Welcome to Treadlestitches!
I'm back after technical difficulties last week. A big storm here knocked out our internet and cable last Friday night, and we didn't get it back until Sunday. Years ago that wouldn't have seemed like such a big deal, but we are so used to all these modern conveniences now that we really missed them. It paid to have books to read from our wonderful local library.
We still had electricity, thank goodness, for light and heat and so I could use the iron while I pieced on the treadle. Some of the leftover Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks from 2023 finally got made into tops. The first one is the one above.
Twenty-four Puss in the Corner blocks went into this top, which is destined for a young person through the Child Advocacy Center in Milwaukee. Sometimes I set these blocks side by side, which can look kind of chaotic. This time I opted to separate them with light print sashing, which makes a calmer quilt. Life right now seems chaotic enough all by itself.
The border and cornerstones are the same fabric. It's a print from author Eric Carle's book The Very Lonely Firefly. (Don't worry, the firefly finds friends in the end.) The block in this corner is made from a Minecraft fabric scrap leftover from making a pillowcase for one of my grandsons.
Each block is made from 4 charm squares: two each of the novelty print and two each of the light print. (Click
HERE for some quick instructions).
There were STILL more Puss in the Corner blocks, so I put 24 more of them into a second top with the same layout as the first one. I had less of the light sashing print and the border, so both had to be cut a little narrower.
The cornerstones and border are green in this one, which goes along with our RSC color for May. It will also be donated to the Child Advocacy Center, to be given to a young person.
The green border is a novelty print (of course!) of Dr. Seuss characters. As a retired elementary school librarian I love prints from children's books. (I have been known to squeal when I see them, which can be a bit embarrassing.)
Two of the blocks are also made from Dr. Seuss inspired fabric. Like this one, with Thing One and Thing Two. Sometimes my youngest grandsons remind me of these guys.
I only had a scrap of this Seuss fabric but I loved including it. Lots of us old folks enjoy seeing the names of these books that livened up our childhood.
The very kind quilter who organizes these quilts will do the long arm quilting on my tops. When Mrs. Pfaff is back from the shop I'll start sending finished quilts again.
Oops, May is almost over! I've got to push on and get my green RSC blocks done.
Last week I had these Radio Windmill blocks ready to go. These 5 lean to the right, ...
and these 5 lean to the left. Can you believe that 3 out of the 10 have giraffes in the print?
I'm not sure which imaginary land has green and pink giraffes.
Alligator or crocodile? This guy is more realistic. But not very scary.
The hearts are this week's effort. Of course there had to be a Green Bay Packers block.
Isn't it amazing how many shades of green there are? The numbers print is another an Eric Carle fabric.
My favorite heart block! Great color, fun print, a scrap from my friend Joey. (Note to self: Press it again!)
Only one more Saturday in May! I hope I made some progress with the green scraps. How did you do?
We had beautiful weather on Mothers Day. After lunch we took a walk in the park. The kids call this bench "the picture bench", so we posed for a group photo. Not pictured: our son, who was working, a son-in-law who wasn't feeling well, and Mr. H the camera shy teenager who took the picture.
Here's a scary sight: Little Guy driving around on a four wheeler! He's a good driver so far.
I hope you're enjoying the merry month of May where you are, whatever the weather brings.
Happy Stitching!
Thanks for reading,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches
Check out these great linky parties, hosted by wonderful quilters.
I'm sorry you had to deal with that internet outage last week, Sylvia, but it sounds like you didn't have too much trouble getting along without it. Your blogging friends missed you, though! Those puss in the corner tops are so fun, and all your green blocks, too. I love the heart blocks especially! Have a wonderful weekend!
ReplyDeleteIsn’t it odd how much we’ve come to rely on technology? I guess it’s true that we derive a lot of joy from it in addition to all the bad things we’re warned about! To me, you are the queen of kids scraps. I simply must start cutting novelty chunks into 5” blocks so I can try those Puss in the Corner blocks. They’ve always been among my favorites. I also love those “radio windmill” blocks. Must look those up. Green has so many lovely (and some ugly) iterations, doesn’t it? It’s nice to see a picture of you and your lovely family, Sylvia!! I was thinking of you this week - I’ve decided that next month will be the month I sew together the Little Bricks blocks you showed us a few years back. I think I still have enough to sew two more little quilts. xo
ReplyDeleteThose Puss in the corner blocks make a great quilt for a little one. Hmmm. Em's band teacher is pregnant and I know I have some Dr. Seuss fabrics. I think I'll follow your lead and make a fun one like this. Thank you for the inspiration. Glad the internet is back up for you this week (and you had some books handy to read!).
ReplyDeleteCongrats on getting two tops done. They look greeeaaat! I'm also working on some Puss in the Corner but they aren't like yours. Pink giraffe must be very rare but I saw a picture this week of a baby giraffe born with no spots. It's all beige. So cute and very rare. Little Guy is really enjoying his ride. Enjoy! ;^)
ReplyDeleteYes, we do rely on technology these days and when we don''t have it, we miss it! I'm glad you had electricity so you weren't cold and could iron! You made some lovely flimsies. I am in awe of all the novelty prints you find and use. The Eric Carle border print is perfect for your top!--TerryK@OnGoingProjects
ReplyDeleteThank goodness the power outage was short. I'm not that far south of you and we were fine. Your Puss in the Corner blocks are great with novelty fabrics and look how many quilts you got out of them! I really like the Radio Windmills.
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