Planning the Piece, Piecing the Plan

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!  I hope there's sunshine in your life today.

We are having lots of beautiful weather here in Wisconsin.  I was able to hang this little top outside yesterday just minutes after I finished it.  Don't worry about the line across the middle.  It's just a shadow I didn't notice at the time.  

I blogged about these log cabin blocks when I was making them.  (Click HERE for that post, and scroll down.)  The centers were made from a 2 in. red square, and the shortest "logs" were either crumbs or strings.  The width of the logs varies, depending on the scraps I used.  

 

The center square of the quilt is cut from a fabric printed with two of the founding documents of the United States:  the Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution.  I've had this fabric for a while, and it seemed important to include it in these troubled times.  This layout used exactly the number of blocks I had already pieced, so it was simple to set together.  I don't think I'll add a border, just a red binding.

This top was one of the items on my Piece Plan, a list of projects to work on while Mrs. Pfaff is in the repair shop.

BAD NEWS.  I won't be quilting this top or anything else for a while.  When I took Mrs. Pfaff to the shop, they said it could be WEEKS before I get her back!!!  ACK!!

So I guess I'll just get way ahead on my Piece Plan.

First on the Piece Plan list was the Churn Dash kit from my guild.  As of right now I have 25 out of 30 blocks done.  Shown here are the green ones.  Top row is a standard 30s green, bottom row is more mint.

I like this cute veggie print.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks are one the list as well.  The Thrifty blocks in green for the RSC are done.  I'm only making 5 each month.

The center football square inspired me to made a total Green Bay Packers block.  Go Pack Go!

Look out!  Squirrel!  I started a new project.  The squirrel made me do it!  This is Sheldon the squirrel, beloved toy of my cats.  They left him on the sewing room floor, and this is what happened.

The quilt is called Charming Stars, and comes from a Youtube video by Quilted Forest.  (Click HERE.)  It's simple to cut and sew and uses two matching charm squares plus a background fabric for the star blocks.  I'm making mine from novelty prints, of course.

I will miss Mrs. Pfaff SO MUCH, but I guess I have enough to keep me busy lol.

My grandsons are a big help!  Little Guy and I walked around the park on Thursday while his brother was at wrestling practice.  He asked me to take his picture at least 20 times.  This was the best one.

Yesterday evening I went to Buddy's soccer game.  They won!  

The rhubarb is up, and looks great!  Just one more joy of May in Wisconsin.

This week, I'm wishing you the joys of the season, wherever you live.  And the joys of quilting, of course!  Happy Mothers Day to all who celebrate it tomorrow.

Thanks for reading!

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Angela at So Scrappy

Cynthia at Oh Scrap

Scrappy Blocks in Red and Yellow

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!

Good morning and Happy Saturday!  I've been making red Bow Tie blocks this week, using up some red scraps with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  These blocks are fun and easy to make, and they'll look good set side by side in the quilts I will (eventually!) make from them.

But wait, there's more!  It's easy to get carried away.  Red is such a good color, and there are so many great novelty fabrics in red.

This is my favorite block.  These adorable little ninjas always make me smile, especially since the fabric was given to me by a friend.  (Thanks, Debbie!)

BTW, quilters, I'm wondering how many blocks other people make for the RSC.  Are you planning specific quilts, or stockpiling blocks for lots of quilts, or something in between?  I love seeing what other quilters are doing, I think that's one of the big benefits of the internet.

This week my Leader and Ender blocks have also been red!  Our guild's wonderful charity committee cuts up kits for us to sew.  I picked this one up at the last meeting.  It's made from 1930s reproduction fabrics in great colors.  Not all of the blocks are red of course, I just chose to do these first.  The pattern has literally 20 names in Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns, but the most common are Monkey Wrench and Churn Dash.  

Before I let myself get carried away with the red scraps, I finished up last month's yellow blocks.  They're so scrappy it's hard to see the Sisters Choice pattern in some of them.

This one is my favorite, with Elmo peeking out of the middle square.

On Wednesday, I delivered this pile of quilts from our guild for the Milwaukee Child Advocacy Center.  There were 20 finished quilts and 11 tops.  The lady who organizes it takes 250 quilts to the center every other month, so a drop in the bucket, but I know it helps.  I am so proud of all the charity work our group does.  We're not a large group (around 50 members), and we have already donated nearly 100 quilts this year, plus lots of other sewn items.

Our grandson Buddy had a program at school this week, and we went to see it.  I am shocked at how grown up he looks.  The years just keep zipping by.

When Buddy and Little Guy were here after school the other day, it suddenly got very quiet.  Hubby and I went on high alert, but they were just sitting on the couch.  They don't have phones, those are calculators!  They were amusing themselves adding and subtracting big numbers.  

Hubby and I were remembering when we first saw a calculator.  We were in college!  Technology has changed so fast in just my lifetime.

Speaking of which, I need to go and buy a new computer today.  I've done my research, made my choice, and am just waiting for the store to open.  My old computer has served me well since 2013, but Windows 8.1 is a dinosaur in 2025, so time to upgrade.

Have a good week, everyone!  And Happy Passover and Easter in advance to all who celebrate.

Thanks for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with these awesome linky parties:

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Angela at So Scrappy

Cynthia at Oh Scrap