Surprisingly Pink

I always say I'm not a fan of pink.  It is definitely not my favorite color.  Yet there is a surprising amount of pink in my house, and somehow I keep finding myself sewing pink quilts.

The orchid above, that is blooming its little heart out right now, sits happily in my windowsill garden.  I didn't buy it, or even request it as a gift.  A young man who wanted to be my daughter's boyfriend gave it to her, and she left it here with me years ago.  Its pretty blooms brighten up the living room.

My zigzag row for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge is busy brightening up the dining room.

It's 64 in. long, and hard to photograph in one shot.

I'm only making one pink row.  When I finally did the math, I realized I'd have enough rows for 2 twin sized quilts by the time we're done.  So one will have pink, and one won't.  These fabrics have been fun to sew with.  (Bunnies!  Cowboy boots!  Goofy!)

This is the biggest pink surprise this week.  A friend of mine dyed the fabric for this kit, and ended up cutting it for the elderly lady who bought it.  After a few fits and starts, the older lady set it aside, and subsequently passed away.  My friend brought it to a meeting last Saturday, and since she was giving it away, I decided to take it.

ALL the blocks in this quilt are pink!  There is a light pale pink, and a darker fuschia pink.  The pinks are paired with 3 shades of green.
Some of the blocks had serious placement errors, but no worries, I have a seam ripper (see?).  There were also issues with seam allowance, both too wide and too narrow.  (I think this is the single most common reason projects don't work out, by the way.)

I've been working on the kit off and on all week, and have most of the blocks done. Of course, I'm changing from the original pattern (as I almost always do). The original quilt was square.  Mine will be a rectangle, with more blocks.  This is the layout I've been thinking of using.
There is enough of the two lighter greens for the cornerstone blocks, and loads of dark green for a good border, but the rest of the fabrics are about gone.  I will need another solid, preferably a hand-dyed fabric or one that looks hand-dyed, for the sashing.  Or I could use white.  What do you think?  Maybe a pale yellow?
It's supposed to be a spring quilt.  Let's hope I get it done by the next time I meet with my friend.

Around here, it's the height of summer, and I love it.  This is our average daily raspberry haul last week.  The red is ending, but we had a lovely cobbler and I made a batch of jam yesterday.  The black raspberries have been amazing, and we got more than twice this many this morning.

Here's what happens to lots of the berries--Little Buddy eats them!  He's a good picker, too, so he's entitled to a share.
Summer only comes around once a year.  We're making the most of it.

I'm wishing quilty happiness for you, whatever the season.
Cheers for reading,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Myra at Busy Hands Quilts--Friday Finished or Not 
Angela at So Scrappy (Home of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge)
Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework--Oh Scrap 

A Pieceful Week

Welcome to Treadlestitches!

Here's what I've been sewing on my Singer treadle this week--spiky stars.

Two of these are not like the others!  

While making the pink spiky stars for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, I ended up making two more in patriotic fabrics for Covered in Love's July-August block drive.  (Read more about that HERE.)  So with the 4 from last year and 8 more from this year, I made an even dozen.  Maybe this will make up for forgetting to mail any last year.  Little Buddy and I took them to the post office Friday morning, and sent them on their way to Texas.

These blocks are also easy to make with strips.  All the pieces in this 12 in. finished block are cut from 4.5 in. strips.  The triangles are cut using the Tri-Recs rulers.

My pink stars are made of 1800s reproduction fabrics.  I am normally not a big fan of pink, but I absolutely adore the double pink prints popular at the end of the 19th Century.

For backgrounds, I used white or off-white scraps and strips, mixing and matching as needed.

These still need to be quilted by the block, which is the way I'm finishing this quilt.  Heck, the dark blue spiky stars from LAST month still need to be quilted.  The blocks are waiting until I get the dinosaur quilt finished, and I haven't been working on it much this week.

We're right in the heart of flea market season now.  I took a few photos at the latest one in Elkhorn.  It's amazing how many people use antique quilts as tablecloths or backgrounds for their booths.  Such great eye candy.

Gorgeous 1930s quilts, with scads of handwork.

These tops were only $50 each.  Beautiful, but I managed to resist their charms.

I didn't buy any quilts, but I did come home with a mystery.  And it even happens to be pieced with double pink!
I have been studying antique quilts for years, but I don't think I've ever seen this particular block.  It looks like some kind of basket.  It also looks like it might be hard to piece.
If you've seen it before, could you let me know in the comments?  (By the way, I've turned the photo so I could see the block more clearly.  The upside down legs in the background do look a little weird.)

Even though I have lots of quilting that needs to be done, this just seemed to be a good week to cut and piece, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
And in the end, that's what it's all about.

I'm wishing you joy and peace (or piece!) in the week ahead.

Thank you for reading this post!
Sincerely,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:
Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict (Can I Get A Whoop Whoop)
Myra at Busy Hands Quilts 
Angela at So Scrappy (Home of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge)
Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework (Oh Scrap)

 

One Monthly Goal for July

It has been tough to decide what goal to set for myself for July.  There are so many options.  That's because I have so many UFOs.
Or, I could start a completely new project.  I really LOVE starting a completely new project.

Somehow, I came to my senses.  I didn't "wake up and smell the coffee" like Dear Abby or Ann Landers or somebody used to say back in the day (I don't drink coffee), but it was kind of like that.  Maybe something in what's left of my brain decided I need to Get Real.

Here's the project that leaped to the front of the line.

I need to finish this rail fence quilt top, which I started back before Christmas.  The rectangles were cut by the charity committee at my guild, and I've been doing the piecing.  I got as far as making all the blocks, and was putting them into rows.  Most of the rows are together, but it took me a long time to put the rows back in order for this photo.

I've been using these pins to keep track of the rows.  You probably can't see from this photo, but the pins have alphabet letters on them. 
The problem is, I've been shunting these rows aside while cutting and sewing and pressing other things, and the pins were falling out.
I think I've got everything back in order, but the only way to keep it that way is to just sew it together.

So this is my goal:  Finish this quilt top by the end of July.  That means sewing the rest of the blocks into rows, the rows together, and adding a border if I think it needs one.

This didn't seem like much of a goal to me at first.  Then I started thinking about all the stuff I have to do in July.  My oldest grandson is in at least two plays, which means transportation to and from rehearsals.  We're taking a vacation for a whole week.  And then there's the regular errands and chores, and taking time out to go to the park with Little Buddy.  Plus, it's already July 7th!  A modest goal is probably the way to go.

The OMG is such a great motivator.  So far, I've met all six goals I've set this year, which is just amazing for me.
Maybe this will make seven!

Good luck to all of us, and smooth stitching.
Cheers,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with Elm Street Quilts
for the July OMG

Red, White, and Blue--and Pink!

Welcome to Treadlestitches!  I hope you're enjoying your weekend.  I know I am!

Look what I found!  I was taking advantage of the time off from babysitting to do some straightening up in the sewing room, and found 4 star blocks I made for Covered In Love last year and never sent.
Covered in Love is "a quilting charity that provides comfort quilts for families of people who have passed away in the hospital".  Kat of Kat and Cat quilts has block drives every two months or so, and then Kat and other volunteers make quilts from the blocks.  I must have made these blocks in July or August last year.
I'm embarrassed to have never sent the blocks, but good news!  Kat is running the same block drive for July and August this year.  The theme is Red White and Blue stars, and you can read all about it HERE.  You can make any star block you like, that ends up measuring 12 in. finished.

I'll definitely send in the 4 blocks from last year, but it seemed like a good time to make some more.  I love to get out the patriotic fabrics on the 4th of July.  I have a total of 8 blocks done, with 2 more cut to piece later today.  Monday morning Little Buddy and I will go to the post office and actually mail them off.

One of the nice things about making these particular stars is how easy they are to sew, and how all the pieces can be cut from 3.5 in. strips.  I use the Easy Angle and Companion Angle rulers to cut the triangles.  All the fabrics are from my scrap bins.

The Rainbow Scrap Challenge color of the month is pink.  Honestly, it's never been my favorite color, but I'm trying to warm up to it.  This is one of our peonies about a month ago--the blooms are all gone now.

I didn't get as far as sewing any of the pink blocks yet, but I did pull out pink strips that will work for the zigzag quilt.  There are some good novelty prints in here--boots, Matryoshka dolls, sheep riding bicycles, etc.  I get a lot of these fabrics second hand, and it's great to do something with them.

With all the rain we've had lately, we really haven't had to water the garden much.  The rain barrel is full! Little Buddy really loves to fill his watering can and "help" me when we do give the veggies and flowers a little drink.

Have a lovely weekend, and a happy week ahead.
Cheers for reading,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:
Angela at So scrappy
Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Myra at Busy Hands Quilts
Cynthia at Oh Scrap