaders!

Quilt Happy!

Melva

Melva Loves Scraps - Home of the Quilters Through The Generations series

Linking with:
BOMs Away at What A Hoot Quilts
Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreate
What I Made Monday at Pretty Piney
Main Crush Monday at Cookin’ Up Quilts
Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt
Moving It Forward Monday at Em's Scrapbag
Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
Colour & Inspiration at Clever Chameleon Quilting

Mid-week Makers at Quilt Fabrication
Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

Put Your Foot Down at For the Love of Geese

Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Creative Compulsions at Bijou Bead Boutique
Can I Get A Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Off The Wall Friday with Nina Marie
Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty
Peacock Party at Wendy’s Quilts and More

A Time for All Seasons BOM at Sew Incredibly Sew

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

2019 Color Challenge - September - Lilac

Jen's inspiration for the September Color Challenge block is Lilacs. Lilacs are frequently considered a harbinger of spring. In the language of flowers, purple lilacs symbolize the first emotions of love, while white lilacs represent youthful innocence.

Lilacs have never been my favorite flower... Reason being is that as a kid I had a severe allergy to them. And to make it worse, on the grounds of my elementary school there was a large hedgerow of them and my classmates were always picking stems of them and taking them to the teachers to place on their desks.

Ugh! My eyes would itch, and water and eventually swell.

But my dislike for lilacs never deterred my like for purple. Purple was my Dad's favorite color and lately he has been on my mind... a lot!

Last week while camping and enjoying the Carson National Forest near Red River, NM we viewed a purple sunset. Pictures never seem to fully capture the beauty of the colors very well, but the sky was actually about the color of the fabric from my block shown above!

It was one of those classic 'Lifesaver commercial moments'... and some youthful innocence...

We quietly watched... and in my heart I whispered "Do it again, Daddy."

Ahhh, Lifesavers...

What is your favorite Lifesaver flavor?

Of the original five flavors available I loved the pineapple. Of the wider variety of flavors, I always grabbed a butterscotch. And don't forget about the Wint-o-green candies that spark in the dark! Such fun!

Leave a comment to let me know what your flavor of choice is... I'd love to hear from you!

Stay Piece-ful,

Melva

Melva Loves Scraps - Home of the Quilters Through The Generations series

Linking with:

BOMS Away at Katie Mae Quilts

What I Made Monday at Pretty Piney

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Moving It Forward Monday at Em's Scrapbag

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Colour & Inspiration at Clever Chameleon Quilting

Mid-week Makers at Quilt Fabrication

WOW at Esther's Quilt Blog

Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter
Put Your Foot Down at For the Love of Geese
Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation
Creative Compulsions at Bijou Bead Boutique
Can I Get A Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Off The Wall Friday with Nina Marie
Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty
Peacock Party at Wendy’s Quilts and More
Scrap Happy Saturday at Super Scrappy
UFO Busting at Tish’s Wonderland
Color Challenge Link Up at Patterns By Jen

Monday, September 9, 2019

My Favorite Block Blog Hop

I am so thrilled to be participating in the "My Favorite Quilt Block" blog hop and that you are here. I offer many thanks to Carla Henton over at Creatin' In The Sticks for organizing the fun.

I'll jump right in and say that my favorite block is the Log Cabin block.

It is versatile and can be laid out in a wide variety of patterns to offer a different look. Here are a few samples of log cabin quilts that I have made.

The first log cabin quilt I made was a California King sized that was commissioned. It was early in my "quilting endeavors" and my stash was very limited so I had to purchase (aw, darn, right?) fabric for it.

I used the same layout a few years later in the "For the Love of Log Cabins" that was a Bonnie Hunter Scrap Addict pattern in the Quiltmaker magazine.

It was after this quilt that I then started to play in my scrap bin and make wonky log cabins...

I have many more log cabin quilts that I could share, but I'll get to the project specifically for this hop...

As I planned for the wall hanging that I wanted to make I realized that my love for log cabins is tied to my childhood and when I discovered the world of Laura Ingalls Wilder...

That first book "Little House in the Big Woods" captured my attention and I remember quickly reading all of the books in the series. The stories of Pa and his playing the fiddle in the evening... how Ma used fresh, clean snow and molasses and sugar to make candies for Christmas treats.

I decided that a log cabin scene made of log cabin blocks was called for.

I started with finding a photo to use as my inspiration and pattern...

I cropped it down and gridded it out so that it would be my pattern and guide for colors and values of the blocks...

I pulled out my scrap bin... funny thing about that scrap bin... even though I continue to pull and use scraps from it, it never seems to get any emptier! Just how DOES that happen?

As my blocks took place upon my design wall both my husband and mom asked "what is it?" **sigh**

Really? They couldn't see it...

I persevered... I kept thinking that the meadow and mountains and quilting would help define it.

It is a little abstract-ish.. and the quilting didn't really help define much... unless you look closely.

I put clouds in the sky areas...

logs, a door and windows on the cabin...

I defined the roof with metal roofing (common in our area because of the severe hail storms that can occur)...

bricks on the chimney and smoke coming out of the chimney

There are flowers and grass in the meadow

and rugged lines on the mountains...

Despite the abstract look, I like it! It is 24" x 36" - a great size for a wall hanging. And while it is not all that I hoped it would be, it was a great challenge and lesson for me in color selection and color placement. I could have adjusted the mountain range (probably should have, but I was running short on time) so that it doesn't look like an extension of the roof...

BUT, I mean, not all log cabins are perfect either! It is not the house (or the setting) that makes a home...

My love for log cabin blocks will continue... as will my love for all things Laura Ingalls Wilder. Here is a yummy honey nut biscuit that is "Little House" inspired. It is one of our breakfast favorites! Note: By using Einkorn flour I am able to enjoy them as a gluten-free food. It is, however, NOT wheat free. So for those that are wheat intolerant or suffer with celiac, sorry! But for everyone else...Enjoy!