Melva at Melva Loves Scraps has the most purposeful sew-alongs - Pieces From the Past, Pieces of the Santa Fe Trail and Pieces in the Garden - and her new one is no exception. Pieces of My Life is centered around stories and memories of our families, where we are from, our parents' stories, meaningful events, etc. Along with a pattern, Melva provides a guide for documenting details of our lives into a memory book that can accompany the quilt. Melva titled the Block #1 pattern simply "The Bow" and has a lovely story to go with it on her blog right here, where you can also find details of the sew-along.
Block #1 The Bow made with HSTs
My Mom in her yellow dress about 1933
My first block represents a special yellow dress. The story behind this block actually begins with the story of my parents' courtship, and you may find details of that sweet story in this blog post I made in 2021. One of the details of their first meeting was that Daddy said Mom was wearing a yellow dress. And the black and white photo above is one that she mailed to Daddy after they started dating, and she told me that her dress was yellow (and that she had made it), so it must have been the same one.
Many months after Mom died, I had a dream about her. She was sitting on some kind of almost throne-like chair, and she was wearing a yellow dress. , but not passionately happy like she used to, if that makes sense. I got the sense that although she seemed happy to see me, she was so joyful and content that she had no desire to be anywhere else. That dream was very comforting in my grief.
I am excited about this SAL. It is comforting to remember these stories and challenging in a fun way to translate that story into a block. I am linking with Melva's Pieces of My Life linkup right here.
Thank you for sharing your dream about your mother. Enjoy stitching along with the sew-along!
ReplyDeleteDon't you just adore the stories that go with those old sepia colored photos. they put thought into them as opposed to now as take photos of our plate of spaghetti!!!
ReplyDeleteYour block looks amazing, Linda and I love that your Mom was the inspiration for the colors you chose. Your Mom was very beautiful. Have a lovely evening. Hugs.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely story Linda, and a precious memory of your mom! How special to have that dream... xx
ReplyDeleteA very fun quilt along. Love your first block and the story that goes with it.
ReplyDeleteLinda, that's such a great photo of your mom, and I love how you used yellow in your block to signify her yellow dress! You've inspired me to get started on my block - hopefully today. I think this is going to be a fun QAL!
ReplyDeleteI love your block and really love your story. Really touched me this morning. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteLove the block and the story behind it . This is a special way to remember your mother ;-)
ReplyDeleteWhat an absolutely charming idea. I remember my grandma used to make quilts. I think the kind that she made were wedding ring quilts? Does that sound familiar? They were made up of scraps of clothes that everyone in the family wore. I remember as a little girl lying in my bed, looking at all of those little pieces, remembering where a lot of them came from.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful idea for a QAL. I love your block and story to go with it. Your dream put a smile on my face.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet photo and how lovely your block is.
ReplyDeleteThat’s a lovely picture of your mother. I totally enjoyed Melva’s sew along about the Santa Fe Trail.
ReplyDeleteYour block is lovely ! I'm hoping to join in as well!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful story and photo of your mom, Linda! Sometimes dreams can be so comforting. I love the colours and the prints of your block, they are perfect.
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That photo of your Mom is just so beautiful, Linda! And that dress! You come by your sewing talents honestly as they say. I love that you shared your dream as I believe in this kind of thing too. And Your block is lovely too. Happy Stitching to you!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful work
ReplyDeleteBeautiful work. Julie Warren. Fredbirdnrogers@att.net
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