Another Gum Wrapper Twist Quilt, Aqua, and Fall

Welcome to Treadlestitches!

Preschool is a wonderful thing.  Kids learn and grow so much, and full-time babysitting grandmas like me get some mornings free.  Guess what I do with my free time?  Quilting, of course!  I finally got this little quilt done this week. 

This is the second quilt I've made in this pattern.  The block was designed by the very creative and generous Preeti Harris of sewpreetiquilts.blogspot.com, and was the pattern for the 2022 Positivity Quilt. I believe it was called the Twist quilt.

Using Preeti's directions, two identical blocks are made at the same time.  To me, the blocks look like the gum wrapper paper chains kids made back in the olden days when I was young.  So I call the block Gum Wrapper Twist.

(I've created a monster!  I can't lay a quilt down without Mr. Snicklefritz lying on it!)

 Here's the first quilt, finished in February for the Hands 2 Help quilt drive.

Back in February, I made 50 of these blocks.  Half went into the quilt above, and half went into the "some assembly required" box.   I got the second set out and finished them this week, setting the colors differently this time.

Preeti's directions are no longer available.  Click HERE for my very brief summary of the directions.  (You will have to scroll way down the page, sorry.)  There are other ways to make the block, of course, but they don't make two at a time. 

 Edit:  Click HERE for Preeti's quilt and a visual overview of how she made her blocks (not exactly a tutorial, but experienced quilters will get the idea).

 The multicolored border came from the museum sale last June, and the blue binding came from the loot I brought home from the Great Wisconsin Quilt show.  (And yes, that's Snicky's tail, he didn't want to get off the quilt.)

The back of the new quilt is this colorful arrows print.  It also came from the museum sale.  I really do use the fabric I buy, it just takes a while.  It's fun to figure out what I can use from what I already have.

The quilting is a 2 in. grid, with two rows of serpentine stitch in the border.

Time for a new project, don't you think?  These are my pieces for a Crossroads quilt, designed by Judy Gauthier and featured in her first book Quilts for Scrap Lovers.

These two Crossroads blocks are made of bluish aqua prints, in honor of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color of the month for September.  It's an easy block to cut and sew, but harder to make it come out perfectly.  (I'm not really there yet.)

I've been making Happy Blocks all year for the RSC, and today I got them out and divided them into 3 baby-sized quilts.  I needed 7 more blocks to come out right, so I cut them out and they're ready to sew.  Three of the blocks I need are aqua, so on theme for the RSC. This year's blocks have light novelty print centers. 
 

Fall is definitely happening here.  Last Sunday hubby and I went to one of the last local flea markets of the year.  I was tempted buy the quilt on top, which has some very old fabrics in it, but only bought a few fabric scraps and some yummy produce.  We enjoy just walking and looking.

Our wonderful library is getting ready for Halloween.  My Little Guy looks like he's ready, too, but that's not his costume, just his dinosaur raincoat.  He needed it most of this week.  Some days it really bucketed down.

Yesterday Little Guy and I took a short walk into the park, even though it was lightly sprinkling.  Lots of the maple trees are changing from green to red and yellow and orange.  Fall is beautiful here.  The weather folks are predicting a warm dry weekend.

I hope the weather is good where you are, and that you have time to do the things you love.  Like quilting!

Thanks for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Sarah at Can I Get A Whoop Whoop

Angela at So Scrappy

Cynthia at Oh Scrap

 

 

 

Rainbow Triangles, and Straightening Up

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!

It's a Blast from the Past!  I started this little quilt in January of 2021 as a Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilt for that year.  Each month I made 20 half square triangles (3 in. finished) from the color of the month.  Recently I dug them out, sewed them into 6 in. blocks, and put the quilt top together.

My inspiration was this photo of a brave nurse in New York being one of the first people vaccinated against Covid.  I was inspired by her dedication, but also distracted by the logo of the hospital/health company on the wall behind her.

This is my version, different from the original photo but kind of the same idea.  Most of the fabrics I used were subtle prints, but a few bolder ones sneaked in.  (Looking at you, green with stars!)  The quilt will be donated locally.

The border and the binding are batiks.  The blue one came from the museum sale in June, and the green one was a larger scrap from the clearance table at a quilt shop.  I haven't used batiks a lot, but I'm loving the bright colored ones.

The back is this fun print.  I got two yards of it at the quilt show a couple of weeks ago.  I quilted a 3 in. grid (across and down) plus a diagonal grid on the long side of the triangles.

Snicky is taking his job as "poser" very seriously.  I can't lay a quilt down without him jumping on it (or diving under it).

Catching up on projects is part of what I'm doing with my "extra time" now that Little Guy is in preschool 3 mornings per week.  Right now, I'm using that time to think, plan, and organize.

I forgot to take a "before" photo when I straightened up this shelf unit. If you want to know what it was like, you'll just have to imagine clutter, a thick layer of dust, piles of books and magazines, and smaller boxes of fabric stacked on top of each other.  I have lots of fabric "inventory" now, after the recent sales, so I needed bigger boxes, and lids are great at keeping the dust out.

Reorganizing the tools was important.  The basket on the left holds all the rotary cutter stuff, like extra blades.  The tins next to it hold used blades and specialty pins.  Behind them is my pinker (the thing with the handle) and a wood block originally used to print fabric (not by me. Yet?).

Some of my antique finds are on the top shelf, along with a newer Singer tin that stores needles.  The  little flowered box holds tiny spools of thread.  I just think it's cute, I'm not planning on using the thread.

I want my sewing room to be pretty as well as functional.  It makes me happy to be here.

The Rainbow Scrap Challenge makes me happy, too!  

This week's blocks are the 16 patch ones.  Now that all the blocks are done, I need to decide how to put them together.  I plan on donating the finished quilt or quilts.  Should I make one twin sized quilt or two baby sized ones?  Are there places that would want a twin sized quilt with lots of crazy novelty prints?  I'm thinking it would be most appropriate for a child.  Any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated.

Here's a new project I'm working on:  Jelly Twist, from Cluck Cluck Sew.  I bought the pattern while visiting my mom in July.  I'm using a white background, and choosing from these rectangles for each block.  Easy, fun, and colorful, it's a good pattern with all the math done for 4 different sizes.

No photos of the kids this week, sorry.  It was a crazier than usual week, but all is well.  I hope all is well in your week, too!

Thanks for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Sarah at Can I Get A Whoop Whoop

Angela at So Scrappy

Cynthia at Oh Scrap

Oh, Happy Day!

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!  Here are some things I'm happy about this week.

 

Snicklefritz is learning to pose!  He's laying on a quilt top I just finished.  (Thanks, Snicky!  He always makes me happy.)

I won these blocks at my local quilt group in October last year.  My little guy, who was only 2 then, was helping me arrange them and looking at all the pretty colors.

Here's the "aerial" view of the finished top.  I sewed the blocks together right away, and then procrastinated on the pieced border.  That was silly of me, this was an easy border, but sometimes things get sent to the bottom of the pile for silly reasons.

Bright prints were specified in the guild directions for the blocks, with either light or dark strips.  I made most of the ones with the darker strips, and guild members made most of the light ones.    This project was a good use of my non-novelty bright squares.  The top will be donated when finished, and it can go a teenager or an adult.  The lovely long-arm ladies at the guild will quilt it, and they can return it to me for binding.

So that's one out of the UFO pile!  

Next, Happy Blocks! 

My little Buddy wants to make another quilt, this time to go on his own bed.  I suggested Happy Blocks, and he loved the idea.  He picked out 5 in. (cut) squares for the center, and I chose coordinating (2 in. cut) solid colored frames.  We've got 56 blocks done, which should work for the size he wants, but we haven't had time to lay them out in rows yet.

This is the fabric he likes best.  I knew he would, with his current obsession with fishing, which is why I bought a fat quarter of it.  Now I might have to look for more.  We do need a border.  And a backing!

Lately, I've not had a lot of computer time, even for my favorite quilt blogs.  I finally noticed the current Compassion Quilts block drive is for none other than Happy Blocks!  The measurements are NOT the same as the ones I've been making lately, but they're very easy of course, and I have all the needed parts in my Parts Department (aka closet).  I even found a few left over blocks from the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2 years ago that were made with these measurements and tossed them in.  The centers are 4.5 in. cut and the frames are 2.5 in. cut.

So these are the new blocks going to Cynthia (click HERE for directions and information). 

And these... 

And a few more

I got a little carried away.  They are fun to make, it's for a good cause, and I get to use my novelty prints!

Speaking of novelty prints, check out this amazing hexie quilt I saw at a the Great Wisconsin Quilt Show last Saturday.

Now for the closeup: 

All the prints are cow prints!  Isn't this amazing?  Who knew there were this many cow prints in the whole world?  It's giving me ideas for my own version.  (But not with just cows.) 

 There was lots of other inspiration at the show.  As usual, it was overwhelming.  But in a good way!

Here's what I bought at the show:  clearance fabric!  My mom taught me early to always shop the clearance rack first for clothes etc., and it's a good idea for just about anything.  All of this fabric was on sale, some well below the now-usual $12 or $13 per yard.  It will be put to good use!
 

What else is making me happy?  The Rainbow Scrap Challenge, of course!  It's aqua month, and I've finished the Uneven Nine Patch blocks.  Each month I have made six with dark centers and six with light.

Now I can have all the fun of putting the blocks into donation quilts.

I only had a scrap of this print, but I really like these dolphins.

I really like this guy, too!  Little Guy made a necklace from cereal at preschool this week.  He wanted to show it to his parents, but he also really wanted to eat it!  So I took a picture of him with it to show them, and then he could have it for a snack.

Have a good week!  I hope you get to do things that make you happy.  Like quilting!

Cheers for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Angela at So Scrappy, home of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 

Sarah at Can I Get A Whoop Whoop

Cynthia at Oh Scrap

 

 

Rainy Day at the Pond, and Happy Blocks

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!  Thanks for dropping by!

I have a finish this week!  It's a baby-sized quilt, made mostly from scraps I bought second-hand.  I'm calling it "Rainy Day at the Pond".  Please excuse the gloomy outdoor photos, it's been overcast and/or raining for a couple of days now.

Here's the quilt laid out flat, a little crinkly after washing.  The blocks are 6 in. nine patches, in either green or a bluish aqua.

Here's one of the green ones, with very happy fish.  The alternate blocks are striped fabric in aqua, green, white, and a little black.  The light squares in the nine patches have a design that looks like raindrops to me, hence the name.

Check out these frogs swimming in inner tubes.  One of them even has sunglasses.

This was not a quilt I planned far in advance.  In fact, most of these fabrics met on the cutting table.  In June, I went to a local garage sale at a quilter's home, and bought lots of the cute prints, including the frogs and fish above. 

 The very next day was the big sale at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts, where I found this striped fabric in several smaller strips.  It had both green and aqua in it, and I had green and aqua scraps, so this happened.  I think now there really isn't enough contrast for the green nine patches, but live and learn.

The inner border, outer border, and binding were all bought at flea markets or rummage sales.

Here's the back, a Frog Prince print!  I found this on clearance at the local quilt shop and bought enough for two quilts.  Frogs are fun!

So that's a little donation quilt, ready to go.  Plus there's aqua in it for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color of the month!

Isn't aqua a pretty color?  Even the aqua trash looks good.  By the way, I snagged out that larger piece and cut a 2 in. square out of it.  Must have fallen in by mistake!

Time to make the aqua Happy Blocks, to go with all the other colors!  Some were more green, some more blue, which is the way it goes for aqua.

Flip flops for the last days of summer (maybe?).  This week we had days in the 90s (F) and days in the 60s.

Cats.  Always tasteful for any occasion.  (Source:  My cat Snicklefritz.)

Minions remind me of my little minions, the grandsons known as Buddy and Little Guy.

Buddy is very into fishing, so I included this square at his request.  There are canoes and paddles and even the word "Fishing".

Here's an aqua-filled photo from our recent visit to the Milwaukee Public Museum.  Buddy was very excited to see these lake dwelling fish on display, since he knows them well from catching or not catching them with his dad.

Little Guy enjoyed the museum, too, but mostly from the comfort of his stroller.

Buddy loves hamming it up for the camera (can you tell?).

I'm glad we took that little excursion.  Now that school is back in session, I'm already missing time with the kids.  Buddy is only here after school or on days off.  Little Guy is still here more, but is going to preschool part time.

All the blocks for Buddy's new quilt are done, but we haven't done a layout yet.  Maybe next week?  In the meantime I'm going to work on getting used to the new schedule, and maybe get some more quilting done.

Have a happy quilty week!

Cheers for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Angela at So Scrappy