Rainbow Blocks and Three Baby Quilts

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!

February, which is pink month at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, is winding down.  Are you still thinking pink?  I am, which is odd since pink has never been my favorite color.  I'm really enjoying it, and it could be because it contrasts so well with the white winter wonderland I live in.

I've added yet another project to my Rainbow Scrap Challenge list.  These blocks, sometimes called Puss in the Corner, are fun to make from 5 in. squares.  One of my guild members (who shall always be known here as Nancy, Queen of Scraps) showed a quilt she made from this pattern last month, and that was it, I was hooked.  I especially liked it since this year I'm trying to use up boxes of 5 in. squares and strips.

I don't know what rock I was hiding under not to have seen this pattern done from charm squares before!  If anybody knows where it originated, let me know and I'll give credit where it's due.  Just in case you might have missed it like me, here are some brief instructions.

For each block, you need 4 charm squares, two matching light ones and two matching dark ones.  If you want a dark center, you cut them like this:  leave one dark 5 in. square whole, and cut the other one into four 2.5 in. squares.  Then cut both light squares in half lengthwise to make 4 rectangles 2.5 in. x 5 in.  From there, just sew them into an elongated nine patch.

For a light center, reverse it.  They go together best in a quilt if there are equal numbers of light and dark centered blocks.  (Did you see my goof up?  I made more light centered blocks than dark, so now I have to sew more blocks.  Oh, well, guess I have to spend the afternoon in my happy place, sewing quilt blocks on my treadle! Horrors! <wink>)

More pink!  I quilted and bound my pink Rail Stepper baby quilt last night.  Many thanks to Alycia for her free tutorial (click HERE).

I had a hard time deciding how to quilt this one.  In the end I went for a 3 in. grid with serpentine stitch.  Not very imaginative, I know, but I do like how subtle it is.

Lots of dots in this one, including the backing and binding. 

It was a weird week.  Monday and Tuesday there was no school for Buddy due to teacher inservice.  I was hoping to take them to the library, which they love, but both of them were sick.  They're huddled up under quilts here, watching Peppa Pig.

Due to the frightful weather on Wednesday and Thursday, with snow and sleet etc., the boys' parents looked after them at home, so we had no babysitting duties.  There were lots of things to do here, as always, but I did have more time to quilt.

Remember this top?  I called it Dinosaurs Around the World.  It was layered and basted already, so it was quick to quilt.

Look what I found for the back!  I got a yard of this world map fabric on sale at our local quilt shop.  I had to add strips of the sea turtle print at the top and bottom to make it long enough.

There are some really fun things being printed on selvedges!  The map fabric had these old timey ships.  Way more fun that just the usual dots of color!

This little quilt was also ready to go.  I started making the blocks last year in July using the tutorial provided by Preeti for the Positivity Quilt Along 2022  (click HERE).  I made a large blue and green version for the quilt along, but loved the idea of multi-colored scraps (of course!).  

I call mine The Gum Wrapper Quilt, because it looks like the chains we made with gum wrappers when I was a child.

The quilting is a 2 in. grid, sewn in the ditch.

Here's the back, more of the sale fabric from the quilt shop.  The binding is a red pin dot, probably from the 1990s, that I got second hand.

The backing had another great selvedge!  This one says Play All Day Be Joyful.  Well, you don't have to tell me twice!  

Snicklefritz the cat takes the Play All Day advice to heart every day.  I couldn't get him to pose at all.

Bonus--Preeti's method makes two identical blocks.  I only used one of each in this quilt.  So there is a stack of 25 more blocks waiting for me to put them together.

To be honest, there are LOTS of block sets waiting for me.  Does that mean I'm ahead, or behind?

Either way, I'm having a good time.  I hope you are, too.  Stay warm and safe!

Cheers,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Sarah at Can I Get A Whoop Whoop

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Angela at So Scrappy

Cynthia at Oh Scrap