Hello, hello! Welcome To Melva Loves Scraps and Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday! This is the place to celebrate finishes. Maybe it's something that was quick and easy, or maybe... it's something that has been lingering for longer than you planned. Either way, if it's finished... we will celebrate.
I also get that sometimes finished has a loose term... finished blocks, finished flimsy or top or quilted but no binding. I'll let you define finished. ;)
This week I have a quilted and bound finished Pieces from the Past quilt that has been a work in progress for several months. I don't tend to have WIPs, but this was one that was set on the back burner to simmer as I developed a plan, and the purpose was slowly revealed.
I started revisiting my Pieces from the Past blocks with the question of, "I wonder if I could make a quilt of just the 12" blocks?" How many were already that size? There were 12... Not enough for a larger throw... "that would work." But some of my favorite blocks were 9" blocks and nearly 16"...
And then one final question, "what would it take to make all of the blocks 12" blocks?" Since I was in the middle of "math lessons" that I was offering during the Little House Sampler Quilt sew along, the math to do the adjustments was readily fresh in my mind.
As I pieced the blocks, I revisited the original stories and letters that accompanied the blocks during the sew along event 6 years ago.
Many of the blocks had minor changes such as making the darks light, and the lights dark... or turning the units to have a new position...
or turning a two-color block into a four-color block...
Like my original quilt, I wanted the quilting of this one to have a traditional look and feel to it. After searching my reference books, I found a fancy scroll to be done in the individual blocks. I wanted something to accentuate the cornerstones of the sashing that also had a traditional look.
It took some help from Dave, trial and error and finally locating the proper size Tupperware lid to find the perfect arc. LOL! YES, a Tupperware lid! Once I marked the centers, all I had to do was connect the dots.
What sort of messages might Phillip & Katie, or even my Dad, leave for me? What would have happened if Phillip & Katie had been able to help and respond to the many letters asking for assistance. Would the correspondence have continued? Would any of the men eventually asked for help in moving to America? It could make for an interesting story!
A few of the men did get to move to America and several made it back to Trinidad for a reunion in 1964. I received an email in 2023 from the grandson of one of the men. I had attempted to reach the family of Klaus Hesselbarth who had been featured in a magazine article published in 2009. Try as I might, I was unsuccessful.
Ok, I've done enough rambling and wondering and wandering... It's time to join the party! But before you go...
Who would you like to send or receive a letter from the past?
Leave a comment... I'd love to hear from you!
Keep Piecing,
Melva
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What a wonderful finish! I bet it was fun to revisit the fabrics and blocks from the past sew along. I'd love to have a letter from my dad telling me the why behind the taboo subject. . . his military service in the Korean Conflict.
ReplyDeleteThat's a beautiful finish, Melva! Sometimes it's fun to challenge yourself with "can I figure out how to do this in a different way?!" I'm just working on a post about my block 9 for the Little House SAL - will link it up later. Have a great Friday!
ReplyDeleteYour Pieces from the Past blocks made a beautiful quilt! I love the glamor shot and the history of it all - so interesting and meaningful. How funny about the Tupperware lid - husbands love to help us find just the right thing to use for our quilts. I would love to have a message from the past from my Granny Mitchell. She was a very quiet Granny - very sweet, but she did not initiate conversations. Most of what I learned about her I learned from Mom. I would love to have a letter from her when she was young - she married at 17!
ReplyDeleteI'm always amazed at the German POW's having good memories of being in the states at their time of captivity and the difference in the cruel memories the allies had being kept in camps in Europe - I love the pump as a mailbox stand
ReplyDeleteHi Melva, that's a really great finish - congrats! I also use whatever is handy to make shapes - cups, bowls, etc! I have a circle template but they're not very big. Thanks for hosting TGIFF and linking up to I Quilted This!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on a very pretty finish. The quilting worked out beautifully.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. I love that there is *so much* into your quilts - they are so meaningful
ReplyDeleteMelva, what a story!! If you haven't thought about it, the museum in Gettysburg might be interested in your mailbox and its history, if you are ever ready to have it saved for future generations. I know it is special to your family, but I thought I'd put that out there. I am a history buff, and my husband donated an Iraqi pack he found in the oil fields during his time on land during the Gulf War (1990-1991) to the USMC museum at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego. (***Funny sidenote: It stunk sooo badly of oil when he mailed it home, that I washed it in the washer fading the sandscrit writing on it! Not really so funny, but just another part of its history.)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I watch a channel on YouTube called: The History Underground, and he man who narrates and films is friends with all these history buffs/YouTubers as well as with Eric _______ who is the curator at the Gettysburg Museum. Just thought I'd throw that out there for you and your family to think about. :)
Finally, I am happy to feature your post at Share Your Style #500 this week, but also I wanted to invite you to a giveaway that I will be hosting in honor of hitting 500. The post will be up tomorrow, so do come by!
Great post and I recognize the bear paw and basket squares. Glad you finished this quilt and used your quilted squares. Can't name others but maybe the flying geese. I have several squares somewhere in my fabric boxes which need to be made into a quilt someday, from my days living and working aboard Camp Pendleton.. ;)
Happy almost summer,
Barb :)