Studio Hostage ~ Sew & Tell - 3/9/2026

 

Spring has begun to spring! Though it is very early, and we will likely still see another snowstorm or two... the tulips and hyacinths are poking their little noses out of the ground.  Our irises are turning green with new growth, as are the day lilies.

It is evident that the ground that has been dormant is waking up and releasing pollen... it happens every year... my allergies have made me miserable.  I've muddled through so far with no infection settling in and no horrible coughing spells.  Whew! It does help that I don't feel a bit of guilt by staying inside as much as possible.  The studio and fabric have accepted me as one of their own and really don't want to let me go. ;)

But before I share what I kept busy with in the studio, let's take a look at this week's featured link...  Allison at A Messy House is a Sign of a Happy Quilter summarized her green scrappy blocks from February for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

My favorites were the green pineapple blocks.  Make a visit over to her blog to see all of the other scrappy blocks she made.

Hexagon pansies were the first project to go on the design wall.  These pansies were made with a template of a 1/2 hexagon and jelly roll strips.  I won the jelly roll strips at the quilt retreat in November.  As the coordinator congratulated me, she suggested requested that I make a quilt with them and bring it back to the spring retreat.  

Since the spring retreat is a couple weeks away, I thought that I would get that item marked off the "To-do list".  I didn't really feel up to trying free-motion quilting, so I simply did an outline of the flowers and flower centers... I had asked for suggestions on how to quilt it on social media but received no help.  It seems as though they have changed the algorithms again.  :(  Trying to keep up with them is exhausting.  I'll stick to blogging for the joy of sharing my ideas and thoughts with you.  

Sorry 'bout that rabbit hole... back to the pansies. :)  No border... nothing fancy... but it is done.  If we are to have a gift exchange I will use it.  I added two little tags. It measures 28" x 32".

On Tuesday Lee Anna and I attempted to overcome technological challenges to a video call and finally settled for a phone chat.  As we chit-chatted and got to know each other better, I made the wonky star points of my Red scrappy stars, positive & negative.  

She was working on her hexagons.

Block number 3 of the Little House Sampler Quilt Sew Along - Harvest basket was released.  

The quilt math lesson was a fairly simple one.  the block has lots of pieces in it and since it is only a 6" block, the smaller pieces will be the challenging part.  The fat quarter winners from the first two blocks were notified.  Linda won the FQ from the maple leaf block party and Diann was the winner of native star party.  Who will win the FQ from the Harvest Basket party?  It could be you!  You can find the link for the post with all the details on finding the pattern here.

While I was hiding away in the quilt studio early in the week, Dave was out helping a neighbor and fixing a leak in the water system.  This meant that I had plenty of time to enjoy my books.  I finished four bookish journal blocks.  

With This Pledge is a Civil War historical book based on actual events and documents.  I enjoyed it.

Bookshop by the Sea was a light-hearted, Christian romance novel.

I f i n a l l y finished Table for Five by Susan Wiggs.  This has been on my nightstand since at least November.  It is the first physical book block for the journal.  I only read for about 15 minutes before turning out the lights.  So, it was a slow read.  Should there be some sort of designation for that?  How would I do it?  

I'm open to suggestions.

It's a clean romance novel that I would rate as a PG for some language.

I am still currently listening to the Briar Club.  It is set in the 1950s in Washington DC.  A murder mystery novel. I'm currently writing this on Saturday morning, so the likelihood that I finish it by Monday is strong.

I have the cutting table cleared, the machine had a little pedicure, and the design wall is empty.  What's Next?

I have a box of t-shirts for a custom memory quilt waiting for me!  Good thing too! I was about ready to start cleaning. LOL!

Oh, and this finally happened!  We attended a softball game for our 1st granddaughter.  She's not in any of the pictures, but she had a great game.  SIL was there and not two words exchanged... though I did witness him reminding Emma that she needed to go give hugs to us after she changed her shoes.  Continued prayers for healing in the family relationships!

Before you go... let me get to know you.  Let's play a game of this or that...  I'd go FQ bundle... they can always be cut into strips. ;)

THIS:  Fat Quarter bundle?  Or THAT:  Jelly Roll strips?

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework

Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreate

Happiness is Homemade at Esme Salon

m