Mini-Quilt Challenge Update

I've been really bad about monthly updates on my Mini-Quilts but I am still at it and getting them done on a weekly basis... though my social media weekly updates have been a bit messed up and I lost track of where I was.

But... not that I am making excuses or anything... we have been busy for most of June.  We just returned home from a trip for a family reunion in Illinois.  It was a pleasant trip with beautiful weather (i.e., lower humidity, few storms and no issue with the air quality from smoke.)

I am getting caught up with laundry, mail, emails and banking.  Neither of us were truly ready to return home and our work routines... (yes, we are self-employed and don't have a boss or employer to answer to, but still... the bills must be paid.)  As we ran errands this morning, Dave said "maybe we can sneak away to the mountains in a couple weeks."  Sounds fabulous!  We have the family camp time at my uncle's cabin that not far from us.

Enough of my rambling... Here's the recap of my mini-quilts since mid-May...

Cathedral Window ~ #20/52

Cathedral Window 2.0 ~ #21/52

3-D Pinwheel ~ #22/52

Orphan Crazy Quilt ~ #23/52
This one became a travel needle case for myself. :)

Red Dresden Fan ~ #24/52
This one became a needle case for our grand-daughter ;)

Peace ~ #25/52

Floral Orphan ~ #26/52

This little floral piece came from the collection of orphans from a customer... It was quilted while on the road (story above).  One of my husband's cousins brought some sweet little centerpieces for the tables with fresh flowers from her yard...

And I simply could not resist the opportunity to use one as part of the photo staging.  Here's a few more shots. 

I'll catch up all of the other details of our trip in the Monday Morning Sew & Tell.  See you then!

Oh, but before you go, tell me which one of these is a favorite to you...and why.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Keep Piecing!

Melva

Linking with:

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

Free-Motion Mavericks at Quilting & Learning

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

Slow Stitching Sunday at Kathy’s Quilts

Scrap Happy Saturday at Super Scrappy

Patchwork & Quilts at The Quilting Patch

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Sew & Tell ~ 6/26/23

Your Sew &Tell Party host is on the road... enjoying some time at a Nolan family reunion. 

Please feel free to share.  Invite your friends to share too!  Isn't that what happens when the parent host is away???  LOL!  Party it up!  

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Sew & Tell ~ 6/19/23

Welcome to this week's Sew & Tell party!

Aside from the "day camp" activities last week, I only have two small projects to share... and one short story. 

First up is the mini-quilt, #25/52... graced with a free-motion "twisted ribbon" peace sign and the words "It is well with my soul" and peace.  It was mailed off to my friend Linda who has been undergoing treatment for breast cancer since last October.  About a month ago the test revealed that the treatment was not as effective as they had hoped and have changed their plans.  If you feel so led, please remember her in your prayers. 💗

Second project... a second small needle case.  Yes, a second was needed and given to our oldest granddaughter, Emma.  You see... she brought a pillow that had a tear in it and asked me to help her fix it.  I happily did so.  I chose a small fabric square that made a nice contrast and pinned it in place and showed her how to take small stitches to hold it in place.  

We had the discussion about safety and keeping track of pins and needles when we started.  When she was done with the running stitches, I pulled out the bright blue thread to do the buttonhole stitch as an extra, fancy stitch.  That evening she tells me that there is something pokey in her pillow.  Dave takes hold of it and started squishing it up... not really believing that there was anything in there.  Suddenly, he yells "OW!"... pulls his hand away and has a long needle sticking out of it. 

As we are looking at her wanting some sort of explanation of where the needle came from she admitted that she had tried to fix it herself before coming to our house... and tucked the needle in there so that she would have one to fix it while here.  🙈 Oh, Emma...  shaking my head...

That needle needed to be returned safely and I emphasized, once again, the importance of keeping track of pins and needles.

Have you ever stepped on or sat on a needle that was lost or forgotten?

I, personally, have not... but I know others that have, and one even required surgery to extract a broken off needle piece from her foot.  YIKES!

This week's feature is from DonnaLeeQ... she shared two small projects from leftovers of a charity quilt.  I love the soft colors of the butterflies and flowers.  They remind me of vintage photos from an illustrated nature book.

That's all for this week...  Be sure to join the party below.  Invite your friends to join the party too!  Isn't that what happens when the parent host is away???  LOL!  Party it up!  

Keep Piecing!

Melva

Linking with:

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VBS & Day Camp Summary

What grand time with the Granddaughters!  Photo summary below... because I'm tired.

Keep Piecing,

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

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

Special Delivery of birthday cards for Gammpa

No Bake Cookies

Skeptics...

Oh, wait!  They ARE good

Sewing Lesson 1 - Pillowcases

A little nap was required before VBS day 2

Sewing lesson 2 - elastic waisted skirt

Thanks to Alycia for the pink plaid!

Washing the truck on a hot day

Barn Quilts!

They went a little crazy with the dots...

Amish style

Crazy wild to use ALLLLL the colors

Some of the amazing VBS volunteers 

Sew & Tell ~ June 12, 2023

 I had a busy week... You may have seen the Fence Rail Photo Session.  Here's a couple of my favorites.  You can see all of the shots by following the link above.

After making the delivery of the quilt, I turned my attention to my customer's red Dresden quilt, with hopes that I could get a good portion of it done. Something that I really wanted done before the grands would be arriving for the week of Vacation Bible School.  

Friday was also my book signing event.  It's a good thing I am a planner and have everything ready to go well in advance.  The power was out most of the afternoon which forced me to sit and relax with a little hand-stitching.

I grabbed my latest mini-quilt, #23/52, which measured 5"x7"... I had decided that "when I had time" I would turn it into a small needle case to go into the little bag of treasures that I carry for making the quilted hearts.

The time was at hand, and I took advantage of it...

I added a few stitches along the "spine" of the needle case to help define where the fold line would be and then added a small piece of felt for a few pins and needles to be held.  I located a small button and a small piece of round elastic to create a closure... and Tada!  I had a needle case.

This week's mini-quilt challenge, #24/52 had been prepped and waiting for me and since the power had not come back on... I stitched away. The fan pieces were a few remnants of my customer's quilt that was under the needle.  I sewed them together and trimmed them to 5"x7".

Just as the power had been restored, it was time to head out for the book signing.

It was a successful and fun event with several quilters asking questions about the blocks, their names and the reason that they were selected, as well as questions about Marion's life.  Dave and celebrated after getting back home with from-scratch margaritas!  So delish!

I found myself in the studio most of Saturday with the Dresden quilt... and was celebrating with another finish for the week!  Woohoo!

Leaving my schedule wide open for activities with the girls...

This week's Sew & Tell feature is the Batik Churn Dash quilt from Laurie's Place On-line... I love the watercolor look she is achieving with all of the blues and greens. 👏👏

Now it is your turn... What do you have for Sew & Tell?  Join the party by leaving a link for your blog or social media account.  I love seeing the variety of projects you have been sharing.

I'll probably be a little silent here while the girls are visiting.  And as soon as they leave for home, I will be headed to Oklahoma for a Santa Fe Trail event... and then off to the family reunion in IL.  I'll pop in when I can to catch everyone up.  

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework

Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreate

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Monday Musings at Songbird Designs

Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do

To Do Tuesday at Quilt Schmilt

Mid-week Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

Put Your Foot Down at For the Love of Geese 

Free-Motion Mavericks at Quilting & Learning

Favorite Finishes Monthly Linkup at Meadow Mist

One Month Goal at Elm Street Quilts

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