Sew & Tell - August 1, 2022

 

Another week has passed by and here we are in August!  The summer has zipped by in a flash so fast I can barely believe it!  Children will be returning to school soon which means all of the school supplies are on sale. 

Dave and I have been wanting to purchase some items to fill a shoe box for Operation Christmas Child and now seems like a good time to pick up many of the times we want to include.

One of those items is a set of colored pencils.  And if you have a set of colored pencils, what better way to keep them all wrangled than a pencil roll??  My rolls are loosely based on a tutorial from 2015 by Ellen Russell Create in the Chaos.

As I sharpened some of the pencils from a leftover pencil box from our daughters' school days, I recalled the pencil boxes from my school days.  You may remember them as well... they were similar to cigar boxes.  Which turned my attention to the small box I mentioned last week.  It has a magnetic closure and is the perfect size for a portable sewing box. 

I pulled out a tiny altoid  mint tin that I acquired when I inherited someone's collection of sewing notions and fabrics. It was full of old, dull pins. I pitched them and used a selvage edge of an assorted quilting label panel to cover it. The tiny ricrac was from another person's collection of notions and trims and was perfect for the edge of the lid.  I glued a small magnet in the bottom of the tin so that if it happens to get tipped the pins will remain in the tin. 

The box contains all I need, including the English paper pieced Fiona Sandwich Postcard block patterns that I have been using our Camping Journal Quilt.

I'll be adding a few more blocks to the quilt to record our recent trips in July.  It will include a block for our trip to South Dakota to purchase the new camp trailer.  Vicki from Vicki's Crafts and Quilts requested a tour of the unit.  So here you go!

View from the outside

Standing just inside the door looking to the left (the rear of the trailer)
The freezer alone is larger than the fridge/freezer of the truck camper

This "window seat" is one of my favorite features!
I think I will enjoy lots of quiet morning times in this location

The sleeping area.  
We will probably remove (or move) the door on the small closet area
to the left of the foot of the bed.
We turned the mattress so that one or the other of wouldn't have to crawl over the other

The restroom (window seat to the left)

A "coat closet" next to the door for easy access of a jacket as you go out

The dining area

The view from the window seat

Shelby is quite content with her new camper and looks forward 
to more camping trips with us

I hope that you enjoyed the tour.  Thanks for asking Vicki!  😍

Last week Nancy at Grace & Peace Quilting brought the purple string blocks for her 2022 Rainbow Scrap Quilt to Sew & Tell.  She has done a fabulous job with them!

My to-do list this week will be short since we are going camping with friends... 

❧  I'll be busy getting some writing done before we take off.  There will be should be a new Teatime with TT on Thursday.  Have you been making your spool blocks?  You have until August 17th to get them done and linked for the chance to win one of the amazing prize packages that Stephanie at Cornerstone Tea Company puts together.  

I just placed an order and am taking advantage of 15% off my order by using the discount code that can be found over on the post.  Go check out her store and do the same!

We have had a pleasant reprieve from the hot temperatures for the past week and it has been so welcome!  I'm fairly certain that the heat will return for another stretch... Afterall, that is what August is all about!  

That's all for now!  But before you leave...

Tell me what the weather has been like where you live.

I'd love to hear from you.

Keep piecing,

Melva

Linking with: 

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

This & That at Days Filled with Joy

To Do Tuesday at Texas Quilt Gal

Made in the Shade

It's Friday and I have a Friday Finish!  Woohoo!  This week I successfully completed the second roman shade for the sleeping area of our camper.  😁  

They are both in place so the quilt on the bed will be well protected from the sun.

The hitch has been installed in the bed of our truck and we are in the final stages of "moving in."  We will be making the big shift of items from the truck camper into the fifth-wheel and settling in to make it our "little home away from home" this weekend.

I'm certain I will have a few things that I'll want to share with you in the Monday Morning Sew & Tell.  If you take a peek at Thursday's Thoughts & Thanks you will get a hint of what they might be. 

Any Guesses???  Leave a comment below.

So, for now... 

Piece Out,

Melva

Linking with:

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

Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Scrap Happy Saturday at Super Scrappy

Patchwork & Quilts at The Quilting Patch

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework

Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreate

Free-Motion Mavericks at Quilting & Learning

Thursday Thoughts & Thanks

Sometimes you come across something on the web that you simply fall in love with.   Recently, as I scrolled through social media, I saw a picture of an adorable portable sewing case...

Now, how cute is this?!?  

I followed the link that took me to Quilting Digest and from there I found the original post from 2011 by Vanessa from A Place to Roost with a complete how-to to make one of you own.  

While this is so adorable, I think that is a little larger than what my practical use calls for.  Though there are a variety of options for a sewing case shown in the Quilting Digest story... Picnic baskets, vintage train cases and beauty cases and such.

I have held onto a small box with a magnetic closure on it for nearly two years and keep thinking "I'll decorate it up and make a cute little box."  But for what???  

(Please tell me that I am not the only one that holds onto such things because they are just too nice to toss. LOL!)

Suddenly, it was like a lightbulb turned on!  Would it be a stretch to say it was Divinely Inspired?  Whatever the case may be... I am thankful for little things and creative ideas. 

As it turns out... it is the perfect size for a portable sewing case!  My small cutting mat (backed with a magnetic sheet to hold needles, pins and my small scissors as I am using them) is tucked in perfectly at the bottom of the box. Along with all of the other necessities including my thimbles, thread and seam ripper.

Now I just need to decide how to cover the lid... Maybe a cute, vintage looking postcard with a fun saying.  Watch for a finish!

As I have been cleaning our new-to-us camper I have been thinking of all the things we need to transfer over out of the truck camper.  I have also been giving great thought to all the extra room and have decided that I will be able to leave a couple morning devotionals, one of my quilt-y covered sketch/notebooks and some colored pencils.  (I will need to make a pencil roll to contain them all - maybe several to donate for Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes.)  I wonder if I can set aside enough time to whip one up before next Tuesday when we take off for the maiden voyage of our camper.

Other things that I'm offering up thanks for this week...

The opportunity to meet up IN PERSON with Tim and Caroline Bailey.  I shared about them in March when I finished the Orphan No More Quilt and again when they passed on the story of the miraculous journey of a child's lovey blanket from Ukraine to Romania. Tim & Caroline and three of their children made it to the US together for the first time in 8 years... B.C. (before children). 

We enjoyed an evening meal, conversation, laughter and memories as Dave and I enjoyed watching their children playing with the very same toys our grands enjoy.  They made themselves right at home... and we LOVED it!  We heard about the challenges they face in assisting the Ukranian refugees (communication barriers) as well as getting food and medical supplies into Ukraine to help those still in Kiev.  And we told them of our Spiritual journey over the past several years.

It was as though 8 years apart never happened... yet SO much has happened!  

I'm thankful for some very special girlfriends and the chance for us to meet for lunch.  There are 5 of us that try to get together several times a year.  Sue and I live the greatest distance apart - 200 miles - and the rest of them all live somewhere in between.  We choose a middle location and have a meal.  And that is exactly what we will be doing today!  I missed out on our last get together so I am super excited to be seeing everyone today. 💗

And fitting in with LeeAnna's weekly theme - Summer Uniform - I am thankful that I am able to wear shorts and tanks most days to stay cool.  If it is a day that I need to run errands in town I may put on a dressier t-shirt, and maybe capri pants.  But since I have been suffering with an occasional "personal heatwave", I find that the sleeveless variety keeps me from having quite so many. 😉  I mentioned a few weeks ago, for safety reasons, I wear socks & shoes while in my studio.

What's your summer attire?  

What do you do to keep cool and comfortable?

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

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

I Like Thursday at Not Afraid of Color

Lost To Do Lists

Since we have been cleaning and working on the new camper, to-do lists have been floating around...  Dave had started a few with things to order and fix/do.  A new awning is on its way, as are all the necessary items for installing a fifth-wheel hitch in the bed of our truck.

I had a list of miscellaneous items to purchase locally, or order on-line if we couldn't find what we needed in town.  I kept track of my list...  While running errands a few days ago he asked me for his list.  I handed him what I had only for him to discover that neither were his list.  He looked high and low for it... in the house, in the camper, in his shop.  It was not found.

He made a second list.  I saw him do it.  The next day he could not find it... AGAIN!  And again, he looked in the house, in the camper and his shop...  Nevertheless, he is confident that all of the "fixes" are done, and he just needs for a few items to be delivered so that we can actually pull the camper with OUR truck. 

If only the delivery of said items were as speedy as Wile E. Coyote...  Haha!

I shared on Sew & Tell the first of the new roman shades window coverings I am making.  The one shown below was temporarily taped into place for a photo.  

❧  I need to finish doing some hand-sewing on it and I have one more in the sleeping area to get done... this week.  (BTW, head over there now to share with us the progress of whatever project you are working on!)

The double flying geese border at the bottom of the shade has become one of my all-time favorites to make.  It is just so fun reaching into the scrap bin and seeing what comes out!

Dave wasn't completely convinced that he liked the shiney-ness shimmer of the fabric.  I just said "Trust me."  He has changed his mind with the quilting and the pieced border. :)  He may have even said "They're perfect for our camper!"

Now... If only we could locate one of his lost lists so that he could have peace of mind to know that all tasks were completed.  Several years ago I had shared on fb that I lost three items... a friend replied to my statement telling me to pray to St. Anothony, the saint of the lost.  She had a little rhyme... "Tony, Tony, look around, something's lost and must be found."  I giggled, thinking "That is just ridiculous."

But you know what???  I found two of the three items before the end of the day and recalled that I had thrown away the third!  NOW, when I have looked everywhere I can think to look for whatever it is that I misplaced or lost... Yep!  You know it... I call on a little hope from Tony.  

Just a few weeks ago while camping with our friends they dropped a small keeper thing that went on a pair of binoculars.  As we all searched the ground in the area that it was lost, I told them about St. Anthony and the poem.  They also laughed... but guess what they found when they were done laughing about it?!?  Haha!

Maybe Dave just needs to ask Tony for some help!  😂😆😂

Have you ever heard this poem?  

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

Keep Piecing!

Melva

Linking with:

To Do Tuesday at Texas Quilt Gal

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

Sew & Tell - July 25, 2022

Hello!  Sometimes you just seem to be a day late and dollar short...   Ok, so I'm NOT a day late, but I am just short of being able to show you a finished project from over the weekend... and a few hours late. (In case you are wondering, I try to have the linky op open by 5 p.m MT on Sunday.)  Sometimes life just happens!

Upon our return from South Dakota for the purchase of a new-to-us fifth-wheel camper on Tuesday, I was up to my elbows in rubber gloves and sponges.

Every square inch of the camper has been wiped down and scrubbed clean... ceiling, walls, floor, cabinets (inside & out), stove, oven and bathroom.  The carpet has been vacuumed and shampooed. Dave has been working on some minor fixes (like the screen door that had the lower screen taped in on the bottom).

Once the cleaning was complete, I commenced with making some roman shades.  I will probably eventually get them made for all of the windows, but for now the most important window to get covered is the one in the sleeping area (right next to a window)...  The mini-blinds that were in it were bent and dirty and broken.  I need to protect any quilt that may grace our bed from unnecessary sun exposure and fading!  

The fabric was gifted to me several years ago... and there is lots & lots of it!  A perfect match for the 90s color scheme that is in the camper so WHY NOT USE IT?  Right?  The double flying geese that I fell in love with earlier this year will grace the bottom of the bedroom area shades, offering my personal touch to the blind... along with the quilting of pretty vines and leaves. 

So... there you have it!  This is all I have for Sew & Tell.  I'll be back on Tuesday with a to-do list and a more detailed shot of this blind... and, fingers crossed, the second one in the area.

Did you see that Brenda got a flimsy completed with the blocks from a BOM? 

Link up showing us your latest project... or leave a comment.  I'd love to hear from you! 

Keep Piecing!

Melva

Linking with:

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

This & That at Days Filled with Joy

Pieces in the Garden - Spools - Block #7

 

 “Bride’s Quilt”

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.

*********************

Please join me for a cup of tea as Tressie shares about learning to sew...

Grandma, did you have a special quilt or blanket?  Who made it?

I don't really remember a special one.  Myrtle Werden, my Mom, made quilts.

Myrtle pieced this red and white snowball with a nine-patch quilt, I would guess in the 1930's, but never quilted it. It was finished with machine quilting by Carol.  She had it on her bed for many years.

Did you learn how to sew or knit?  Who taught you?

Mom taught me to sew when I was about 8 years old.  She taught me on the treadle machine.  I learned to knit after I was married and living in Pueblo.

Did you ever enter anything at the county fair?

In 7th or 8th grade we had a sewing book.  We had to do all the different seams and stitches and I won 1st place.  In later years I entered some of my China painting in the Pima County fair.

Tressie did lots of fancy things for her hope chest - pillow cases, dish towels, napkins, and handkerchiefs.

Tressie shared her memories of her cedar chest which held some special quilts... most of them made by Forrest's mother or other family members.

Tressie pieced this one in the late 1930s or early 40s.  Lala Teegarden, her mother-in-law, quilted it with the quilting club of the Christian Church in Trinidad, Colorado.  They would meet at the Teegarden home every Tuesday for quilting.

My Mom, Carol, shared in 2017:  "Years later Tressie pieced two more of them - sometime in the 80’s.   It also has the corner stones and path.  One was pink and one was blue.  She had a group of quilters in La Junta quilt them.  I chose the blue one and gave the pink one to my brother Forrie." 

Who taught you to sew and/or quilt? How old were you?  Do you do other "hand crafts"?  Embroidery?  Knitting?  Crochet?

What was your first project?

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

I learned to sew, knit and crochet in the 4-H club, around 7 or 8 years old.  And I remember learning embroidery from a cousin.  I made an apron as one of my first sewing projects and she helped me embroider it.  I also made a skirt.

If you are interested in more stories of other quilters and who they learned their skill from, click the tab at the top with Quilters Through The Generations - a series I ran for two years, 2017 to 2019.  It is fun to read their stories, hear about their first quilt, as well as the stories of the other quilters in their family.  Pour yourself another cup of tea and go check it out!

Then head over to my Payhip store for the free Spool pattern.  You will need to make 12 blocks to make a complete row. They are very easy to piece and only require 6 different components in each block.  Easy Peasy!

Don't forget to come back when you have your blocks complete to link up a photo for the chance to win a prize package from Cornerstone Tea Co.  This month Stephanie is offering a 15% discount if you place an order and use TRADITIONS as your discount code.  Valid through August 17th.

Keep Piecing!

Melva

Linking with:

Put Your Foot Down at For the Love of Geese

Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

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

Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework

Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreate

Scrap Happy Saturday at Super Scrappy

Patchwork & Quilts at The Quilting Patch

Sew & Tell July 17, 2022

We have spent the last several days camping with friends and are about to embark on a road trip to South Dakota to (fingers crossed) purchase a fifth-wheel camper... the purchase of such a camper will nearly double the space we have in our truck camper and allow us to no longer climb up and down getting into the over the cab bed.  Stay tuned...

Last week's To-do list got a few check marks indicating completion...

✔ Get the next Pieces in the Garden story written.  The link for the completed Steps to the Altar blocks (#6) is still open and will be through July 20th.

I also added some sashing strips to the Garden Row Quilt... The strips are 1-1/2" wide and 48-1/2" long.  It is important to cut them all to length to help keep the rows all the same size.  You may have to ease the rows in... with all those small pieces and seams they get a little "springy".

✔ Write the pattern for block #9, as well have a photoshoot for said blocks.

The pattern has been sent to my tester for accuracy... and the photos simply did not get done this week... I was distracted and detained as I cleaned, shopped and made bagels, potato salad and cucumber salad for our time away.  🙈

✔ Make a tea cozy using the tutorial from Days Filled with Joy.  

I pulled some of the tropical print squares from my stash.  They were souvenir gifts from the girls when they were in Girl Scouts and made a trip to Hawaii... over 15 years ago!  Tell me again, where has the time gone??? (You can read about how the quilt math {that I didn't even try to figure out} worked out perfectly on Thursdays Things, Thoughts & Thanks

The cozies are a little large for my teapot, but they sure are cute!   

✔ Continue recruiting and planning for the National Sewing Month events...  If you have already signed up for the blog... GREAT!  Go ahead and invite your blogging friends to join the fun as well.  The more, the merrier! 🎉

Amy Ellis at Amy's Creative Side has been sharing weekly creative inspirations and encouragement...  

Creators just have to create... the more you share and exercise that creativity, the more ideas flow and as you share, others are inspired to create and the more their ideas flow and they share... inspiring even more!

It is a never-ending cycle of creativity.    

What did you do last week?

Leave a comment... or link up below, show off and inspire others!  

Keep Piecing!

Melva

Linking with: 

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

This & That at Days Filled with Joy

To Do Tuesday at Texas Quilt Gal

Mid-week Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

Thursday's Things, Thoughts and Thanks

Has anyone else, like me, been struggling in remembering just what day it is? Is it a summer thing?  Is it a self-employed thing? (Or retirement... I've heard some say this, I am not retired, nor old enough to be retired.)    Maybe it is a flex-time thing... Does it really matter?  Nah... Live in the moment!  Be like Piglet!

I think that is what it means...  Today is my favorite day... I am taking one day at a time and enjoying being IN the moments as they pass.  Sometimes it seems that time is standing still... and others it seems that I look back and realize an entire week has gone by!

A few moments that time has stood still recently has been my time back in the studio and at the machine as it hums, and the fabric passes under the presser foot and needle.  I enjoyed every minute of time as I quilted the whole cloth quilt... As I considered the meanings and the intentional choices of each quilting design and section time stood still.  I prayed and I worshiped, and I placed my full trust in Him as I considered who the recipient of the quilt would be.  Do I know?  Not at this time, which means the quilt is not completely finished... There will be a monogramed (appliqued) initial in the center of the hearts with some stippling around it... In HIS time.

Time stood still as I made two tea cozies... I pulled some of the tropical print squares from my stash.  They were souvenir gifts from the girls when they were in Girl Scouts and made a trip to Hawaii... over 15 years ago!  Tell me again, where has the time gone???  

Sometimes quilt math works out and sometimes it doesn't.  On Sunday I grabbed a 7" block and cut it into 4 squares (3-1/2" each) and paired them with some coordinating fabric... Cut a few more squares on the diagonal and added them to make a 4-patch in a square.  The pattern called for a rectangle of 10" x 10-1/2"... I figured I would simply add some of the coordinating fabric to the piece I made to get to the size called for... No need!  They came out at 10-1/2" square... I just needed to trim 1/4" off two opposing sides and I was ready to go!  Lickety split I had two cozies stitched up and ready to use.  They are actually a bit large for my small teapot...

As I moved on to sashing strips for the Pieces in the Garden quilt, I pulled out a thrift find and started cutting 1-1/2" x 48-1/2" sashing strips.

I got 3 yards for just 2.99... It's been around awhile 👀 That was the year our youngest daughter was born!

But I could not be more pleased... I adore those pretty pink roses. 🌹

I think the lesson in not remembering (or caring, really) about what day it is is leans toward a message found in the book of Matthew (11:28-30) ~ The Message

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” 

I have enjoyed the last few weeks of "unforced rhythms" with no deadlines to be concerned about yet moving forward at a leisurely pace.  I am thankful for such a time!  For families with children not being in school, I think the schedules should be a little more fluid... moving with an unforced rhythm of grace... Give it a try!

Society as a whole, generally, have become accustomed to being overly busy.  Even vacations are jam packed full of activities... Ours included!  But we were quickly reminded when we found ourselves spinning our wheels and struggling to move forward... and we went off to sit on top of a mountain for just 28 hours. I think I shared that acronym for BUSY ~ Being Under Satan's Yoke...  I don't want that!

I am grateful also for the opportunity to spend time with friends as we enjoy a weekend of camping and a chance to reconnect with another couple that moved away 2 years ago.  It should be a time of joy and laughter, games and fun.  When the weekend is done, we will be jumping in a truck (borrowed from a good friend) to travel to get a new camper.  This one is a 5th wheel and will offer us SO much more room... and no more need to crawl into or out of a bed placed over the cab.

I'll be back next week with the Sew & Tell party... and probably a few pics from the weekend... and maybe, just maybe a picture of our new digs. ;)

I'm so grateful for you, and your willingness to follow me through all of the ups and downs of life that I rejoice over or wallow in a pity party.  Thank you are two small words that don't really convey the depth of the meaning when I "say" them.  But please know I do truly appreciate each and every one of you that visit and for those that leave comments... You make my day!  Which is my favorite day... because it is today!  I love to hear your thoughts, opinions and memories.

Is summertime a time of unforced rhythms for you?  

Do you spend more time or less time quilting?

I'd love to hear from you!

Keep Piecing,

Melva