sew and tell

Weekly update: accomplishments and plans from With Strings Attached

See the previous post for designs from Morocco and the announcement of the Quiltville mystery.

Late bloomers at Spring Bluff and Van Patten Woods forest preserves this weekend. Center: oak trees are the gnarliest.

I was sixth in line at 10:00 a.m. Saturday when the thrift shop opened. My half-off coupon was in hand and I scooped up nearly all the Aurifil thread. (There was a box with ziploc bags with partially-used spools and cones. I left those.) Mind you, that's half off the thrift shop price which was already astoundingly less than retail.

What will I ...

added by Nann 23 hours, 13 minutes ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , nine patch quilts , oh scrap , omg 2026 , quiltville , rsc 2026 , sew and tell , weekly update

Thoughts on Quilting ~ Sew & Tell - 11/2/26 from Melva Loves Scraps

I have a folder on my phone that contains "blog topics." Whenever I stumble across something of interest, I will take a screen shot for future use. I'll be sharing one of those "screen shot" inspirations today after this week's Sew & Tell feature.

Cheree at The Morning Latte has had life in limbo as they have a new house built and living in limited space as they wait. Here's what she had to say...

"I'm a Finisher so all of this setting-blocks-aside stuff until I have my

design wall back has been bugging me. I needed ...

added by Melva 1 day, 13 hours ago. under bookish journal , sew and tell

Frame of Mind ~ Sew & Tell - 10/26/26 from Melva Loves Scraps

How is it possibly the last week of October??? As my "custom quilts business" has dropped off this year I have slowly embraced a slower paced life with no pressure of deadlines or "time is money" thoughts that I pushed upon myself, I have had some thoughts about definitions of words. Words/terms like sewing room vs. studio... crafter vs. quilter or artist... blanket vs. quilt. I'll get delve into some of these thoughts after we take a look at this week's Sew & Tell feature. I'll warn you now... It's a winding rabbit trail so you ...

added by Melva 3 days, 20 hours ago. under sew and tell

Weekly update: walking, quilting, and thrift shop score from With Strings Attached

You are correct. This is not the travelog. I worked on it for a while yesterday. I'm up to Thursday, October 8. I'll finish it later this week, I promise.

Saturday morning I participated in the World's Largest Polio Walk with Rotarians and friends from my club and the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Club. One mile from the Lake Bluff park to Lake Forest High School and one mile back was no problem in the golden autumn sunshine.

The Rotary initiative to end polio began in 1985. Polio has been reduced by 99.9%. The wild virus ...

added by Nann 1 week ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , rotary , sew and tell , top-along , weekly update

A Grand Finish ~ Sew & Tell - 10/19/26 from Melva Loves Scraps

I felt like I was a vinyl record with a scratch that the needle can't move past... still quilting Lala... still quilting Lala... Still quilting Lala...

And then on Friday I was F I N A L L Y able to say the quilting was done!

I knew that the amount of fabric I had remaining for the binding was going to be close. I had a few strips of 2-1/2 leftover from the patchwork blocks but not enough fabric for all of the binding. I was able to work a little magic to make it all work ...

added by Melva 2 weeks, 1 day ago. under lala's irish chain , sew and tell

Bookish Journal Update ~ Sew & Tell - 10/12/26 from Melva Loves Scraps

Over the weeks of travel and since our return I logged many hours of reading and listening to books. I had eight completed books and needed eight blocks. It as a nice break from the quilting of Lala's Irish Chain quilt.

Before I show off my blocks and offer up my thoughts and reviews, let's take a look at this week's randomly selected Sew & Tell feature. Melisa at Pinker 'n' Punkin Quilting always has some great seasonal decor and cross-stitch patterns in addition to her quilting projects. She has a couple houses under construction and a squirrel ...

added by Melva 3 weeks, 1 day ago. under bookish journal , sew and tell

Sew & Tell - 10/4/26 from Melva Loves Scraps

Hi! My name is Melva... and this is my blog, Melva Loves Scraps.

I've been absent for the past several weeks so I thought I would take the opportunity to re-introduce myself! LOL!

Our travels and adventures were safe with several highlights and making it a memorable trip... mostly good, with a tidbit of challenge sprinkled in.

Within the first few hours on the road, we encountered our first challenge. We made a stop to use the pitstop and when I exited the truck and turned toward the camper my eyes noticed something out of place!

Oh! NO ...

added by Melva 4 weeks, 1 day ago. under sew and tell

Dancing Stars Quilt Along Week 4 – Sewing the Quilt Top from Christa Quilts

How is your Dancing Stars quilt going? Remember, during this quilt along you can sew at your own pace! This week we are sewing our blocks together to make the quilt top. I made 2 versions with a couple of tips for each.

First of all, for my black & white version, I had mapped out all of the colors ahead of time so it was simple to sew the blocks and then arrange them in a pleasing order. I created a checker board around the blocks with every other square being light or dark. As you can see above, a ...

added by Christa 1 month ago. under fabric , quilt patterns , sew and tell (Comments)

Weekly update: holes, hikes, homes, and placemats from With Strings Attached

HOLES

Friday's weather--high 60's, partly cloudy-- was great for the 26th annual Rotary Golf Outing. I was at the course from 10 a.m. to nearly 8 p.m. I helped at registration and then at the 18th hole where a golf pro from Charity Golf had a long drive contest. I know very little about golf but Lexie, the pro, was very patient. The event will raise over $25,000 for our high school scholarships and other community initiatives.

Carine and I intended to get our picture taken with Lexie on the 18th hole but we caught ...

added by Nann 1 month ago. under design wall monday , lake county forest preserves , monday musings , placemats , rotary club , sew and tell , weekly update

Sew & Tell ~ 9/28/26 from Melva Loves Scraps

We're on the road... Having a great time!

Party on without me ;)

added by Melva 1 month ago. under sew and tell

Weekly update: when it rains . . . from With Strings Attached

Mid-morning I was halfway finished composing today's post when the power went out. The culprit was a downed wire. Those rechargeable lanterns I got a couple of months ago had lost their charge, I found out. Rather than stew in the semi-gloom I drove 30 miles to Half Day Forest Preserve and completed another Hike Lake County walk. On the way home ComEd sent the message that the power was back on. Whew! (And now I will find a place to keep those lanterns plugged in.)

Back to where I was . . .

It rained all weekend. No forest preserve walks ...

added by Nann 1 month, 1 week ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , sew and tell , weekly update

Lala's Gallery of Quilts ~ Sew & Tell - 9/21/26 from Melva Loves Scraps

Here's a little quilt "gallery" of the quilts I have made by Lala and the little bit of information I have on them.

Ocean Waves made by and quilted by Lala Teegarden.

If I were to guess on when it was made... Late 30s or early 40s. It has a children's print featuring clowns and other circus items on the back.

It is in good condition. The fabrics have held up well for the age.

This is a simple scrappy patchwork quilt made with 4" squares of fabric... mostly leftover from Lala's sewing pajamas for the family ...

added by Melva 1 month, 1 week ago. under lala's irish chain , sew and tell

Weekly update: quilt show and afterward from With Strings Attached

The 22nd Great Wisconsin Quilt Show was at the Alliant Center in Madison September 10-12. It used to be called an expo, hence the quilt label that identifies the post. It's the eighth time I've attended and the second time I've stayed overnight.

By pleasant coincidence both Anna and I arrived at the same time Thursday morning. We met at the entrance--we didn't even have to text. She stays at her brother's cabin. I had a motel reservation.

I was able to get tickets for two lectures.

I've known Jennifer Chiaverini since she wrote ...

added by Nann 1 month, 2 weeks ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , sew and tell , weekly update , wisconsin quilt expo

Sew & Tell - 9/14/26 from Melva Loves Scraps

What a week! The long (holiday) weekend followed by a short week felt like we just blinked and POOF! it was gone. I had planned on quilting on Sunday afternoon... and on Monday... THAT didn't happen. We spent a great deal of time tidying up the basement and getting things back into a more proper order.

But first... let's take a look at this week's Sew & Tell feature...

Daryl at Patchouli Moon Studio has dedicated a significant amount of time to making Sew Powerful Purses.

When I collected my quilts from the Library Art Wall I prepared ...

added by Melva 1 month, 2 weeks ago. under sew and tell

Lala, RSC & Books.... Oh My! ~ S&T - 9/7/26 from Melva Loves Scraps

The saying goes... "Don't pray for patience... for you will be given ample opportunity to practice it!"

Waiting for... anything can be frustrating... I won't bore you with many details, but we were excited to see the workers for the HVAC system arrive Monday morning. They and Dave worked all day getting ductwork in place. It was a dirty, messy job in the crawlspace and I was certainly glad that I didn't need to be up there. And the fact that there were 3 men in the space that in some areas is only 15-18" deep, I ...

added by Melva 1 month, 3 weeks ago. under sew and tell

Little Lala ~ Sew & Tell - 8/31/26 from Melva Loves Scraps

We stand at the cusp on the end of another month! The "ber" months are around the corner, and it seems that many in the northern hemisphere are ready for the change in the calendar and the change of the seasons... a new chapter of sorts.

Which brings to my mind my Bookish Journal Quilt. While I've continued enjoying the audio books, the disruption in life had prevented me from spending much time in the studio... and the precious time spent there was focused on finishing my Little Lala Irish Chain Quilt. But I'll hold those thoughts until ...

added by Melva 1 month, 4 weeks ago. under bookish journal , lala's irish chain , sew and tell

Weekly update: end of the August from With Strings Attached

New fridge collage

The trip to Scotland was wonderful! I got home Friday evening. I've recovered from jet lag and I'm gradually coming up to speed with regular life. The travelog is in process (basically a compilation of the daily Facebook posts and photos). I'll post it in a day or two.

The design wall is as I left it on August 12 with batik wonky stars.

Instead of working on those the past two evenings I made purple coin units for the September RSC. The pattern calls for 12 blocks with two coin units each. I ...

added by Nann 2 months ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , rsc 2026 , sew and tell , stash report , weekly update

Twists & Turns ~ Sew & Tell - 8/24/26 from Melva Loves Scraps

This week had a super slow start... and then it took off like a tornado. For this reason, I am extending grace to myself and skipping the weekly feature. I just don't have the energy to put into it, and I certainly hope that you'll understand...

I started writing my thoughts for a post for later in the week on Monday... explaining that I was in the market for some new quilting rulers - 12-1/2" and 6-1/2"... and asking for personal recommendations. I plan to use some of my credit from Connecting Threads for the purchase... therefore ...

added by Melva 2 months, 1 week ago. under sew and tell

Chain Gang II ~ Sew & Tell - 8/17/26 from Melva Loves Scraps

Welcome back to Melva Loves Scraps and the weekly Sew & Tell party! Another week has zipped on! The old saying is that "time flies when you're having fun". If that's the case, then I've been having a grand time! ;)

I'll fill you in on what I've been busy with after this week's Sew & Tell feature.

Gail at Quilting Gail shared a summary. She has been participating in a variety of BOMs and has shared the links for each of them. In addition to those updates, she had finished her Tilt-a-Whirl quilt. Make a visit ...

added by Melva 2 months, 2 weeks ago. under sew and tell

Sew & Tell - 8/10/26 from Melva Loves Scraps

It's August and time of year that seems to get busy for many. Families with children are preparing for back to school and/or squeezing in one last family trip, and gardeners are enjoying the fruits of their labor (whether floral or produce... or both!).

August in our house finds both Dave and I enjoying a walk down memory lane as we celebrate our wedding anniversary. Monday, the 10th, marks our 41st. I found the following info with a quick search on the web...

While there is no traditional anniversary gift, Topaz has been the associated gemstone for the ...

added by Melva 2 months, 3 weeks ago. under sew and tell

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