Little Brick Ladders, Radio Windmills, and More Scraps

Welcome to Treadlestitches!  Thanks for stopping by!

Not a great week for stitching around here, but I did get this little top sewn.  I'm glad I took the pictures yesterday when it was sunny since we're having a light rain this morning, but the wind was too wild for clothesline photos yesterday so I laid it on the grass.

There are lots of different reasons for starting a new donation quilt.  Sometimes I want to try an exciting new pattern, or use a specific fabric.  This time I needed a leader/ender project, and wanted to relieve the overcrowding in this box of rectangles that I call Little Bricks.  My little bricks measure 2.5 in. x 3.5 in., and are cut from scraps.  (BTW, this photo shows the box AFTER I made the quilt!  More Little Bricks quilts are in my future.)

I call this block Little Brick Ladder.  The pattern I'm using here is a variation on others I've seen in books and online.  It's similar to a rail fence.  Each block has 3 of the little bricks plus two rectangles on the sides cut from a light fabric.  The side pieces measure 2 in. x 6.5 in. cut.  The blocks themselves are 6 in. finished.

I have LOTS of one-way-design prints in my scraps.  It's really common in the novelty prints I love.  For this quilt, I made nearly half of the blocks orienting the prints horizontally, and nearly the other half orienting them vertically, with a few of the blocks using only prints that could look well either way.  The light jelly bean print came from the museum sale last month.  (There were 5 whole yards of it, so you can expect to see it in my quilts again!)

The border is this aqua Dr. Seuss print.  I'm trying to get out of my rut of dark blue borders on everything, so I was glad I had enough of this fabric left.

I will be quilting this top myself.   Piecing is easy to do when life is busy, but quilting the tops takes more time.  I am really hoping I can get something done this weekend.

Purple piecing is fun!  Purple is my favorite color, and it's the July color for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I had a nice little bundle of scraps for the big triangles on these Radio Windmill blocks, but it was harder to find light charm squares with purple in them for the centers.  I actually used one fabric twice.  Can you guess which one?

Yes, you're right, it was the pickle ball print!  I actually bought that fat quarter in a quilt shop!

But this block was my favorite this week.  The outside triangles are one of my very favorite Kaffe Fassett prints.  The merry go round horses print was from a scrap I found in the basement clean out and immediately reclaimed.

Look at all this!!!  A friend gave me a wonderful gift this week (Thank you so much, Joey!)  We exchanged boxes at the museum meeting last Saturday.  I gave her some vintage block sets etc. from the basement cleanout, and she gave me a box loaded with wonderful prints for the kid quilts (above).

But wait, there's even more!  I made a scrap rainbow with the smaller pieces just to show them off.

Still more!  Light scraps on the left, big scraps on the right!  

Plus a giant bag of strings!  I'm still going through them.  These are bright ones I've sorted out.  There might be some purple in there!  Thanks again, Joey!  I can hardly wait to start sewing these up!

Even though we had cloudy skies this week, we still got outside.  Buddy was challenging himself on the Monkey Bars ...

and Little Guy was following along as always.  They're wearing their 4th of July shirts just because they like them.

Our shy kitten Lizzy is still getting used to the boys being here every day, and she's very interested in what they are doing.  While they were playing, she ran into the room and stole a little plastic chicken, taking it to her lair in the basement.  The boys laughed and said she could keep it.  After the kids left on Wednesday, she checked out the rest of their toys and curled up in the corral.

We are having a good summer here.  The summer produce has been lovely, with black raspberries now stacked in the freezer and peaches waiting for me to peel and can them.  I hope I can get more sewing done this week, but if not it's okay, it will wait for me.

Have a lovely week, whatever the weather brings.

Thanks for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Cynthia at Oh Scrap

Angela at So Scrappy

Lions and Cows and Little Bricks, Oh My

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!

More blocks in GREEN for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color of the month!  These are my split nine patches, made up mostly from my 3.5 in. squares and triangles box.

I'm not sure who thought of creating a print with green lions, but he's kind of handsome.

This block has the usual chaos, like Lucy from Peanuts golfing, crayons, turtles, cars, and praying mantises.

Cows on a green background in the top row center.  I only bought a half yard of it, but it keeps ending up in everything.

Favorite block!  Such a happy green cow.  Plus a green tiger.  Not stuff you see every day.

I only had to cut two light triangles for these blocks, the rest came already cut from the box.  So I am using up some of my scraps!  Even though I'll definitely make more as I cut out other quilts.  That's the quilting life, isn't it?

So green blocks done, more little bricks fun.

Here's another quilt made with 2.5 in. x 3.5 in. rectangles, the ones I call little bricks.  It's going to Hands 2 Help.  (Click HERE for more on Hands 2 Help.)

As usual, it's a really simple block.  Back in January of 2013 (my first month of blogging, BTW), I made a quilt like this from a photo somewhere on the internet.  In my post I called it Jelly Roll Bricks and gave my directions for it.

A few years later, I bought this book at a used book store, and the pattern was in there.  (Now that I know where it came from, I will be taking my post down.)  The book is Jelly Roll Quilts, by Pam & Nicky Lintott.  I really love their books!  Lots of good ideas and clear directions.

Their version is called Sparkling Gemstones, and uses all Kaffe Fassett fabrics.  Theirs is strip pieced, but I prefer just cutting the pieces separately.  To each her own.

Either way you sew it, it's a great design to use up just about any color of bricks, including multi-color.

Check out the border!  It's Fischer Price fabric!  I got a large piece of it at the guild's silent auction earlier this year.  At one point, we had all the toys pictured in the print--the popper, the xylophone, the dog pull toy, the stacking rings (not seen in this photo) and the telephone.

The only one we still have is the telephone.

Our grand children have never used a dial phone.  I don't think they've ever even seen a real one.  We've told our Little Guy that this is a kid version of a telephone, but I'm not sure he believes us.  It doesn't look anything like his mommy's phone.  Phones have changed so much!  He still likes to play with it, maybe because it makes noise.

Nature is waking up from her winter nap all around us.  This tree is in the parking lot of the grocery store, sharing its beauty with everyone who passes by.

Little Guy is having so much fun picking dandelions and playing in the park.  The weather this week has been amazing.

I hope you've had an amazing week, whatever the weather.  Take care, and happy sewing!

Thanks for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Angela at So Scrappy

Cynthia at Oh Scrap 

 

Is It Spring Yet?

Welcome to Treadlestitches!  Happy April!

And the April color of the month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge is (drum roll please) pink!  Isn't it fun to get a new color?  I always start the month pulling out the big scraps and small yardage to see what I've got to work with.  

 As usual, there is some cute stuff and some weird stuff.  (Note to self, I've got to find a use for these pigs!)

Most of the time, I'm making baby-sized quilts to be donated.  I like to make what I call Everybody Quilts, that could be given to either boys or girls.  If I use pink, that usually restricts the quilts to girls because pink is considered a girl color.  I have heard that charities receive more "girl" quilts than "boy" quilts (not sure if this is true?) so I concentrate on colors that will work with either gender.

But sometimes I find a really cute pink fabric like this animal print, and make one just for a little girl.  I bought this fabric second hand at a big sale, and the four patch blocks came from our guild's silent auction.  I had no idea pink was going to be April's color when I finished this last week.

The back is a pink/lavender print.  I showed this quilt on the blog last Sunday as an example of an easy pattern for Hands 2 Help.

I also showed this one, as a top.  It's now quilted and bound and even washed.

This is another one of my little bricks quilts, made with scraps 2.5 in. x 3.5 in. that I call little bricks.  The "recipe" is on last Sunday's blog, and is very easy.  (Why is there always a headless dinosaur on my quilts?)

The back is this fun circles print, and I went with a green binding.  Both of these quilts will go to the Little Lambs Foundation, as part of Hands 2 Help.

I took these photos on Friday.  Here's what it looked like on Thursday:

Seriously?  What about that thing we learned in elementary school, about March coming in like and lion and going out like a lamb?  Maybe that's not valid in Wisconsin.  At least most of the snow melted away by the next afternoon.

This week was my kindergarten buddy's spring break, and he got to go to the Milwaukee Public Museum to see the T. Rex display.  He was so excited to learn new dino facts.  We had planned to take his little brother too, but my Little Guy had a bad cold, so I stayed home with him.

 We're trying to teach him to wipe his nose, and he's doing pretty well when reminded, but covering his mouth when coughing and sneezing is just beyond him.  I've been thinking a lot about that scene in Jurassic Park when a dinosaur spits poison in a park employee's face.  No surprise, I caught his cold.  I'm resting and drinking lots of tea and water, and hoping to be fine by Monday.

Meanwhile, it's snowing again (!).  Should be a good day to stay inside and quilt.

Here's hoping you're in the pink this week!

Cheers for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Angela at So Scrappy

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Cynthia at Oh Scrap 

 

 

 

Easy Baby Quilts for Hands 2 Help

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!  Hello, Hands 2 Helpers!

It is such a good idea to have us share easy patterns for Hands 2 Help.  (Thanks, Mari!)  Through the year, I make lots of quilts to donate to babies and children, so I'm sharing some of them here.  I'm looking forward to seeing what other people post, especially for larger quilts for grown ups.  I definitely need some help in that direction!

First up, classic 4 patch!  What could be easier?  I started making these many years ago to donate to Quilts 4 Kids.  They have several free and easy patterns, click HERE to go to their pattern page.

 

I have used their 4 patch pattern many times, and highly recommend it.  You need a fun print for the plain squares and the outer border, so I start with that.  You need about a yard, although you can get away with less if you use a different fabric for the outer border.  Next I pull fabric that goes with the fun print for the 4 patches.  

Usually, I use just two fabrics for the 4 patches, but these 4 patches came to me in a silent auction, and it all works out.  It's a great pattern for beginners, or anytime you need a quick quilt.  (I love it because I get to use my novelty prints!)

Next is my own pattern (free, of course), which I'm calling Little Bricks.  Click HERE for the link.  (Can you believe there was snow on the ground two weeks ago?  Oh, yeah, for sure, it's Wisconsin.)

The little bricks are 2.5 in. x 3.5 in. rectangles, and the blocks measure 6 in. finished.  No seams to match in the block makes them work up very quickly.

I'm really on a kick of using little bricks!  This top will be quilted soon, but I thought I'd include it, as it is a very easy quilt to make.  I'm calling it Little Bricks and Ladders.  I don't think I've seen this exact quilt anywhere else, but if this is someone else's pattern please let me know.

Here's the recipe:

For each block, cut 3 little bricks (2.5 in. x 3.5 in.) and two background rectangles 2 x 6.5 in.

Sew the little bricks together on their long edges.

Add the background rectangles to each side of the assembled bricks.

Make 30 blocks.  Alternate their orientation across the quilt, and set the blocks 5 x 6.

Cut borders 3.5 in. wide.

You will need 90 little bricks, cut from scraps, and about 3/4 of a yard of background fabric, depending on the width.  The border uses about 1/2 yard.  (My fabric measurements are slightly more than needed.)

Finished size:  36 in. x 42 in.

I love making quilts of all kinds, even the tougher patterns, but the easier ones let me get more done to donate to others.  Plus they're fun!

Let's have fun making quilts!

Cheers,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with Mari, the Academic Quilter

 

Little Bricks, A Free (Very Easy) Pattern

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!

Can you stand another baby quilt for Hands 2 Help?  I'm calling this one Little Bricks. 

This is a stack of bricks.  Quilter's bricks, of course, rectangles measuring 2.5 in. x 4.5 in.  I first learned about them from Bonnie Hunter, quilter and teacher extraordinaire, who has used this shape in many quilts.  When I'm cutting pieces for a quilt and only have a small amount left of a 2.5 in. strip, I cut it into a brick.

If I don't have enough left for a brick, I often cut these pieces.  I call them little bricks, and they measure 2.5 in. x 3.5 in.  They can also be cut from short (or long!) 3.5 in. strips.

It's great to have both sizes of these rectangles cut ahead and ready to go.  And I'm always looking for new ways to use them.

My two youngest grandsons, whom I now call Little Guy (he just turned 2) and Big Buddy (formerly known as Little Buddy, he's in kindergarten), love to build with Duplos, the Lego bricks for toddlers and above.  These colorful bricks inspired me to design this little block.  I'm going to share the simple pattern with you.

Here's the block, done in yellow in honor of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color of the month.  It measures 6 in. finished, 6.5 in. unfinished.

For each block, you need:

3 Little Bricks (2.5 in. x 3.5 in.) in a color of your choice

For the background, all the pieces can be cut from a 2.5 in. strip at least 11 in. long.

2 Little Bricks, 2.5 in. x 3.5 in., in the background color

2 small rectangles, 2.5 in. x 2 in., in the background color

The sewing is simple, as seen above.  I finger press towards the darker fabric.

When the blocks are done, the two wide seams can be pressed either up or down, which is helpful if you set the blocks side by side and want the seams to nest.  (By the way, it's extra fun to put a tiger in the middle.)

I made 25 blocks, set them 5 x 5, added a 5 in. cut border.  The finished quilt is square, and is approximately 40 in. x 40 in. (a little less after washing and some crinkly shrinking.) 

If you've seen my quilts before, you know I'm fond of a diagonal rainbow of colors, and lots of novelty prints.

The back is a colorful dot print that I LOVE, and the orange binding is just for fun.  It will go to Little Lambs, to be given to a child entering foster care.

If you make a quilt from this pattern, I'd love to see it.  

In Rainbow Scrap Challenge news, I made a few 16 patch blocks with solid yellow and multicolor prints.

Puzzle pieces,
 

happy flowers,

and stripes, like this print cut from an unfinished shirt, are all fun fabrics to use for this quilt.

I made a math mistake when cutting out this one (not that unusual for me!), and ended up making two blocks instead of one.  Not sorry, though, both will be used.

This has been a busy but happy week in our family.

Our Little Guy had a train-themed birthday party, and we were able to celebrate with extended family, almost like before the pandemic.  (BTW he's trying to show me a star toy, that's what's in his hand.  After this he ran gleefully off and no more photo opportunities were offered.)

Our oldest grandson, Teenager Guy, had the ACT test and a couple days off school for teacher inservice, so he hung out here with us.  (No photos, as per his request!)  The kids had dinner with us one night, too, before heading off to activities like play practice and wrestling.
 

Plus Friday was Grandparents Day at Big Buddy's school, so I got to spend a morning with him and his friend.  There were lots of fun activities, plus a book fair.  We had a great time.

Have you heard of Peptoc?  If you're ever feeling down or in need of a little encouragement, there's a free hotline called Peptoc with recorded messages from elementary school students to help.  Big Buddy and I tried it out yesterday, and it was lovely.  The kids' voices are very sincere and kind.  You can choose what kind of message you need.  We chose the kindergarteners', of course.  They told us to "keep going!"  It's a project of a school in California, and the phone number is 1-708-998-8410. Could be something to keep in mind when a quilt just won't come out right.

I hope all your projects are coming together perfectly, this week and every week!

Thanks for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Angela at So Scrappy

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Cynthia at Oh Scrap