Treadlestitches: Missouri Star Two Step

Saturday, December 16, 2023

Dancing the Two Step

Welcome to Treadlestitches! Thanks for visiting!

This week I finished a little Two Step quilt. The free pattern is from Missouri Star. (Click HERE for the video.)

The pattern title made me think of my Dad, teaching me to two step when I was a young teenager. He was a good dancer. It was fun to watch him polka with my mom, both of them laughing.

The blocks are simple, just one charm square (the one with wild dots), two short rectangles 2.5 in. x 5 in., and two long rectangles 2.5 in. x 9 in. The blocks finish at 8.5 in. square.

Cutting was fast and easy. I have a box of 2.5 x 5 in. rectangles, and I pulled from that for the short ones. I cut the longer rectangles as I was processing scraps, and filled in from the 2.5 in. strips. That left only the charm squares to cut. I didn't repeat any of the fabrics in the blocks, except for the wild dots of course. The border is a Toy Story print, left over from another quilt.

The hard part was setting the blocks together! Jenny kind of hurries that part at the end of the video, and I really didn't get what she was talking about. I had to play with the blocks for a long time to figure out how best to set them. Not sure if I got that right yet, but moving on!

The back is more of the subtle butterfly print on white, and I bound it with a solid aqua. I'm enjoying using solid colors for binding, especially with these wild colored quilts.

To make the back wide enough, I added this strip of frog print down the middle. I got this scrap at a yard sale last summer, and it's just too pretty to cut into small pieces. (Skies are gloomy here today, it's hard to get the right light for photos, sorry. The background really is white, I promise.)

It's nice to find a good use for this fabric. The quilt will be donated to a children's charity.

This week I started working on some baby quilts. How is that any different than any other week, you may ask. Most of my quilts are definitely baby-sized, but are intended more for toddlers, who enjoy looking at all the fun animals etc. in the prints. These new quilts are meant for actual babies. Here in the Milwaukee area, local TV station anchor Susan Kim and Waterstone Bank are again hosting a Community Baby Shower in January. (Click HERE for information.) Last year was the first year I contributed anything. This year I wanted to start earlier.

This little top was one of those DrEAMI quilts--Drop Everything And Make It! I had a pack of charm squares I bought when visiting a quilt shop with a friend (hi, Debbie!) and I added in some stash squares.

These elephants are so sweet!

I've seen pictures of quilts like this online for years, usually with plain white strips in between the squares, but I wanted to use the footprint print. I don't have the quilt pattern, I just figured it out (And did the math! And it actually worked!). If anybody knows the original designer, I'd be happy to give them credit.

It's 36 in. square without a border. I'm trying to decide if I should add a border or just finish it as it is. Back in the day it would have been a good candidate for Jack's Basket, but they don't accept quilts this size anymore.

Something weird has been happening. Every morning, Hubby and I find one of these red candles out of its holder. We figure it must be Snicky the cat, but there are no teeth or claw marks on the candle. Just a curious case of the cat in the night.

No photos of the little boys this week, sorry. Little Guy has had a bad cold, and been home from preschool all week. He's feeling better aside from a cough. We're trying to get him healthy for Christmas.

Speaking of the Holidays, Christmas stress is real! We're shopping and hiding presents and hoping we haven't forgotten anything. I bought some new wrapping paper the other day, and it was hard to choose from all the cute ones. I wish they made these in fabric!

Have a good week, whatever you're up to! Happy Holidays to all who celebrate, and happy quilting to everyone!

Thanks for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Sarah at Can I Get A Whoop Whoop

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Angela at So Scrappy

Cynthia at Oh Scrap

Saturday, November 18, 2023

A Little Quilt, and A Visit from a Friend

Welcome to Treadlestitches!

How's the weather where you live? We have had lots of sunshine this week, and even a warm day or two, but the nights are below freezing. Maybe that's why this old maple tree is finally giving up its leaves.

The back is a piece left over from a bigger quilt. I had to add a strip down the middle to make it big enough.

I did get the little four patch top quilted and ready to donate. I tried out some new poly batting, and I am very happy with the way it looks and feels.

You might remember this photo from last March! My grandson is hugging a roll of higher loft poly batting, sent to me by my friend Joey. There were TWO of these! I nicknamed them Big Bertha and Gerta. Unfortunately, I struggled using this weight of batting on my domestic sewing machine and with my limited skills. Joey offered to trade a lighter weight of poly for these, since she can definitely use them on her long arm machine.

Somehow we managed to get Bertha into the back seat of Joey's car (thank goodness batting squishes!) and Gerta into the trunk. It must have looked crazy to the neighbors, I hope we aren't on anybody's video.

Here's my new roll of batting. I'm calling her Polly Esther. She expanded a bit after I opened the plastic, but nothing like Bertha!

Not only did Joey drive 3 hours to get here, bring me batting, and take Bertha and Gerta home, she also made this gorgeous thread/scrap catcher for me! This is the prettiest one I've ever seen.

Here it is laid out. I absolutely love it. It might be too pretty to use, but it brightens up the sewing room, so I'm using it. Thanks, Joey!

We had a lovely day when Joey was here. We went to an antiques sale, and then out to lunch. It's great to just have time to talk and laugh and catch up.

I'm doing a little piecing, like these Two Step blocks from Missouri Star, but I don't expect to get much done this week. Thanksgiving is this Thursday, and I'm the main cook. I'll be baking brown and serve rolls today to put in the freezer, and bread for the dressing either today or tomorrow.

This is the quilt guild Block of the Month for January, the Potato Chip block. I'm way ahead of myself making these, but it's hard to stop! (That's why it's named Potato Chip--you can't make just one!)

All the pieces for this block are 2.5 in. x 4.5 in. rectangles, and I have lots of them already cut. So I may piece a few blocks while the turkey is roasting.

The little boys don't have school at all next week, so we'll find some things to do here. Little Guy loved our visit to the library this week. They always have interesting kid-friendly things for the kids to play with, like the pretend Farmers Market in the foreground, and the cardboard barn with chutes for "eggs" to go down.

One day this week was really warm for November, so I let the kids play on the playground for a bit after school. Buddy is king of the mountain. (Sorry for the poor quality photo.)

Thanksgiving is a lovely holiday, dedicated to being grateful for all our blessings. I have so much to be grateful for! Family and friends are at the very top of the list.

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate, and have a wonderful week!

Cheers,