Radio Windmill Top and Lots of Purple

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!  Thanks for stopping by!

Good morning!  I got back from vacation Sunday evening and hit the ground running, trying to catch up with laundry and groceries and just regular life.  I hadn't sewn anything for more than a week, so was glad to fit in some stitching with chores and babysitting.  

Our quilt guild has a current project making quilts for the group Sleep In Heavenly Peace.  The group makes beds for kids who don't have any, and quilt groups make quilts for the beds.  The size quilt they need is 60 in. x 80 in., which is larger than what I usually make.  I went looking in my "Some Assembly Required" bin (term borrowed from Cathy at the Sane, Crazy, Crumby Quilting blog) and found a set of blocks I made in 2025 as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

The Radio Windmill block pattern was originally published in the 1940s in the Kansas City Star newspaper series of patterns.  I made mine from a pattern called Highland Fling in the book Dessert Roll Quilts by Pam and Nicky Lintott.  It's an easy pattern (no, really!).  The center is a charm square, and the outside triangles are cut from rectangles, so there is NO WASTED FABRIC.  

I chose mostly light background novelty print squares for the centers and calmer prints for the outside triangles.

It was simple and quick to sew 42 of the blocks together and add a border.  A volunteer from the guild will quilt it, someone (maybe me) will bind it, and it will go to a local child with their new bed.  I still have enough blocks left to make a small quilt.

Speaking of RSC blocks, it is already the last Saturday in September aka purple month, so here are my last group of purple blocks, the Quarter Log Cabin ones.

I never had yardage of these robots, just a few scraps, so I was glad to find a place for this square.  And of course I had to add the aliens flying space ships to this block. 

More ghosts eating popcorn!  This block is reminding me to get out the Halloween decorations this weekend.  Maybe I can get the grandsons to help decorate.

More purple!  I like to knit on vacation, especially in airports.  I took the yarn along to make hats for kids, to donate to a local charity.  I hadn't done this for awhile, and cast on too many stitches for the first hat.  I finished it into an adult-sized hat just before we went up into the mountains.  As you'd expect, it was COLD there in the mornings when we were out hiking.  I ended up wearing the big hat almost every day.  It's mine now lol.

Vacation Pix Coming!  (Feel free to skip.)

Our vacation this year was in the Canadian Rockies.  Above is the view from our hotel window.  I was jaw-droppingly amazed every time I looked out.

We ate lunch beside this beautiful lake one day.

This is a wildlife overpass in Banff National Park.  Critters like moose, elk, bears, etc. can safely cross the highway on these.  There are fences to keep them from getting on the road.

On one of our last days we went on a one-hour trail ride.  That's me in front and hubby right behind.  Neither of us are equestrians lol, not having been on horseback in at least 50 years.  It was a pleasant ride, and very exciting when we came across a male elk who didn't want to move.  Our guide used a noisemaker to encourage him to move on, also for a second male elk who came to see what was going on.  After a few minutes both elk disappeared into the brush and the ride continued.

Of course I went quilt shopping in town!  We stayed in Canmore, where there is a lovely quilt shop packed with fabrics and patterns and yarn.  I found most of my treasures in the sale room (as usual).  Check out the taco truck print!

As always, it's great to go on vacation, and great to come home.  I'm ready to enjoy fall now.  Bring on the baking, the sweaters, the oven suppers, the lovely fall leaves, and best of all, the quilting.

Happy Quilting, everyone, and have a good week!

Thanks for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with these amazing quilters:

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Angela at So Scrappy, Home of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge