What To Do, What To Do...

Here we are with another week staring me in the face...  

As I consider what I said I would do last week on Tuesday To-Do compared to what I actually did,  I didn't get everything checked off the list.  BUT, there was so much more that was done than what I listed...  Does that count for anything??? ('cuz I really think it should!)

❧Pattern writing for the Pieces From The Past Sew Along - Goal of 5 more patterns I have four patterns written and ready for testing... almost there!

❧Begin the king-sized commissioned quilt - 11 log cabins & two silhouette blocks  Done!


❧Order photos from 2018 so I can continue catching up with our photo albums  As I sit here writing this, I sheepishly confess... I did not even start to gather/collect the digital photos for this project.

I have a good reason for it though!  A girlfriend came for an overnight visit and we had plenty of good fun.  She did my nails (a very rare occasion for me) as we sipped some wine...

And we made some mini barn quilts and we chatted and laughed the entire time.  I stayed up past my bedtime and she was up much earlier than her usual routine to make the most out of our time together. 

You may recognize this pattern... it is the Lost Goslin' block (#2 in the Pieces sew along).

Funny story about the purple... Julie LOVES purple.  My paint selections were somewhat limited to whatever colors we had left over from other house projects and I did not have any purple... but I had pink and I had blue.  So I mixed my own purple paint.  And when it wasn't purple-y enough I decided to add red food coloring!  Haha!  I figured, "what do I have to lose?"  It worked and Julie finally approved the lavender color.

So as I look forward and the plans and goals for the week...




❧  Finalize the post for the next block and letter release of the Pieces From The Past Sew Along.  Have you missed the first six blocks?  You can still join the fun.  Just follow the link above and you will find a schedule of the sew along and links for all of the blocks that have been released.















❧  Piece three Sunflower star blocks for the commissioned quilt, along with four of the southwest style 6-1/2" blocks and two 12"x24" tree blocks




❧  I could move the order pictures to this slot, but I honestly don't think it will get done...  So I think I will plan to get two more block patterns written for the sew along.

Sometimes we just have to be realistic, right?

What do you do to motivate yourself to take on a job or task that you thought was a good idea, but lost the drive to complete it?

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

Quilt happy!

Melva

   Melva Loves Scraps - Home of the Pieces From The Past Sew Along

that features vintage Kansas City Star quilt blocks!

Linking with:

What I Made Monday at Pretty Piney

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

To Do Tuesday at Home Sewn By Us

Colour & Inspiration at Clever Chameleon Quilting

Mid-week Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

Tuesday To Do

I am, by nature, a list maker... sometimes it is on paper, but most of the time it is only in my mind.  

Dave is currently gone for a few days and for the last few days leading up to his departure, I have been formulating a list in my mind of things I want to do while he is gone.  

It probably seems silly to you, but one of the top things... is to make overnight oatmeal.  You see, he is not a fan of oatmeal.  Oh, I slip oatmeal into our morning breakfast rotation about once every two weeks, but I could eat it just about every day!  Ok, well, maybe every other day.  

Here's the recipe...

★ 1 Cup Steel Cut Oats

(or you can use 2 cups steel cut oats, 4 cups apple juice, 4 cups water & 1/2 cup almond milk)  NOTE::  This method makes A LOT OF OATMEAL!  But it is perfect for a quilter's retreat breakfast. 

So I am enjoying this delicious goodness of oats, apples and raisins (I also add nuts just before eating) for breakfast each day that he is gone.  The recipe makes a big batch, so I will likely be enjoying it even after he returns. 

Other things on my To-Do list???

❧Pattern writing for the Pieces From The Past Sew Along - Goal of 5 more patterns (Note To Self:  Take better notes while making the original blocks!)












❧Begin the king-sized commissioned quilt - 11 log cabins & two silhouette blocks  >>>>



❧Order photos from 2018 so I can continue catching up with our photo albums

So, there you go... I better get busy!  

What are you working on this week?

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

Quilt Happy!

Melva

Melva Loves Scraps - Home of the Pieces From The Past Sew Along

that features vintage Kansas City Star quilt blocks!

Linking with:

To-Do Tuesday at Home Sewn by Us
Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreate
What I Made Monday at Pretty Piney
Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt
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
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
Friday Foto Fun at Powered by Quilting
Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts
TGIFF at Tish’s Wonderland
Patchwork & Quilts at The Quilting Patch

Happy Mother's Day!

Some words of wisdom shared with me 25 years ago from a Mother-like friend/mentor...

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE…
a set of screwdrivers, 
a cordless drill, 
and a black lace bra... 
one friend who always makes her laugh... 
and one who lets her cry... 
a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family... 
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal that will make her guests feel honored... 
a feeling of control over her destiny... 
how to fall in love without losing herself... 

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW... 
How to quit a job, 
break up with a lover, 
and confront a friend without ruining the friendship... 
when to try harder... 
And when to walk away... 
that she can't change the length of her calves, the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents... 
that her childhood may not have been perfect...  but its over... 
what she would and wouldn't do for love or more... 
how to live alone... even if she doesn't like it... 
whom she can trust, whom she can't, and why she shouldn't take it personally... 

Where to go... 
be it to her best friend's kitchen table... 
or a charming inn in the woods... 
when her soul needs soothing.. 


What she can and can't accomplish in a day... A month... And a year... 

Be blessed!

Melva

 Melva Loves Scraps - Home of the Pieces From The Past Sew Along

that features vintage Kansas City Star quilt blocks!

Live ~ Love ~ Laugh

Last week Dave and I did a bit of social distancing by removing ourselves from our home and going to an even more remote location in New Mexico - Mills Canyon, just 100 miles from door-step to canyon gate.











In the three days that we were gone we saw a total of five cars and spoke to one turkey hunter as he walked on the road and we drove past on one our exploration tours


 We enjoyed the very warm days... almost too warm, the cooler evenings and almost chilly mornings.  We walked, we took the dog swimming in the Canadian River, I did hand-sewing and we read.

I was reading a novel by Jan Karon and there was a scene that she painted so beautifully with her words...

"He surprised himself by laughing so hard he couldn't stop.  Nor did he want to.  Being joined by his neighbor in this foolish collapse made it even better.

When the spasm had passed Cynthia asked "Doesn't it feel grand to laugh over nothing?" she wondered.  "Why don't we laugh more?"  

"I think we forget," he said, wiping his eyes.

"How can we possibly forget to laugh, when it feels so good, and cures so much?  How can we possibly?"

I paused... It seems that perhaps the world, during this pandemic, has forgotten to laugh.

The stress of the adjustments to working from home, home schooling kids that will not be returning to school until the new school year... the stress of going to the stores and "following rules" for fear of getting scolded or turned into "authorities" for not following said rules... the fear of meeting others and contracting the virus... and on and on and on...  

Yes, that's it... In all that life involves currently, I think we have forgotten to laugh!  When was the last time you can recall having a good belly laugh?  You know a laugh that you simply not cannot stop... your eyes water, your stomach hurts and you can't catch your breath.  And don't even look at the other person that you are losing it with because it will start all over!  

It has been months since I have enjoyed such a time.  I was in a car of girlfriends headed to a women's weekend, with a few stops for special requests to be picked up on our way... The driver was Karen, and I was in the passenger seat.  There were three others in the back seat talking and giggling over something else... what we have no idea because we were losing it ourselves...  I really don't even remember what we were laughing so uncontrollably about...  or WHY it struck us so funny, but Oh, we laughed... to be honest, we were a little sleep deprived and had anyone asked us to share... well, we were laughing too hard to even explain!

As I type this I feel the joy rising and a guttural noise is starting... It feels so good to laugh!

As I paused to consider such moments my mind started to wander... and because my mind works in the way that it does, I started thinking of a way to capture such a moment in an mini art quilt.

When I think of music I can almost see the notes and sounds rising up, almost as steam from a body of water on a frosty day, or a jet stream as it follows a plane across the sky... incense rising to the heavens...

I considered "ha ha's", LOL and mouths, but I was wanting something more abstract or artsy...  I began thinking of "seeing" laughter... it is so much more than just a smile...  

I suddenly had the idea to search for a sound wave of laughter... BINGO!  The quilting could be done to represent the sound wave.

Below is my concept idea for the mini...

I pulled out some brightly colored jelly roll strips and my big 1/2 hexie template that I used on a Jumbo Grandmother's Flower Garden that I made in 2018 and started to layout the hexies in an "non-hexie" way.

I love the way the zigzags could be a close up shot of the sound wave... and to say that I am pleased with the finished mini in comparison to my concept idea would be an understatement!  This mini quilt, a perfect size for a mug rug finished at 8" x 7-1/4" and will find a home in my studio as a reminder that laughter is a vital part of life.

I know that the popular saying is Live ♥ Laugh ♥ Love... But somehow I think that when one lives life loving others laughter is a natural product from that life  of love.

So when was the last time YOU had a good, uncontrollable belly laugh?  

It isn't necessarily something you can be intentional about making happen, but we can be intentional about loving others and sharing the joy that comes from that... and I think then the laughter can come more easily.

Lighten up and laugh,

Melva

  Melva Loves Scraps - Home of the Pieces From The Past Sew Along

that features vintage Kansas City Star quilt blocks!

Linking with:

Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreate

What I Made Monday at Pretty Piney
Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

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
Friday Foto Fun at Powered by Quilting
Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts
UFO Busting at Tish’s Wonderland