Little Bricks, Skinny Little Bricks, and Crayons

Welcome to Treadlestitches!

How is everything in your quilty world?

I am feeling like this little minion today!  I have finishes and an almost-finish to share!

First is this little 8 patch quilt I started back in the summer.  It's an idea I stole from Cathy at Sane, Crazy, Crumby Quilting.  (I get a lot of good ideas that way!  She's a scrap genius!  Thanks, Cathy!) 

The blocks are made of 8 rectangles that measure 2.5 in. x 3.5 in. cut.  These are the pieces I call Little Bricks, and I have a whole box of them.   I often cut them from the last bits of a 2.5 in. strip.

The block itself is 6 in. x 8 in. finished, which makes for some interesting math when figuring out the layout.  I set my 30 blocks 6 across and 5 down, which made the little quilt 36 in. x 40 in. before the border.

Here's the back, a kid print from the stash.  I honestly don't remember where it came from.  It might have been in the amazing basket my quilt group gave me.  It can be hard to use prints like this that have straight lines in them, but may not be printed exactly straight, and can look wonky.  However, they are perfect for backing.  All of these adorable kids are saying, "Let's play!"

On to Finish #2.

This is a Bright Hopes variation.  I started making these blocks to use up my stack of 2 in. x 3.5 in. rectangles (I call them Skinny Little Bricks.)

Each of the big blocks is made up of 4 smaller ones.  Each of the small blocks has a light 2 in. (cut) square center and 4 rectangles surrounding it, and finishes at 4.5 in.  After I had a lot of them made I started arranging them like this, putting pieces with the same color together to make a sort of pinwheel in the middle.  Sometimes the pinwheel is easy to see, sometimes there's not enough contrast.

The blocks are set with a narrow sashing and green print cornerstones.  I did very simple quilting (as usual) with the serpentine stitch on my machine.

The border is this odd print.  It looks like illustrations from a 1930s children's book.  I loved that it said "Sweet Dreams".  I said that to my kids when tucking them in at night, and back in the day my mother said it to me.

Simple quilting again.  For binding, I chose a blue/green from my solids stash.  The backing is this cozy flannel.  I love flannel on the back of a quilt.

When I go to sales or flea markets, etc., flannel is always something I look for.  This pile came from the sale room at a recent quilt show.  I piled it all in a grocery bag for $10.

I got this box of flannel at our guild's silent auction last month.  Solid colors are always useful, but the ducky prints are the best!

So on to the almost-finish.  Back in October, I was trying to put my Rainbow Scrap Challenge crayon quilt top together.  I had gotten this far, but it didn't look finished, and I really didn't know what to do.  

Some readers had really good suggestions.  I also asked a couple of other quilters at the retreat two weeks ago.  I ended up making a row of small crayons for the top (thanks, Bonnie Jensen!).  I also cut down the original borders so I'd have enough to use that colorful print on the sides as well.  And I had just barely enough of the print left for the top border.

Here's what it looks like now.  It's definitely unusual, but it feels more balanced to me.  And bonus, it's now a rectangle, measuring 53 in. x 55 in.   I'll bind with a solid color after I quilt it.

The small crayon row is very similar to the big crayons.  I used the Tri-Recs tools to make the points and rectangles to make up the rest of the crayon.

I might make a whole quilt from these little crayons someday.  They're easy and fun to make.

We like to have fun around here!  My Little Guy is in charge of licking the beaters when I make icing.  He takes his job very seriously.

When we get our chores done, we can play with toy dinosaurs stomping in play dough.  

I hope you're having fun this week.  Treat yourself to a good time!

Thanks for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Angela at So Scrappy

Cynthia at Oh Scrap

 

Old and New

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!

For many years, I actively collected antique quilts.  My favorites were scrap quilts (of course!) and tops or block sets.  I didn't mind if they weren't perfectly made or in perfect condition.  I learned so much from studying those old quilts.  I love to share them, in person, on the blog, and as home decoration.  This year, I plan to show you a few on the last Saturday of the month.

This month's quilts are small and red.  Check out the date on this square--January 29, 1916!  Exactly one hundred and six years ago today, someone embroidered this.  It's amazing to think how much has changed since then, and how much remains the same.

This one is not exactly an antique.  I bought these old redwork blocks for 50 cents each at a flea market many years ago, and in 2019 I finished them into a small hand-quilted quilt.  (You can read about it HERE, in February 2019's posts.)  It makes me happy to see all the farm animals, plus the jack-o-lantern, a witch on a broomstick, and a cat playing a fiddle.  If you click on the picture, you can see them a little better.

The second antique is a doll-sized tied quilt.  It's a little wonky, as doll quilts frequently are.  Many of them were the first quilting efforts made by a child.  From the fabrics, this quilt probably dates to the 1890s.

Do you see the horseshoe print?  There's also a riding crop (a whip) with it.  Mothers often dressed their little ones in these "conversation prints", as they were known.  I found this treasure in an antique mall in Oklahoma, when I was visiting my mom.  It's a reminder of a nice day together.

In other news, I just had to add one more red project for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Crayons!  I've wanted to make a crayon quilt for a long time.  I didn't need a pattern, just sewed 18 rectangles (2.5 in. x 4.5 in.) into a strip. I added a 4 in. finished point at the top made with the Tri Recs tools, the same way I  made ice cream cone blocks.  All the rectangles are different red prints.  Easy and fun.  Can't wait to make crayons in the rest of the colors!

The red string quilt is layered and basted, and getting quilted.  It takes a little longer than a baby quilt of course.  I'm working on this while I wait for the backing I ordered for my cross stitch quilt (you know, the one I've been working on since 1967!  It's not getting set aside ever again!).

This one is done.  Someone in my wonderful quilt group made the six center blocks and added the tan sashing.  I sewed on the two outer borders, and quilted and bound it.  

The back is this cozy black and green flannel.  It's not very big, less than twin sized, but it might work for a cot at the homeless shelter.  I will leave it to the charity committee at my group to decide where it ends up.

Speaking of our amazing quilt group, look at this!  Because I was the moderator for about half of last year (meaning I led the meetings), they gave me this wonderful gift--a handmade basket full of fabric!

Since they know how much I love making quilts for babies and children, they packed the basket full of fun novelty prints and even yardage for backing!  It was so kind of the ladies to do this.  I appreciate it very much.

I've started cutting up some of the pieces.  Fussy cutting these little squares is so much fun.

Here's some big fun--our little buddies working puzzles on a cold winter's day.  Baby Buddy has magnetic dinosaurs, and Little Buddy is putting together a U.S. map.  They work well together when they have separate projects!

I hope your projects are all coming together nicely, whether you work alone or in a group, or both!  Have a great week.

I'm looking forward to sitting down with a cup of tea and seeing what all the bloggers have been up to, thanks to the hostesses of these weekly linky parties.  Come join us!

Thanks for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Angela at So Scrappy, home of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge

Cynthia at Oh Scrap

 

 

Anything Goes

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!

If you've been here before, you may know that I love scrap quilts.  They are really the only kind I want to make.  I made the quilt in the photo above in 2013. When I start working on one, I choose the fabrics from my bountiful stash.  I can be very persnickety about it.  The fabrics have to belong together, either because of color (brights, fall colors, etc.) time period (reproductions of 1800s or 1930s fabrics), or theme (novelty, patriotic, etc.).  I have often said I can't do random.  Randomly choosing fabrics for quilts?  It makes my stomach hurt. 

But I often love quilts made this way!  I had the privilege of binding this quilt for our guild's charity work.  As you can see, it's a 4 patch, separated by alternate blocks.  And there is EVERYTHING in here.

Solids, reproductions, 1980s florals, tone-on-tone, Christmas fabric, it is all here.

Adorable penguins, ice skating!

And of course Elvis.  Because, why not?

I really like this quilt, and I am sure the recipient will like it, too.  There is so much to look at and enjoy!  Maybe some day I'll be able to let loose a little more and make one myself.

My Baby Buddy enjoyed looking at both quilts I was working on this week,

but he loved this little one, made by Chris.

These are some happy sea creatures!  Chris only had a scrap of this fabric, but she matched it perfectly and seamed it together.

Then she made these cute machine appliques!  Baby Buddy loved running his fingers over them.  I quilted and bound the quilt, and it will go to a new home either with Jack's Basket or Project Linus.

In other news, we had a day off yesterday and went antiquing.  Can you find the treadle sewing machine in this photo?  It's a nice old Singer, with the decals collectors call Red Eye.  If you're looking for one to sew with, a Red Eye is a good choice, since it takes round bobbins that are still available new.

This was a fun booth to look through!  I did buy one of the remnants for 25 cents, plus this one for $1.50:

Truth in advertising!  The tag reads "The cutest robot remnant in the entire world".  It's a heavier fabric, maybe for a small bag or a zipper pouch.

Antique malls really do have an "anything goes" vibe.  This is the weirdest thing I saw yesterday.  Hundreds of miles away from real alligators, you can buy a bright green one with lights, to hang on your wall.  Or any number of other strange and wonderful things.

I would put this pretend dinosaur down as both strange and wonderful.  It's the Little Buddy-asaurus!

I'm going to spend some time resting up today and reading these quilt books I got for $1 each.  Tomorrow the shopping, cooking and baking begins!  We will have all our children and grandchildren here this year, and I'm really looking forward to it.

Happy Thanksgiving next week to all who celebrate.   We have so much to be thankful for.

Thanks for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Angela at So Scrappy

Cynthia at Oh Scrap

Following Directions, Or Not

Welcome to Treadlestitches!

After months (and months!) of procrastinating, I finished this top this morning!

Sorry about the photo.  Even though it's not as windy today as it was last week, it's still making hanging quilts outside problematic.

The charity committee at my quilt guild is amazing, the envy of other groups in the area.  They not only longarm quilt the tops we make, they also cut donated fabric into kits for us.  We take the kits home, make the tops, and bring them back.  Then the tops are quilted, bound, and distributed throughout the community.  And even though they've gone to the trouble of writing out directions for the kits, they're okay with us changing things a bit.  The goal is the same--quilts for people who need them.

This was not at all the pattern in the kit.  I have a very bad habit not wanting to follow directions, and that's what happened here.  I started out okay, but ran out of steam and set the project aside.  Months later, I came back and revamped it into this design. I have no idea what this pattern is called or who first designed it.  It's one of those "as seen on the internet" ideas.  (If you know where it originated, please tell me so I can give the designer credit.)

 It looks like two blocks, but it's just the same block turned 180 degrees.  I used the strips that came in the kit, plus more from my stash.  I didn't have enough of any one fabric for the centers, so I used two fabrics and alternated them in the rows.  

Because I didn't have an actual pattern, my measurements are a little weird.  The centers are cut 5 in. square, and the strips are 2.5 in. wide.  BUT, there are two different lengths for the rectangles cut from the strips.  The ones to either side of the center are cut 2.5 x 5 in., but the ones on top and bottom have to be cut 2.5 x 4.75 in. long.  Just to make it confusing, and easy to pick up the wrong rectangle.  (This is why we should support professional designers--unlike me, they usually know what they are doing!)  A better way would have been to use 4.5 in. cut centers, which I figured out when I already had half the blocks made.  Then all the rectangles could have been the same, 2.5 x 4.5 in.

Lots of the fabrics are leaf prints, which is perfect for fall.  The top is roughly a twin size, 68.5 x 77 in.  I can't show it on the twin bed in the guest room this morning because the bed is occupied by our sleeping teen-aged grandson.

He was in a play at a local theater last night, as one of the Herdmans in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.  It was great fun, and a wonderful start to the holiday season.  He's shown here in costume as a Wise Man.  We brought him home with us after the show.

They put on the play in a restored old theater in downtown West Bend.  All the Christmas decorations and lights are up, which made it a very festive evening.

Weather wise, it's been a weird week.  Monday was warm and sunny, and Little Buddy had a day off school, so we spent lots of time outside.  Both the little guys are decked out in their Packer gear.  By Friday, we had cold rain that briefly turned into snow.

Before the bad weather, I got some herbs in to dry.  There are thyme, oregano, and sage here.  We'll need the sage soon for Thanksgiving.

Last Saturday I started a small batch of sauerkraut.  I added the last of my caraway seeds, and they do make it smell nice.  It will take a few more weeks before it's ready.

So what are you up to this week?  I'm almost finished with the Windmill blocks I've been sewing for leaders and enders, but some of them need more work, probably cut wrong.

There's a small stack of baby quilts, mostly ones I made from my Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks, spray basted and ready to quilt.  Mrs. Pfaff says, bring it on!

And there's more fun to be had with this little guy, who has just discovered the joy of washable markers!

Have a good week, whatever you do.  And good luck with your projects!

Now I'm going to check out what everybody else has been doing this week.  You should join me!

Linking up with:

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Angela at So Scrappy

Sarah at Can I Get A Whoop Whoop

Cynthia at Oh Scrap