Frogs, Cats, Chips, and Swatches

Welcome to Treadlestitches! 

It's been harder to adjust to being in a different time zone for vacation than I expected.  We came home a week ago yesterday, and my sleep cycle is still not completely back to normal.  I'm hoping to get straightened out this weekend.

Meanwhile, I had this little quilt more than halfway done before we left, so it wasn't too much work to get it finished.

Can you see the frogs?  This was a big print I bought at a rummage sale, and I didn't want to cut it up too small.  The poison dart frogs are very realistic, and I'm sure some kid will enjoy them.

I've used this pattern several times when I had a large print that I couldn't figure out what to do with.  It's a free pattern from Quilts for Kids (Click HERE for the pattern page.  When you click on the pattern title a PDF will download). It's just a 4 patch with alternate blocks so not difficult at all. 

 Did you catch the orange accents?  I added them just because I liked orange with the dark blue, but I'll claim credit for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for August.

The back is this grasshopper print.  I got it at the same rummage sale.  There's even some orange in it.

 Speaking of orange, orange cats!  I could almost makes these blocks in my sleep, now that I've made so many. It's so much fun choosing fabrics for these silly kitties.

My favorite fabrics to use are cat prints, like the one above.  It even has a tuxedo cat like my big buddy Snicklefritz!

I'm only making 4 potato chip blocks every month, so it wasn't too tough to sew them up.  Most of the rectangles were already cut.  I do admit to doing some un-sewing when I put the light ones in the center by mistake.

Do you know that saying, "Wherever you go, there you are"?  Wherever I go, I'm still a quilter, and still seeing things from that perspective.

For example, this:

Lovely squares in bright colors are on this enclosure in the Vienna airport.  I wanted to know what was inside.  It's a place for smokers to get a few last puffs before a flight. The idea is that the cigarette smoke is contained there and goes out through ceiling vents.  However, the door is constantly opening and closing as people enter and exit, letting the smoke out into the rest of the airport, so I think they need to rework the idea.  Still pretty though.

On one of our last days in Vienna, we went to the Museum of Applied Arts, abbreviated MAK.  There were some amazing exhibits of all sorts, from "architecture" at protest movements like Occupy Wall Street to Art Deco furniture and glassware.  (Click HERE for their web site.)

Fabric design is definitely an applied art!

How's this for orange?  This is a fabric design created on paper in 1927.  I don't know if it was ever made onto cloth, but I would be happy to buy a yard or two!

This one by the same artist was even better!  Sort of pre-Kaffe Fassett.

I was so happy to see these guys when I got home!  They're posing in a cardboard jeep at Vacation Bible School.  We've been having fun enjoying the end of the summer.

I hope you're having fun whatever you are doing this week.  Happy Quilting!

Thanks for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Angela at So Scrappy

Cynthia at Oh Scrap