Piece and Joy to All

It's almost Christmas Eve!  Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, and joy to everyone. 
As you can see above, I'm not finished quilting the Christmas scrap quilts I started this year.  No worries, there are only 368 more days til NEXT Christmas, and I'm sure at least this one will be done by then.

Here is my scrappy Christmas stars quilt laid out on the floor, before layering and quilting.  This quilt is another two-parter.  I'm currently quilting the center section.  When I've got that done, I'll add the borders with their backing and batting and quilt them.  Please pardon the dark photo, I just can't take pictures on these dark evenings.

The cobblestones top aka disappearing nine patch is done.  I'm actually going to have to buy a back for it.  With all the fabric I have here you'd think I could find something acceptable, but no.  It will be used in a fundraiser basket at my grandkids' school, so I want it to look really nice.  This will mean a trip to the store after Christmas.  (Hurray!  They might have other stuff I "need"!)

It is definitely easier for me to piece than quilt during my grandson's naps.  The electric Pfaff is noisier than the treadle, and I'm right down the hall from his room.  So I'm usually looking for something to piece in the afternoons.  That's where this box comes in handy.  This is my kit box.  In here are kits I have cut during the year for donation quilts.

I pieced this baby quilt top this week from a kit made from the large Accuquilt tumblers.  I laid it out on my design floor on Wednesday (in spite of the help of Mr. Biddy the cat), and pieced it together on Thursday.  I'll get it quilted next, after the scrappy Christmas stars.

I can't believe all the cute flannel prints there are in the stores.  Most of these have been in my stash for literally years.  It's nice to move them along in a warm quilt for a child.
This is the season for sewing with flannel, at least here in Wisconsin.  There are 4 more flannel baby quilts cut out and ready to sew in the kit box.  I might get a couple more of them done before spring.

In other years, I have enjoyed making Bonnie Hunter's annual mystery quilt during the holidays, but I haven't really found the time this year.  This year's mystery quilt is called On Ringo Lake, and you can find all the parts HERE.  Reading her posts has made me remember that I although I have started several, I have NEVER finished one of these mystery quilts. 

Thinking of this made me dig out my Celtic Solstice quilt pieces from the bottom of the closet, and finally sew these indigo blue borders on.

Bonnie's designs are always amazing, but sometimes they're just a little too complicated for me.  I calmed this one down by leaving out the yellow and green chevrons which I just couldn't make come out right no matter what I did.  (The directions were fine.  My sewing was NOT.)  I added a row of blocks at the top and the bottom to make it longer and simplified the border.

And I love it!  It's also in two sections, ready for my kind of quilting.  I have no idea when that will happen.
This week I'm wishing you the joy of the season, and the joy of making quilts.
Feliz Navidad!
Sylvia@Treadlestitches
Usual link ups at Crazy Mom Quilts and Busy Hands Quilts.

Summer Stars

It's summer in southeastern Wisconsin.  Winters here are long, but the beautiful summer tries hard to make up for it.  This is our lilac bush, out by the driveway.  (The blossoms look white here, but they are light, well, lilac-colored.)

This week I've been spending some time sitting at the kitchen table, binding my Summer Stars quilt.  Most of the week was sunny, and I even had the windows open in the afternoon.

I finished the binding around midnight last night, just couldn't stop til it was finally done.  I blogged about this quilt back in April (see post HERE) when I was quilting it.  As usual, I pieced it on my Singer treadle and quilted it, in two sections, on my electric Pfaff.

The star points were leftovers from the first mystery quilt I ever did online--Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice.  These points were meant for the pieced border, but I changed the size of the quilt AND ran out of orange, so that left these pieces without a home.
I made them into stars with some hsts, added the alternate blocks, and finished with a three strip border and 6 in. stars in the corners.

The alternate blocks were made with a light fabric I bought more than 10 years ago, and a more recent repro I bought yards of on sale.  There's not much left of it now, I have loved it so much.

It's hard to see in the upper photo, but this one shows the quilting in the plain blocks better, mainly because you can still see the pencil marks.

It's not a big quilt, not even a regular twin size, but it is big enough to curl up under.

Here it is in my husband's office.  He's a retired chemist, hence the microscopes.

The quilt is done, we're back to gardening again, and I'm happy dancing all over the house.  I'm using the rain barrel to water the plants, and still admiring the design painted on it by a local high school student.

I think it's going to be a good year for raspberries!  Like all other gardeners, I live on hope.
I'm wishing hope and happiness for all this week.
Cheers,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Don't forget the linky party at Crazy Mom Quilts!

Big Half, Little Half

Sharing is hard when you're a kid.  Especially when you have to share something extra special, like the last candy bar.  My younger sister and brother started a family saying by always shouting "I want the BIG half!!"
Of course there is no such thing as the BIG half.  Half means equal.  Most of us always want to be MORE equal, like those animals in Animal Farm.
How on earth does this relate to quilts?  In the photo above, I'm getting ready to quilt the BIG half of my quilt.

This is the LITTLE half, all quilted.  I'm quilting this one in two pieces.

The star blocks were made from leftovers from Bonnie Hunter's Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt.  I changed the size of the quilt, and didn't end up making the pieced border.

(I first wrote about this in Nov. 2015, that post is HERE.)

I'm outline quilting the star blocks.  I may add more diagonal lines in the border.

I'm doing a loop design in the alternate blocks.
How am I doing this without using free-motion quilting?  I'm TURNING THE QUILT.  Yes, really.
The process is a little tedious, but it gets the job done.  And I like outline quilting on a reproduction quilt like this.
Here's the BIG half:

The little half has three rows of five blocks, and the big half has four rows.

When I finish quilting this half, I'll join the sections, quilt over the seam, and all the quilting will be done.

This square in the border is one of my favorites.

In other news, it is starting to feel like spring here.  I'm not counting winter out yet, but the robins and cardinals are back and my tulips are coming up.

I'm still sewing the Flower Girl blocks.

Only 10 more to go!
Are you working on spring projects, or finishing the UFOs, or both?
I hope you're enjoying the weather, wherever you live.
Cheers,
Sylvia
P.S.  I'm linking up with Myra at Busy Hands Quilts and Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts.  Check out all the great stuff!

Train of Thought

It's Link Up Day for the new Bonnie Hunter mystery, Allietare, with colors based on her trip to Italy.  My trusty RAF Singer and I did clue number 1 over the long weekend.

Here is the stash I pulled to start with.  I also have drawers of scrap strips.  I'm not sure about my mustard colored fabric--is it the right color?  Do I have enough?  As always, with these mysteries, I'm trying to just use what I have on hand.

I sewed these little half square triangles in batches of ten.  I'm not the type to cut all of them at once, and then sew all of them, and then press all of them.  I like a little variety.  So I cut two strips worth, and then sewed ten at a time, pressed them, and put a pin in each batch of ten so I wouldn't have to keep counting them over and over.  I tend to lose my train of thought, especially in the sewing room.

All done!

So here's my homework in its basket, ready for the next clue, which comes out on Friday.

While I was working on this mystery, I realized something awful.  I have never finished a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt.  Celtic Solstice is still in two pieces, with no border, and not quilted.  Grand Illusion's top is done, but that's all.  I hope I can do better this time.

Thinking about Celtic Solstice led me to the basement, where I have stored these little pieces.  They were left overs, because I decided not to make the pieced border.  Hmm.  What could I do with them?

What about stars?  I loved the stars in Celtic Solstice, and these are similar.  I made hsts for the corners (a breeze after making all those little ones).

The block centers came from this little bin.  This is where I keep 3.5 in. squares, cut from scraps. There are all sorts of colors in here, but it's about evenly divided between bright colors and reproduction fabrics.  I had plenty of indigo blue 3.5 in. squares for the centers of the stars.

So how to put the stars together?  What about a snowball block between them?  Maybe I could do some fancy quilting in the middle of it.

I think I like it.  I might like it better if I had a darker color for the snowball corners, possibly orange.  There is not even the tiniest scrap of any of these orange prints left in my stash.  I even used the strings for string blocks.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we're decorating for Christmas.  Our oldest grandson was here on Saturday night, and he helped us trim the tree and put up the decorations.  He especially liked setting up the Nativity scene, although he put the donkey up high with the angel, because he said the angel was lonely.

The quilt on the couch is one I made for my son many years ago.  It's twin-sized, not really big enough for him now, so it's still at our house.  I'm using it here on the couch, to cover up the bad places in the upholstery made by the dog.
This got me thinking about my youngest daughter's Christmas quilt.  I made a quilt for each of my 3 children when they were little, and Connie really used hers.  The poor quilt is absolutely wrecked.  I would not let her take it with her when she moved out, as it is literally a rag.  I did promise to make her another one.
Hmm.  Christmas fabric is 60% off this week.  And the grandkids don't have Christmas quilts, either.

Gotta go.  I have a train to catch.

Have a lovely week of sewing!

Back to Allietare Part 1 Link Up

Catching Up

I once had a co-worker who was fond of the saying "The faster I go, the behind-er I get".  I understand how she felt.  It's been quite a while since I posted, so now here I am, catching up.

First, the Celtic Solstice Mystery Quilt, by Quiltville's Bonnie Hunter.  When last I wrote, I was still dithering about what to do to make it longer, so it would be a rectangle instead of a square.  Here's what I did:

I took some of the parts I had made for the pieced border (the triangles with the orange background) and made new blocks.  I was all out of orange, (except for one short 2 in. strip), so I made 4 patches of green print and shirting fabrics.  The blue star points help carry the circular design out to the edge.  For the alternate block, I used the very last of the orange with yellow to make as many half square triangle squares as I could, and sewed them into the corner units.  Then I used green and yellow to make the rest of the ones I needed.  The centers are 4 patches made from green and yellow prints.

In this photo you can see the original blocks and the new blocks.  I added a row of the new blocks at the top and at the bottom.

Here is the quilt laid out.  It is in two pieces, because I may quilt it that way.  I am still dithering about the borders.  Blue?  Green?  Both?  Maybe some yellow?  Just not orange, remember, I'm out.
Click here to get back to the Celtic Solstice Link Up Finale
Link Up Finale

In other news, I finished a charity top for our guild.  A wonderful person will quilt it on her long arm machine, and it will go to someone who needs it.

It's a dancing nine patch, from Bonnie Hunter's free pattern.  Here's a link to it:  Dancing Nine Patch
I changed it a little.  The original pattern calls for 2 in. squares.  I used 2.5 in. strips for the blocks and 2 in. strips for the green joining strips.

When my friend Joey came to visit a few months ago, she brought me a huge batch of 2.5 in. strips.  She had cut them using her Accuquilt strip cutter.  Can you guess what they were cut from?

These were pillow panels from the 1990s!  Check out the colors--dusty pink, Williamsburg blue, forest green, plus lots of pin dots and extra fun prints of cats and Amish quilts.  As decorating fabrics, these have gone out of style, but they are still good colors, and the fabrics are 100% cotton.  I added the forest green strips in between the blocks, which are cut from a Jinny Beyer fabric I bought at a flea market.

The border is a blue and green print from the local chain fabric store.

Would you believe I just finished making 168 quilt blocks?  It's true--but I have to admit they're only 4 in. finished.

They're called Shaded 4 Patch.  Sometimes they're called Mary's Triangles.  They are easy and fun to make.  The book I'm using for the pattern is one I've had for a long time, called Triangle Tricks, by Karen C. Soltys.  Below is a link to a tutorial made in a similar way.
Shaded Four Patch Tutorial

How did I have time to make all these blocks?  I went on my favorite retreat, to my friend Debbie's house.  This is our second annual January retreat and it could not have been better.

We set up tables in her living room.  Her husband was at a conference, so there was nobody to inconvenience with all our stuff.  I brought LOTS, including two sewing machines.  Clara, the little Singer hand crank pictured at the top of this post, was on her shakedown cruise.  I've had her a long time, but hadn't been able to sew with her due to a broken faceplate.  I finally replaced it with the right size, and she sewed like a champ.  The machine shown above is Emmy Lou (a Harris--I tend toward obvious names), and I brought her for a back up.

More of our stuff.  Debbie is using the antique stars in a new creation.

Debbie's stuff.  She is modern and adventurous, but loves the old quilts, too.  So she makes the most amazing blends of repro/vintage inspired fabrics with bright new stuff.  I can't show what she's currently working on, just take my word for it, it's knock your socks off terrific.

Did I mention we bought some fabric?  Here's Debbie, trying out some ideas.

Debbie also gave me a WHOLE BAG of scraps to work up into charity quilts or add to my own.  I can hardly wait to start cutting it up.

But wait, there's more!  A whole BOX of plaid strips, strings, and yardage, plus a few other goodies tucked in.  Treasure!
In spite of the horribly cold weather outside, we had a wonderful warm long weekend, working on our projects together.  We chatted, we knitted, we watched Downton Abbey.

We were catching up.

Keep warm, and keep quilting.