Pieces of My Life ~ Maple Leaf

Welcome back!  Today we continue the journey we are making together as we piece a beautiful quilt that tells the story our lives through the blocks and memory book pages.

With leaves of trees showing off their brilliant colors and flittering or swirling to the ground, the Maple Leaf block begs for discussion of fall activities and events.

As a child, I enjoyed Halloween. Of course, it was all about the candy!  Actually, I remember more about the costumes.  Maybe because there are pictures of those.  I have very few memories of going out Trick or Treating with friends... a couple times - one of their parents did the driving. Maybe twice? 

More than anything, I remember getting to wear our costumes to school and having a party with cookies, cupcakes and punch.

clockwise - 1973, 1970, 1967, 1968

Remember, I didn't grow up in a neighborhood that was filled with houses and nearby neighbors to visit for the candy collection part of the day.

If we went anywhere, Mom and Dad would take us to our Aunts and Uncles houses.  We would get better treats there anyway... homemade treats!

I loved those masks!

One year in high school I attended a Halloween party hosted by friends down the road.  Steve was a year older and his sister, Sandy (on the gymnastics team with me) was a year younger.  There were some fun themed foods, decorations, games, music and dancing.  I don't recall costumes... but there may have been.  What I do remember is doing some snipe hunting. LOL! It was a good, clean party.  

Did I carve pumpkins??? Maybe one or two years... I'll just leave it to the fact that it wasn't really encouraged because those pumpkins could have been cooked and prepared for pies, cookies or breads.  And pumpkin pies were a staple for Thanksgiving meals!  And there was never anyone to come by and see them.

When it came to food preservation, there was a lot of it done in our house... mostly canning but some freezing.  Canning was something that my Dad would help with, but the freezing of various foods, like shredded zucchini, could be done easily without his help to tighten the jar lids, so that was something I helped with in my teen years.

It was a task/tradition that Dave and I continued after being married and had our children.  Gardens were easy to grow in the Midwest with plenty of water (most years) and good black soil.  We grew all of the necessary ingredients for our salsa - tomatoes, peppers and onions.  I canned tomato sauce to be used in spaghetti or lasagna or as a pizza sauce.  I would blanch and freeze green beans as well.

One summer while my parents visited, Dad helped me and taught me how to can fresh peaches from Michigan.  We spent hours in the kitchen together.  Dad would not prepare or cook meals... but he had the food preservation thing down!  And he was not afraid to help.  

In the fall I would get apples from an orchard.  Again, I would spend hours in the kitchen making apple sauce, apple juice and freezing some for pies or cobblers.

We never tried to grow a garden after our move to Colorado.  The soil is not good for growing much other than ragweed and the growing season is so short.  The nights cool off too much for the satisfaction of tomatoes and other veggies.  The extent of our food preservation anymore is making our salsa and freezing roasted chili peppers.  I do, every once in a while, purchase green beans to blanch and freeze... But not like in the 1990s!  Oh, and crock pickles... they're just so easy.  But you need to have a little room in the fridge for the storage of them. 

We could have purchased all of the produce we had become accustomed to preserving, but we soon discovered that the cost of fruits and veggies in Colorado was much higher than back in Illinois... It just wasn't as abundant here in the high plains desert... therefore it sold for a premium.

Happy Fall Y'all!  Now is the time that you need to head over to my Payhip store to get the Maple Leaf pattern.

Stitch up your block and then come back to share a link to a blog post or photo of your block.  I'd love to see it!

Keep Piecing,

Melva

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Tips are always welcome 😊

 

Climbing Out of the Rut

In the quiet time before our trip, I had mentioned that I felt like I was in a rut regarding our meal choices... turns out it was a creativity rut.  Sure, I had plenty of ideas and was busy getting projects prepped for my entertainment during our travel.

There was one day that Dave had planned to join a couple friends for their antelope hunt.  He wasn't hunting a thing, rather, he was just along for the comradery and support of these hunters.

It was at that time that I decided that I needed to get into my studio and create! 

I've had the center panel of this table topper hanging around for years.  It came from a sweet, older neighbor.  At the time that she gifted it to me several years ago, she said it was probably 100 years old.  She remembered it from her childhood.  I don't know if it was a part of a linen tablecloth, or if it was supposed to be a napkin, or some other piece.

After Dave left, I quickly pieced a few borders around it and had it sandwiched and ready for quilting - in less than an hour!  I was astounded at how quickly my mood turned around.  While I hadn't been grumpy or whiney, I was certainly lacking some joy.

This little table topper brought me joy as I selected the fabrics to border it with...  It brought me joy even as I debated with myself about hand-quilting it versus practicing some FMQ (both had very good arguments) ... It brought me joy as I planned out and marked the quilting lines...  And I asked myself "why was I reluctant to whip together a quick project???"

In my debate, the slow stitching argument won out.  I pulled her out when we made the decision to cut our trip short and make it home before the high winds that were being predicted decided to roar.  (I'll share lots of photos and stories of our experience on Route 66 in the next Sew & Tell Party.)

Here's the progress I made...

It was good that we returned early... Dave had customers calling wanting to send projects for him and we were both trying to fight off a cold bug that we picked up along the way.  What a souvenir! Bleh...

I'll get the binding (a left over from my Pieces of My Life quilt) attached after I finish the quilting, and hand stitch it too... probably with a navy-blue big stitch.  

Feeling stuck in a rut??? Pull yourself out of that rut by doing something that will be your creative self a great deal of JOY!  And then spread it around like it is confetti! (but not bad germs...)

Oh, and btw, I made a fabulous, creative dinner that night of shrimp alfredo and salad.  It was simple, it was fast and it didn't involve any of the ingredients/items that I had already loaded into the camper.  And we had not had it for a long time... Perfect!

Keep Piecing,

Melva

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Sew & Tell ~ October 28, 2024

 

If things are going well, we are nearly home!  I'll give you a full update you soon.

For the time being, here are some of my Instagram stories...

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Sew & Tell ~ October 21, 2024

We have enjoyed our travels so far.  We have reconnected with friends along the way and enjoyed the bike trails and the scenery.

And we celebrate the wedding of Brett and Julie.

We are on the road today... and beginning our journey on Route 66!  Let the good times roll!

Talk amongst yourselves and be sure to visit some of the other links.  Have fun!

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Pieces of My Life ~ The Broken Dish

Welcome back to a new session of the Pieces of My Life Sew Along!  This installment will be lacking the emailed newsletter since we are on the road.  This session focuses on a block I call The Broken Dish.  The questions have progressed from our childhood and teens, to being adults, making adult decisions regarding marriage, and family.  We'll continue with questions about your family.

I've become more aware in my more mature adult life of the need for self-care.  As a young mom I was all about keeping the children alive and healthy and if I was lucky, happy.  Some days were better than others and there were certainly days that I was only successful in getting myself showered and the girls fed.

We required that the girls help with household chores, including washing dishes.  Before getting our dishwasher, this meant that sometimes there were broken dishes.  I tried to stay calm and not get too upset.  Sadly, I admit that somedays I was not nearly as successful as others.  

I have talked with our daughters and offered apologies for the times that I was not a "good Mom" and simply lost it.  Our youngest assures me that she does not remember me always yelling at them... This is good!  Broken dishes are one thing, but a broken spirit is completely different.  I am relieved that I didn't do that.

I embarrassingly admit that I was delusional when they were in HS in believing that when they went off to college and beyond that my worries and concerns would be less.  Silly me!

When the girls were very young, I enjoyed doing cross-stitch projects in the evenings.  I made framed pieces of all sizes.  I even stitched on t-shirts and sweatshirts.  These Mr. & Mrs. Claus shirts have been around for nearly 35 years. 

Over the years I went through phases of knitting and crocheting in the evenings.  I made large scrappy afghans to snuggle under as we watched television laying on the floor and enjoying the warmth of the fireplace.  When we moved and no longer had a fireplace they were not used nearly as often.  Though we were very glad to have them to use when needed... like if the power would be out for an extended time due to a blizzard or a car accident taking out a power pole.

Since taking up quilting as my "career" I have given up evening hand work of any sort.  It was a difficult transition to go from keeping my hands busy to just relaxing and watching the programs or movies... I have since adjusted. :)

Also, when the girls were young, I made certain that they would have "play dates" with friends.  Sometimes it meant that they would go to a friend's house, or a friend would be at our house for a few hours.  I used this strategy when we were planning/packing to go on a trip.  It would clear up a few hours for me by keeping them occupied and I could get a good portion of chores done without them being underfoot.  But sometimes the "play date" included a social time for us moms to visit and share conversation about life and how to handle different or difficult situations.  We would make this a weekly event when school was not in session.  A support group of sorts.

One summer there was a group of moms and children that traveled to and from all of the same the various activities around town... swim lessons, free lunches at a local school, art classes at the art museum and then gymnastics class.

We would sometimes take turns carpooling from the various activities.  It takes a village!  Over their junior and senior high school years, the girls participated in volleyball, cheerleading camps, soccer, student council, band, art and photography classes and knowledge bowl.  Thankfully, these were spread out though the year.  They kept us hopping though!  

It is now time to grab your Broken Dish pattern and memory book pages that accompany your quilt in my Payhip store.  Don't forget to return with your completed block to share in the block parade. :)

stained glass, broken polish pottery
(love that SPOON at the bottom!!!), bottle tops,
marbles, and broken shower door

I'll leave you with one last thought about broken dishes...

Recently I wrote about transforming a vintage tablecloth into a quilted tablecloth.  It has some stains and holes, but imagine the time spent together with friends and family making memories around that table.  A high school friend of mine has lived around the world since her husband was in the US Air Force.  She said...

"I collect dishes, but our home is not a museum, so we use them as much as possible. As you can imagine many of them have been broken over the years. I saved all of the broken dishes and this beautiful work of art was made from them by my friend Angela Wilson Stevenson at Big Orange House Designs as a graduation and housewarming gift for our daughter.  

When you look at this work of art remember where you come from and trust God to make something beautiful out of anything that you consider to be less than perfect in your life."

The “Mimosa Tree” commission
from broken Portmerion Pottery. 

Here is a second piece she commissioned and the inspiration for the design.

"This was Alicia's Christmas present five years ago. I still don’t regret that we used the good dishes when the kids were little, and a few were broken. 

Beautiful things can come from brokenness too. 

My talented friend, Angela Wilson Stevenson, at Big Orange House Designs used a box of my broken dishes to create this work of art. The inspiration for the piece was the Mimosa tree growing in my grandparents' garden when I was a girl. Thirty years ago, my Dad dug up a shoot from that tree and planted it in their yard and last August my husband dug up a shoot from that tree and planted it in our garden. 

Remember where you come from baby girl. We love you with all our hearts.

What special pieces!  And the phrase "beautiful things can come from brokenness too" resonates in my heart and the repurposing of vintage pieces... 

Keep Piecing,

Melva

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Enjoying the Quiet ~ Sew & Tell - October 14, 2024

It's been pleasantly quiet around my house and studio this past week.  I spent a great deal of time in the kitchen.  I've been busy getting items baked to have on hand for breakfasts and snacks.  I have a good stash of muffins on hand and was able to get some chicken stock prepped and frozen for future soups and meals. 

I think I will plan to get some No Guilt::Go Quilt freezer to crockpot meals prepped after our travels.  I have been in a bit of a rut with dinners.  I have experimented with a few new meals and have them ready to add into my rotation.  Taco Soup and Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Casserole.  Both were super easy to make... and delicious!  They received a seal of approval from hubby.  

Last week I told you about the leak within our water system... All has returned to normal, and the water was out for just 6 hours (and 1/2 of that time was spent driving for parts needed to get the repair done). Not bad at all!

As we were on the road, I finished up the messed-up embroidery on the park sign blocks of our Camping Journal Quilt.  Here is the top with less than two rows left to be camped and documented!

Our excitement is growing to be back on the road.... the wanderlust is strong!  I've been prepping projects to work on to pass the time.  So far, I have quilted hearts to embellish, some embroidery to try to cover up some tears on a favorite pair of jeans and a few postcard blocks.

I have been doing research about Route 66 and the points of interest and attractions along the way.  I have selected a few patterns to represent our trip... like an Interstate sign, the Lincoln home, Gateway Arch, a Whale tail, Teepee, Dinosaur print, Tent Rocks and another Petroglyph. If you are interested in any of these patterns, you can find them at Fiona Sandwich.

All images are by Rachel at Fiona Sandwich

I have had the time and opportunity to clean house... and no excuses of needing to get a quilt done.  

Since I was sprucing things up, I switched out the quilt on our guest bed.  This acorn quilt was hand appliqued and hand-quilted by my Great-Grandmother, Lala Teegarden in the 1940s.  Below is a short excerpt from her story in my Quilters Through The Generations series.

“Lala Teegarden was a member of the Trinidad Christian Church.  There was a group of ladies that quilted at the Teegarden’s.  My mom recalls, "there was always a quilt set up in the east end of the dining room. The ladies quilted every Tuesday.  Of course, whenever she had some time on her own, she would be sitting there quilting. 

Lala would piece blocks and when she got the tops put together, place them on the quilting frame ready for the women to quilt.  Any one in town that wanted a quilt could order a quilt from them. The money raised from the sale of the quilts went to the church.  Lala’s daughters, Luna and Viola, would quilt from time to time.  My mom, Tressie Teegarden quilted some with the ladies.  Everyone was welcome to sit and quilt with them."  

Mom included, despite her young age, had been encouraged by her Grandma and the other ladies though she knew that her stitches were uneven.  After leaving the house and returning shortly afterward because she had left something behind, she walked in to see her Grandma picking out her stitches.  Ooops!"

We all have to start somewhere, right???

Do you do hand-quilting?  

What was your first piece that you hand quilted?

Mine was this Bitty Block throw-sized row quilt.  It was pieced throughout 2015, and I hand quilted it in 2016.  With each row of quilting that was completed I noticed an improvement of stitch length and consistency, as well as an increase of speed.

Time for the party feature!  Since hand-quilting is the topic... Kathy Reeves showed off her recently finished hand-quilting project.  It is a table topper - a great size for a hand-quilting project and it is scrappy!  What could be better?  Head over there and show her some love. 

For those that may be curious... I decided that I will release the next Pieces of My Life block AND memory book pages here on the blog on Thursday.  The following block and pages with the newsletter will resume after we return... whenever that may be ;)  We have an open-ended tour of Route 66 and plan take our time exploring new territory!

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

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Sew & Tell ~ Maintenance and Self-Care

As I wrote my stories for last week's Pieces of My Life series (blog post & newsletter) I mentioned the need for maintenance... roads require it or they become rough and, sometimes, impassable.  Vehicles require maintenance...water systems need it... machines of all types need it.  

I've been so busy with customers quilts (not to mention life) lately that the proper cleaning and maintenance of my sewing machines had been overlooked.

As you can see, my poor Lyric was in desperate need of attention.  No wonder the stitches weren't quite "perfect"!  

After a good cleaning of all the lint and bits of thread I spent time trying to get the locations and dates embroidered on the park sign blocks of our Camping Journal quilt.  This gets me one step closer to a finish and leaves the final two rows of postcard blocks to be experienced.  

A good portion of one day was devoted to picking through my scrap bin in search of two specific pieces of Route 66 fabrics that I want to be included in a few blocks representing our trip later this month.  I was finally successful and located one of the two... I guess I really did use up every last bit of the other one.  

All of this to say... we need to pay attention to our machines and our bodies and perform the proper maintenance and care to keep running at optimum speed and function.

I mentioned water systems... after the freeze and breakage of the main line earlier this year, there was to be maintenance performed to improve and replace several shut-off valves. That was scheduled for this coming week.  

It was a good plan, but as luck would have it, an observant neighbor noticed a growing puddle of water on Friday afternoon.   There is a leak.  Noooooo! The repairs will be made Monday.  Fingers crossed and hands folded in prayer, the line doesn't blow completely and we end up with a geyser.

Dave and I are in need a break!  (It is coming soon!  Our nephew's wedding is just a few weeks away and we will be there.)

I am looking at my self-imposed publishing schedule for the Pieces of My Life Sew Along and trying to figure out how to best handle the emailing of my newsletter.  The releasing of the patterns is easy to schedule and manage... The newsletter is a little trickier for me since I use a mail merge feature of MS Word and don't have access to the program on either of our laptops.  Hmmmmmmm.... I have options.  I will need to consider all of them and determine how important it is to keep the two blocks/stories separate.  

Do you enjoy getting two different stories with each block?

Were you aware that I even do that???

These are just some of the questions I had floating in my mind as I did the embroidery on my park signs.     

Along with the question of why, oh WHY, does my machine do fine on one block and then does something so messed up that it is not legible??? (This will be a question the next time my machine is taken in for its "spa" treatment.)

I finally gave up on the machine embroidery.  I was spending so much time removing bad stitching I decided that I will hand stitch the few remaining portions. I am matching the lettering as close as possible... The free-hand stitching can't be any worse than the stitching gone awry!  I will fix a few more, like the date on the Cimarron Canyon block... that is supposed to say "May '24". 🤦‍♀️

As for my personal self-care, I am enjoying the slow stitching!  I have been reminded that not everything needs to be about getting it done fast.  Right??? Who's with me? 

I've rambled on long enough... Time for the Sew & Tell feature. Maggie at Making a Lather shared several finishes.  They are fabulous!  Take a minute to stop by and admire them a little closer and give her a pat on the back for the accomplishment.

Let's get the party started! 🎉

I'll be over here hand stitching... what are you up to?

If you don't want to join the party, leave a comment... 

OR... Do both!  I'd love to hear from you and give your blog or social media account a visit.

Keep piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

Scrap Happy Saturday at Super Scrappy

Patchwork & Quilts at The Quilting Patch

Create, Bake, Grow & Gather at Shabby Art Boutique

Saturday Sparks at Pieced Pastimes

Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreate

Slow Stitching Sunday at Kathy’s Quilts

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Monday Musings at Songbird Designs

Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do

Home Matters at Days Filled with Joy

To Do Tuesday at Quilt Schmilt

Mid-week Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

Put Your Foot Down at The Quiltery 

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

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

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Pieces of My Life ~ Rough Road

 

I think I can safely say that all roads traveled in life are not smooth.  Some are rough and washboard like, some have big holes or ruts, some are muddy and are easy to get bogged down on.  And then there are the ones that allow for smooth, easy travel.  But even those smooth roads require maintenance... or they too will become rough roads.

The focus topics of the pages that accompany this block are family and travel... but I'll be fully focused on travel here.

If you are a regular visitor of my blog, you know by now that Dave and I love to travel.  My Maternal Grandparents had a bit of wanderlust.  They had extensive travels in their lifetimes.  

I have not had taken the opportunity to have much international travel.  Short of a few trips "just over the borders" to Juarez and Nogales, Mexico and Point Peale Canada, I have only seen locations within the 48 contiguous states.  Our bucket list of places to visit is extensive.  As we approach retirement age, we believe we will start marking some of those off.  Alaska and Hawaii included, but after we travel the highways with our camper.  We want to explore Maine & New York, the Carolinas and the Outer Banks, the deep south, the Pacific Northwest and everything in between! 

One of the most outstanding travel memories for me is when we took 3 weeks to travel in the summer of 2005, while our daughters were still teenagers.  We drove from Colorado, across the Midwest to Michigan for a family reunion with Dave's Dad and all of his siblings ~ a total of 27 people descended upon one cottage.  There may have been several tents, too.  There were only 1 niece and 1 nephew that were not present.  We had an entire weekend of fun, laughter, sun and water.  There were kids, towels, chairs, and water toys everywhere!

From Michigan we ventured across Ohio into Pennsylvania... more specifically, Gettysburg.  

Rich with history, we were sometimes speechless as we toured the area learning details of the battles and lives lost.  And I can't forget the "ghost tour".  Heather has specifically requested that.  It was a bit of a bust, but after getting home and looking through pictures, we discovered that there was an apparition that appeared in one of the photos we took in the attic of the Schriver House.  You can see it in the center of this photo...

From Gettysburg we drove to Washington DC where were lucky enough to have been added into a tour of the White House and the US Capitol.  I don't know if tours of the White House are still permitted, but if they are and you can get in on a tour, DO IT!

(Special memory of the WH tour: We had received a list of items that were not permitted... lip balm was on the list, but Heather insisted on taking hers (buried deep in a pocket).  As we passed through security she set off an alarm.  The look of shock on her face as she thought she got caught.  Turns out the buckle on her belt caused the alarm. Whew!)

After these tours, we wandered the length of the mall and visited all of the Memorial and Monuments and a few museums.  We were able to visit Ford's Theatre and Arlington Cemetery before we left the area to head home.  

We traveled through West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri.  We stopped in at the Arch in St. Louis.  The girls didn't care for the elevator system - the compact car that we had to be in to get to the top.

We included the girls in on the discussion of vacation plans.  Once we had a destination selected, we each got to make a request for what to make a priority while there.  The movie, National Treasure, wasn't very old at that time, so seeing the National Archives was one that Rebecca requested.  Heather enjoyed the movie Pearl Harbor and wanted to make sure we saw the WWII memorial.

Our method of planning was very different from what Dave or I had ever experienced as kids.  My parents and Grandma & Grandpa T were the ones that planned the vacations I had as a child.  Dave's parents always made the plans for their family as well.

Not that I didn't enjoy the vacations I had with my parents, but I recall asking to make one stop on a trip and my idea/request was denied.  Maybe that is why we made sure to include our children in the planning of vacations.

With our children grown, our trips are more frequent.  It helps that we are self-employed and have the freedom to come and go as we desire. :)  And since having a camper, they are less expensive as well.  We always traveled by car with the girls (we never could have afforded 4 airline tickets, plus car rental on top of the hotel stays and meals.) and they never complained about the time required in the car.  One slept and the other would read.  We taught them that the journey to the destination was just as important as getting there.  

Thanks for tagging along as I recalled one of our favorite vacations.  I hope I didn't bore you too much with the "slides".  

What was one of your favorite vacations? 

What was it about the trip that made it your favorite?

I'd love to hear from you!

You should know the routine by now... Head over to my Payhip store to get the pattern for Rough Road and don't forget to come back to link up your completed block in the block parade. :)

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

Mid-week Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

Put Your Foot Down at The Quiltery 

Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Free-Motion Mavericks at Quilting & Learning

Thankful Thursday at Brian's Home

Little Things Thursday at Good Random Fun

Off The Wall Friday with Nina Marie

Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

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