Roar!

We're roaring around here today...

and stomping, too!

My Little Buddy's dinosaur quilt is finished!  Some of his favorite friends are helping me.

They're pretty excited, and I am, too.  I can't wait to show Little Buddy the quilt when he comes here on Tuesday.

Here's the whole thing, without the dinosaur friends.  All of the smaller squares were charm squares, either the official kind from the quilt store, or cut by me from my scraps.

Here's the panel I started with back in June.  It took a little bit of math to figure out the layout so everything would fit.  Math makes my head hurt, but I persisted.

I framed up the center to a size that would work with the charm squares.  Those dark blue squares in the corners were cut from a yard of fabric that was meant to go with the panel.  I was really glad I bought it.
The last border is really wide, because I wanted to put the smaller squares from the panel in the corners.
I did the quilting on my domestic machine, quilt as you go style.  It might be easier to see what I mean by looking at the back.

The center section is what I quilted first, just as though it was a small quilt.  Then I added the large outer pieces of backing to the center.  I spray basted large strips of batting to the backing.  Then I added the borders to the top, one border at a time, spray basting the batting as I went.  I would add a border, quilt it, then add the next, and quilt it, and so on.

All of the quilting is very simple stuff.  I did use Golden Threads paper to mark the wavy lines.
It was a relatively easy way to quilt a medallion style quilt.  Best of all, no hand sewing!

So that's one off the To Do list.
Here's something I'm sewing as a leader and ender project.  Does anybody know the name of this pattern?

Here's one block, made with rectangles and squares 2.5 in. wide (cut).

And here's what they can do when you put 4 blocks together!
I just love patterns like this.
I picked up this kit at our last quilt meeting.  Our wonderful charity group had cut all the pieces from donated scraps.  When I finish the piecing, a volunteer will quilt it on a long arm machine, and we'll donate it locally to a good cause.
I would love to know the name of the pattern and the designer if possible.

Thanks for reading this long post.  I'm hoping you have something great to roar about this week.
Cheers,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:
Angela at So Scrappy (Keep her in your thoughts--the hurricane is coming her way!)
Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Alycia at Alycia Quilts
Cynthia at Oh Scrap 

Back Home Again

I've said it before, I'll say it again--it is GREAT to be back home.  In celebration, I even finished this quilt.  Okay, it isn't any of the MANY quilts I'm supposedly working on, and it's only 36 in. or so square, but a finish is a finish.

I was inspired by one of the Tiny Tuesday blocks from the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  The block is called Nine Patch and Rails, and you can find a link to the tiny block HERE, at Life on the Hill blog, by Libby.

My blocks are not tiny at all!  They're 9 inches square.  I used lots of novelty prints from my 3.5 in. strip box.  (Check out the monkeys here, and the smiling tacos in the second photo!)

Here's the back, a cute and snuggly flannel.

Close up time!  Aren't these lady bugs fun?
I haven't had a finish for a while, so I am making a big deal out of this little quilt.

But this stack really is a big deal!  Members of my local quilt group, Ties That Bind, made all these little quilts for Jack's Basket.  My quilt is joining the pile.
Earlier this year, as part of the Hands 2 Help Comfort Challenge, (put on by Sarah at her blog Confessions of a Fabric Addict), I made some quilts for Jack's Basket, and showed them at my local group.  Other quilters wanted to help too, so we started making and collecting more quilts.
You may already have heard of Jack's Basket, a wonderful 501 c 3 charity.  The donated quilts go in baskets that are given to families upon the birth of a child with Down's Syndrome.  It's a way of welcoming the babies and connecting the parents with resources and other parents who are also raising kids with Downs.   Find out more about Jack's Basket HERE.
I'm filling up a big box with these little quilts.  If we have more donated after that, I'll fill up another box.

More stuff done!  In spite of having a very busy week, I got my 3 light blue crumb blocks pieced for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

I think I like this one best.  Dinosaurs, caterpillars, bubbles, and more.

I really love making the crumb centers for these blocks.  For the longest time, I've just been throwing crumb-sized pieces in a basket, and sorting through them when I needed a certain color.

But not anymore!  You are looking at my new improved crumb box.  Each color of "crumbs" is sorted into its own zip bag, so I can easily pull them out and get to work.  I have found that I like making crumbs in one color, rather than a mix.
This is progress for me.  For the longest time I really just couldn't do crumbs at all, they were just too random for me.  Using the same color for any one square seems to dial down the randomness, and makes me feel better.  I envy all of you who can just go for it.  I'm still working on it.

Here's what else I'm working on--pickle relish!  This was a small batch, and I'm not kidding.  Only 2 and a half pints.  Since I still have all the ingredients, I'm going to have another go at it this weekend.  I like having it on hand.  A couple of tablespoons really perk up a tuna salad, chicken salad, or potato salad.

Aren't these awesome socks?  Don't tell my granddaughter, she's getting these as part of her birthday gifts.  The ones on the left have sparkly hearts!

May your heart sparkle this week, with whatever gives you joy.
Thanks for reading,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with
Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Angela at So Scrappy
Finished or Not Friday's New Home at Alycia Quilts
Cynthia at Oh Scrap 

Inspirations from Paris, Part 2: Machines a Coudre (Sewing Machines)

It is so nice to be back home again, sewing light blue zigzag blocks for my Rainbow Scrap Challenge quilts.  I've also had some time to start organizing the photos I took.

You just never know what you may find when you travel with a scientist.  My husband gets so excited about things and people I've never even heard of.  Our trip to Paris could have been subtitled The Search for Lavoisier.  We spent an entire morning in 90 degree heat looking for a statue of this Lavoisier that we later discovered had been moved nearly a century ago.   And, of course, we went to the museum that houses Lavoisier's lab.

The museum is called the Musee des Arts et Metiers, and has all sorts of exhibits of technology.  (Click HERE to go to an article on the Musee des Arts et Metiers.)  And Lavoisier is/was Antoine Lavoisier, (1743-1794) a famous scientist who revolutionized chemistry, and then sadly was "revolutionized" by the Reign of Terror and the guillotine. (Click HERE to learn more about Lavoisier.)

While hubby was taking about a thousand photos, I was wandering around amusing myself, when I found this.

Sewing machines!  Of course!  One of the best things ever invented--even better than sliced bread or canned beer.
Most of the machines were in large glass cases, so please excuse the reflections in the photos.

According to the description, this is a Journaux-LeBlond machine, made in 1862, capable of sewing 3 stitches (I assume that means three types of stitches.)  I never saw this kind of set up for a machine before.  I'm not sure why you'd want to raise the machine like that.  The mother of pearl inlay was still intact, and beautiful.

This little chainstitcher dates from about 1880, and looks very much like machines produced here in the U.S.

My heart just about stopped when I saw this one.  It is identified as a crank operated sewing machine by Thimonnier from 1830.  None of the documentation said if it was a copy or an original.  If it's an original, it's as rare as hen's teeth.
The inventor, Barthelemy Thimonnier, was a tailor when he came up with this very early (1830!) design.  The machine sewed 200 stitches per minute, and he had several made and got a contract from the French government to make uniforms.  Unfortunately, a mob of angry tailors concerned about losing their jobs broke into his shop and destroyed the machines.  M. Thimonnier later tried to start up a sewing machine business again, but by this time other inventors had come up with better models, and technology had passed him by. 

He still was remembered on a stamp.

This adorable little treadle was made by Peugeot, the French company that started out making coffee mills and still makes cars and bicycles.

I just love these old trade cards.  For the record, I do not wear a ball gown when I treadle.

Check out the undercarriage of this hand crank.  Can you see the spool of thread? This might be like an Eldredge Two Spool, where a small spool of thread is used instead of a bobbin.

The machine is a Hurtu et Hautin.  The design of the head is called a classic "open frame".  (Click HERE to go to the Ismacs article on Hurtu.)

One last thing--can you see the metal rod in the case right behind the glass flask?  It is an ell, an early way to measure lengths of fabric.  Now we use a yardstick or a meter stick, of course.

There were lots of other textile-related exhibits, including looms, several with Jacquard cards to make all sorts of amazing patterns.  If you're interested in this kind of thing, I would highly recommend the Musee des Arts et Metiers.  It's easy to get to on the Metro, air conditioned, and has exhibit signage in English as well as French, although the English is less detailed.

Back at home, Little Buddy and I picked the garden.  Most of the green beans got too big to eat while we were gone!  I'll dry them and use the inner beans for seeds for next year's garden.  The tomatoes are perfect.

I enjoy traveling and learning new things.  Just this museum visit alone has sparked lots of ideas for further research.   And all thanks to my hubby's obsession with that Lavoisier guy.

Here's where I'll be today.

I'm wishing good experiences, new ones or old ones, for you this week.
Cheers for reading this long post!
Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:
Angela at So scrappy
Myra at Busy Hands Quilts-Finished or Not Friday (for the last time!)
Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Cynthia at Oh Scrap

Quilt Inspirations in Paris: Part One

This is my hubby, on the banks of the Seine, with Notre Dame Cathedral in the background.  We actually went to Paris!  I can still hardly believe it.

Here's a peak at the inside of my carry on bag.  I like to knit when I fly, because knitting helps me calm down.  I'm not afraid to fly (I actually LIKE to fly), I'm just afraid something will go wrong and we won't get to fly, or we'll be stuck somewhere.  (This has happened.)
I really needed my knitting this time, as we had a weather delay that made us miss our connection, so we lost an entire day of our vacation.
We did finally get there, and it was definitely worth it.

Our first stop?  A flea market!  On our way into Paris from the airport, we stopped at a train station, checked our bags, and walked off to a more or less permanent flea market.  (We both wish we'd taken pictures of the place, sorry.)  There were three or four full city blocks of stalls, selling everything from knock-off clothing to antiques.

--

Here's what I bought--a yard of vintage fabric, and this odd stamp.

I'm not sure what this started out to be, as the metal is obviously broken at the top, but I'm planning to use it to make labels for my quilts.  The little shop was amazing, just crammed with old fabrics and linens.  (Below is an image from the internet, to give you an idea.)




Hubby and I are not always typical tourists.  He's a retired scientist, and I love history, so we often visit museums when we travel.
I took these pictures in the Louvre.  The first three come from the palace of Darius I, and date to at least 400 BC.

 Does this look familiar?

How about these triangles?  I'm afraid the beautiful deep aqua color of these bricks doesn't come through in my cell phone photos.

More "Dresden plates".  Looks like around 16 petals.

Not a great photo, but can you see the clam shells decorating this Roman basin?  Many of our motifs have ancient roots.

Quilting designs were just about everywhere, even underfoot.

What about this neat little star in the floor tiles?  It might be fun to make a quilt center based on this pattern.

Or if you're really ambitious, check out this design!  And there are nine patches in the background.

I didn't get any quilting done in Paris (way too tired from sight seeing all day), but my stress knitting helped me make these hats.

These will go to the Mittens and More drive hosted by the local PBS station.  My yarn scraps can go for something worthwhile--making sure Wisconsin kids are warm this winter.  I hope to get lots more done before the October due date.

I took this picture standing on Pont Neuf.  On our next to last night, we went on one of these tour boats just as the sun was going down and the lights were coming on.

It was a once in a lifetime trip, and I'm so glad we went.
In part two, I'll show you photos of lots of old sewing machines.

I hope your week is filled with inspiration and joy.
Cheers for reading,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:
Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Myra at Busy Hands Quilts
Angela at So Scrappy
Cynthia at Oh Scrap

Scraps of Cadet Blue

Does this look tempting to you?  It did to me!  This is the contents of a scrap bag I bought at Ye Olde Schoolhouse quilt shop in Cedarburg, WI, a couple of weeks ago.  Believe it or not, all this reproduction fabric was crammed into a gallon ziplock bag.

This is where I stashed the scraps when I got home--my scrap processing center aka bushel basket.

And here's what it looks like this morning on my sewing room floor.  I am combing through the mess, looking for reproduction cadet blue pieces.

If you love antique quilts and/or like making reproductions, you probably already know about this book, Clues in the Calico by Barbara Brackman.  She defines cadet blue as a lighter blue,  popular from around 1890 to 1925.  The reason we call it cadet blue is because that's how it was described in the Sears catalogs of that era.

The Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalog was the Amazon.com of their day.  But can you imagine ordering items based on black and white drawings, like this one for fabric?

The text tells us the colors and the type of fabric (cotton, silk, flannel, etc.).

This add caught my eye when I bought this catalog several years ago.  It's for a Minnesota A sewing machine in a fancy cabinet.

And here's a very similar machine in my dining room.  Somebody, over a hundred years ago, ordered this machine from Sears, I'm sure.  It passed through several hands before a friend and I picked it up in northern Illinois.  By the way, it still works perfectly.

But I digress.  What was I going to do with the cadet blue scraps?

Roscoe stars!  (Click HERE for my first post on this project.)  I am reproducing a quilt I saw in an antique mall in Beloit.  Many of the blocks were made from dark indigo blue prints, but some of them were light blue.  I don't have enough of most cadet blues to make the whole star, but I like the scrappy look anyway.

So far, I have 3 of these light blue blocks done.
This is definitely the month to make these.  The Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for August is light or bright blue.
As long as I was sorting out these blues for the Roscoe stars, I got started on my spiky stars for the month.

Two out of three ain't bad, right?  (Hey, Meatloaf said so!)
Last Saturday at this time, I was flying over the Atlantic, heading back from Paris.  I promise, I will post about that soon.  But today, I'm just so happy to be home, digging through the scraps.

I'm wishing inspiration and relaxation for you all this week.
Cheers for reading this,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:
Angela at Soscrappy
Myra at Busy Hands Quilts
Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Cynthia at Oh Scrap