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March 17, 2026
Sew & Tell - 3/16/2026 from Melva Loves Scraps


I saw that Alycia was doing the quilter's rain dance the other day... she swapped out the Christmas quilt for a Spring quilt and washed her car as an extra insurance that it would indeed rain.


Here in southern Colorado, we are so very dry.  The fire danger is already high, and the spring winds are making it worse.  Nebraska has numerous fires they have been dealing with... 

So... I decided to join her in the Quilter's Rain Dance.  I changed the red and white vintage quilt on the guest bed to a very spring-like vintage pink Irish ...

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Sneak Peak of Quilt in Color Fabric Line from Riley Blake from Christa Quilts

I’m so excited about my debut fabric line with Riley Blake called Quilt in Color. Now you may be wondering why I switched fabric companies? Simply put, it was time for me to stretch my wings and grow. In all of my previous 10 fabric collections, I had help with the technical aspects of design. But this one is ALL me and I couldn’t be more proud! Take a look at the color cards below:

What do you think? I poured my heart and soul into this collection. It includes 21 colorful prints + 3 machine quilting practice panels ...

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March 16, 2026
Weekly update: quiet weekend, RSC, batik blocks from With Strings Attached

 I had a meeting Friday morning (good to get out and be sociable) and the rest of the weekend I was at home with just a couple of errands.  We're on the southern edge of the huge storm with only 4" of snow.  We're under a blizzard warning because it's quite windy.  I cancelled an appointment this morning and plan to stay in today.   Sewing and reading and, just maybe, catching up on a few no-time-pressure tasks.



# # # # #

In the studio:  I made red "coin" panels for this year's RSC project.  The pattern (shown in the photo ...

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March 11, 2026
Studio Hostage ~ Sew & Tell - 3/9/2026 from Melva Loves Scraps

 

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 ...

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March 9, 2026
Weekly update: celebrations, a binding resolution, and remembering from With Strings Attached


The Lake County Women's Coalition annual Women's History Month luncheon was on Saturday.  Each LCWC member organization nominates an honoree who exemplifies the year's theme.   


I'm on the LCWC steering committee as the rep for the Zion Woman's Club but I am also a member of AAUW.  AAUW's honoree was Nan Buckart (bio on left) who was director of education for the Lake County Forest Preserves.  ZWC's honoree was Wendy Driver (bio on right) whose many interests in community activism include gardening (seed-saving, monarchs, zinnias, and more).  


Top:  the ZWC contingent.

Kim Sigafuss ...

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March 6, 2026
That's A Wrap ~ Sew & Tell - March 2, 2026 from Melva Loves Scraps


Another month gone.  Poof!

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March 3, 2026
Weekly update: SAHRR and another finish, stash report, goals + reading from With Strings Attached

 It was a puttering-around kind of weekend.  Too chilly to go for a walk, no major errands to run, nothing much that needed attention.  So I sewed!

The Stay at Home Round Robin is quilted and bound.  Hooray!  






The back uses two book-related fabrics.








I made the courthouse steps flimsy in 2023.  Barb quilted it in an overall Baptist fan.  I bound it last evening.   It's 72 x 84.  

I've scheduled a quilt a month with Barb.  Whether I take something from the box of flimsies or create something new will depend on the month.


STASH REPORT, February ...

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March 1, 2026
This, That & the Other ~ Sew & Tell - 2/23/26 from Melva Loves Scraps


Welcome back!  I say that to my readers and participants of the Sew & Tell party, but also to Dave, the mighty hunter camper, has returned and I am so happy.

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February 24, 2026
Weekly update: placemat delivery + MQG swap reveal + a flimsy and a finish from With Strings Attached


My trip to New Zealand was wonderful! You can read all about it in the post right before this one.

It didn't take long to recover from jet lag but I caught a cold on the way home (15 hours on three airplane flights means a lot of exposure).  I can finally be more than a foot away from a box of Kleenex.

When I left the amaryllis had one bud. I took it next door to Mike and Jen who watched the house for me. It liked its vacation home!  Four blossoms.


Thursday afternoon and Saturday morning were ...

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February 18, 2026
Books, Vintage Linens & Sew & Tell - 2/16/2026 from Melva Loves Scraps


The house is quiet... after the frenzy of Dave preparing to leave on a hunting camping trip with three other guys.  Preparation for a trip can be busy, and he gets a little overwhelmed with trying to focus on what needs to be done and what he would rather be doing. We both suffer from that syndrome.  LOL! Technically it is a hunting trip.  He paid for a license and is taking all that he needs to take along.

I, admittedly, was a little disappointed that he left with the camper without me.  He did politely invite me, saying I ...

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February 12, 2026
Bookish Journal - Chapter 2 ~ Sew & Tell - 2/9/26 from Melva Loves Scraps


Welcome back!  I've been busily and happily content in the studio lately.  I've been playing in my scrap bins making RSC blocks - blues and greens so far... 

I've also been re-writing and re-testing a few block patterns for the Little House Sampler Quilter Sew Along... All as I listen to audio books.

BTW, if you missed it, the first LH Sampler block pattern has been released!  You can find it hereNOTE:: There has been a correction made to the log cabin frame pattern.  I think I notified everyone that had downloaded the original (incorrect) pattern.  The ...

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February 5, 2026
January Review ~ Sew & Tell - 2/2/26 from Melva Loves Scraps


The first chapter of 2026 is complete, and we are beginning the new chapter we call February.  It is the shortest chapter of the year... though, sometimes, it can feel like the longest. 

I'll be reviewing all that I did during the writing of that first chapter.  But first, let's take a look at the featured quilter from last week's party.  You all kept me really hopping all week!  There were 32 links shared!  I think this was the largest party I've hosted.  Thanks!  I am thrilled (and honored) that so many of you are willing ...

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January 28, 2026
Cold Weather Sewing ~ Sew & Tell - 1/26/26 from Melva Loves Scraps



Welcome back to the deep freeze version of Sew & Tell.  I've heard that something like 75% (it may have been 90%) of the United States is below normal temps.  I also heard that in the wee hours of Friday morning our region (Southeastern Colorado) entered into a predicted 90 hours of below freezing temperatures.

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January 26, 2026
Weekly update: SAHRR, the answer is 42, scrappy souvenirs + reading from With Strings Attached

 Brrrrrrr!   I hope you are keeping warm during this storm.  I've been mostly indoors since Friday.  I went to two memorial visitations on Saturday (the son of a Rotary friend in the morning and a quilting friend in the afternoon) though I didn't stay for the funeral services.  I overrode the thermostat so the heat stays at daytime temperature overnight. Otherwise it would take all morning to warm up.   Snowfall was about 2", no wind.  

wrapped up in the Magpies' quilt with another quilt at my back


I appreciate all the people who braved the cold, wherever they ...

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January 23, 2026
Vintage Roses ~ Sew & Tell - 1/19/26 from Melva Loves Scraps



Let's jump right into Sew & Tell Time!  This week's feature is from Gwyned's Life of an Artist and her first entry to the 2026 Project Quilting challenge.  here's her description of the challenge... in a nutshell.

"It takes place over 12 weeks and not the more typical 12 months. Second the turnaround time from the announcement of the challenge to the finish line is exactly one week. It starts with a challenge posted on Sunday. Then it is up to the individual to interpret the challenge, make something stitched and layered, finish it and post either ...

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January 19, 2026
Weekly update: picture books, some surprises, remembering + MQG swap #2 from With Strings Attached


The special exhibit at the Dunn Museum opened back in October.  I finally went to see it on Friday, two days before it closes. (Hmm. I went to last summer's big exhibit at the Art Institute a couple of days before it closed.)


The Dunn Museum is a division of the Lake County Forest Preserve District. Museum programming includes county-wide history (the annual history symposium (Zoom) this month was great), natural history, and traveling exhibits like this one.  Just $3 admission for seniors.

So many familiar and favorite illustrators were included.  You may not know their names but surely ...

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January 15, 2026
Scraps & Bits ~ Sew & Tell - 1/12/26 from Melva Loves Scraps


It's been a calm and productive week in the studio of Melva Loves Scraps and I am relishing the quieter routine of winter and the presence and prevalence of Shalom. 
 But before I get into that let's take a look at this week's randomly selected feature... Alycia at Alycia Quilts showed off her January Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks.  She calls them Chunky Churndashes.  They're fun and bright!  And I am guessing that they will be paired with some red blocks to become a Quilt of Valor.  I mean, Alycia is the QUEEN of QOV, at least ...

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January 12, 2026
Weekly update: goal met, onto the next + reading from With Strings Attached


The last batch of placemats!  The units and blocks are from the orphan box/parts department.   Some are recent (the three at the lower right); some are middle-aged (the green/blue hourglasses are from Indigo Way (which itself is blocks-in-a-box); some are elderly (the hard-to-see scrappy trips that are the background for the two feathers in the upper right).  

Choosing layouts and coordinating fabrics was a great design exercise.

Each is approximately 13 x 20.


All 121 in the bin.   Each placemat averages 3/8 yard, so 45 yards.  (With thanks to QuiltDiva Julie who sent a set of four ...

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January 9, 2026
First Bookish Journal Block ~ Sew & Tell - 1/5/26 from Melva Loves Scraps



Welcome to a New Year of Sew & Tell... a place where inspiration can be found, creativity flows, progress is shared and encouragement abounds!  There were a lot of summaries and goals shared this week.  The randomly selected feature happens to be a year-end summary from Diann at Little Penguin Quilts.  Diann showed off her top 5 quilt finishes of 2025.  I'm happy to say that her Pieces of My Life quilt made the list, along with two rainbow scrap challenge quilts.  All of the quilts are lovely.  Head over to her blog to learn a few more details of ...

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January 5, 2026
Weekly update: first finish for 2026, placemat progress + reading from With Strings Attached

 

Lazy Goose, the January top-along, is finished!  I quilted it in parallel lines with the serpentine stitch.  The back is a print I've had since the 1990's.  

5-7/8 yards used in all. 











One of my January goals is to make 20 placemats.  I've finished six.

 


Six more are underway.

They all use units from the orphan blocks box.

(The fine points of terminology: a patch is a shape cut from fabric. A unit is composed of one or more patches sewn together. A block is composed of units sew together.) 

# # # # #  I have a fear of running ...

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  • sew and tell
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