Where Flowers Bloom Blog Hop

Carla over at Creatin' in the Sticks is graciously hosting the Where Flowers Bloom Blog Hop!  It is the hope of all the participants that you will enjoy the beautiful bouquets of fabric that has blossomed with tender loving care...

I have a collection of vintage patterns that have moved from deep storage, to my pattern cabinet and my "future projects" place in my closet...  They range in dates from 1936 to 1939.

This Flower Garden Block is one that I have considered ever since I started my other EPP project a year and half ago














The Grandmother's Flower Garden is a vintage pattern that I have always loved and admired... but those small 1-1/2 inch hexies intimidate, even scare me.

Photo from Quiltmaker May/June 2013 issue...

I prefer faster projects... but about a year and a half ago I started an English Paper Pieced project as a road trip project.  I have six "blocks" made... I have stated before, that I don't really know how many I intend to make - but I will continue had stitching them until I run out of the coordinating fabrics I have set aside for them... I currently have three additional "kits" ready to go.

As I looked for the pattern for the Riding the Rails quilt I saw two different hexie quilts - one was a flower garden wall hanging (shown above)  and the other made sheep and flowers in a meadow (from Quiltmaker May/June 2014).

I decided to mash-up the two patterns by using the "biggie" half-hexie to make a "Mega Flower Garden"

I copied the hexie template onto some adhesive backed paper and asked my amazing husband to make a template out of plexi-glass... he graciously did so.  AND he made two of them so that I can offer one as give-away on this hop!  Details to win the template will be at the bottom of this post...

The template is 2-1/2 inches wide so a jelly roll would be great to use.

The assembly is easy... just make strips and the join the strips together...

The flowers finish at 12 inches across.

As I cut, pieced and quilted this flower garden I couldn't help but recall my Grandpa Schleich.  (Grandma passed away before I was born...)  My Paternal Grandparents were farmers... They (and their children) including my dad, had a green thumb and could get just about anything to grow.  




Grandpa had a flower garden located at the edge of his front yard after he retired from farming and lived in town.  It ran parallel to the sidewalk and the flowers always smelled so good as you passed by them to leave and I would try to linger just a little longer as we were saying goodbye.  He had flowers of all sorts... but I remember the roses and the snapdragons the most. The snapdragons were fun to pick and make their "mouths move" by gently pinching at the base of the flower...  The roses were so fragrant!  And my favorites...




As I quilted my mega-flowers I did some skill building by using my templates to create flowers in the centers and I used the cloud template to offer some detail to the petals.

Earlier this week Dave and I snuck away for a camping trip.  Our journey took us to the mountains where there was no wi-fi, no cell towers/service, no electricity or water.  We were self-contained in our tiny-tiny home on our truck.

It was just us, the dog and a couple of books... some food and beverages.

We went for long walks, enjoyed a few meals and happy hours, savored some spectacular views and napped.  There were wild flowers along the road and some in the meadows... It is very dry here.  Most of the creeks were dry, but there were still some flowers.  It helped me to appreciate their beauty even more!

Photo by photographer Cindy Hurt - 

Wildflowers in Spring near Castlewood Canyon State Park - May, 2018

you should go show her some love on Instagram. :)

What is your favorite flower?

Leave a comment for a chance to win the Mega 1/2 Hexie template
before Monday, June 18th.

And remember, because of recent changes to my comment notifications,

you need to leave a way that I can get in touch with you... an email address in your comment, or comment over on fb or IG for a chance to win.  

Please... please know that all comments are appreciated.  Since I can no longer reply to comments via email, I will be responding to each comment left here on the blog.  If you want to email a comment to me privately, feel free...

MelvaLovesScraps@NolanQualityCustoms.com

I miss the brief conversations that would occur!

Quilt happy!

Melva

Melva Loves Scraps - home of the Quilters Through the Generations series

Linking with:

Linky Tuesday at Free Motion by the River
Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter
Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation
Midweek Makers at Quilt Fabrication

Where the Flowers Bloom Blog Hop Schedule

Just letting you know that there is a fun hop going on this week that Carla at Creatin' in the Sticks is hosting!  

Be sure to go visit so that you can see the beautiful bouquets that have been created with fabric!

Monday, June 11th

MooseStash Quilting
In The Boon Docks
Seams To Be Sew
Lily Patch Quilts 
Days Filled With Joy
Elizabeth Coughlin Designs
Seacoast Quilter

Tuesday, June 12th

Life in the Scrapatch
Words & Stitches
Kwilty Pleasures
Patchwork Breeze
AllThingzSewn
VroomansQuilts
Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats
Why Knot Kwilt

Wednesday, June 13th

Just Let Me Quilt
Hazel’s Daughter
Nettie Sews and Lucky Quilts
ShirleyC
Cynthia's Creating Ark
Songbird Designs
Creativeblonde
Patchouli Moon Studio

Thursday, June 14th

Sew Incredibly Crazy
selina quilts
PamelaQuilts
Ms P Designs USA
sunshinequilting
Melva Love Scraps
Quilty Pleasures

Friday, June 15th

Den syende himmel
QuiltFabrication
Blessings From Our Nest
DesertSky Quilting
Just Because Quilts
Quarter Inch Crafter
Creatin' in the Sticks

Here is a sneak peek of my quilt...

I will have a give away... be sure to come back on Thursday, June 14th!

Piece happy!

Melva

PS... Blogger has recently made changes to the comment notifications that I used to receive - and I no longer receive them.  When you leave a comment on Thursday to enter the prize give away everyone will need to leave an email address to be entered in the drawing. 

Please... please know that all comments are appreciated.  Since I can no longer reply to comments via email, I will be responding to each comment left here on the blog.  If you want to email a comment to me privately, feel free...

MelvaLovesScraps@NolanQualityCustoms.com

I miss the brief conversations that would occur!

Quilters Through The Generations - Stephanie Collins

Today Stephanie Collins joins us to share her family's quilting story...

Stephanie lives in South Carolina and admits to being a shameless fabric hoarder and vintage sewing machine addict. She started quilting 14 years ago when her husband bought her a sewing machine. In addition to her crafty hobbies, she is an avid runner who enjoys competing in many organized races each year.  She has a blogging home over at Lowcountry Quilts and Embroidery.  Be sure to visit her site after your enjoy her quilting story...

Have YOU ever made a quilt?

 

Yes.  I learned to sew when I took classes at my local quilt shop. I wanted to learn because my great grandmother had been a quilter.

Tell me a story about your first quilt...

My first quilt was a disaster! My husband bought me a sewing machine, rotary cutter and mat plus all the supplies I would need to make a quilt for my 30th birthday. My late great-grandmother was a quilter and she made it look so easy, unfortunately she passed before I could learn. I bought a beginner’s quilting book and thought I would teach myself (this was before we had all of the wonderful online resources we have today). I had not touched a sewing machine since I was 12 and didn’t even know how to wind a bobbin. My seams were horrible (even with a 1/4” foot) but I finished that little quilt in about a day and a half. I was hooked but knew I needed help!

I gave the quilt to our Yorky puppy and even though it’s been 3 years since he passed away we still call it Teddy’s quilt. I keep it in my sewing room now as a reminder of him.

Does your mother quilt?

My mother, Candy Key, started quilting after I did but never got into it as much as me. I have helped her make many quilts over the years though.

How about a grand-mother?  Great-grandmother?

My great grandmother, Daisy Page, was a terrific quilter! She machine pieced her quilts and hand quilted them.  

I was 12 years old when she passed away, but I still have four quilts that she made displayed in my house.

Have YOU taught someone to quilt? 

I have helped my mom with nearly every quilt she has made. I’m also teaching a friend from church to make a quilt for her son who is away at college. I once taught a 5th grader to quilt so she could enter a quilt into a competition at her school.

How many quilts have you made?

If you count my mini quilts and wall hangings then literally hundreds, I honestly don’t even keep track anymore!  I gift most of the quilts… I’ve only kept a few bed sized quilts and wall hangings for myself.

  

Do you have a favorite block?

I’ve always been partial to the Dresden plate block.  I have made three of them...

This one was made for our motor home

This green one I made for my Mom for Christmas one years since she loved my red one so much.

And this gold one is my most recent Dresden quilt that was designed by a dear, sweet friend of mine (Melissa Wells at The Happy Cottage).  I haven't had a chance to quilt it yet.

Do you have a favorite quilt?

My favorite quilt would have to be a paper pieced Judy Niemeyer Christmas tree skirt. It took me months to complete and I enjoy it hung on my wall year round.

Do you participate in any quilt groups or entered any competitions?

I am not part of any group but I love taking classes and learning new techniques.  I have not entered any shows but I am planning to enter a king sized bargello quilt this year!

Have you sold any quilts? For how much?

I do a little quilting for profit, usually custom ordered t-shirt or memory quilts. I make an average of $200-$400 per quilt depending on size, detail, etc.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Most definitely my great-grandma! I wish I could have known her as an adult and had the opportunity to quilt with her.

My favorite time spent with my grandmother was while she was sewing. She would always give me scraps of fabric to play with and I remember spending a lot of time cutting it and pinning them together (I don't remember being able to use her machine though, probably because she was always using it). 

She also loved to crochet and taught me how to make a starter chain. I remember having trouble going to the next row so one day while she was sewing, I kept on chaining until I had used up a whole skein of yarn. She though it was funny until she had to take it out and re-roll the yarn. I must have had a chain long enough wrap around our entire house. I guess I was about 8 or 9 at the time... 

My favorite quilt by her is a Sunbonnet Sue quilt. I wanted one very bad so she drew the girls out on newspaper and got busy one summer. It was machine pieced and hand quilted. 

I used to fill the pockets on the overalls with pennies and candy when I was a young girl, and was very proud that none of my friends had a quilt that could hold stuff, lol!

Most of the overalls were made from clothing scraps from her own clothes. The quilt is so old and soft now and everyone in my household fights over it every winter! I need to retire it because it is falling apart but I keep patching it and using it.

What is your favorite part of quilting?

Every part, I love the whole process from choosing the pattern, picking out my fabrics and then piecing and longarm quilting them!  I makes me happy! My best days are days spent being creative and productive!

What are you currently working on?

I am currently working on a traditional quilt, a king sized log cabin in the barn raising design. Although this isn't my favorite, it is for my husband. I know he's tired of all of the feminine quilts that grace our bed!

Stephanie seems to have a natural talent for quilting and certainly comes by it quite naturally as part of her DNA.  I just love her Bargello quilt! The way that the color placement and size gives it a 3-D look is amazing.  Best of luck in the quilt show Stephanie!

Which one of Stephanie's quilts do you like?

Leave a comment to let her know... and don't forget to go check out her blog!

Is quilting a part of your DNA?  Are you willing to share your family's quilting stories?  I would love to help preserve some of the memories and history by sharing them here in my Quilters Through The Generations series.

Quilt Happy,

Melva

Melva Loves Scraps - Home of the Quilters Through The Generations series

It's A Wild Life - Aspen Tree

This month's block is another fun mixed technique block that includes piecing and applique.  You can find the pattern from Pat over at Life in the Scrapatch.  The block below is by Carla at Creatin' in the Sticks.

I still don't love applique, but am coming to accept the technique... enough to include some a special feature in my block, that you will see in just a bit. 





Join me as I journey back in time, once again, to a time when our family was on a mountain outing on Cordova Pass... it is an unpaved road that has a unique landmark that was created in the early 1930's by the Civilian Conservation Corps. (Photo by Lars Leber)








It was 1982 when my dad decided that he needed to leave his mark behind...

My dad was quite proud of his brand.  And all of our camping gear, hunting gear, etc. was marked  with his brand.  And because we camped with my grandparents and my Aunt & Uncle quite often and the cookware, silverware and cups and coolers were all the same... and my parents were sticklers for accounting for "their" stuff - the identifying mark made it easy to distinguish their items from the others.



You can see from the picture above that many others had left their marks on the tree as well... It isn't a practice that I recommend personally.  I am more of the mind-set of leave no trace/evidence... However, placing my dad's brand on my quilt block did seem the right thing to do... After all, Father's Day is just around the corner, and he influenced my love for camping and mountain outings...



It was years later that our little family of four made our own journey over Cordova Pass and actually found the tree that Dad had marked... still alive and well.  I felt better knowing that the tree didn't suffer too badly from the damage!


You probably noticed that I used one of the little birds from a previous block rather than the owl... I figured since I was using a lighter sky background that didn't reflect "night-time" I needed something that indicated it was day-time... thus my little bird.  

Early morning while camping is my favorite time... I am a morning person anyway, but snuggled down in the sleeping bag or bedding and listening to the sounds of the birds and woodland creatures as the world begins to wake up is a treasure to me... a little piece of heaven... quiet and serene... Well, except for that time last fall when some coyotes or some other predator startled a donkey in a nearby pasture.  Oh!  My!  Goodness!  What a racket it made!   It was hee-ing and it was haw-ing something terrible!  And all Dave and I could do was giggle!  

What is your favorite time of day?  Are you a morning person? Or a night person?  Or??? more like the middle-of-the-day- kind of person???

Leave a comment to let me know what your favorite time of day is and why... I love to hear from my readers!

Quilt Happy!

Melva

Melva Loves Scraps - home of the Quilters Through The Generations series

Linking with:

BOMS Away at What A Hoot Quilts
Fiber Tuesday at the Quilting Room with Mel
Wait Loss Wednesday at the Inquiring Quilter
Amy at Sew Incredibly Crazy

Maggie Kay - Baby's First Year

Announcing the winners of the Wish Upon A Star Blog Hop...

Congratulations to Anna Brown, Selina Kidney and Rosalind Gutierrez.

Anna & Selina - your prizes have been mailed to you.

Rosalind - I need you to email me your address so I can mail your prize.

MelvaLovesScraps@NolanQualityCustoms.com

If I don't hear from you before Monday, June 4th, I will draw a new name.

The time of waiting for the birth of our second grand-daughter was a lesson in patience for her Momma.  Her first child arrived on her due date with a strong-willed personality (and her bags packed from the time of arrival).  

Our daughter Heather (who also had her bags packed up arrival) even compared the personalities of Emma and the soon-to-arrive Maggie to herself and her sister.  Rebecca is a bit less intense and a little more laid back than Heather is... and she recognizes it.  It is what makes Heather tick... she has a purpose and a goal and nothing gets in her way.

She has stated with gratitude that "God must have known I couldn't handle two high maintenance, demanding girls."  

Heather felt that her second child should arrive prior to her due date because... well, that is what is she wanted to happen.  As if SHE was in control or something!  ...and the labor goes much faster... because, again, that is what happens, typically.  Well, labor did go faster... but getting to that point?  Maggie made her wait for three extra days. :)  She tried all of the old wives tricks... 

But little Maggie Kay was comfy in her Momma's womb and in absolutely no hurry to make her appearance to this world.  She is as opposite as can be from Emma.  Emma arrived in the late afternoon... Maggie made her appearance in the wee hours of the morning... Emma has light brown hair... Maggie has blonde... (Though they both have beautiful curls!)  Emma has a beautiful shade of brown eyes and Maggie has... you guessed it, blue!  Emma fought naps for fear of missing out... Maggie loves sleeping.

It has been a joy to watch her grow and learn and explore.  And since she is now nearly two years old, I finally completed her First Year Quilt...  A picture is worth a thousand words, but I have included some of her Mom's commentary with them.

Maggie Kay Jaramillo

July 30, 2016 at 450am

6 pounds 13 ounces, 19.5 inches long

One of her professional hospital pictures... I have included the lace yoke of the outfit, as well as the cute little headband. 

Meeting big brother for the first time.  Tyshan was completely in love with Maggie.  He was amazed at how small she was, commented on her cute little nose and his heart melted when she grabbed his finger and held on to it. The two still have a very special bond...

Our smallest beauty is One Month old today. It's hard to believe a whole month has already passed!! Some days I wish I could make time stand still....#MaggieKay #LittleLove 

Our littlest love is 2 months old today. 10 pounds 1 ounce, 22 inches, happy, healthy, and perfect as can be. We are so in love with our #MaggieKay!#PrettyGirl #HappyBaby #SmilesForDays

All these years, I never knew how wrong the Folgers commercials were. THIS is the best part of waking up! 

(You will notice the hospital blanket in this picture)

She's game day ready!

I think the little punkin had enough fun at the pumpkin farm... Take. Me. Home!

Trick or Treat!

Little miss Maggie Kay is Three Months old today. She is so happy and smiles all the time! She loves watching everything around her and sucks her thumb like crazy. We love you so much, little miss! 

Grandma's Little Turkey
First Thanksgiving

Seriously, time? Where have you gone!? Little miss Maggie Kay has been with our family for 4 months already! She has a smile that will light up the world. She's so happy! 100% loves her momma and daddy, sleeps like a champ, and sucks her thumb to calm down and go to sleep (which is about the cutest thing you've ever seen). #PrettyGirl #SmilesForDays #HappyBaby 

Miss Maggie's first christmas! 

She was on Santa's nice list for sure.

She steals a little more of my heart every day....#MaggieKay #5MonthsOld 
#TimeSlowDownPlease

Had a little #MomFail yesterday and didn't make the 6 Month shirt. So.... one day late, here it is! Miss#MaggieKay is taking her sweet time rolling over (I swear it will happen any day now), LOVES eating peas, and is the sweetest little thing you've ever met. Seriously. 

This little lady is (un)officially 7 months old! (February confused me because it doesn't have a 30th.....) Anyway... Miss #MaggieKay loves rice cereal, peas (of all things...), and bananas! She's an itty bitty little thing with the biggest smile in the world!

She's wearing green, but her cheeks just beg to be pinched ☘

My littlest beauty is 8 months old today. She is the happiest baby in the whole world! She finally learned to roll over, sits on her own, babbles all day, and has a love for cheerios. #MaggieKay #SmilesForDays

Some Bunny Loves Me!  

Indeed...

My pretty little 9 month old. I just love her. 😍 She's still toothless, still refuses to crawl, and still has a smile that will melt your heart. #MaggieKay #FutureHeartbreaker

Our pretty little thing is 10 months old today. She is probably the happiest baby in the world, but has been having a bit of a rough time with teething. She finally has one tooth! She still does not crawl, but can scoot on her butt or roll to get where she wants. Shes a picky eater, and by picky I mean if there are several things on her tray, she will pick put what she wants! (Like the marshmallows out of the lucky charms....) #MaggieKay  #DoubleDigits #SmartyPants

Our baby girl is 11 months old today. She has grown and learned SO MUCH in the last month, it's crazy! She now has 4 teeth, she's crawling all over, can go from laying down to sitting up, is trying to pull up to standing, and knows how to sign for "more". She loves fruit, especially berries, loves splashing in the pool, and gives the best hugs and kisses ever.#MaggieKay #AlmostNotABaby 
#ButAlwaysMommysBaby

Fourth of July!  🎆

Our gorgeous gal has been blessing our lives for an entire year. Its so hard to believe that this day is here already! She brings so much love an happiness to our family, we could not have asked for a better baby. #MaggieKay #TheBig1

Happy Birthday Maggie!

My husband and I have joked  (ok, we are serious about it) stated that grandchildren are the reward for not killing your children!  I have heard other grand-parents agree... somehow it is comforting to know that we are not alone.  

The time spent raising a family is a huge investment... yet the returns are great!  The moment you see and hold your child is precious.  Your heart bursts with a love your mind cannot really comprehend.

And yet, the moment you see and hold a grand-child your heart bursts again with a new love that you never realized existed.  

The "monthly picture" thing wasn't a "thing" when my girls were babies... I did, however, take pictures and created photo albums for them and tracked their vital statistics and milestones on a calendar and have those saved.  I saved a few clothing items as well. This will just have to do...

For their high school graduations I made each of them a t-shirt quilt with the shirts from the various events/trips.  I know they both cherish them still.  

I'm not sure that the Emma's or Maggie's First Year quilts are for them...  They may be more for Mom.  LOL.

Have you made a special memory quilt for anyone?  Who was it for?

What sort of items did you include?

Leave a comment... I love to hear from my readers.

I have always responded to comments via email... however, recently I have lost the opportunity to do that.   :-/  I am hoping that blogger will correct that problem soon, but in the meantime, I will reply to your comments here on the blog.  Thanks for your understanding.
Now, go make quilts out of memories...

Melva

Melva Loves Scraps - Home of the Quilters Through The Generations series