To-Do... Get Back to Quilting!

The past few weeks have been quiet in the quilting realm... And, boy...  Am I ready!

Sadly, Fortunately (?), I have no projects with urgent deadlines staring me in the face.  

❧  I will (should) have ample time to review and sort all of the pictures from our time away in Red River.  What a fun time we all had!  This is one of the few photos of ALL of us together... There are others, but not on our cameras... more will follow.

Horseback riding - Wine Festival - Go Kart Races - Ice Cream - Game Times - Softball practice - Community Line Dance lessons - Fishing - Bike rides - and MORE!  Here's the view from our balcony...

❧  I have some jeans to repair and hem, and a vest that needs a new zipper....  Zippers and I are not the best of friends, but this one should be an easy fix.  I'll let you know how it all works out and whether or not we were congenial with each other.  There have been times that I was not speaking with the zipper after spending time with it!  Hopefully, fingers crossed, this is not one of those times. 😉 Stay tuned...

❧  I need to get a few stories written for the Pieces in the Garden series and have a photo session.  How are you enjoying this sew along?  I know that the blocks are small and that it can be intimidating to have to make so many of each blocks for each row and I understand that it is not for everyone.   I am guessing that from the number of downloads of the patterns, there are numerous quilters that are participating, but not sharing their finished blocks.  And that's fine.  Not everyone is open to sharing their work.  I also know believe that there are many that are reading the stories but not making the blocks... We are almost half-way through the series! Time flies when you're having fun!   

Tell me what you have been up to... Have you been making any star blocks or Hearts?  A new pattern will be published this week!  

It's time for me to get to head to the laundry room... and then the studio!

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

To Do Tuesday at Texas Quilt Gal

Mid-week Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

Stitch Sew & Show at Life in the Scrap Patch

 

Monday Sew & Tell - June 20, 2022

I am currently off playing with the family... 

But feel free to link up to show off your recent projects and progress.

Did you see these from the last two weeks of Show & Tell?

Last week Joy offered a short tutorial on how to make a baby bib with fabric scraps...

And two weeks ago Brenda shared her recent finish... The detail in her center medallion is stunning!

See you in a few days!

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

Thankful Thursday

Give thanks in all circumstances 

~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18a

Happy Thankful Thursday!  In all things I offer thanks... 

#1 - For allergies... yes, even allergies.  As frustrating and annoying as they can be, I offer thanks because I am do not react nearly as bad as I once used to.  Woohoo!  I felt the runny nose and itchy, sore throat start last week when Maggie was staying with us.  I tried to get an appointment with a chiropractor who does allergy and emotional clearing but had to wait until Tuesday morning.  My voice had given out and I was back to hiding in the house away from the awful pollen and smoke that I had been overtaken by... but I muddled through since I knew it was for just a short time.

So, I  carried on at a snail's pace  because of the need to stop and blow my nose, or cough, or get a throat lozenge or get a drink of water... and only made one small miscalculation in my pattern testing... I carefully counted and cut pieces for 12 blocks... These are 3" blocks, NOT 4" blocks as I had originally planned, and I needed 16!  It was easily remedied by digging through the scrap bin again and cutting for the remaining additional blocks.

#2 - For doctors that are willing to learn "magical" healing processes to relieve the annoying symptoms of allergy attacks.  There really is science behind all of it and so much of it is confusing, but I have come to believe that this sort of healing is what is best for me.  As I left the office I already felt better, though a bit foggy.  

This fogginess actually offered me the opportunity to finish writing the pattern out in a formal manner and test it for accuracy with the additional blocks.  With the foggy mind following my appointment, I realized that I really needed to focus and read the pattern for the cutting and assembly instructions. In this process, I found a few items that needed to be corrected.

#3 - Time with Family!  The relief of my allergy attack was perfect timing with our plans to leave on Thursday for time away in Red River, NM.  This trip has been on our calendar since February!  And despite the fires in the National Forest, fire bans and shut down of the trails and campgrounds near there, we are going!  Never mind the fact that neither of our sons-in-law or my MOM can make it... WE. ARE. GOING!  There will be memories made for all of us.  We'll be racing go carts, riding horses (hopefully), climbing on ropes courses, riding bikes, fishing, eating, playing games and snacking...

#4 - I'm thankful for social media and the participants of the Pieces in the Garden Sew Along that share photos of their progress! Have you seen the latest?  Karen shared her Stars blocks and Hank Chipom shared the progress of his "Mom's" Love blocks.

#5 - With the hotter temps that have been ushered in in the recent days with the warm southerly winds (all across the US it seems) I am ever grateful for the portable AC window units that help to keep our house comfortable.  And as the sounds of the units and other fans move around cooler air, I am ever SO thankful that we have means to pay for the extra electricity required to do so. 

I think back to 9 years ago when we had no income and were working on getting our business started... I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO thankful!  Thankful that we had the wisdom to have saved back so that we could get by... We have been through some lean times, but we have always, by the GRACE OF GOD, managed and always had ENOUGH.

I could go on and on, but it seems as though I have run on long enough.  I'll be semi-unplugged while we are away with family.  I will have the Monday Sew & Tell ready to go so be sure to come back to link up and show all of us what you have been busy making!

Have a blessed and safe weekend!  

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Sew & Tell Time!

There wasn't much sewing going on last week... but it was certainly filled with tons of fun, love and laughter!

Maggie attended VBS each day with enthusiasm and excitement and shared details of the snacks, songs and lessons with us at lunch.

She had playtime with our neighbor's grand-daughter, and we went camping. In our short time at the State Park that is nearly in our backyard, we did a scavenger hunt with her.

You can see that we found all of the items, except for a cricket or a grasshopper... (we were 100% sure what it was)  We heard crickets, but never saw one.  

I'll be making a magnifying glass block for our camping journal quilt.  I'd love to include a grasshopper or a cricket in the lens of the magnifying glass...

Does anybody have one from a novelty print they are willing to share?  It would only need to be about a 2-1/2" square with insect in the center of it.  I'd be happy to send a self-addressed stamped envelope!  Send me an email at MelvaLovesScraps@NolanQualityCustoms.com 😃

We walked at the park as Maggie perfected her bike riding skills and played in the play ground...

We read several stories and she loves to draw and do arts & crafts, and she melted my heart when she gave me this note!  It's as though she is unknowingly a quilter at heart!

It feels good to be back in my studio working on a few more pieces in the garden blocks. 

Speaking of which... Did you read the Teatime with TT about her cedar chest last week that had a bonus block?  The LOVE block is a really easy and fast block that forms a heart when complete.  

It's been a grand week!  But it is time to rest up and prepare for our family time in Red River, NM.  

This means that it is also time to link up your latest projects that you want to show off in the Sew & Tell Party!  Or you can simply leave a comment telling me what you have been up to.

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

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

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Teatime with TT - Bonus Block - Love

“Bride’s Quilt”

Once upon a time, there was a little girl, who wore a bow in her hair.  When she grew up, she began a friendship with a young bachelor.  As the hours and days passed, they began to look at each other with stars in their eyes, and as their love grew, they thought about taking steps to the altar.  So, the young girl got out her spools of thread and made clothes to get ready for their wedding ring day.

After they are married, some of their times together will be bright as noon and others will be dark as night.  But they will try to share their happiness, their miseries and their chores – she grabbing a wrench to help with household repairs and he grabbing a towel to help with the dishes.  Sometimes they will have broken dishes, but they will try to remember that “things” can be replaced, whereas harsh words, possibly spoken about the broken dishes, could chip away love.  They will try to follow the Golden Rule as they are learning to communicate openly with each other.

They will also try to keep in mind the symbolism of Jacob’s ladder – “steps of communication” between themselves on earth and God in heaven.

Welcome to Teatime with TT... Tressie Teegarden.  "Back in the day" each young woman was encouraged to have a cedar chest... a "hope chest."  A chest that would hold some special quilts, embroidered pillowcases, napkins, tablecloths and doilies, with the hope that one day they would fall in love, get married and have a family.  

Tressie enjoyed reading the Reminisce magazine and this story, that she tucked away into her memory book, inspired her own story...

Today, I share the story of Tressie's hope chest...

A hope chest was every young girl's dream to have when getting married.  She would embroider, cross-stitch, and hand ham stitch hand towels, sheets, and pillowcases and put them in the cedar chest.

I had worked some and had $35 in a savings account in the First National Bank in Trinidad, Colorado.  Forrest and I had been married about a month and he got a job in Pueblo, Colorado, so we moved there.  We didn't have much money so Forrest said to take my $35 and he would make me a cedar chest.  That is what I had saved my money for.

After we got to Pueblo, we rented an upstairs apartment and Forrest went to night classes to make my cedar chest.  It is made of cedar wood and trimmed with walnut.  It is large and is a beautiful piece of furniture.  The night class instructor said it was the largest piece made in the state.  Forrest brought the chest to the upstairs apartment and used a flit gun to spray a lacquer finish all over the chest. 

To celebrate the love of Tressie & Forrest, I am offering a bonus block... a heart.  It is a quick little block to piece, and I think you will find that it is fun to make.  As you can see, I made each heart of the same color, but you could mix it up and make each half of contrasting colors.  

As a senior in high school myself, I remember getting a small cedar jewelry box from the local furniture store.  My Mom had received one as she approached her graduation as well.  

I also recall writing in many of the thank you notes for graduation gifts that I planned to purchase a "hope chest".  I didn't make that purchase until a few years later... but I did finally make such a purchase.  I had gone off to college for one year and met Dave.  We were engaged to be married two years after my HS graduation and it was during a summer visit to Illinois when his Mom and sisters hosted a bridal shower for me that we were "shopping" at a local garage sale and purchased a cedar chest... full of various contents!

I refinished the cedar chest while on vacation there and still have it. 💕  I store special items in it... things like the Christening gown that both girls wore when baptized as infants, some of their infant and toddler silverware, and winter blankets.  

Do you have a cedar chest?  What do you store in it?

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

Get your pattern for the Love block over on Payhip today!  Feel free to link up on the Stars post. :)

Keep Piecing!

Melva

Linking with:

Put Your Foot Down at For the Love of Geese

Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

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

m

Monday Morning Sew & Tell - June 6, 2022

My show & tell this morning is short & sweet... I had just to things on last week's To-Do list...

✔ Scrapbooking... 2018 is "in the books!"  In addition to this project, I gathered some new photos and updated and completed the hallway's two collage frames and got them back on the wall.  Our walls have been void of family photos since we took them all down to paint the hall and living room.  We also created two photo walls in the living room one featuring a few wedding pics, parents and grandparents and the other our children and their families. 💕

✔ New outfits for my "model" paper doll quilts.  They each can be ballerinas, go swimming, muck around in the mud or play in shorts...

This week will be filled with activities other than quilting since our sweet Maggie is visiting.  She will be participating in Vacation Bible School, a tradition that continues.  I always enjoyed VBS as a child, and our girls would always participate in any local church's VBS, and as they got old, they often were helpers.  

There are plans for play dates with the neighbor's grand-daughter, swimming at the local pool and possibly even a night of camping at the State Park that practically in our back yard.  

She will have a chance to assist with the monthly Pieces From the Past BOM class at the Patchwork Phoenix on Wednesday... Obviously, a fun-filled week that she is resting up for!

I'm kicking off the Sew & Tell Linky party today... short notice, sure.  But fear not!  It will be open through Sunday.  No need to prepare a new story or blog post... simply link up with a recent project that you have shared progress on... be it a blog, or instagram or facebook.  If you are sharing social media, be certain that your settings are public so that everyone can enjoy the eye candy that you have been working on.  

If linking a blog post, please include Monday Morning Sew & Tell and link back to here. :) 

Not linking up?  No problem... you can leave a comment telling me what you have been up to lately.  I love to hear from you!

Time to share! 

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

To Do Tuesday at Texas Quilt Gal

Mid-week Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

Stitch Sew & Show at Life in the Scrap Patch

Chapel Series ~ Tutorial

After 18 months of this single mini-quilt postcard hanging out on the edge of my design wall... reminding me that I wanted to do a series of minis... the teasing and taunting got to me, and I chased down that squirrel project.

Last week I shared the completed series and told you that I would create a tutorial explaining the process of how I made them.

I am now here to fulfill my promise!  And I want to be a person that keeps her word. 😘

It all begins with a photograph...  Print it out to your desired size.  I wanted 5" x 7"... Actual postcards are only 4"x6".  So... I guess it isn't really a postcard... but whatever. 😉

Trace the outlines that you want to become the quilted/stitching lines.  I used a broad marker that bleeds through (be sure you have additional paper underneath so that you don't marker up something unintentionally!)  

Place your photo "pattern" on fusible paper with the back side up and fuse to your choice of fabric.  (You will see in just a bit why this reversing is important)

Trim your applique shape to the outlines.  Cut out any openings you want to have in a different color, such as windows and doors.

Remove the paper backing of the fusing and carefully place your window/door fabric over the openings.  Carefully, I lightly tack them in place on a corner or two with a hot iron so that when you move it/turn it, they won't shift.

Prepare your background and fuse into place with a hot iron.  You can see in the first pictures that some of them have a two-color background to distinguish the sky/ground.  You can determine how much of each accordingly with your picture or imagination.  Make the background piece larger than you need so that you can trim to center or shift, if needed.

Using some scrap batting, take your postcard and batting to your machine.  

With the use of black thread add your desired details and "sketch lines".

I like to do two lines of stitching to offer a "rustic" look to the mini-quilt.  It also allows for some imperfections to look "normal" and removes the worry of needing it to be perfect.  Feel free to add as many details as you desire.

Here are some compilation pictures.

It is subtle, but I learned that you really do need to reverse the picture for the angles to look correct...

The same thing happened with my very first chapel... (the one in the middle) Something is just half a bubble off... like me? 

When the quilting is done, choose your backing and finish the edges of the postcard as you desire.  I did a "self-binding" on one by folding the backing fabric to the front and stitching it down.  I stitched close to the edge of one, leaving it a raw edge finish.  One got a regular binding finish and the last one was finished by placing right sides together, stitching around three of the sides, turning right sides out and folding in the 4th side.  I then did two lines of sewing to secure all the way around the postcard.

Have you chased any squirrel projects lately?  

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

Happy Saturday sewing!

Melva

Linking with:

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

Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Favorite Finish at MeadowMist Designs