Bright Hopes, Bow Ties, and A Piece Plan

Welcome to Treadlestitches!  How are things in your world today?

 

The handsome Snicklefritz aka Snicky is posing nicely for a change this morning on a small quilt top I finished this week.  

The pattern is Bright Hopes, but I'm afraid it isn't very bright at our house today.  You can really see how green the grass is now, though, because of all the rain.

The blocks are 6 in. finished, and were made mostly with scraps donated to our quilt guild by a man (I will call him Mr. M.) who once managed a Jo Ann Fabrics.  He asked that we make quilts to donate to charity with his former stash.  A few weeks ago I took home a big bag of 2.5 in. x 4.5 in. rectangles from his "collection".  Bright Hopes seemed like a good block to use them up.

I think I've figured out why I love other people's scraps more than my own.  Other people have been other places and bought/used other fabrics!  There's always something I've never seen before.  Like the piece above with the ladies wearing glasses.

Several of these blocks are made using just Mr. M's rectangles.  I mixed in my own to add other colors/make more blocks.  Of the 168 rectangles in the quilt, Mr. M donated 114 and I supplied 54.

I'm not 100% pleased with how the quilt came out, mostly because the border ends up looking dull next to the bright blocks.  I might change it for something with a brighter color and a less busy print.

My tulips didn't bloom in time for Red Month at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, but their leaves are green, which is the RSC color for May.  Isn't green a perfect color for spring?

I started the RSC blocks this month with this pile of green Big Scraps.

More Bright Hopes!  Most of these pieces came from my box of 2.5 in. x 4.5 in. rectangles, but a few were from Mr. M, notably the shamrock prints.  

I've got a "kitchen sink" approach here, anything green goes!

Whew, glad I'm done with Bright Hopes for a bit.  Next was Big Bowties.  They finish at 8 in.  Lots of my green Big Scraps were kind of plain, so I added some fun light pieces.

This jungle animals print came from my friend Joey.

But wait, there's more!

I love making these blocks.  Especially with cute fabric.

Like these baby chicks!

Now to the Piece Plan.  Are you wondering why nothing is quilted here?  I did get about half way done on a small quilt, but Something Happened.  Poor Mrs. Pfaff, my excellent electric machine, stopped working.  I've tried all my tricks, and I'm stumped, so next week she's going to the repair shop.

When this happened, I just sat staring out the window for a moment.  What if she's gone for a long time?  What if she can't be repaired?  Oh, Mrs. Pfaff, I'm so sorry for taking you for granted!

Once I finished freaking out, I made a list of quilts I can piece while I wait for Mrs. Pfaff's triumphant return.  

My Piece Plan

1.  The 1930s reproduction Churn Dash quilt from a kit supplied by my guild.  I've already got 14 blocks done with 16 more to go.

2.  The red white and blue Log Cabin made from crumbs and strings.  There are 32 blocks done so far.

3.  Another quilt from last year's RSC blocks.  I have a lot to choose from!

4. And of course, the rest of my RSC blocks for this month.  I hope it won't be longer than that!

Thank goodness my lovely Singer treadle is working well.  She's been going strong for over 100 years.

In other news, yesterday was Grandparents' Day at school for our youngest grandsons.  They loved showing us around, and we loved seeing their classrooms and art work.

Buddy gave us a list of Top Ten Reasons I Love My Grandparents.  The first one for Grandpa said simply "He is funny."  I have to agree!  It was one of the things I noticed first about Hubby all those years ago when we met.

This week as always I'm wishing you a joyful week ahead, and time to do the things that make you happy.  Like quilting!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with these generous quilters:

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Angela at So Scrappy

Cynthia at Oh Scrap