Strings and Rails and a UFO

Welcome to Treadlestitches!

This week I finished a new "antique" quilt.  I'm showing it here with some other antiques.  The pitcher and bowl belonged to my grandmother's adoptive mother, and it's sitting on a Minnesota A sewing machine from the 1890s.

Here's what I had when I started this quilt.  I don't know why I'm drawn to other people's UFOs, when I have plenty of them myself.  I saw this project at a sale, and really tried hard to leave it there.  It was a bag stuffed with these strips of little 4 patches (2 in. finished) and plain squares.  Only $10!  Of course I caved and bought it.

The project had to wait while I finished a few other things, but eventually I laid all the strips out on the table to decide on placement.  The original quilter had planned an on-point layout, but it looked like she had trouble figuring it out.  I had to do a little unsewing/resewing to get it right.

The fabrics in the top are 1930s reproductions.  I wanted the quilt to feel like an antique, so I added a border from my vintage stash.  The orange binding goes with the orange roses in the print.  And I would have used it even if it wasn't orange month at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge!

The quilting is a simple grid on the pieced area and a swag in the border. 

There are so many cute fabrics in these tiny squares!

The back is a 1930s repro from my stash.  More orange roses!

I'll be keeping this one.  It will go on my quilt ladder in the dining room.  I change them out seasonally.  This one looks like spring to me.

In other news, orange blocks for my RSC quilts.

String blocks are so much fun!  I make a giant mess sorting through the strings, but it's worth it.

I didn't realize before joining the Rainbow Scrap Challenge how many different shades of every color there are, like the oranges in these rail fence blocks.  I love including all the shades together.

We're getting close to the end of the year!  I can hardly wait to start putting the RSC blocks into quilts.

I spent last Saturday with a friend (hi, Joey!) and it was so much fun.  We had a lovely lunch at a Middle Eastern restaurant, and then we went to a going-out-of-business sale at a quilt store.  It's always sad when a quilt shop closes, but we were happy to help them sell off their inventory at half price.  This was the loot I brought home.  Do you see the orange?  It's a Cat in the Hat Halloween print!

So I guess I broke my "only buying second hand fabric this year" rule.  Oh well, I can live with that for $6 a yard quilt shop novelty prints!  

The best thing about Saturday wasn't fabric, it was having time to talk and laugh and enjoy each other's company.

My little grandsons start school on Monday, so I guess the summer is almost officially over.  Last Wednesday we went to my older daughter's house to visit, and had a picnic at the Lake Michigan shore.  These goofy guys had fun climbing on the rocks and looking for fossils.

Wednesday was my granddaughter's 13th birthday!  I can hardly believe how grown up she is.  That's her standing next to me.  I'm keeping a "death grip" on Buddy who has been running around like a nut.  Both of the little boys are making silly faces.  We do have a lot of fun.

I hope you're having a lot of fun, too.  Good luck with your projects, and have a great week!

Thanks for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Angela at So Scrappy

Cynthia at Oh Scrap