pieces of my life

Pieces of My Life ~ Maple Leaf from Melva Loves Scraps

Welcome back! Today we continue the journey we are making together as we piece a beautiful quilt that tells the story our lives through the blocks and memory book pages.

With leaves of trees showing off their brilliant colors and flittering or swirling to the ground, the Maple Leaf block begs for discussion of fall activities and events.

As a child, I enjoyed Halloween. ~~Of course, it was all about the candy!~~ Actually, I remember more about the costumes. Maybe because there are pictures of those. I have very few memories of going out Trick or Treating with friends... a ...

added by Melva 1 week, 1 day ago. under pieces of my life

Pieces of My Life ~ The Broken Dish from Melva Loves Scraps

Welcome back to a new session of the Pieces of My Life Sew Along! This installment will be lacking the emailed newsletter since we are on the road. This session focuses on a block I call The Broken Dish. The questions have progressed from our childhood and teens, to being adults, making adult decisions regarding marriage, and family. We'll continue with questions about your family.

I've become more aware in my more mature adult life of the need for self-care. As a young mom I was all about keeping the children alive and healthy and if I was ...

added by Melva 3 weeks, 1 day ago. under pieces of my life

Pieces of My Life ~ Rough Road from Melva Loves Scraps

I think I can safely say that all roads traveled in life are not smooth. Some are rough and washboard like, some have big holes or ruts, some are muddy and are easy to get bogged down on. And then there are the ones that allow for smooth, easy travel. But even those smooth roads require maintenance... or they too will become rough roads.

The focus topics of the pages that accompany this block are family and travel... but I'll be fully focused on travel here.

If you are a regular visitor of my blog, you know by ...

added by Melva 1 month ago. under pieces of my life

Pieces of My Life ~ Section III from Melva Loves Scraps

All of the blocks to be included in Section III of the Pieces of My Life QAYG quilt have been published... which means that you are ready to assemble Section III!

If you have stayed with me thus far, congratulations!!! I am so proud of you. Give yourself a good pat on the back from me. :)

The layout of Section III is the same Section I. You will find all of the cutting instructions and assembly of the unit by following the highlighted link.

Quilt as desired... Whatever you do, have fun with the quilting!

Below is a photo showing ...

added by Melva 1 month ago. under pieces of my life

Pieces of My Life ~ Small Spool & Wrench from Melva Loves Scraps

Welcome back to Pieces of My Life. We have two blocks featured this time... Another spool (a small one this time - 6" finished) and a classic, the (monkey) wrench.

The memory book page for the spool takes us back to our childhood with questions like "Did you ever learn to knit or sew?" and "Who taught you?"

Well... obviously I know how to sew since I quilt. I have shared snippets of this story before about how I learned as a young girl when I participated in 4-H. I learned to knit (and crochet) as well. You can see pictures ...

added by Melva 1 month, 2 weeks ago. under pieces of my life

Pieces of My Life ~ Noon & Night from Melva Loves Scraps

Welcome back to the Pieces of My Life Sew Along... Block #16 is called Noon & Night. We could also call it Day & Night. It features lots of half-square triangles in four contrasting fabrics, that with color placement and fabric choices, can offer very different results.

The old saying is that opposites attract. Dave and I are so similar... yet so different. The first question posed in the memory book for this block asks:

What were some adjustments you had to make since you were living together?

He grew up in a metropolis area (45 miles NW of Chicago). I grew ...

added by Melva 2 months ago. under pieces of my life

Pieces of My Life ~ Cornerstone & Chimney from Melva Loves Scraps

Welcome back for another session of the Pieces of My Life Sew Along!

This session features a block I call Cornerstone & Chimney. The questions revolve around your first homes, jobs, pets and friends. For Dave and I both, aside from dorm rooms, never lived anywhere but at home. And it wasn't until our marriage that we had our own "Home Sweet Home."

Since we just returned from a trip to Illinois, the subject matter of our first apartment and memories are fresh in my mind.

Dave's sister and BIL had purchased their first home just months before our ...

added by Melva 2 months, 2 weeks ago. under pieces of my life

Sew & Tell ~ Pieces of My Life Section II from Melva Loves Scraps

Welcome! I am still working on the secret sewing project sooooo....

This week's show for Sew & Tell is the layout of Section II of the Pieces of My Life Sew Along. All four sections of the quilt are the same, just rotated... (no, I did not forget how to count.... Remember, block #11 ~ Solitaire Diamond ~ has been released, but will be used in Section III... )

Cutting instructions are the same as Section I:

2 - 2-1/2" x 12-1/2" strips

2 - 2-1/2" x 18-1/2" strips

2 - 3-1/2" x 12-1/2" strips

Layout your blocks and ...

added by Melva 2 months, 4 weeks ago. under pieces of my life , sew and tell

Pieces of My Life ~ Wedding (Ring) Day from Melva Loves Scraps

Welcome back to Melva Loves Scraps and the Pieces of My Life Sew Along!

Can you believe we are more than halfway through this sew along event??? And that we are already sitting here in August? Schools and teachers are preparing for the return of students... And Dave and I will be celebrating our 39th anniversary in just a few days. Where has the time gone????

With the last block (Large Spool) I shared details of my wedding dress... This time I focus on the rest of the events of our Wedding Ring Day.

I was just 20 years old ...

added by Melva 3 months ago. under pieces of my life

Pieces of My Life ~ Large Spool from Melva Loves Scraps

Welcome back to Melva Loves Scraps and the Pieces of My Life Sew Along!

We are halfway through this sew along event... With each passing day (and each block) we are making new memories...

Are you keeping up with the blocks? How about your memory book?

This block is a Large Spool, and measures 12-1/2", unfinished. There are several bias edges so you may want to spray starch your fabric to avoid the pieces from getting stretched allowing the block to be a little wonky.

As our wedding day approached, I remember going shopping for a wedding dress with ...

added by Melva 3 months, 3 weeks ago. under pieces of my life

Pieces of My Life ~ Diamond Solitaire & Steps to the Altar from Melva Loves Scraps

With the last block of Pieces of My Life, I shared the story of Dave and I meeting and falling in love with each other and within a few months' time, I had a promise ring from him. It is a ~~small~~ tiny solitaire that he borrowed money from one of his sisters in order to purchase. It means the world to me.

A year later, he gave me an engagement ring. The diamond wasn't much bigger, but it had setting that made it appear larger. When we were ready to purchase wedding rings, I bought him a plain ...

added by Melva 4 months, 1 week ago. under bride's quilt ii , pieces of my life

Pieces of My Life ~ Blocks 9 & 10 ~ Small Star & My Heart from Melva Loves Scraps

Welcome back to Melva Loves Scraps and the Pieces of My Life Sew along.
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added by Melva 5 months ago. under pieces of my life

May 17, 2024

Pieces of My Life ~ Blocks #7 & 8 - Star and Bowtie from Melva Loves Scraps

There is just something about remembering...

Here's a whole scientific explanation about it.

As I help Mom with her down-sizing, I see that she is struggling with the idea of letting go of the "stuff" that helps her reflect on various times of her life.

The thing is... we are both learning that we don't NEED to hold on to all of the "stuff" in order to keep the memories alive and to hold on to those feelings of happiness and comfort.

Taking pictures of special items and then writing down some thoughts and memories about them and ...
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added by Melva 5 months, 3 weeks ago. under pieces of my life

May 7, 2024

Sew & Tell ~ Pieces of My Life QAYG from Melva Loves Scraps

What a week! There were several new stories/posts last week here at Melva Loves Scraps. Block #6 of the Pieces of My Life was released as was the newsletter with the link to the memory book pages and additional stories and memories of my life not shared here... AND I hosted the Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday linky party. Whew...

Last week I had asked you about the self-imposed "imaginary" deadlines... I found I was not alone. I also decided that rather than push myself into a state of frenzy... I offered myself some grace and moved the ...
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added by Melva 6 months ago. under pieces of my life , sew and tell

May 4, 2024

Pieces of My Life ~ Block #6 - Hours from Melva Loves Scraps

Welcome back to Melva Loves Scraps and the Pieces of My Life Sew Along! Block #6 is named "Hours".

I remember being asked about my age as a kid... the typical, "how old are you?" I went through a phase of responding with a very precise "I am 7-1/2 (or 8-1/2) years old." I must have recently become familiar with fractions (probably from baking cookies on Saturday mornings ;) and I once answered even more precisely that I was 8-3/4 years old. LOL! I remember that my brother made fun of me. Apparently, every day counted for me ...
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added by Melva 6 months, 1 week ago. under pieces of my life

April 11, 2024

Pieces of My Life ~ Bachelor Puzzle & Square in Square from Melva Loves Scraps

Welcome back to the Pieces of My Life sew along! I hope that you have enjoyed piecing the blocks and the opportunity to document memories, details and stories of your life. This week there are two blocks again...

Topic of the prompt questions is your teen years...

I enjoyed elementary school. In general, I also enjoyed my teen years in school... But Junior High was a tough transition in the "friends" area. There were all the same kids that I had been going to school with during 5th & 6th grade, but there were dividing lines that seemed to have formed ...
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added by Melva 7 months ago. under pieces of my life

April 3, 2024

Pieces of My Life ~ Pinwheel and Friendship Stars from Melva Loves Scraps

I am a country girl... I grew up outside the city limits a small rural town. It was a 15-minute drive to town. We lived nearly at the end of a long gravel road between the Fort Lyon Canal and the Arkansas River. Our closest neighbors were at least 1/4 mile from our driveway.

One of my first friends was Georgia. Her bus stop was the next stop after ours in the mornings. We both had blonde hair and blue eyes and we thought we might be able to fool the teacher and get her confused if we fixed ...
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added by Melva 7 months, 1 week ago. under pieces of my life

March 15, 2024

World-wide Quilting Day from Melva Loves Scraps

Saturday, March 16th is World-wide Quilting day! I'll am celebrating National Quilting Month all month with an exhibit of three story-telling quilts on the "Art Wall" at my local library, Trinidad Carnegie Public Library.

Below is the press release:

During the month of March, the Trinidad Public Library is excited to exhibit on its Art Wall quilts by local artist and author, Melva Nolan. Melva has titled her exhibit, “Three Storytelling Quilts.” Melva began her interest in quilting in 2001. During the next ten years she honed her quilting skills with the help of her grandmother, and by 2011 ...
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added by Melva 7 months, 3 weeks ago. under pieces of my life

March 8, 2024

Pieces of My Life ~ Bow from Melva Loves Scraps

This sew along, like the Pieces in the Garden, is loosely based on the tradition and story of "The Bride's Quilt".

In olden days, it was traditional for young girls to make a “Baker’s Dozen” (13) quilts by their wedding day. The patterns, often handed down from generation to generation, were usually planned when the girl was very young; and, as soon as she could hold a needle, she would start sewing her first quilt. The last (or 13th) quilt was the fanciest of all. After a girl became engaged, she would invite her friends to a party ...
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added by Melva 8 months ago. under pieces of my life

March 2, 2024

Pieces of My Life ~ MLS 2024 Sew Along from Melva Loves Scraps

It's March! I've been talking about this sew along for a while now and I have been busily preparing patterns, blocks and other content behind scenes with a few sneak peeks along the way. I am still working a few last things... like my quilts. Yes, plural. Because I like to offer choices... and complicate my life??? It'll all be good.

My first thoughts were to make a quilt in blues and whites that reminded me of the old Wedgewood or Courier & Ives dishes. When I see dishes like this I am transported in my mind to ...
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added by Melva 8 months, 1 week ago. under bride's quilt ii , pieces of my life

pieces of my life

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