Saturday, August 9, 2025

I Heart Aqua Prints, Crumbs, and Old Projects

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!  Thanks for stopping by!

How are your aqua blocks coming along?

What with one thing and another I did not get much done in the sewing room this week except for a few blocks.  These hearts are aqua for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color of the month.

I was a little surprised at how many aqua scraps I had, especially in novelty prints.  (The top right heart is a dinosaur bones print.  How often do you see something like that?)


I have had some of these scraps for literally years, like the cat print on the bottom right.  Someday I will use the last scrap of it, and I'll be sad.


Favorite block:  Winnie the Pooh and Tigger too.  I still have a lot of this fabric, mostly in smaller pieces.  It will probably turn up in aqua blocks for the RSC for years to come.


Does this ever happen to you?  Sometimes I'll be working on a project and find I've used up all the pieces for the leaders and enders project I'm doing at the same time.  Then I'll be hunting around in the sewing room for something else to use as leaders and enders, and accidentally (!) start a new project.  

That's what these crumb blocks are.  I have a small bin on my cutting table for "crumbs", those small bits that can't be cut into any of the pieces I save.  For me, that means anything smaller than a 2 in. square.  


When the little bin gets full, I sort the pieces by color, and store them in a small bag inside a larger bag of strings the same color.  (The aqua crumbs are getting out of hand!)  I start the crumb blocks with the little pieces, and finish them with strings from the bag.  I only got three made this week, but they were fun to do.  Plus they used up small scraps and strings!  This will be a long term project, with no pressure to finish soon.


I still have lots of block sets I made for last year's RSC, like these 3-D flying geese.  (Click HERE for the post with a tutorial.)  It was still in the block bin because I couldn't decide what I was doing with them. 


I ended up going back to my original idea and putting them together like this.  It's aqua month, so I did aqua blocks first of course.  Maybe I'll get a couple of 2024 quilts done before we start putting together the 2025 RSC blocks.


It's been hot here this week, 92F yesterday, so we've done some inside things, like crafts.  Buddy had fun making these Minecraft and Super Mario items from Perler beads.  They're assembled on a hard plastic base and melted with an iron.


My hubby made this one.  Do you think he might have been influenced by living with a quilter?

Whatever the weather at your house, I hope you are having a good week, with time to do the things you love.  Like quilting!

Thanks for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches


Linking up with:


Angela at So Scrappy

Cynthia at Oh Scrap






  



16 comments:

  1. The aqua blocks in novelty prints are super cute! And yes, I definitely have the experience of running out of leaders and enders and hunting around for something new to use for that!

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    1. Thanks, Nancy! I think I will try to use my UFOs as leaders and enders in the future. If I can remember how they go together lol.

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  2. You always have inspirational posts and you are also an influencer. Just look at what hubby did. His star is awesome! Love the shading of colours. Wouldn't it be cool to have a little mini wall hanging made with the Perler Beads? (Maybe hubby found himself a new hobby.) I love crumb blocks. They are the salt of many quilts at my place. I love what you did with your geese units. It's the beginning of something beautiful. Stay cool. ;^)

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    1. Thanks, Chantal! I love what you said about crumb blocks being the salt of your quilts!

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  3. I love the variety of aqua that you have used in your blocks! and yes, i often cut for leaders and enders from stash. :)

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    1. Thanks, Pat! Leaders and enders is such a good idea (thanks, Bonnie Hunter!). It's great for people like me who just can't have enough projects.

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  4. Cute little hearts!! I also have block sets just hanging in the closet waiting to become something. I really like how crumb blocks look, but just get frustrated making them for some reason. LOL

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    1. Thanks, Sara! I have trouble making crumb blocks (and string blocks) from multiple colors, but somehow one color makes it all right. I love how other people's blocks look, though.

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  5. You always have the most fun novelty fabrics, Sylvia! I love looking at them. Those hearts are going to make the best quilt! I like your idea for the flying geese blocks, too. Perler beads are a lot of fun to play with - I think we had some when our 40-something kids were growing up. I remember younger son making a Star Trek badge out of them. We probably have it around here somewhere still!

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    1. Thanks, Diann! A Star Trek badge? That would be cool to make!

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  6. So many cute fabrics! Love, love! Your hearts are so fun.

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    1. Thanks, Sue! It's hard to stop making blocks if I haven't used all the cute prints!

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  7. You always have such fun kids prints. ive go plenty of earlier RSC block sets too hiding in bags and boxes.

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    1. Thanks, Jenny! It's good to know I'm not the only one!

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  8. Novelty blocks are such fun. What a great collection you have amassed over the years. I can envision some lucky youngster smiling over the heart blocks. Perhaps using the quilt to set out their dinosaur figurines.

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    1. Thanks, Gwyned! I love your vision of the quilt being used. It's exactly what I'm hoping for.

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