Orange Houses and Leftovers

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!

It's the last Saturday in May, and that means it's the last week of orange month at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  Sewing up the orange scraps has been so much fun.  These little houses are my last RSC project.

My very favorite one is this print of Horton the elephant from the Dr. Seuss stories.  Isn't it amazing how many different shades there are of any given color?

Now for the leftovers.  I have to admit, I love leftovers when it comes to food.  My favorite lunch is supper left over from the night before.  I keep a close eye on the leftovers in the refrigerator and try to use them up quickly, but I tend to forget about the quilting leftovers.  They are mostly shoved into a drawer.

This week I opened the drawer.

Right away I found a bag of tumblers left over from several quilts I made years ago.  There were enough lights and darks to make a small quilt top.

I admit, I am not totally thrilled with the color placement, etc.  Maybe I should have mixed things up a bit more.  And if I was making it from scratch, I would have chosen different fabrics.  But the object of this exercise was to use up the leftovers and make a quilt for a child who needs one, so I'm telling my inner critic to chill out.

Snicklefritz has taken on the job of quilt model, so I guess I should give him a raise.  He's showing off the kid friendly prints:  numbers, Clifford, D.W. from Arthur, Curious George's animal friends, dinosaurs, ABCs, and Peter Rabbit.

There were a few tumblers that were still left behind.  I cut them up into useful pieces:  a 2.5 in. square, a 2.5 x 3.5 in. rectangle, and a larger scrap for crumb blocks.  The rest was too small to use, and was tossed.  No guilt!
 

Also in the drawer were some red and white cut pieces given to me by a friend.  They measured 3 in. square, which is not a size I normally use.  (The math is easier if the squares finish at a whole number.  I really need the math to be easy!)  Some were already sewn into sets of two.

I made the squares into four patches, which finished at 5 in.  I had to add in a few of my own reds and whites, and of course the alternate squares and borders.

The blue M&Ms fabric came from a thrift store.  It was a strip about 15 in. wide and 3 yards long, so it must have also been somebody's leftover.  From the campaign hats and only having red and blue M&Ms, I think it's meant to be political, and represents both of our political parties.

This is all I had left!  I cut all the squares on the right to 2.5 in. (like the one on the left) and added them to the rest of the 2.5 in. squares.  These will be put into blocks, for the RSC or other projects.

I'm almost as happy as the little orange frog jumping for joy in this square. While I was working on leftovers I finished my Amanda blocks!

This pattern was just what I like--easy and fun to sew, and uses up scraps.

But now I have a problem.  I tend to cut too many pieces so I can be flexible about colors.  What do I do with these leftover strips?  

It really never ends, does it?  And I guess I'm okay with that.

The Sandhill cranes are back!  I love watching them in the park behind our house.  They are such beautiful, graceful birds.  The weather here has been lovely, a nice beginning to summer.

I hope you have a wonderful week ahead, whatever the weather is like where you live.  Happy Memorial Day weekend to all in the U.S.!

Cheers for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Sarah at Can I Get A Whoop Whoop

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Angela at Super Scrappy

Cynthia at Oh Scrap

 

Flannel-palooza, or Fluffy Side Up

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!

Today's blog is brought to you by Snicklefritz the cat, official quilt tester.  Three of these little flannel quilts will be going to the Community Baby Shower early next week.

I've been on a flannel kick lately, inspired by the winter and by an overabundance of the soft fluffy fabric. And what's better to make out of flannel than baby quilts?

Two of the quilts were made with these Tumbler shapes, cut with the Accuquilt die cutting machine.  This scrappy one has blue and green prints for the darker pieces, and various lights.

There are lots of fun prints here, from frogs and bugs to dogs and crocodiles.  I think this is the last of that Baby Boy print.  

I'm hoping someone's little guy will find this quilt warm and cuddly.

The second tumbler quilt is a classic two-color quilt in yellow with a green binding.

Duckies!  And a soft plain yellow.  It's easy to tell which side is the right side with printed flannel, but it's harder with solid colors.  Both sides are soft, of course, but there really is a difference.  I had to keep checking to make sure the fluffy side was on top.

Each of these quilts use 48 tumblers.  I cut 24 each of lights and darks for the scrappy one, and 24 each of duckies and solid yellow for the second one.

Once the rows were sewn together, I straightened the edge with a long ruler and a rotary cutter.  The quilts measure 33 in. x 35.5 in. finished.

More duckies on the back!  I got this fabric at the quilt group silent auction last fall.  It came from the stash of a very nice lady (Mary G.) who had passed away.

The third flannel quilt is a Trip Around the World, and it started like this, as a kit I cut from scraps.

I know some (most?) people strip piece this pattern, but I sew it from individual squares.  I keep track of the rows like this, pinning them to the makeshift design wall with paper row number labels.  It helps to keep me on track, especially since I don't usually sew for long blocks of time.

Plus there are furry distractions laying on the pieces!

In the end it came out okay.  The pieces are 5 in. squares (cut), and the quilt finished at 40.5 in. square.

And guess what the theme is---

That's right!  Even more duckies! 

The back is this gorgeous Hoffman print.  I don't remember where/when I acquired it, but I wish I had a whole bolt.

The Community Baby Shower contributions are due at the end of the month, which is Tuesday, believe it or not.  Since two of these quilts are meant for boys, I might try to make a pink one in the spirit of equality if I have time.  Plus the RSC color for February is pink!

In other news, here's my last dark blue Rainbow Scrap Challenge project for January.

I made these Capital T blocks a few years ago from reproduction 1800s fabrics.  The plan had always been to quilt them by the block, so now I'm finally getting going on it.

There will be some handwork, but I don't mind at all.

We're expecting snow here, so I'd better wind this up and get to the store before it starts.  I don't want to be stuck in the house like this guy!  (He wiggled out right away, of course.)

If we do get snowed in, we'll at least have plenty of chocolate brownies my Little Guy and I made yesterday.  Bet you can tell his favorite thing is licking the spoon!

I hope you have time for your favorite things (and people and animals!) today.  Happy Quilting!

Cheers for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Sarah at Can I Get A Whoop Whoop

Alycia at Finished or Not Friday

Angela at So Scrappy

Cynthia at Oh Scrap

 

 

Razzle Dazzle Done

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!

We're excited today.  My first two Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilts of 2022, the Razzle Dazzle quilts, are quilted and bound and even washed, ready to be donated. 

Here's this one minus the adorable grandson.  (Oops, I took this photo before I sewed the binding on!)

My Little Guy loved posing for these photos.  He's a good helper.

And here's the second one, this time toddler free.

The pattern came from the Quilters Newsletter, which was hands down the best quilting magazine ever.  It grew as the quilting hobby expanded, and was a wonderful resource.  Razzle Dazzle was in the November 1997 issue.  As you can see, I simplified it a LOT.  (For more details, see my first Razzle Dazzle post HERE.)

Both of the quilts were quilted simply, on my domestic (electric!) machine.  This one got diagonal and horizontal lines following the piecing.  I was using some leftover 100% cotton batting, and wanted to quilt closely to make sure the batting wouldn't shift when the quilt was used and washed.

You can see the quilting on the back, outlining each triangle.  The backing for both quilts came from yearly sales called Granny's Attic, put on by a local quilt group.  These larger prints make good backings.  This one seems to be a zoo, with areas for the different animals.

The second quilt had an 80/20 batting (80% cotton, 20% polyester), so I didn't need to quilt as closely.  This time I just quilted the diagonal lines.

 On the back, you can see diamond shapes rather than triangles.  This Madagascar print is lots of fun.  I once had a small scrap of it, and the design was completely lost when it was cut into strips.  Backing is the best place for it.  The child who receives it can enjoy these wacky animals.  I added the center strip to make it wide enough.  It's a leftover from my Positivity 2022 quilt.  And there was just enough left for the binding.

The binding on the first quilt is a blast from the past!  If you were quilting in the 1980s/1990s, you probably recognize it as a "pin dot".  Everybody had lots of pin dots, and we used them for everything.  This scrap was just the right color.

So that's two down, three to go!  How many weeks are left in the year??

 When I was piecing the other day, I needed a leader and ender project, and found these tumblers already cut from flannel.  It didn't take much time to get these together into this little top for Jack's Basket.  So now I have to find another leader and ender project!  This always happens.  It's worth it, chain piecing saves time and thread, and I end up with bonus quilt tops like this.  Not sure when I'll get around to quilting it, though.

When Little Guy and I were taking pictures of the quilts, Snicklefritz the kitten came to see what we were doing.  I tried to get some pictures of him with the quilts, but he was just a little black and white blur.  He settled down a little on Little Guy's lap.

Later he crashed out on a quilt on the couch.  Yeah, only been here 2 weeks and he's already learned the best places to sleep--laps and quilts.

There's lots to do today, especially putting up decorations and shopping.  I wish the joy of the season to all who celebrate, and the joy of quilting to everyone.

Thanks for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Angela at So Scrappy

Cynthia at Oh Scrap

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict 

 

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