sew and tell

Weekly update: spontaneous scrap stars from With Strings Attached

Warm on Friday, warmer on Saturday. Clockwise: blue-eyed grass, skunk cabbage in full leaf, golden Alexander, field horsetail, star of Bethlehem (a garden escapee, very aggressive).

It was much cooler on Sunday and I took a nap instead of a walk.

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Several months ago I made string X blocks into a flimsy and added a border. I didn't like the border but it was the only fabric on hand that sort of worked and that I had in enough quantity. I put the flimsy in the box and hoped I'd like the border better eventually. It still didn ...

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

Mother's Day ~ Sew & Tell - 5/11/26 from Melva Loves Scraps

Thanks for stopping by! I'll start off by saying Happy Mother's Day to all the moms -- wannabe moms, birth moms, stepmoms, bonus moms, adoptive moms, mentor moms and spiritual moms. And especially to my friends for whom this holiday will be hard. Friends who will be standing by gravesites this Mother’s Day. Friends whose moms haven’t been a part of their lives in many years. And those who have challenging relationships with their moms who try to navigate Mother’s Day with grace but some necessary distance.

I hope that your day was blessed. I'm ...

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

Bookish Journey Continues ~ Sew & Tell - 5/4/2026 from Melva Loves Scraps

It was quiet in the studio this past week. Since we started the "window" project in the guestroom last weekend and I was waiting for a quilt kit to arrive, I did spent time in the kitchen and doing some spring cleaning in the rest of the house.

First though... let's take a look at this week's feature. Gwyned shared her story of how a package took a 2-week scenic tour around the country as well as her latest block in the Butterfly Sanctuary BOM.

This block had 71 pieces in it! It is beautiful. Head over to ...

added by Melva 3 months ago. under bookish journal , sew and tell

Weekly update: Wildflowers, Bunco, and placemats from With Strings Attached

Two walks in two days! Lake Carina on Saturday (lower left) and the south unit of Illinois Beach State Park on Sunday. Upper left: crabapple. Upper right: hoary puccoon (which sounds like a Shakespearean insult). Center; Sand cherry.

But before that: Zion Woman's Club spring Bunco was Friday evening. We've done this for 10+ years and have a group of regulars. Though fewer people came than last fall the preliminary income is $1402 (thanks to club members who aren't asking for expense reimbursement).

There are four raffles: 50/50 cash, a gift card tree ($195 value), a ...

added by Nann 3 months ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , placemats , sew and tell , weekly update , zwc

Weekly update: anniversary, convention, and a little sewing from With Strings Attached

One year. How I miss him!

I'm grateful to everyone for their love, support, and kind thoughts.

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The 101st AAUW-Illinois convention was in Rockford this past Friday evening and Saturday. (I didn't go last year because (see above). The last time it was in Rockford was 2002 and I didn't go because my mother passed away. Hmmm...) Helen drove and we roomed together. (It was a test because in October we will travel together. We got along quite well.)

The Rockford Women's Suffrage Monument was unveiled in 2020 for the centennial of the 19th amendment. The ...

added by Nann 3 months ago. under aauw , design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , sew and tell , weekly update

Fort Building ~ Sew & Tell - 4/27/26 from Melva Loves Scraps

Welcome back for another episode of Sew & Tell. The place where everyone is encouraged to share their projects and get inspired by what others share.

Many thanks to everyone who happily joined the parties while I was away on vacation. Especially to Patricia at Faith, Trust & Breast Cancer for acting as hostess for one of the parties! The fact that we were camping in an area around Moab, UT that had no service made it easy knowing that all was managed by her and thanks to the ability to schedule posts, I was not concerned in missing anything important. If ...

added by Melva 3 months, 1 week ago. under sew and tell

Weekly update: quilt exhibit + finishes + reading from With Strings Attached

We escaped the tornadoes and the flooding that hit Illinois and Wisconsin last week but there was a lot of rain. It's the third-wettest April on record. My basement stayed dry (I had the landscapers add a bank of soil around the problem corner of the foundation) but apparently there's a roof leak. It's always something . . .

On Friday Leslie and I met at Concordia University in River Forest to see an exhibit of quilts by Modern Quilt Studio (=Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr). Leslie and I met at a P.E.O. convention and we immediately hit ...

added by Nann 3 months, 2 weeks ago. under batik quilt , monday musings , oh scrap! , patchwork and quilts , quilt show , reading , sew and tell , villa rosa , weekly update

Sew & Tell - 4/20/2026 from Melva Loves Scraps

We're on the road...

Before we left on the trip, I was able to finish and deliver a t-shirt quilt. This quilt is for a smart, kind and intelligent young man that we have known for all his life. He graduated in May of 2025 and currently attends Colorado Mesa University. He loves Dr. Pepper, the Lord and his college. He was granted the Daniels Fund scholarship... and if you know anything about this, you know it is a prestigious scholarship as well as very generous.

He wanted to have a few more CMU shirts included but didn't ...

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

Weekly update: exhibits and celebrations + two finishes + reading from With Strings Attached

I took a little excursion Friday afternoon. Every year the Racine Art Museum hosts an exhibit of Peeps art. Entries come from studio artists, kids, city/county departments, and every day people. Such punny fun!

Top: Peeping Beauty School of Cosmetology; Frida; No Mistakes, Just Happy Little Peeps (Bob Ross). Center: from the Racine city dept. of development; Arthur; "Peepal Conclave." Bottom: Don Quixote; The Scream.

Of course I liked "They Read Banned Books."

In the upstairs gallery at RAM: paper cutting. Exquisite!

The top left and center right are Polish (or Polish-style). Upper right: Japanese. Lower left: I think ...

added by Nann 3 months, 3 weeks ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , p.e.o , reading , sew and tell , villa rosa , weekly update

Sew & Tell - 4/12/26 from Melva Loves Scraps

Thanks for stopping by! I'm currently traveling... Patricia over at Faith, Trust & Breast Cancer is the guest host for this week's party. Head over there to join her! She's ready and waiting. ;)

Keep Piecing,

Melva

Linking with:

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

Weekly update: Easter, two finishes, and a six-part challenge from With Strings Attached

Easter Sunday was cool but the sunshine was abundant.

I went to church in the morning and had a nice long walk at Van Patten Woods in the afternoon.

Sumac, fungus, mullein. The place names Des Plaines and O'Plaine are corruptions of "eau pleine" meaning "full of water," which is how the early French explorers saw the river in flood. You can see why.

I had to work off some of the gustatory delights of the day. I made a half-batch of pancakes, our customary holiday breakfast. The pancake mix (Christmas 2024 gift) still had enough baking powder oomph ...

added by Nann 4 months ago. under design wall monday , homespun quilt , monday musings , oh scrap! , sew and tell , top-along , villa rosa , weekly update

Bookish Catch up and Pink RSC ~ Sew & Tell - 4/5/2026 from Melva Loves Scraps

We have turned the calendar page to a new month and seemingly a new season. March marched out with an attitude and the blustery winds continue. *sigh* None the less, it is my birthday month and I'm going to celebrate it as often as I get a chance! Sixty some years ago I arrived on Easter Sunday, and I am celebrating by getting ready to go camping. While my birthday is later in the month, I still celebrate on Easter. I hope that your Easter-Resurrection Day is blessed.

But before I get into talking about our trip let's ...

added by Melva 4 months ago. under sew and tell

Daisy Chain QAL Week 5 – Backing & Basting from Christa Quilts

We are nearly to my favorite part of any quilt – the machine quilting! But first we need to prep our quilts by making sure the backing is big enough, and then basting. I love making pieced backs from leftovers or other coordinating fabrics because that makes the quilt twice as nice!!

Because I had too many pictures of this process to share, I thought it would be much easier to put them all together into a super short video and talk over the process. You can watch that by clicking play below:

Once the quilt is basted, you are ready ...

added by Christa 4 months ago. under christa's quilts , fabric , quilt alongs , quilt patterns , sew and tell , tutorials (Comments)

Weekly update: nine patch progress from With Strings Attached

Monday morning has rolled around too fast! This needs to be a quick post.

Three luncheons in three days (Clara Cummings Book Club on Thursday, retired library directors on Friday, GFWC District 10 on Saturday) plus the 5th Sunday potluck after church on Sunday -- good company at all.

Palm Sunday origami! Did you (or do you still) make a cross from the palm frond?

Every year at this time I look for skunk cabbage along the trail in the ravine at the end of the block. The “horn” is the flower. It is so named because it has a high ...

added by Nann 4 months, 1 week ago. under monday musings , nine patch quilts , oh scrap! , sew and tell , weekly update

Quilt Retreat Fun ~ Sew & Tell - 3/29/26 from Melva Loves Scraps

I have just returned from the quilt retreat. Several asked where it was held... It was held in the "Competitor's Housing" at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, NM. The accommodations are nice. There is a large space where the machines are set up and three different wings where you find the bathroom, kitchen and five 2-bed rooms. They keep them clean and well maintained. We use the facility during their "off season." For this reason, I think there is a discount... the cost is $75 for two nights.

I'll get to the quilts that were made and ...

added by Melva 4 months, 1 week ago. under sew and tell

Weekly update: an evening out, walking again, and finishes from With Strings Attached

On Thursday evening the Waukegan Historical Society hosted "Extraordinary Ordinary Women" by local researcher Meg Goljenboom. Kathy rode with me and we met June and Joann there. (I knew many of the other attendees, too.)

Meg talked about aviation industry executive Olive Ann Beech, cabaret singer Ada “Bricktop” Smith, candy maker Ora Snyder (who had more than 30 Mrs. Snyder’s Home Made Candy shops in Chicagoland), hotelier Maria Ramirez Kramer, and Mildred Johnson who founded an air express package delivery service in the 1920s.

The weather was cooperative on Friday and Saturday. I enjoyed walks at Lyons Woods Forest ...

added by Nann 4 months, 1 week ago. under batik quilt , cwrsrp , monday musings , mug rugs , oh scrap! , sew and tell , weekly update

Picking Up Pieces ~ Sew & Tell - 3/23/2026 from Melva Loves Scraps

Mother Nature seems to have lost her temper... or mind... or is drunk... off her meds??? Something! At the beginning of this week, we saw a low of 7 degrees, and we saw a high in the low 90s by the weekend. It is dry, dry, dry! The humidity levels in Southern CO are in the single digits. Fires are popping up in the region and evacuation orders have been issued for at least 1 area. Pray for rain! Dave and I have not only prayed for rain, I did the quilter's rain dance by pulling out a pretty ...

added by Melva 4 months, 1 week ago. under sew and tell

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 ...

added by Melva 4 months, 2 weeks ago. under sew and tell

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 ...

added by Christa 4 months, 3 weeks ago. under fabric , machine quilting , riley blake designs , sew and tell (Comments)

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.

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

added by Nann 4 months, 3 weeks ago. under design wall monday , monday musings , oh scrap! , rsc 2026 , sew and tell , weekly update

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