Roar!

We're roaring around here today...

and stomping, too!

My Little Buddy's dinosaur quilt is finished!  Some of his favorite friends are helping me.

They're pretty excited, and I am, too.  I can't wait to show Little Buddy the quilt when he comes here on Tuesday.

Here's the whole thing, without the dinosaur friends.  All of the smaller squares were charm squares, either the official kind from the quilt store, or cut by me from my scraps.

Here's the panel I started with back in June.  It took a little bit of math to figure out the layout so everything would fit.  Math makes my head hurt, but I persisted.

I framed up the center to a size that would work with the charm squares.  Those dark blue squares in the corners were cut from a yard of fabric that was meant to go with the panel.  I was really glad I bought it.
The last border is really wide, because I wanted to put the smaller squares from the panel in the corners.
I did the quilting on my domestic machine, quilt as you go style.  It might be easier to see what I mean by looking at the back.

The center section is what I quilted first, just as though it was a small quilt.  Then I added the large outer pieces of backing to the center.  I spray basted large strips of batting to the backing.  Then I added the borders to the top, one border at a time, spray basting the batting as I went.  I would add a border, quilt it, then add the next, and quilt it, and so on.

All of the quilting is very simple stuff.  I did use Golden Threads paper to mark the wavy lines.
It was a relatively easy way to quilt a medallion style quilt.  Best of all, no hand sewing!

So that's one off the To Do list.
Here's something I'm sewing as a leader and ender project.  Does anybody know the name of this pattern?

Here's one block, made with rectangles and squares 2.5 in. wide (cut).

And here's what they can do when you put 4 blocks together!
I just love patterns like this.
I picked up this kit at our last quilt meeting.  Our wonderful charity group had cut all the pieces from donated scraps.  When I finish the piecing, a volunteer will quilt it on a long arm machine, and we'll donate it locally to a good cause.
I would love to know the name of the pattern and the designer if possible.

Thanks for reading this long post.  I'm hoping you have something great to roar about this week.
Cheers,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:
Angela at So Scrappy (Keep her in your thoughts--the hurricane is coming her way!)
Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Alycia at Alycia Quilts
Cynthia at Oh Scrap 

OMG, I'm coming in under the wire

It's the very last evening of the very last day of June.  It's hard to believe (especially for me!), but I actually DID make my One Monthly Goal for June.

This is the actual goal, and I quote:
So here's my one monthly goal for June.  I'm going to make a twin-sized dinosaur quilt for Little Buddy, my youngest grandson.  The quilt will be designed, cut, and pieced before the end of June.

And here's the quilt!

The colors are a little off here.  I had to take the photos inside because of a thunder storm.  What looks black is actually dark blue, and the colors are bright prints, not pastels.

This is not actually a quilt top, per se.  I quilted the center panel and the first two borders as though it was a baby quilt.  Then I added the borders (for the top) and wide strips for the backing.  Once that was done, I laid the batting strips in and spray basted them.
So it's actually a partially finished quilt.  Only the last 3 rows remain to be quilted.

All four corners have one of these squares from the panel.  This one is Little Buddy's favorite.  It's a very stylized T. Rex.

I've got my work cut out for me this week, to finish the quilting, bind the quilt, and make a label.
But--my OMG for June is complete.
If it wasn't for the last minute, I'd never get anything done.

Cheers for reading, and thanks to Patty for the OMG.
Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal--June Finish Link Up

The Joy of Squirrels

Welcome to Treadlestitches!  

Sometimes, my quilting is planned out carefully.  I might have deadlines to meet, quilts to make for an occasion or a quilt along or a project like Hands 2 Help.  There could be other reasons to finish a quilt, like actually getting a holiday quilt done before the holiday, or completing a quilt for our group's donations.

And then there are the squirrels.

They come along without warning.  They seem harmless, but they are irresistible.    Something catches your eye in a book, online, in a magazine, at a quilt show.  Your brain keeps working on it, picturing it in your colors, thinking of slight changes you might make, imagining what scraps might go with it.
When this happens to me, resistance is futile.  The squirrels will win.  I know I'm going to set everything aside, and make that quilt.

It started here, with this book I checked out of the library:  City Quilts, by Cherri House.  I wasn't really looking for a new project, just for something interesting to read.  (I am a bit sick of reading about T. Rex dinosaurs, which are Little Buddy's favorites.)  I had no intention of starting a new quilt (especially since I have no lack of UFOs to finish), but as I turned the pages of the book, I saw this:

The quilt is called City Play, and was inspired by a colorful playground.  Before I knew it, I was pulling fabrics and sewing.

It starts like this...

And then you add sashing like this...

Wow, what happened?  Cherri House had a terrific idea that completely transforms a nine patch.  I am happy to say I used her pattern.

Here's the top, all done.
I changed the size of the squares, and made my quilt smaller.  I also changed the placement of some of the colors to better fit the scraps I had.

And here it is, after quilting and washing, hanging on the clothesline to dry.

There are even some dark blue sections, as a nod to the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color of the month.

I'm back to working on quilts on my To Do list now, like my OMG for June, a dinosaur quilt (what else?) for my Little Buddy (this is the center).

I'll stick to my list for the time being, but sure as the sun rises in the east, another squirrel will come along.  And I know I'll run off after it like a crazed hound, leaving all the other projects behind.

That's the joy of squirrels.

This week, I'm wishing you the joy of something you just can't wait to work on.
Cheers for reading,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:
Angela at So Scrappy
Myra at Busy Hands Quilts  (My Fly Away Home is featured there!)
Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

June OMG--Dinosaurs, Of Course

Around here, we love dinosaurs.   (Can you tell?)

My Little Buddy, who comes to me every day for childcare, is an absolute fanatic.  Whatever we are doing seems better to him if dinosaurs are involved.  

This week we played with play dough a lot.  And what did he want to play?  He wanted me to make dinosaurs.  Which is not easy, at least for me.  The misshapen things kept falling over.  And then we got his toy dinos and made footprints in the play dough.  And tail prints.  And then he pretended the dinosaurs got stuck in the clay, and his toy wrecker had to pull them out.

Little Buddy is 3 years old now, and is outgrowing the Pack N Play for taking naps.  Soon he'll move to the twin bed.  Right now I've got some of my 1930s style quilts on that bed, but I don't think that will do for him.  He needs a dinosaur quilt.

 

So here's my one monthly goal for June.  I'm going to make a twin-sized dinosaur quilt for Little Buddy, my youngest grandson.  The quilt will be designed, cut, and pieced before the end of June.

So far, all I've done is choose/buy some fabric.

I'm starting with this panel.  The large center rectangle will be center of the quilt if all goes well.

These side squares will be in the quilt somewhere.  I have to include this one--T. Rex is his favorite.

This is the stack of dino fabric I have to start with.  I also plan to include other colorful fabrics that are not necessarily prehistoric.

I think the process will be fun, if I can make the math turn out right.

Sometimes, I wonder why Little Buddy likes these scary creatures so much.

But really, I'm just glad he's not into Barney.

Good luck this month, everyone!
Cheers,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with Patty at Elm Street Quilts for the June One Monthly Goal

Dinosaurs and Little Lambs

This was the view out my sewing room window last Sunday.  It's an April snowstorm.  We got yet ANOTHER one on Wednesday, and even had to cancel our quilt guild meeting.  What the heck, Winter?  Why won't you go away?
In between bouts of railing about the weather, I finished this little quilt.

It's a dinosaur quilt!   I borrowed my grandson's dinosaurs for illustration purposes.

Here's the quilt laid out on the table.  It's small, only 38 in. square.  This one will be donated to the Little Lambs Foundation, for kids going into foster care, emergency shelters, or hospitals.  It's part of my participation in Hands 2 Help.  I'm actually ahead of schedule, they're not due until the end of May.

The inspiration was the fabulous fabric, Jurassic Jamboree by Abi Hall.  I think it's out of print now, but I bought a charm pack at a recent quilt show.

I used an old favorite pattern, Highland Fling from the book Dessert Roll Quilts by Pam and Nicky Lintott.

The squares "lean" left and right, depending on how the triangles are cut.  I've seen this design done a different way, set straight and then cut, which wastes a lot of fabric.  Not with this pattern!

This is all the waste left from 5 blocks.  The blocks are sliver-trimmed after they are sewn.

I paired each light square with dark fabric, and each dark square with light fabric.  But I was one short on the light squares.  What to do?

This happy T-Rex was cut from the backing fabric.  I think he fits right in.

The quilting is mindlessly simple, just straight vertical lines.  It should fold fairly flat and stand up to lots of washing.
Still waiting for spring here.  But I'm sewing while I'm waiting, so that's okay.

What's under the needle at your house?
Have a lovely week.
Cheers,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches
Linking up with Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Busy Hands Quilts, and Crazy Mom Quilts.