Rainbow Scrap Challenge Quilts, 2020

Welcome to Treadlestitches!

It's the very last Saturday of 2020 (thank goodness!), and Angela has asked us to share our RSC projects for the year.  This is my little stack above.  The only one finished is my Shoofly quilt, made in 1800s reproduction fabrics. 

I have three basic categories of scraps:  1800s repros, 1930s repros plus vintage fabrics/feedsacks, and bright colored newer fabrics, which includes lots of novelty prints.  For the last few years, I have tried to make three RSC quilts, one in each scrap category.  I say "tried" because other projects always seem to invite themselves along for the ride.

This year was no different.  I started out with 3 quilt ideas--the Shoofly, a 1930s house quilt, and a bright colored quilt from a Kim Brackett pattern called Text Me A Quilt.

I put the borders on the Text Me A Quilt top yesterday.  It's a large quilt (for me), 76 in. x 86 in., seen here on a queen sized bed.

The border is a print I've used lots of times on kids' quilts.  The prints is butterflies, appropriate for this year since butterflies stand for hope.  This will be a donation quilt.

The 1930s house quilt is in progress.  I'm quilting it by the block (tutorial to follow, hopefully soon).  The first two rows are quilted, and ready to be joined together.  It's actually fun to quilt this way.

The last RSC quilt for 2020 didn't get started until the year was half over.  My daughter's maternity leave was extended due to the pandemic, and since she didn't need me to babysit I spent some time cleaning up old projects in the basement.  I came across this partial top I had bought at a flea market years ago.

It looked like a rainbow!  How could I not include it?  

There was no way to match the old sashing, so I took it apart and changed the layout.

And that's my last RSC quilt for this year, a double nine patch set with a green solid.  I will quilt this one myself, and we will probably keep it.

 

Of course I'm thinking ahead to next year.  How about you?

 

I just want to say "Thank you!" to Angela for hosting the RSC and keeping things going, with her busy teaching schedule and the pandemic besides!  Making colorful quilt blocks and sharing them has been a mood lifter through this whole year, and I really look forward to Saturdays, when I can see what everyone else has been up to.

 

And now for a little Christmas cheer.

Here's Little Buddy, showing off a paper airplane he and Grandpa made.

  

And here are all 3 of my buddies, wearing the hats I knit for them.  

We had a little celebration Christmas Eve with the people in our bubble, and a quiet Christmas at home yesterday.  In the morning, I took a virtual trip to Jane Austen's house in England HERE.

I especially enjoyed section entitled The Twelve Days of Christmas, which has short readings from Ms. Austen's books and letters, plus recipes and Christmas traditions.  

Have a lovely weekend, and stay safe!

Thanks for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with Angela at So Scrappy, Home of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge 

and Cynthia at Oh Scrap.

 

Walking on Sunshine

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!

It's a beautiful morning here, expected to get up to 73 degrees today.  It's been like this all week!  I  feel so lucky to have this kind of weather in November.  I wish we could store it up for the winter!

These little guys have been keeping me busy, so I haven't got a lot of quilting done this week.  (Don't worry--Baby Buddy has a toy remote, not a real one!)

I finished the flannel tumbler baby quilt, binding it by machine early this morning.

The quilting is VERY simple, just either side of the seams.

Unfortunately, my problems with math continue.  Somehow I had thought this little quilt would finish up at 36 in. square, just right for donation to Jack's Basket.  That's what I get for estimating without doing the calculations.  The width is 37 in., which is not that far off, but the length is 42 in. finished.  So it will have to go somewhere else.  Quilts for Kids does not take flannel quilts, because they do not hold up to the intense washing they get in the hospital.  Project Linus does accept flannel, but our local chapter has closed down, so I may find another nearby chapter and send it there.

Also from last week, I finished this little knitted hat.  After thinking about it, I decided on red ribbing (thanks, Joyful!) and wider stripes.

It looks cuter on Baby Buddy!  Although he doesn't need it yet, while this warm weather holds.

It is great to see how everyone is coming along with their Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilts.  Throughout this weird awful year, making these blocks has been a bright spot.  Now it's time to make mine into tops and get them finished.

I'm laying out the blocks for my Text Me A Quilt like this.  The pattern is from Scrap Basket Beauties, by Kim Brackett.  Ms. Brackett shows us three layouts for each of the quilts in the book, and I find that very helpful.  I think this is the way I'll sew them together.  (Math strikes again, though.  Somehow I made an extra block!)

Little Buddy helped me take down the dead plants and the tomato cages from our little garden yesterday.  I've still got a lot of work to do here, so that's on the list for the weekend.

By the way--last week I mentioned fabric I called "lizard camo".  This is what I was talking about.  From a distance it looks like regular camouphlage, but up close you can see the lizards.  I'm a little creeped out by it, but my grandson thought it was great, so it ended up in his quilt.

I am amazed and so proud that so many millions of people voted in last week's election.  Voting is part of our civic duty, and we lived up to it better this year than in the past.  Whoever you voted for, we are all in this together.

Have a good safe week, everyone!

Thanks for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches 

Linking up with:

Angela at So Scrappy

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Sarah at Can I Get A Whoop Whoop 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Priorities

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!

Little Buddy helped us decorate for Halloween this week.  He would like us to have more dramatic displays, like the blow up clowns and pumpkins at his house, but we are much more laid back than that.  Decorations have just never been a big priority.

 

I finally get to display this little one block wonder that I made back in February, during the Rainbow Scrap Challenge orange month.  It started as a mistake, a block that just didn't work in a Block of the Month quilt.  So it got its own tiny quilt instead.

Pumpkins and black cats!

Oops!  Somebody forgot to feed this guy!

How are you doing on your RSC projects?  I can't wait to see all the link ups today.  Above are my last 3 blocks for the Text Me A Quilt project. 

The Rainbow Scrap Challenge has helped me use all colors of scraps, and I love that.  But what about all those strange scraps that don't really have a definite color?  It's really hard to know what to do with some of these fabrics, even though I really like them.

So I added a few of these multicolored weirdos into the Text Me A Quilt blocks.  It's already a bright quilt, so I think it will work out.  No scraps left behind!

I think I'm getting into the swing of full time babysitting the grandkids again.  It doesn't leave me a lot of time for sewing, but that's okay.  I have all the baby cuddles I could want, Little Buddy sings me songs (his current favorite is Roger Miller's King of the Road), and my high school Buddy actually talks to me about stuff sometimes.

My goal for this week was to put the double nine patch quilt top together.  I got it finished just this morning.  This is the one I've been making from a vintage UFO I bought at a flea market and took apart.  Last week's yellow blocks were the final ones, and I had decided on this set when I first started working on it.

My poor dog is feeling neglected.  She would not leave me alone when I was laying out the top on the floor.  (Sorry, Bella!  I will make some time just for you this weekend!)

It's a good sized quilt, 78 in. x 93 in., shown here on a queen sized bed.

All the fabrics I used in it are vintage, including the white squares, the cornerstones, and the green sashing and border.  I chose the green to give it a 1930s feel, since many of the fabrics in the blocks were from that era.  Green was so widely used in the 30s that it almost seems like a neutral. The border is narrower than I would have liked, but I didn't have enough of the green to go wider.

I could add another border, maybe a print, but it's already pretty big.  I'm planning some simple grid quilting, and already have a backing I think will work.

The quilting will have to wait a bit, until I get this job done.  I went to the local orchard on Thursday, and brought home Ida Red apples for sauce, Cortlands for pie/crisp slices, and Honey Crisps for eating.  All of those were seconds, which is like the clearance rack for apples.  It just means they have an irregular or small shape, or maybe a blemish, which doesn't matter at all.  The pears were regular price, and since they're nice and firm I'll can them last.

If you do any canning, you'll know how hard it is to get jar lids this year, and how expensive they've become if you manage to find them.  I'm prioritizing this good fruit from the orchard with my time and supplies.

This difficult year has made a lot of us adjust our priorities, and has shown us what is really important.  Many things we took for granted are cancelled or unsafe.   The list of activities I miss just gets longer all the time.  But, I truly believe it will not be this way forever.  We can handle hardships.  Our long-ago ancestors' daily lives had far more hardship than most of us have ever seen.

Hang in there.  We're going to get through this.  Stay safe, and keep sewing!

Thanks for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Angela at So Scrappy

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Sarah at Can I Get A Whoop Whoop 

Cynthia at Oh Scrap

 

 

 

 

Patches of Yellow

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!  

It's yellow month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, and there are lovely touches of yellow in nature all around us.  Like this bloom in my husband's wild flower patch.

Just a few cherry tomatoes are left in my little garden.  They are really more orange than yellow.

Of course, the trees are so dramatic.  I've never understood the term "leaf peeping".  I don't peep at the leaves, I positively gawk at them.

These trees are in the park near my house.  That path is calling me.  Later today, my dog and I will take a walk and do some leaf gawking.

Now, what about the yellow inside the house?

The last blocks for the 1930s Double Nine Patch quilt are done!  It's the fabrics in these little blocks that prompted me to save them from a vintage UFO.

This little kitty seems to be waving hello.

The animals in this print are cute.  And a little weird.  Kind of like 1930s era cartoon characters.

This print is almost modern.

And of course a leaf print.  I've got leaves on the brain today.

Now that these blocks are done, I can start setting them together and planning the quilting.

But wait, there's more!

Yellow Text Me A Quilt blocks are done, too.  And once again it's the fabrics that make sewing this so much fun.

Here's my favorite--two tractor prints!  You just can't have too many tractor prints.

The background print here reminds me of the Japanese beetles that are trying to get in the house now that the nights are colder.  Sorry, beetles, bugs are cute on fabric but NOT in real life.

Last week's little quilt is quilted and bound.  It's a variation of Ring Me, from the book No Scrap Left Behind by Amanda Jean Nyberg. 

I chose this hearts and paw prints fabric for the back, to go with the Clifford the Big Red Dog fabric on the border.  The binding is a red print.  The quilt has been washed and is ready to mail out to Jack's Basket.

Here's how I feel about finishing a quilt:

Woo hoo!  Thanks, Little Buddy!

 How are you doing this week?   Everything is so crazy right now, and that's very stressful.  We have to remember to take care of ourselves.   When I need some peace, I shut off the TV, radio, etc., open the window if it's warm enough, and just quietly sew.  Before long, I'm humming away.

I hope you're humming away too, enjoying all the things that matter most.  Have a great week!

Thanks for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Know what else is a great stress-reliever?  Linky parties!  Come and see what everybody is making.

Linking up with:

Angela at So Scrappy

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Cynthia at Oh Scrap 

 

 

 

A Pieceable Week

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!

It has been a pieceable week here.  I've been using my red scraps to make blocks for my Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilts.  Wanna see what I've been up to?

For these house blocks, I'm combining feed sacks, vintage fabrics, and 1930s reproductions.  The pattern is called Home Made, and can be found in American Patchwork and Quilting magazine issue #162, Feb. 2020.  It was originally designed to be made from flannels.

This one is made of feed sacks, except for the windows and the door, which are repros.
 

Next up, shoofly blocks made from 1800s reproduction scraps.

The center square of this block is cut from a toile fabric, and has been in my 3.5 in. squares box for a very long time.  It's oriented oddly, but I like it anyway.

Lastly, I made seven Text Me A Quilt blocks.  The pattern is from Scrap Basket Bounty, by Kim Brackett. 

It's funny how many novelty prints are one-way designs.  Most of the darker red prints weren't, but five out of seven of the light backgrounds were one way.

The original quilt used text prints for the backgrounds.  I actually had one this time.  It says "You're My Type".

This block has a secret!  I'm running out of lots of these light print scraps (it's a miracle!), so I had to substitute a different dog print to finish this block.  It's in the three squares in the middle row--can you see it?  Just a fun little surprise for someone with sharp eyes.

It's hard to believe, but we are getting to the end of the year for the RSC.  Next month is our last month, and then we start putting the blocks together to finish what we started.  I have 4 quilts going this year.  Why on earth do I always make so many Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilts?  Must be because it's fun.

It could also be because it uses up scraps!  In other years, I would have been to several quilt shows and rummage sales, and would be incorporating new scraps I bought into the stash.  (Yes, I actually buy other people's scraps!)  This year, I've been using yardage more of the time, which tends to MAKE scraps, like the ones crammed into the basket above.

It was long past time to straighten this out.  These are what I call my big bright scraps--smaller than fat quarters but larger than the largest strips I save.  I organized them by color and rubber banded them together.  Now I can see what I've got, and easily grab any particular color.  I've done a similar thing for my 1800s reproduction scraps.

Nearly every year, my friend Deb C. and I go to a quilt show in Madison.  Here's us there last year, back when we all did everything in real life.

You might be surprised to know we went again this year.  But this year, it was Virtual.

It was definitely different, but still great.  We each viewed the quilts on our computer/tablet in our own homes, and talked on the phone as we did.  Serious social distancing.

If anyone had overheard us, I'm sure it would have been hilarious.  We were two old ladies trying to navigate some very sophisticated software.  I veered off a time or two and got lost.  We were clicking on these circles on the floor (we called them donuts) that moved us from quilt to quilt, and trying to find our way through a rotating map that made us just a little queasy.

There are some pluses to virtual quilt shows.  No one is standing in front of the quilt you want to look at.  You can zoom in on the pictures if your device allows.  There were even videos from some of the quilt makers explaining their techniques or inspirations.  No need to look around for a vacant chair when you need a rest, you're already sitting in it.  Cups of tea are handy and won't spill on the quilts.  And if you feel like making some slightly bitchy comments (like, why did that quilt get a ribbon when the other amazing one didn't?) no one can hear you except your friend.  

I did miss the real vendor booths.  The online vendor mall was just not the same.

The show went live Sept. 10-12, the usual dates when it's in person.  Amazingly, the show is still online.  I logged in this morning, and all the features seemed to still be there.  It also looks as though you can still register (which just means getting a log in).  If you'd like to check it out, go to quiltshow.com.  (If you try this, please let me know if it works for you.)

There are links at the show to talks/lessons given by some of the teachers.  I enjoyed the one by Weeks Ringle on Palette Building and also Sensational Quilts for Scrap Lovers by Judy Gauthier.  To get to these videos, click the schedule link at the top of the screen and scroll down. 

If you go, please consider donating to support the show.  Just click the Support Us link at the top of the screen and donate online.  The quilt show is PBS Wisconsin's largest fund raiser.

BTW, the quilt above was the winner in the Kids Quilt Challenge, made by quilters under the age of 15!

I can't close today without mentioning the loss of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  My mom and I have loved her for years.  Mom sent me the bobble head above for my birthday some years ago, and it lives in my kitchen window.  We chuckled together about the Notorious RBG.

Justice Ginsburg is someone all Americans can be proud of.  Her courage, tenacity, humor, and above all her kindness to everyone, including those with whom she disagreed, make her loss very hard to bear.  She will continue to be a role model, and will have an important place in our history.

Have a good week, everyone, and stay safe.

(Does this look weird?   The hand in the middle holding Baby Buddy is Grandpa's.)

Sincerely,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Sarah at Can I Get A Whoop Whoop

Angela at Superscrappy (home of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge)

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Cynthia at Oh Scrap