Happy Halloween

 As the sign on my house says...

Welcome to Treadlestitches, Halloween Edition!

I didn't make any Halloween quilts this year, but there are little bits of orange and black in both tops finished this week.

This top has lots of black prints.  I started working on it two weeks ago, when I got the center (the six blocks and their tan sashing) from the charity committee to quilt.  Well, I couldn't leave well enough alone, and decided to make it big enough to fit a cot in the men's shelter.  I added the polka dot border (from my stash), and then made and added the piano keys outer border.

You never know what's going to come in handy.  Several years ago I bought a scrap bag at a flea market with lots of Route 66 fabric pieces, mostly squares and short strips.  It was fun to include them in this border.

I don't use a lot of black fabrics in my quilts for children, so I was glad I had these on hand.  There are also greens and grays, to go with the center squares.

Now it's ready for quilting.  I'm going to look around here and see if I can find enough flannel to back it with, so it's warm and cozy on our cold Wisconsin nights.

Does this ever happen to you?  Last month I needed a leader and ender project (read about what that is HERE), so I just grabbed some reproduction fabric squares and started sewing these 16-patch blocks.  Then, they took over!

When I got the blocks done, I had just about decided to put them together with an unpieced square of shirting fabric, but that seemed kind of ho-hum.  I had always liked a quilt made by Harriet Hargrave with this set, so that was the inspiration. 

Can you see which of the hourglass blocks is different?  I make my scrap quilts the way my foremothers did.  If I run out of one fabric, I add another similar one and keep going.

It's hard to see from the photo, but the border is a blue plaid.  It's a Marti Michel print from the 1990s, another flea market find.  How old does a fabric have to be before it's vintage?  

We're going to keep this one.  After I get it quilted, we'll use it on this twin bed, or curl up with it on the couch.  I'd like flannel backing for it too.  (Can you tell it's getting colder here?)

With those out of the way, I need a new piecing project.  Luckily, I have several (ahem! Understatement!) UFOs to choose from.  These blocks were finished in August 2020 and need to be set into a top.  I pieced most of them as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  

What about setting them with a pieced block?  It seems to be a theme with me lately.
 

How about this block?  It's number 2314 in Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns.  It has several names.  I like Windmill best. Both blocks are 6 in. finished, so I'll need a lot of them.

Here's a preview of what it will look like.  Do you see the mistake I made?  Middle row, far right.

If it is possible to make a piecing mistake, I will make it.  This time, it was a cutting mistake.  The big pieces are not symmetrical, so they all have to be cut with the same side up.  I didn't always do that, so some of my blocks have a right twist and some have a left twist.  I'm not worried about it.

We have too much to do around here to worry about anything.  Baby Buddy and Little Buddy helped me cut out pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies.  The little guy was surprisingly good at it, all I had to do was keep him from eating the dough.

Don't be too frightened, but Little Buddy made this Haunted House for us from all the scariest toys and decorations he could find.  Some pretend dinosaur skulls got added in for extra creepiness.

Happy Halloween to all who celebrate, and thanks for reading!

Cheers,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

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