Playing Catch Up

It's the end of Thanksgiving weekend around here.  We had a good time with all of our kids, their spouses, and our grand kids.  My little buddy learned this "trick" from Grandpa, and now he thinks the cornucopia basket is a hat.  As you can see, it makes him very happy.  As he says, "Silly Grandpa."

I did finish a project, but I can't show it to you yet.  Ssh, it's a Christmas secret.  I've got the binding to do yet, and that's going to be whipped down by hand.

I'm playing catch up on a Block of the Month.  Until yesterday, I had only six blocks done for Barbara Brackman's Antebellum Album, but had gotten stuck.  We get block #11 this Wednesday, so I got out the bucket of red and green scraps and made these four.

Only two of these are the official blocks.  The hourglass and the flower are blocks I added to replace a couple I was having trouble with (which is why I was stuck).  Block #3 just would not print out right no matter what I did (I'm sure this is my fault, not Ms. Brackman's), and I really didn't like Block #10.  So I looked through the wonderful pictures of antique quilts Ms. Brackman puts on her blog, and chose these blocks from the photos.

Here are all ten of the blocks laid out on the kitchen table.  I'm not sure how I'm going to set them together.  I do know that I DON'T want a square quilt.
If I need more blocks, no worries.  I've got LOTS more scraps.
Civil War Quilts:  Antebellum Album
Above is the link to the instructions for Block #10.  From there you can get to all the posts.

It's good weather for knitting.  We're supposed to get a snow storm this afternoon/tonight.  I've got beans cooking for soup, oatmeal cookies baked, and I'm finishing my blue wool sweater that I started last winter.  I can't seem to knit in the summer, but as soon as we get a frost I want my needles in my hands.
This is the last skein of this blue yarn.  Luckily, I'm most of the way through the second sleeve, and only have the neckband to do after that.

I hope you stay warm and cozy this week, wherever you are.
Cheers for reading,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:
Cynthia at Oh Scrap
Sarah at Can I Get A Whoop Whoop
Angela at Soscrappy

Harvest Home

Hello, and welcome!  Are you ready for Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  The meaning is right in the name--giving thanks, which I know I should do more often.  The family will gather at our house for a big meal and lots of love and laughter.

I'm trying to get food planned so I can make some dishes ahead of time.  Refrigerator space is always a problem, but I think we're going to put some things, like the pumpkin pies, in the trunk of my car Wednesday night.  (It's good and cold in the garage, but above freezing, and I'm not going anywhere then.  I'll let you know how that turns out!)

Meanwhile, I'm still working on the wagon trail quilt, one of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilts.  I'm auditioning this border, which strobes on the screen but not in real life.

I've also decided that I need another row of blocks.  It was going to be square, which is wide enough but too short for the bed.

So back to making blocks, and using up more scraps!

These are my leaders and enders--rail fence blocks.  I think I'm going to set them like this, on point.

As I give thanks for all the blessings of my life, I'm also mindful of the people devastated by the fires in California.  Right now I'm sending money to help, but maybe later there will be a need for quilts as families rebuild their lives.  My donation is going to the California Community Foundation's Wildfire Relief Fund, but there are many other places to send money, including the American Red Cross.

Today I will close with one of my favorite hymns.  Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Come Ye Thankful People, Come

written by Henry Alford in 1844

Come ye thankful people come,

Raise the song of Harvest Home

All is safely gathered in

Ere the winter storms begin

God our Maker doth provide

For our wants to be supplied

Come to God's own temple, come

Raise the song of Harvest Home.

Linking up today with:

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict (Can I Get A Whoop Whoop) 

Myra at Busy Hands Quilts
Angela at Soscrappy

Cynthia at Oh Scrap

Loose Ends and Layouts

Welcome to my blog.  I hope you are having a lovely weekend.   I know I am--I'm sewing!

All my blocks are done for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, so I'm starting to put them together into tops.  This is rows 1-3 of the Mary Ann's Baskets quilt, made from reproduction fabric scraps.  Surprise, I'm not following the layout in the book exactly.  I want a rectangular rather than a square quilt.  (The book is Classic & Heirloom Quilts, by Betsy Chutchian).
Even though I've been quilting for over 40 years, I haven't made very many diagonal sets, at least not recently.  So I'm having to lay it all out and work on it carefully so as not to mess it up.

I'm not sure why I decided to make three Rainbow Scrap quilts this year.  Maybe I just couldn't make up my mind?? (That would not be unusual.)  So I'm also working on this top.

The pattern for this quilt is in the same book.  Ms. Chutchian calls her quilt White Rock Creek, but another book calls these blocks Wagon Trail. They're also made from repro scraps, that I've been sewing all year.  I did add in some brown and black scraps (colors not on the Rainbow Scrap Challenge list this year), which would be appropriate to this time period.
Surprise again, I'm doing a slightly different set.  I'm setting it together in two sections.  Then I'll add borders (not sure what color yet), and quilt each section.  I want to quilt something pretty in the open spaces, and that will be easier if the quilt is in two pieces.

So these quilt tops have been on my to-do list for a while, and I'm glad to be at least starting to get them together.
But--squirrel!

I couldn't help it, I started these blocks last week, and just kept going until I had enough for a child's quilt.  The block is called King's Crown, and the centers are crumb blocks made from the snippets in my scrap basket.  There might be a bit too much red and blue in it, but you work with what you have.  No hurry on this one, it will be a charity quilt sometime in the new year.

I did actually finish a little wall quilt this week, but it was more than half done last week.  Now it's been bound, washed, and hung on the wall, ready for Thanksgiving.

Did it snow where you live this week?  We got a little dusting here Thursday night and Friday morning.  Little Buddy and I made this:

It's his first snowman!  He was so excited about it, even though it's not even as tall as he is.  He couldn't wait to show it to his big brother and mom.

Do we have lots of fun around here?  You betcha!

I hope you had fun this week, too.

Cheers for reading,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up this week with:
Angela at soscrappy
Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict (Can I Get A Whoop Whoop)
Myra at Busy Hands Quilts
Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework (Oh Scrap)

Marking Time

Seasons and holidays are ways we mark the passing of time.  I can't seem to work ahead on seasonal projects, but I always want to sew or quilt fall quilts in fall, Christmas quilts in December, spring quilts in the springtime.

This week I'm finishing a wall hanging for the dining room that will be up for Thanksgiving (only a few weeks away!)  Trying to decide on a border quilting design has been tough.  I think this one will be it.  I've decided NOT to make the design turn the corner, but just to run off the edges.  It's breaking the "rules" but that's okay.  Hey, it's my quilt, right?

I got the pumpkin pattern from this book, Start with Strips by Susan Ache.  It's a terrific book, just full of great ideas.

Her pumpkins have squares in the corners, but I left those out.  I added the leaves on the pumpkin, but thinking about it later I kind of wish I'd left them off too.  Pumpkin leaves are actually big and floppy.  It's still cute, and a good pattern.

My wall hanging would probably be done if I could stop working on other things.  But as I was finishing the piecing, I started sewing little scraps together as leaders and enders, and they turned into this. . .

The centers are 6 in. (finished) crumb/slab squares.  I was going to make star blocks, but saw this block in Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns and liked it better.  It's called King's Crown, and is #2039.  The pieces are the same as a simple star block, but switched around, and the color placement is different.

Only two of these blocks are sewn, but I got ten more cut out yesterday morning while listening to Wait Wait Don't Tell Me on the radio.  I can't always hear the jokes when I'm sewing, but ironing fabric and cutting pieces are quiet enough so I can laugh along.

I hope you all had a Happy Halloween.  We did!  This is my grandson in his Yoda costume, ready to go to the library for the Halloween activities.

Here's what he liked the best--raking leaves!  He's very good at it, too. 

We need to get him out in the yard with us.  Just as soon as it stops raining.

I'm wishing blue skies for us all this week.
Cheers for reading,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:
Cynthia at Oh Scrap
Angela at soscrappy
Amanda Jean at crazy mom quilts
Myra at Busy Hands Quilts