The Light Within ~ Sew & Tell

Every once in a while, your path in life crosses with someone else and the 30 minutes or so that you visit with them, about once a year, they impact your life in a positive way.  

Ten years ago, a guy was walking past our house with his son and our new puppy attempted to tag along on their walk.  They brought her back and we struck up a conversation with him.  Tony... Tony the truck driver is how Dave has referred to him over the years.  (Yes, we do know his last name.)  Tony is an interesting guy and we always enjoy when he stops by, which is usually about once a year.  

Tony added us to his Christmas card/letter mailing list a few years ago, and we have gotten to know him and his (large) family... They live in Waco, TX and he is a mover.  He and one of his youngest sons were in the area and they came by last night.  Our conversations have grown longer and they are still just as enjoyable as the first one was.  Each one of his children that have accompanied him on his visits is just as pleasant to be around.  

Interesting circumstances that allowed our paths to cross. Knowing that Tony is a Christian brother is what makes our time together so enjoyable.   We met him when we were wandering in a deep valley and just beginning to navigate our way on a new path.  Dave had just recently left his position as professor of gunsmithing and we were working on improvements to the former-barn-turned-shop where Nolan Quality Customs is now housed.  He has watched the growth of our business and has prayed for us, just as we pray for him.  Tony has a light that seems to shine through... And Dave and I are well aware of the source of that Light.

This week's mini-quilt ~ #20/52 ~ was supposed to be a Cathedral Window... my experiment, again, didn't quite turn out as I had planned, (that is what happens when you don't follow a pattern, lol) but what's not to love about a stained-glass window?  The chain stitching really helped to redefine the windows. 

We are off camping... there was a small change in our plans because of rain, so we chose a different location. I'll be finishing another block for our Camping Journal quilt.  Specifically, a stained-glass window block to represent our visit to the Cathedral in Beaumont, Texas during our spring camping trip.

Here's the photo that I am trying to recreate...

I have selected several fabrics that were dyed using the eco-printing method.

I'll likely revisit the Cathedral Window mini quilt idea in the near future using a different method... 

This brings us to Sew & Tell ~ May 22, 2023...  This week's randomly selected feature is Cheree from The Morning Latte where she shared her progress on the "Opening Day" quilt.

It is now your turn!  Join Sew & Tell... the link will be open through Friday evening.

Let your light shine bright and keep piecing!

Melva

Linking with:

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

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PS... I don't think I ever shared the cross I made with shells and driftwood!  It is on display on our back patio. ♱

Windmill Mini ~ #18/52

Mini Quilt-Challenge #18/52 was inspired by a Sew & Tell share by Melisa at Pinker Punkin Quilting...

The tiny windmill blocks, that measure 2" square and is 6" square overall, reminded me of the giant windmills about 40 miles to the north of Trinidad...

It was then reinforced by a portion of Scripture that was noted in my current Bible Study, from Hosea 7...

They turn, but not to me—

    turn here, then there, like a weathervane.

The song "Turn, Turn, Turn" comes to mind as well... which is what I was singing in my mind (maybe humming aloud) as I stitched in those little arrows...

Ecclesiastes 3 (the Message)

There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:

2-8 A right time for birth and another for death,

A right time to plant and another to reap,

A right time to kill and another to heal,

A right time to destroy and another to construct,

A right time to cry and another to laugh,

A right time to lament and another to cheer,

A right time to make love and another to abstain,

A right time to embrace and another to part,

A right time to search and another to count your losses,

A right time to hold on and another to let go,

A right time to rip out and another to mend,

A right time to shut up and another to speak up,

A right time to love and another to hate,

A right time to wage war and another to make peace.

9-13 But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I’ve had a good look at what God has given us to do—busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he’s left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he’s coming or going. I’ve decided that there’s nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life. That’s it—eat, drink, and make the most of your job. It’s God’s gift.

14 I’ve also concluded that whatever God does, that’s the way it’s going to be, always. No addition, no subtraction. God’s done it and that’s it. That’s so we’ll quit asking questions and simply worship in holy fear.

15 Whatever was, is.

Whatever will be, is.

That’s how it always is with God.

I have been using my Message translation for my daily readings this year.  It can be a bit challenging as the verse notations are not always individually noted, but grouped, because of the way it was written to encompass several verses (such as vs 2-8 above), but I have come to love it.  I find it helpful to use a parallel or comparison reading on BibleGateway if I am looking for a specific verse address.

Our daughter gave me this Bible a few years ago.  It's funny that she gave it to me because she knows that I don't like adult coloring books... yet she gave it to me anyway. LOL!  I started out inviting others to choose a picture to color and sign it and date it for me.  Each time I come to one of those pages I remember them in prayer.  I have added a few notes and drawings of my own... If you were to thumb through, you would notice that I have more sketches and drawings of my own sprinkled throughout than the actual coloring pages of my own.

Dave was raised being taught that you don't write in a Bible.  I used to be of the same mindset but have slowly changed my ways.  As you can see, I have no problem with writing some of my thoughts in this one... after all, it was designed specifically for this purpose.  

Enough of my rambling... 

Do you have a favorite Bible translation? 

Or a favorite daily Bible reading plan? 

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

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

Mid-week Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Put Your Foot Down at For the Love of Geese 

Free-Motion Mavericks at Quilting & Learning

Thankful Thursday at Brian's Home

Little Things Thursday at Good Random Fun

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An Angel and Her Wings

I received some shocking news the other day... 

A HS classmate that has always been friendly, positive and encouraging had taken her own life.  When I relayed my news with Dave he said, "oh yeah, Danita... she was the one we met at the Rockies game a few years ago, right?  She lived life large...  What a shame."

It is a terrible shame.  Never had there ever been any indication that she was struggling with depression, anxiety or mental health issues.  The news of a cancer diagnosis was apparently just too much for her to handle... On Tuesday, she had put up a bunch of wonderful pictures... she said, "some of the peeps and the pups in my life that I love."  

In hindsight, apparently, this was a love message to all those that she would leave behind the very next day.  😭 So many classmates have all shared the same shock and heartbreak.  

Being who I am and knowing that the way I process emotions, I needed to spend some time in my sewing room... you know a therapy session. I needed to make something to honor Danita and a mini quilt came to mind ~ #16/52

Using her picture above, the last picture she used as her fb profile picture, I did an interpretation of it.

I stitched in her name, the date of her passing and "class of '83" at the top. This year marks the 40th anniversary for the Class of '83 graduation.  

I will be including this mini in a sympathy card for the family...Fly away home, Danita. 🕊 My thoughts and prayers are with your loved ones as we all grieve. 💔 

On a happier note... You may recall me writing about my friend Pat who gave me a large portion of her fabric stash.  She was facing treatment for breast cancer.  She had one chemo infusion and then got terribly ill.  She had two separate one week stays in the hospital because of dehydration as well as other issues.  The doctors re-evaluated her treatment and decided that surgery was the best option... once she was healthy enough.

Just this week (one week post-surgery) she received the news that there was no evidence of residual cancer!  All margins were clear, and she had experienced a one-treatment miracle healing.  I was dancing a happy dance for and with her. 💃 For those of you that joined in with my prayers for Pat... Thank you!

Life is precious... hold your loved ones close and tell them how special they are to you. 

Keep piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

Free-Motion Mavericks at Quilting & Learning

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

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

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

Slow Stitching Sunday at Kathy’s Quilts

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Finding Pieces from the Past

The old adage states that if we cannot learn from history, history will repeat itself... 

For this reason, the past is important... yet we should never live IN THE PAST.  It is a fine balance to achieve this.  My interest in history, specifically my family's history, has extended to those that have participated in in my various sew along events.

Recently, I had a notification that one of the letters written to my Grandparents, Phillip & Katie Schleich had been written by the reader's grandfather.  The comment that was left on the original story did not have an email address, so I replied on-line and waited with fingers crossed for a response via email.  

I didn't have to wait long... within a few hours, I did have a message!

With the help of google translator, we have had a conversation...

Hi Melva,

that's so easy to hear from you. I forwarded the link to my wife about 5 hours ago. For her part, she immediately wrote a comment. 

So to me, my name is Uwe Dybus, I am 52 years old and I live in Germany, in Magdeburg. Unfortunately my English is very bad. That's why I'm writing to you on German. Sorry! My grandfather spoke English so well, to my surprise! He must have liked it very much in America.

My grandfather is Gotthart Hauswald (the farmer Max Julius Gotthart Hauswald), which is my mother's father. Unfortunately, I don't know much about my grandfather. I only saw him 1 x, that was in autumn 1999.

We had no contact with him. When we met together, he told me that he was a prisoner of war by the Americans. When he returned home, he was arrested and interned in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. There he had to do forced labour. He really wanted to go home to help with the reconstruction. In 1948 / 49 he met my grandmother Erna Käthe Hauswald née Nitzschke. They got married and my mother was born in 1950.

(I enclose the birth certificate with you) Unfortunately, my grandmother Käthe did not get along with my grandfather's mother, according to tradition. For this reason, the marriage was divorced in the 1950s. 

My grandfather told me that he would have liked to study chemistry. However, he was not allowed to do so in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) for political reasons.

With his 2nd wife he has 2 daughters. As far as I know, these daughters still live in Oberseifersdorf, in his house, in the house of his ancestors. You have the address on the letter on the Internet. (Hauptstraße 90, 02763 Oberseifersdorf)

We would love to hear from you again. We will try to get more information about Gotthart Hauswald. 

You are also welcome to contact me via WhatsApp: (number removed for privacy)

 

Many greetings from Germany to America,

Wajd Dybus and Uwe Dybus

Thanks for contacting me. I have been able to translate your messages by using an on-line translator. 

So many of the men that were held at the Prisoner of war camp and worked at my grandparents farm had a very difficult time when they returned home.  Your grandfather included.

I’m sorry to hear that you did not have a chance to get to know him.  It is interesting that he may still have family living at the same address as he used on the letter he sent to Phillip & Katie Schleich. 

If you read through any of the other stories and letters I have, you would know that Gotthart’s father, and mother-in-law wrote to my Grandparents.

You can read those letters by following the links:

Pieces from the Past- Owl Block

Pieces from the Past- Pride of Ohio

If you are interested in reading all of the letters Phillip & Katie received, you can follow this link:  Pieces From the Past.  I found them all very interesting and eye opening to the real and hard living conditions they faced upon their return home.  I also enjoyed reading of their recollections of memories from the camp and the local farms.

I have never used WhatsApp, and given the fact that we would probably need a translator to communicate in that manner, I think email is the best option.

Thank you for reaching out to me.

Blessings,
Melva Nolan

Thank you very much for everything. I was speechless when I learned that there were also letters from my great-grandmother and my great-grandfather.

It's great that you kept these letters and put them online. My utmost respect. I am deeply grateful to your family that my grandfather had a good time with your grandparents on the farm and that you treated him very well.

I will continue to deal with the subject. Thank you for everything, see you soon

Uwe Dybus

So... as I wait for another reply, I feel like the girl of my childhood as I waited for a letter from my pen pal...

I've passed the time by working on getting my book ready to upload for printing and quilted and finished the binding on quilt #6/8 of my customer's.  She recently received three more of the quilts and loves them just as much as she loved the first two. 

I also finished another mini using some practice smocking pieces and the little bits that had been carefully cut out...

My pen pal was found through a gymnastics magazine when I was in junior high.  That was what we had in common.  Her name was Ann and she lived in Illinois.  I don't remember much more than that...

Have you ever had a pen pal?  What did you have in common?  What did you write about?

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

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

Put Your Foot Down at For the Love of Geese 

Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Free-Motion Mavericks at Quilting & Learning

Little Things Thursday at Good Random Fun

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

Scrap Happy Saturday at Super Scrappy

Patchwork & Quilts at The Quilting Patch

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Mini Quilt Update

In mid-January I had discovered a 52-week challenge on Instagram to create one mini quilt each week.  

#52miniquilts #52weeksoftextileart

I just so happened to have made two and, completely unaware, I was participating. LOL!  Below is a display of one through ten...

God's mercy is new every morning ~ 5"x 7"

The battle belongs to the Lord ~ 5"x 7"

Orphan with big stitch and dimple quilting ~ 4"x 6"

Orphan dimple quilting (Dream, Believe, Hope & Trust) ~ 5"x 7"

Let the SON shine in ~ 4"x 6"

God Loves even ME ~ 5" x 7"

Blue Dimpled Orphan ~ 4" x 6"

Breast piece Gems ~ 5" x 7"

Beach Memories ~ 5" x 7"

Angel on the Shore ~ 5" x 7"

And this week's mini, #11/52, is another orphan block that I recently acquired from another quilter's stash.  I do love all of the orphans I have!

This little guy is 6" square and a little wonky.  It is just something that happens easily when working with small or narrow pieces.  I don't mind... it adds to the character and uniqueness of the piece.  I used a variety of thread colors for the quilting stitches and a red embroidered chain on one log.  On the mauve pieces near the middle of the piece I did a larger running stitch and then wove back through the top stitches.  

It is a bit of an echo from Scripture and the many instructions to use blue, purple and scarlet as the tabernacle was being built...  “Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn,"

I think I have mentioned before that these mini quilts tend to push me to think outside the box and explore new-to-me techniques and ideas.  

Creativity is an endless pool of ideas... if you allow yourself to "go there".  And the more you explore and open your mind, you find that there are even more creative ideas that spring to mind. 

A few years ago, before I started hosting my sew alongs, the way that I would stretch my creativity was to participate in blog hops.  Designing and coming up with new ideas and projects to fit into a particular theme was always fun.  

How do you stretch your creative muscles?

Do you "exercise" on a regular basis?

Leave a comment... I would love to hear from you.

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

Put Your Foot Down at For the Love of Geese 

Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Free-Motion Mavericks at Quilting & Learning

Little Things Thursday at Good Random Fun

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

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

Scrap Happy Saturday at Super Scrappy

Patchwork & Quilts at The Quilting Patch

Slow Stitching Sunday at Kathy’s Quilts

Sew & Tell ~ Halloween Finish

I have been enjoying all of the show & tell links!  You all are some pretty spectacular participants!

Sara at My Sewing Room showed us a fun Halloween wall hanging in progress...

Maggie at Making a Lather showed the progress on a Rainbow heart that is part of a group project...

With my finish of the Halloween quilt for my customer it was time for a photo shoot!  With the autumn colors ramping up I took full advantage of our maple trees "showing their true colors."  

The backing is pieced... thanks to the fact that the local walmart has reduced their fabric selection and carries mostly pre-cut lengths of fabric, especially seasonal fabrics such as Halloween... so I made the best of the situation and chose some fun fabrics...

Quilted with large hanging diamonds, and bound with a scrappy, spooky binding, it was a wrap!

Which means that it was time to turn my attention to some improv mug rugs/hand-sewn hello postcards.

The request was to have a Fishers Peak scene with a cross... I added a flower to one and a bird to the other... along with a scripture quote.

During my search for "the perfect fabrics" to be used in these hand-sewn hello mug rugs, I realized just how much of a mess I have in my fabric closet!  

I'd share a picture, but I am embarrassed to show right now... I'll be sure to include one for a before and after comparison though.  

What sort of sorting/storage system do you have for your stash?

How often do you reorganize?  

Do you put everything away (in its proper place) when you are done?  

Or are you more like me... toss in a pile wherever it might fit, and call it good?

Leave a comment... I want to hear your tips!

Keep Piecing!

Melva

Linking with:

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework

Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreate

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

This & That at Days Filled with Joy

Tuesday To-Do Two Days Late

A day late and a dollar short... okay two days late!  But I have been busy in my studio and having such a great time creating that I just didn't want to sit at the computer.

The last To Do List was...

 ✔  Research for the wrap up of the Pieces From The Past Sew Along Series and the beginning of the Pieces of the Santa Fe Trail. 

I have written stories and collected bits of history for the final two blocks - all I have to do is the final wrap-up of the series that will include the cutting instructions for the borders and binding.  

Like a few months ago, I am a bit melancholy about the end of this series approaching and haven't had the heart to write up a final story... 😭  

I have collected from my Mom the necessary information for the Santa Fe Trail series and the fabric I ordered arrived.  

I've exercised great restraint in not even opening the packages the fabric arrived in.  I am using that opportunity as a sort of "reward" for when I get the wrap-up post written.  I don't need one more distraction right now.  LOL!

✔  Perhaps another Chapel postcard or journal?

I had a request for a mug rug (hand-sewn hello postcard) from my Mom.  She needed a gift for a friend that has a birthday just around the corner.  (How is it possible that February is nearly here???)

This is Fishers Peak, the landmark that all locals are familiar with, and it happens to be the newest addition to the Colorado State Park System.  For many years the peak has been privately owned and is now accessible to the public.  A long awaited hope and dream of residents.

The sky and foothills fabric was from a workshop that I attended a few years ago that taught wax resist dying - a technique used in making batik fabrics.

✔  Purchase fabric for Hanna's giraffe quilt

I discovered there was no need to purchase fabric after searching my stash.  Woohoo!  I had the top completed last week and quilted it over the weekend. 

All that is left to do is to make a label.  I will wait until her arrival to do that so that I can include her date of birth.  And never really knows... maybe her name will change before May.  I hope not because, as silly as it seems, I have already become attached to Hanna.  

So up next?  

My sister-in-law had sent me a link (a few years ago) for a video  of a "paper-doll" quilt.  It is a brilliant idea!  You can design it to look like the recipient.  Maybe you have seen it... 

I then found a picture of a quilt with multiple "dolls" in different settings such as a beach or park as well as different clothing styles like winter or summer and various "careers" and diversity.  But the clothes were not changeable like the first doll was.  

❧  I am working on a "mash-up" of the two.  Multiple "dolls" with changeable clothes.  I will be making two quilts for our grand-daughters and their birthdays this summer.  These two are my "proto-types".  I'll continue on these two and see about designing some clothes for them before making a whole quilt full of them only to discover that the clothes don't work out.

❧  I'm expecting to receive a box of t-shirts from a customer to finish one t-shirt quilt and make a second one.  One was started and I'm not sure if she was intimidated by the process or if she just decided that she didn't have time.  Whatever the reason, I will be "working" in the near future.

And for those that were interested in the scrap de-stash... THANK YOU!  Happiness abounds in my scrap bin... as I begin again. :)

Before you go, tell me...

Do you ever "reward" yourself as an incentive to get a task done?

Leave a comment... you know I love to hear from you!

Stay piecing!

Melva

Melva Loves Scraps - Home of the Pieces From The Past Sew Along

that features vintage Kansas City Star quilt blocks!

Linking with:

Colour & Inspiration at Clever Chameleon Quilting

To Do Tuesday at Home Sewn By Us

Mid-week Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

Stitch Sew & Show at Life in the Scrap Patch

Put Your Foot Down at For the Love of Geese

Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

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

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework

Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreate

Patchwork & Quilts at The Quilting Patch

Scrap Happy Saturday at Super Scrappy

UFO Busting at Tish’s Wonderland

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

DrEAMIs and To-Dos

It has been weeks since I have spent any significant amount of time in my studio... not that I haven't been doing plenty with quilty projects.  The bulk of my time has been on the computer writing and researching for the last few stories for the Pieces From The Past Sew Along.

I had been stalled for three or four days and then last Tuesday the floodgates opened and my fingers flew over the keyboard.  The ideas flowed and I felt good about it... I hope that all of you will feel the same about what is to come.  

There are only three more blocks in the sew along.  How are you doing with them?  I saw that several quilters were catching up between Christmas and New Years.  Here are a few new ones. :)  I hope that you, like me, appreciate how unique and diverse the blocks are with the varied color selections, values and fabric styles.  My excitement grows with each block that I see and my anticipation of the finished quilts is ever-growing.  I think that my Grandma Schleich would feel the same...

On Saturday I realized that while I had been doing quilty "stuff" on the computer, my creativity was waning.  I pulled out a couple of improv poppies that I had started in November and considered what I could do with them.  

I drug out my overflowing scrap bin and found a variety of greens to create background fillers for the poppies, combined the 12 inch blocks with the giant poppy print that inspired these blocks, added a border and created a table runner. 

The plan is to do some match-stick quilting on this runner and then a scrappy border with oranges and red-oranges like I included in the poppies.  I'll add a pop of green and a tiny bit of purple like the giant print fabric has.

That was my plan... but before I could implement said plan I was distracted with a DrEAMI project.  You know... Drop Everything And Make It.  I was scrolling through social media and came across this post... 

"from a dad rocking his baby and thinking about the crazy things that have happened in our country".  And I was quickly reminded of a painting of a little white chapel I had seen last year.

Don’t feel sorry for or fear for your kids because the world they are going to grow up in is not what it used to be. God created them and called them for the exact moment in time that they’re in. Their life wasn’t a coincidence or an accident.

Raise them up to know the power they walk in as children of God. Train them up in the authority of His Word. Teach them to walk in faith knowing that God is in control. Empower them to know they can change the world. Don’t teach them to be fearful and disheartened by the state of the world but hopeful that they can do something about it.

Every person in all of history has been placed in the time that they were in because of God’s sovereign plan. He knew Daniel could handle the lions den. He knew David could handle Goliath. He knew Esther could handle Haman. He knew Peter could handle persecution. He knows that your child can handle whatever challenge they face in their life if they trust in Him. He created them specifically for it!

This was where, again, the ideas started flowing!  I NEEDED to recreate this painting in fabric...

In just a few hours this sweet, tiny (5"x7") hand-sewn hello postcard quilt was done.  After practicing for so many years to have accurate and straight seams, trying to create a rustic look with the black stitching was probably the most challenging thing about this DrEAMI project. LOL!  I thought that a more rustic look to the binding would be appropriate. 

Here's a peek at how I did it...  I cut the backing piece a little larger than the postcard, sewed it into place, and then folded in the raw edge.

I then folded it over and stitched it down.

I think it would be a great little "series" of postcards from different angles or seasons.  There happens to be a small chapel down the road that would be a great "model" for the project!

I'll have to consider this... but for now on to my To Do List.

❧  Complete the quilting on the poppies table runner

❧  Choose a quilt pattern for a giraffe quilt for the new grand-daughter that is due to arrive in early May.  

❧  Continue participating in the #31dayswithcottoncuts on instagram - Each day, post a picture related to the date's number. You can see all of my pictures by following the link above.

I'll be doing a little more research and writing to wrap up the current sew along, Pieces From The Past, but I'll probably be jotting down ideas for a new sew along featuring the Santa Fe Trail and stories from one of my ancestors, Marion Sloan Russell.  She traveled the trail numerous times, from Missouri to Santa Fe, in her life.  Her first was in 1852 at the age of 7.

Any suggestions for a name for the new sew along?

Leave a comment... I'd love to hear your suggestions.

Piece Out,

Melva

Melva Loves Scraps - Home of the Pieces From The Past Sew Along

that features vintage Kansas City Star quilt blocks!

Linking with:

Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreate

Patchwork & Quilts at The Quilting Patch

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

To Do Tuesday at Home Sewn By Us

Colour & Inspiration at Clever Chameleon Quilting

Mid-week Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

Stitch Sew & Show at Life in the Scrap Patch