Sunflowers, Rainbow Blocks, and a Tale of Two Quilt Tops

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!

I'm back from a quilt history retreat, and getting settled into fall quilting.

Since the very beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the sunflower has been the Ukrainian symbol of resistance and democracy.  Blocks and quilts made in the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag are being sent overseas by hundreds of American quilters.  We're showing our support, and providing some measure of physical comfort to refugees and to Ukrainians still living in harm's way.  (By the way, the section above was photographed before the quilting was finished.)

Recently, our quilt group met at the library to put donated blocks together.  I couldn't stay to help (due to a very cute 2 year old at home), but the ladies fixed me up with blocks, sashing and cornerstones, border, and backing, which I brought home to work on.
 

I couldn't get to it right away, and then I had an issue with the machine while quilting it, leading to extensive ripping and possibly extensive grumbling, but it's all done now, and will soon be on its way.  Along with my hopes for an end to this terrible war.

In more mundane sewing, I've got the extra Split Nine Patch blocks done.  Next I'll be trying out my idea for setting them.  I think I'm going to end up with a twin sized quilt if my math is right.  (Ha!  Any odds on how far off I'll be?)

Thank goodness I've got this guy to help me! 

Hey!  Where did he go?  Is there somebody hiding under that old quilt top?  (He ran away giggling, so now I can tell you about this month's antique quilts.)

On the last Saturday of each month in 2022, I'm showcasing some of my antique quilts.  This week it's A Tale of Two Quilt Tops.  Judging from the fabrics, both of them were made in the 1930s era.

First up is this orange and green basket quilt.  I bought it at a flea market several years ago.
 

The blocks are made of an orange solid base, orange basket "feet", two solid green background pieces, and scrap triangles.  The blocks are set on point with solid green setting squares and triangles.  The scalloped border alternates orange and green solid pieces.  As you can probably tell from the photo, the border does not fit very well.

Although most of the fabric in the print triangles dates from the 1930s, there are some pieces from an earlier time, such as this maroon floral, which was popular in the 1880s.  There are also some cadet blues (a light blue with white figures) and some indigo prints mixed in.  The quilter may have been using a few leftover pieces from a relative's scrap bag, or from her own if she was quilting for a long time.

The blocks were hand pieced, and set together by machine, which is very common.  The fraying on the tiny seams tells me the top itself was washed in the washing machine, which is not a great idea, since it can ravel out the seam allowances.

Now for the second quilt top, a Bow Tie.  It's from the same time period, but in a simpler design.  I think it came from an antique store. (?)

Most bow tie blocks have the center square matching the print pieces.  In this top, the centers are the same as the solid color pieces, so they look like solid color bow ties on a print background.

There are a few novelty prints in this top!  Can you see the toys in the pink print?

This is my favorite block.

 Check out the print--it's the Scarecrow and the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz!  I think the fabric was probably inspired by the books, not by the movie.

These blocks were also pieced by hand, but set together by machine.  Thankfully, this one has not been machine washed.

 I bought both of these tops very cheaply, to study the fabrics as I was learning about antique quilts.  I have enjoyed having them.

People often ask me if I plan to quilt any of my vintage tops.  Being so far behind on quilts I've made myself, it doesn't usually occur to me.  But if I was going to quilt them, only the Bow Tie would be suitable.  It's in good shape, has adequate seam allowances, and isn't anything rare or of historical interest.  I would take off the bottom row (since these blocks are made of 1960s fabrics), and add a border before doing some simple quilting.

The poor basket quilt would never be worth the effort to quilt.  Honestly, the blocks are badly pieced with tiny seam allowances that have also frayed.  No two blocks appear to be exactly the same size, and all that extra green fabric would not quilt well.  The border ripples like the ocean and is faded in the middle.  No matter, I still love it!  And I'm thinking seriously about drafting the pattern and making my own version.

 Collecting antique quilt tops actually makes me feel better about all the quilt tops I've made that are yet to be finished.  If despite my best efforts, I don't finish all of them, maybe there will be somebody someday who would like them anyway.  Even if they aren't perfect!

Have a good week, and Happy Halloween on Monday!

Thanks for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Alycia at Finshed or Not Finished Friday

Angela at So Scrappy

Cynthia at Oh Scrap 

 

 

 

Retreat!

Welcome to Treadlestitches!

No real blog today, I'm going on a weekend quilt retreat!  (Can you tell I'm excited?)  I'll tell you about it next week.  Hubby and Bella the dog will hold down the fort while I'm gone.

There's no official sewing at this retreat, although there may be some of us doing handwork.  It's a Quilt History weekend, and we'll be learning about quilts and fabrics of the 1920s and 1930s.

Can't wait!

Happy sewing this week!

Cheers,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Switch Plate Quilt and Rainbow Blocks

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!

I have a finish for Finished or Not Friday!  It's just a little one, a baby quilt to donate, that measures approximately 36 in. x 42 in.

It's made from 72 Switch Plate blocks, set 6 across and 12 down.  I am so inspired by all the quilters who blog and share what they're making.  When Cynthia from the Oh Scrap blog started making these little blocks, I could not resist dragging out my scraps and sewing some, too.  (Click HERE for her first post on it, back in April.)  From there, it just got out of hand.  (Are you making some, too?)

I love rectangular quilt blocks.  The pieces can be cut from two sizes of the strips in my "parts department".  In this case, they're cut from either 1.5 in. or 3.5 in. strips.

Mine are slightly different from Cynthia's.  I used a light fabric for the centers.  When I started it, I was just trying to use up the light 1.5 in. strips.

 (This photo is after washing, when the quilt got That Crinkly Look.)

My first grade Buddy and I arranged the blocks on the floor back in July.  That's when I got the weird idea to think of the design as card catalog drawers, instead of switch plates.  

Back in the 1970s when I was first working in libraries, the computer age was barely beginning.  The card catalog was the only way to find books, and we spent enormous amounts of time creating, updating, and filing cards.  I am VERY thankful those days are over, and we have much better access to materials in modern times.  Now, as a retired school librarian, I can let myself feel a little nostalgia for the old days.

If the blocks are pretending to be catalog drawers, of course they had to be set horizontally. The light strip is like a label for the drawer, telling what's inside.

We grouped the blocks by label, and then I arranged them alphabetically.  (No surprise, I'm a big believer in alphabetical order.)  We have alphabets, bears, bugs, butterflies, dots (4 different kinds), donuts, feathers, paw prints, roses, and squiggles.

It's a pretty silly idea, really, but it was fun.  I used up a lot of small scraps, and the quilt will be colorful and cozy for its new owner.

 The border is the last of my dark blue Dr. Seuss fabric. 

I had this cute print in my stash to use for the back.

In other news, I've been trying to figure out exactly what I'm going to do with my Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks.  You might think I would have had time to make a plan, being as we all worked on these ALL YEAR LONG, but no, as usual I waited til the last color (green) was named.

I finally decided I need 3 more of each color of the Split Nine Patch blocks.  When you factor in 8 colors, that's 24 more blocks to make.  I sewed the extra green ones first, of course!

I also made red ones, 

and orange ones.  I tried to use at least a few fabrics that were different from the first group of blocks.  It was easier because I have had a great year of buying cute second hand fabric (more on that another time).

Meanwhile, these stacks of blocks keep piling up as I use them for leaders and enders.  (I put the green blocks on top in honor of the RSC color of the month.)  I'm not sure it's possible to ever catch up with my UFOs.  Shoot, I'm not even sure I want to!  I'm planning on quilting for a long time yet.

But it's a good idea to take snack breaks! My little guys are very fond of an after-school snack together.  

Can you tell they helped me decorate for fall?  Our Buddy is very excited about reptiles right now.  Lizards and snakes are everywhere.  Thank goodness they are just plastic.  Aren't they???

In spite of the crazy weather, including a tornado warning on Wednesday, we had a good week.  I hope you've had a good week, too.

Cheers for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Angela at SoScrappy

Cynthia at Oh Scrap 

Crayons, Fall, and Cupcakes

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!  I hope you're having a wonderful day.

The end of the year is coming up fast (how does it do that every year?), so I'm starting to put my Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilts together.  First up were the crayons.

Each crayon has a solid tip and 18 rectangles.  I didn't have enough green for two months, so I made a black crayon for October.

I don't use black much in children's quilts, so I was kind of surprised at how many black novelty prints I had.  (Oops, somebody's sock got in the picture!)

Pink is another color I use less often, but I made sure to include it.  My grandson (Buddy) loves pink, and it's been his favorite color since preschool.

Crayon quilts tend to have a problem.  If you have lots of pieced crayons (I have 10) and set them side by side, the quilt ends up being wider than it is long.  Some quilters fix this problem by setting the top like this:

Which is cute, but not really what I wanted.  I like them set the other way, just as you'd see a real box of crayons when you first open them up.  I admit it, I love a new box of crayons!  All those possibilities, and even that slight waxy smell!

So I oriented my little top like the first photo, and I added borders to just the top and bottom, from the last of this Eric Carle fabric.

But now I'm stuck.  The quilt is square, and that's okay, but does it look finished?  Should I add borders on all 4 sides now?  And if so, what?  Maybe a solid color?  Could the binding function like a border, and tie the quilt together?  I would love your opinion on this.

In other news, we're enjoying a beautiful fall here.  The trees in the park are starting to change color, and most nights we have a frost.

My Little Guy and I sometimes collect leaves on our visits.  Soon there will be too many, and we'll just crunch up the dry brown ones as we walk.

It's still warm enough after school for Buddy to play on the playground awhile before we go home.  (That's our Little Guy at the bottom in the dark shirt.)

All the Halloween activities are going strong.  Little Guy and I went to the library this week, where they had this "scary" clown tree.  He wasn't scared at all!  It was his first time at story time (mostly due to COVID), and he absolutely loved it.  I think the best part for him was playing with other kids.  We can hardly wait for next week.

Here's something completely new, at least to me--a Sprinkles cupcake vending machine!  I saw this in the Chicago airport on my way to the family reunion.

Yesterday was a day off school for Buddy, so we made our own cupcakes, with possibly too many sprinkles.  The kids like helping, but especially love to lick the beaters.  Well, who doesn't?

I snapped this photo the other day of these two guys "reading".  Our Little Guy insisted on looking at his book by himself and having Grandpa look at his own book.  Little Guy loves to be read to, but sometimes he just wants to look at the pictures by himself.  He is two, after all.

Have a wonderful week, and don't forget to visit the linky parties!  It's an eye candy fiesta!

Thanks for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Angela at So Scrappy

Cynthia at Oh Scrap

 

 

 

 

Buddy's Quilt, RSC blocks, and a Souvenir

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!

Why is my Buddy so happy today?

Because his grandma (me) finished sewing this quilt he designed for his little brother!

I posted this picture back in July, when he was first laying out the quilt.  All the squares came from my box of pre-cut charm squares.  His little brother, our Little Guy, is obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine, so those pieces got used first.

Buddy wanted the quilt to be, as he put it, big enough for the two of them to snuggle under.  So I convinced him to add more squares to the rows, and it grew to roughly a lap quilt size.

It's almost like an I Spy quilt, except that many fabrics have at least one repeat.  There is certainly a lot to look at!

I tried to be a good collaborator on this project and respect his ideas for design.  He wanted the top and bottom borders to be the yellow Thomas print, and the sides to be the blue Christmas one (even though we had enough of either for the whole border) so that's what I did.

He even chose this dinosaur print for the back.

I did pick the green fabric to make the back wider, and the red polka dot binding.  Plus the very simple quilting.

I guess it isn't totally finished, though.  The label still has to go on, probably this evening.  It will say:

Designed by [Buddy's real name], age 6, for his brother [Little Guy's real name], age 2.  Sewn by their grandmother Sylvia Adair.[date] [place].

I hope they have many happy years of snuggling.

In other news, it's a new month at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, and our color is light green.

I don't have enough green scraps for two months (I need to fix that!), but I did start another Little Bricks quilt, so I've made one block in green and another in baby blue for last month ...

plus this orange one with pumpkin print just because it's October.  (Oops, loose thread!)  The free pattern can be found HERE.

Last week, I mentioned my trip to the New Jersey shore for a family reunion (no, not THAT Jersey shore!)  Mom and I had a wonderful trip, meeting/reconnecting with all our cousins and just enjoying the area.

This is my favorite souvenir--a book of quilts!  It was compiled by a volunteer at the Somers Point Historical Society.

There are full color photos of all the quilts, plus whatever history of them is known.  None of these appear to be directly connected to my own family, but we are distantly related to many other area families whose quilts are pictured.  Honestly, it doesn't matter who made them, I just never get enough antique quilts!

I always appreciate signs with a sense of humor.  This one at our hotel read: 

"Please Do Not Feed the Seagulls.  No matter what they say."

It's good advice.  Even if it makes them grumpy.

I hope you have a very non-grumpy week, doing what you love to do.  

Thanks for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Cynthia at Oh Scrap

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Angela at So Scrappy

(By the way, Angela is hosting the linky party, while still not having power from the hurricane!  Now that's dedication!  Let's do whatever we can to help all affected by the storm.)