Saturday, November 23, 2024

Thankful

Welcome to Treadlestitches!

 

This coming Thursday is Thanksgiving, an appropriate time to express our gratitude for all the blessings we receive daily and throughout the year.  I have to say I am well and truly thankful for so many things.

A minor injury has had me sidelined from machine sewing recently, but it was a good time to clean out the sewing room closet.  I am thankful for all the treasures I found.

Like this little quilt above.  The turkey block above is part of a doll quilt top I made years ago from antique redwork blocks bought at a flea market.  For literally years I have been trying to decide how to quilt it--hand or machine?  At the moment I'm leaning towards quilting it by hand.  The blocks are cute and I'm glad to have this little bit of history.

I also found this finished quilt in the closet, in the To Be Mended pile.  It's a friendship quilt I made in 1986.  Instead of binding, I brought the backing around to the front and stitched it down, and some of it had come loose.

Prior to 1986, I was a self taught quilter and honestly not a very good one.  My first class was at the Village Sewing Shoppe in Lebanon, Ohio, with Nedra Whittington, who signed the greenish block above.  Nedra was seriously old school.  We cut scraps with templates and scissors, pieced by hand, and quilted by hand.  I learned so much!  It took me three years to finish the class quilt, but I ran this little wall hanging up by machine in the meantime, and got my quilt club friends to sign it. 

Amy, my eldest child, wanted to sign a block too, so of course my son and youngest daughter also wanted their names on the little quilt.  Amy, at age 7, signed their names as well as her own, since the younger ones were 4 and 2.  I love that I have all their names in Amy's handwriting on the blocks.

A few quick stitches fixed the edge, and now the quilt can be displayed again.  This quilt reminds me how thankful I am for my first quilt teacher, my quilt club friends who were always encouraging, and my sweet children who went with me to quilt meetings and shops (sometimes willingly!).


A few days ago, I tried machine quilting, and found that it didn't hurt anymore!   My pinky toe is healing up, and I am beyond grateful to be almost totally back to normal.  It's still a bit swollen, which makes wearing shoes somewhat uncomfortable, but doable.  The top was basted and ready to go, finished quickly with a diagonal grid.

This is the second time I've made a quilt in this pattern, Mathematical Genius by Judy Gauthier, from her book, Quilts for Scrap Lovers.  I included a lot of my favorite novelty prints, like the "raining cats and dogs" on the light blue background.  The batting is a soft poly which was a dream to quilt.  (Thanks, Joey!)  The quilt will be donated locally.

Here's the back, a fun print from That Fabric Store. 
I'm so thankful I can machine sew again!  I'm also thankful for quilt designers who do all the math for us (I am so NOT a math person!).

 Buddy and Little Guy, our youngest grandchildren, were here all day Friday (no school--conferences) and really got into coloring Pokemon characters.

The boys and Grandpa had a blast with Grandpa's drums.  Buddy's drumsticks here are just blurs.

I am beyond grateful for all my children and grandchildren, and so happy that we all live within an hour's drive of each other.  I know how lucky I am!

Here's someone to be grateful for!  Snicklefritz the cat is a very welcome companion on a snowy afternoon.  A cup of tea, a library book, a warm quilt, and a cuddly cat--what could be better?

Happy Thanksgiving this week to all who celebrate.  And thanks for reading!  I'm thankful for YOU!

Cheers,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:


Angela at So Scrappy

Cynthia at Oh Scrap













13 comments:

  1. Love that sweet signature quilt. And the fun quilt with the novelty prints will be loved by some kiddo.

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    1. Thanks, Sara! I just never get enough of the fun novelty prints lol.

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  2. You found all kinds of treasures in your sewing closet, Sylvia! I love the signature quilt, and how precious to have your daughter's handwriting on it, too. Happy Thanksgiving!

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  3. Thank you so much, Juliana! That is so kind of you. Have a lovely week!

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  4. I enjoyed seeing and reading about your signature quilt, Sylvia! happy Thanksgiving to you, too!

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  5. I too enjoyed reading about the signature quilt. Our first quilt is so precious to us. Even more precious when your own child writes her name and her siblings' names on that quilt. My children are separated by the same years as yours : 3 years and 2 years. Glad you can sew again. What could be better you asked? Having 2 cats! Lol. Enjoy! ;^)

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    1. Thanks, Chantal! I think you're right about the 2 cats, we are looking into getting a kitten soon! Life is just better with cats and quilts!

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  6. Love the background story on your signature quilt. I too was self taught and when I did take a class. . .well, the teacher was amazing. How nice to be able to display that piece again. I'm glad your toe is healing and that you can machine quilt again!--TerryK@OnGoingProjects

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    1. Thanks, Terry! My first quilt class was eye-opening. I had never seen a rotary cutter before. Definitely changed my quilting life!

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  7. I love your I Spy Plus quilt! I see my guild has that book in our library as does my local library. One way or another I think I need to get my hands on it. Happy Thanksgiving to you & your family.

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    1. Thanks, Susie H! I hope your Thanksgiving was very happy too. About the book, it's worth a look. I've made 3 quilts from it so far!

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Thanks for reading! Post a comment--I want to know what you think!