Sew & Tell ~ 12/15/25

Tyshan is at the free-throw line

Quickly, before I jump into the Sew & Tell feature, I want to thank you for the thoughts and prayers for our time with our daughter and the grandchildren.  We had a short (and pleasant) visit with Heather as we transferred Christmas gifts from our car to hers.  We attended the basketball game to watch our grandson.  He was happily surprised to see us and Aunt Rebecca there (as was his mom - Kim) and so appreciative of our attending the game.

On to this week's Sew & Tell feature... Brenda at Songbird Designs showed off a fun little table topper that she made in a demo class at a local Bernina dealer in the Virtual Cookie Exchange blog hop.  

As she had the opportunity to test drive a new machine, she was so impressed with it, it followed her home!

She shared two cookie recipes as well... you can follow the link above to find those.  You just may find a new favorite. ;)

Do you have a favorite cookie?  Is it considered a classic "Christmas/Holiday" only cookie?

Mom and I got her Christmas goodies assembled and ready to give out.  I also made up a few jar mixes that are ready to go in short notice.  Again, you can find the recipes here if interested.

I was ready (I thought) to start my scrapbooking of 2019 photos.  Only to find out that I was nearly out of plastic sleeves for the pages in my book.  I place an order and then pulled out the cut-outs for my quilted cards.  I was pleased to discover that all of the Fishers Peak cards at the local museum had been purchased so I replenished the stock... including a few "Christmas" versions.

The next day... I still could not begin my scrapbooking... I did a prewash on the fabric and flannel I planned to use for armchair covers on Dave's recliner.  He likes the chair and has decided that covers would be suitable to lengthen the life/existence of his chair.  He didn't want them to be quilted with batting, but the regular quilting fabric needed something more to make it not so flimsy.  The flannel was a perfect solution. 

The covers were such a great solution that he sat in the chair for nearly an hour before he noticed them. LOL!

No, the color of fabric is not a perfect match, but it is better than the grubby spots.  We I can continue to shop for a better match...

Still waiting on the delivery of the pages for the scrapbook... I pulled out my Little House quilt and resumed the FMQ of feathers.  I adjusted my approach and position of the quilt as I made the feathers on the right-hand side and found that I had substantially better results and fewer thread breakages. YAY! 

I'm not sure when I'll be sitting down at the machine with "Laura" (that's what I have nicknamed the quilt).  I really desire to get the 2019 photos booked and done and I will be meeting with a few others at the "local quilt shop" in Raton, NM to make some charity quilts on Monday afternoon.  The owner of the shop recently acquired a HUGE stash of fabric from a quilter that was moving to the town and suddenly passed away as the moving truck was being unloaded.  The family reached out to her, and she has chosen to turn the fabric into charitable quilts.  

As my friend wrote to me about her mother's memory quilts and how I shared my God-given talents with her and her sisters... I want to do more of that.  Preserving a family's stories and memories has always been a passion of mine.  The sew along series that I have hosted in the past here at Melva Loves Scraps is an example of that passion.  

I'm beginning to make my annual review of the year and plan for 2026.  This year - 2025 - has been a challenge.  We have been hurt, we have grieved (6 deaths of family, friends and acquaintances) and we have begun the healing process. I'll cover more of that in my review.

What are some of your God-given talents?

How do you them to help others?

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

Keep Piecing,

Melva

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