Friday, July 8, 2022

A Finish, Purple Blocks, Berries, and a Little Thief

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!

I finished a quilt on Monday.  And it wasn't a baby quilt!  It was one of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects from 2021, a twin-sized reproduction quilt.

I got started late in February on these blocks using my 1800s reproduction scraps.  The pattern, called Poinsettia Star, comes from the fabulous Bonnie Hunter's book Scraps and Shirttails II, as part of her Carolina Christmas quilt.  The star shapes (aka petals) were in the color of the month, with an additional color as an accent in the squares, plus a lot of light prints for background.

Here's all the blocks, laid out on the floor.  I didn't make a top for this quilt.  Instead, I divided it into sections so I could finish it quilt-as-you-go, with no handwork.

If you'd like to know how I do that, I've written a tutorial using this quilt as an example.  A couple of years ago I tried my hand at writing something similar, and got bogged down in prose and too many pictures.  This time, I've simplified things.  If you'd like to see it, click HERE.

For backing, I used some of my collection of Toile de Jouy prints.  I specifically chose the ones with patriotic and historical American images.  I only had about a yard of each, and two of the pieces are the same print, just in different colors.

Flags, covered wagons, Lady Liberty and George Washington!

A great quilt to finish on July 4th.

So that's the last of the RSC quilts from 2021!  (Never mind the RSC quilts from earlier years.  I've got more work to do there!)

For this year, the lovely purple scraps have come out to play as the color of the month for July.

I don't seem to have very many purple novelty prints.  How dreadful!  Something must be done!

In other news, our raspberries are starting to get ripe.  The little boys and I have been picking them in the mornings.  It's not cold out, we're wearing sweatshirts to keep the mosquitos off.  They've been awful this year.  (The mosquitos, not the boys!)

Very few of the berries end up back in the house.  I wonder why?

It happened again!  Can you tell what this terribly blurry picture is?  I caught this striped culprit in the netting that goes over my little strawberry patch.  A couple of weeks ago I caught the same one or its relative in just the same way.  This time, I took a quick photo before cutting the little scoundrel loose.  Next year, I'm going to work on a better system to keep the sneaky rodents and birds out.

For now, we're going to make the most of all the pleasures of the season.

Have a happy week!

Thanks for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Angela at So Scrappy

Cynthia at Oh Scrap 









32 comments:

  1. I think squirrels have been eating my blackberries - I have not spotted them doing so but I give up on what else other than birds - next year I will try to do a frame of netting to put over them

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    1. Squirrels used to make my grandmother really mad. They would take a bite out of every tomato. Grrr!

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  2. Beautiful quilt finish! I'm intrigued by the quilt as you go finishing. Easier to handle, for sure. We have wild strawberries in our back yard. I don't spray it for weeds because all the creatures love them, and I like seeing them. Have a great weekend!

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    1. Thanks, Mari! I like the little creatures too. We have wild strawberries here, but they are very tiny.

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  3. I love your Poinsettia Star quilt. It’s so happy!

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    1. Thanks, Cathy! I do like cheerful colors. And lots of scraps!

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  4. Those Poinsettia Star blocks are pretty in all the colors, Sylvia - great finish! How fun to pick fresh raspberries right out of Grandma's garden, too - of course they're going to get eaten! But little chipmunks aren't invited to the feast. He must have been stuck in your netting, poor thing. Hopefully he learned his lesson!

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    1. When I got to the chipmunk it had netting tightly wrapped around its neck! I didn't want to kill them, stealing strawberries isn't a capital crime. I'm going to try something else next year, maybe chicken wire.

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  5. Since I got my cat, I don't see chipmunks or squirrels around anymore. Yay! Little boys, on the other hand, you do want to keep them, lol.
    Congrats on finishing your quilt. I love the blocks, I love the fabric, I love the scrappy sashing, I love the pieced back with toiles ... okay, I love it all. You definitively have to fatten up your purple novelty stash. Enjoy! ;^)

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    1. Good for Raven, keeping the pests away! Thanks for the kind words. Purple shopping needs to happen soon!

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  6. I made carolina christmas and love it - but yours is fun in scrappy fabrics, We have been overrun with creatures this year.

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  7. the mosquitoes are even bad here in colorado where it's supposed to be inhospitable to them. Mosquitoes and roaches will live long after humans are gone. Chipmunks... in Maryland, one ran up the downspout to escape my poodle who then tore the downspout off the house to get it...

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    1. I guess mosquitoes are food for birds etc., but what on earth is a cockroach good for? Chipmunks at least are kind of cute. Except when they're stealing fruit!

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  8. Try some good old fashioned chicken wire. We use it and they cannot get through the small holes of the wire cage we make to keep the berries safe.

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    1. Thanks, good idea. I'm going to try it for next year.

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  9. That's a lovely quilt finish. Like you, I've got a few RSC projects from earlier years waiting to be completed.

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    1. Thanks, Jenny! I'm sure I'll never be done with ALL my projects, but it's fun to keep trying.

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  10. Thanks for visiting my blog, and thanks for sharing your pictures. Great quilt finish. And no, berries seldom make it into the house!

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    1. Thanks, viridian! When I pick on the weekends when the boys are not here, I get some to bring in. That will have to do!

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  11. And there that chipmunk was, thinking you'd put up a trampoline just for him...

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    1. I'm sure he got a nasty shock! The mesh was around his neck, and his struggling was just making it worse. Naughty chipmunk!

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  12. Gorgeous blocks and yes I agree, not enough purple fabric or quilts.

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    1. Thanks, Anorina! Maybe we should have 2 purple months???

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  13. What a super quilt!! that block is really pretty and the way you did it is amazing! That backing.... beautiful!!!

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    1. Thanks, Alycia! I think I like the back as much as the front!

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  14. Such a lovely finish, Sylvia! Few berries make into our house as well. . .there is the dog, bunnies, granddaughters and me. . . enjoying them. There is nothing better than picking and eating!--TerryK

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    1. Thanks, Terry K! Your dog likes berries? Mine turns up her nose at them. Berries are one of the best things about summer IMO.

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  15. Congrats on the finish. What a great idea to use the block from one of Bonnie's books and make it your own. Cute chipmunk. As destructive as squirrels, bunnies and chipmunks are I like to see them in our small yard. (Although no chipmunks have visited since we moved here 6 yrs ago,)

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    1. Thanks, Bonnie! I like the little animals too, especially the bunnies. But not in the strawberry patch!

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  16. Love the blue border fabric! Oh, those hungry critters! Love the toille collection

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