More Bright Hopes, Orange, Quilt History, and Art

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!  Thanks for stopping by!

May is such a busy month!  I didn't have much time for sewing this week, but I mananged to drag this little quilt over the "finished" line last evening.  It's a donation for the Children's Advocacy Center in Milwaukee.

The pattern is an old standby from the Quilts for Kids website.  (Click HERE for the link.)  Instead of 4 patches I used some of the leftover blocks from last year's Bright Hopes stack, made for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I think I can get one more quilt from them.

The unpieced blocks are a cute print that looks like children's drawings.  I bought this from Hancock Fabrics online on a whim.  I always justify buys like this to myself with these four words:  It Was On Sale.  Which it was!

I don't usually add a narrow inner border, but this quilt really needed it since the border and the alternate block are the same fabric.

The back is this cute print, which is also meant to look like children's drawings.  I bought it second hand and have had it forever.  It was good to find a home for it.

A two inch grid in serpentine stitch was quickly quilted, and the binding is the same fabric as the inner border.  It's a small quilt, just 38 in. x 44 in., which should work well for a baby or toddler.

The orange blocks are really standing out to me this month.  Isn't it a great color?

It was fun sewing the orange Half Log Cabin blocks.  I only had to make 4, because the one on the bottom right was one of the blocks I made to try out the pattern.

Orange novelty prints can be hard to find, but thank goodness for Halloween fabrics!  Even the Cat in the Hat print was meant for Halloween.

Check out the bats!

And of course these black cats!  I bought this print in Kentucky last fall.

In Progress

Oops, I forgot to show my work In Progress last week!  I was in too big a hurry to go to the WQSG meeting (more on that below).  I'm working on some leftover half square triangles that were in the back of the 2.5 in. square drawer.  I'm sewing them into 6 in. finished Friendship Stars to make another quilt like the one I just finished.  The orange ones are done!

The Wisconsin Quilt Study Group meeting last weekend was wonderful!  We met at the Lincoln-Tallman House in Janesville, Wisconsin, and the staff pulled out lots of quilts for us to enjoy.  I think this one was in the servants' quarters.  (Yay, orange!)

They even did a bed turning for us featuring some of their oldest quilts.  This one was wonderfully scrappy.  The colors were still vibrant.  Very little information was available on the date, but definitely before 1900.

As part of our meeting, we shared some of our family quilts.  I had to snap a photo of this one that belonged to Carol.  I have often admired this scrappy pattern.  Plus, more orange!

The museum staff was amazing, our tour guide was knowledgeable, fun, and patient, and the house is beautifully preserved.  We even got to see where Abraham Lincoln slept!  It was a lovely quilty day out.

Yesterday DH and I had another great day.  It was Grandparents Day at Buddy and Little Guy's school.  We saw their classrooms, played bingo, went to the bookfair, and viewed the art show.  Above Buddy is showing us his painting of sunflowers.

Little Guy is pointing to his project, a smiling snail with a colorful shell.

Little Guy was just happy to make something and have it displayed, but Buddy was disappointed not to get a ribbon for his project. I hope I can help them focus more on the satisfaction of creating and sharing art and less on competition.  Art (in whatever medium we like!) can give us joy all through our lives.

I hope you have a joyful week, with time to do what you love.  Like quilting!

Thanks for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Angela at So Scrappy

Taking Comfort

 Welcome to Treadlestitches

 Last Sunday, I had planned to blog about my Positivity quilt, and join the last link up, but things turned out otherwise.  My lovely 39 year old niece died suddenly from a burst aneurysm, and I needed to get ready to go to out of town for the funeral.  It has been such a terrible shock for all of the family.

Since the link up is still open, I'll be connecting with it today.  

I had thought of giving this quilt to my sister and brother-in-law, but I think I will make another one especially for them in remembrance of their daughter.

It has of course been a very sad week.   I will be mailing this quilt out soon, to help another family dealing with loss.  I know a quilt from a stranger is a small thing, but even small expressions of sympathy and care have been appreciated by my niece's parents and brother. 

Earlier last week, I had been sewing up a storm, going through the aqua scraps, making my blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  It was fun to include Spongebob, Scooby-Doo, owls, frogs, minions, etc.

More Scooby in the log cabins, plus Daniel Tiger, fish, and even giraffes.

The heart blocks are always fun to make.  One of them has a big piece of Cat in the Hat fabric.

So all my aqua blocks are done for August.

 Here's what I'm working on now, a red, white, and blue rail fence quilt for a veteran.

On my way back from the funeral, I learned of the devastating terrorist attack in Afghanistan.  I had this kit at home, cut out by our charity committee to help a local group that gives quilts to veterans as a recognition of their service to our country.  This is the only thing I want to sew right now.

Sewing, especially making things for others, is a pleasure when times are good, and comforts me at least a little when things are bad.

These little guys, my youngest grandsons, are a great comfort to me also!  I love to see them playing together.  Little Buddy has one of the Paw Patrol dogs.  Baby Buddy is playing with Godzilla and making monster noises.  They had better watch out, I might hug the stuffing out of them.

I hope for a better week ahead for all of us.  I hope for healing for all who are hurting, even if it's just a little bit at a time.

Thank you for reading this.  Hug the people you love!

Sincerely,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches  

Linking up with:

Bernie at Positivity Quilts Final Link-Up

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Sarah at Can I Get A Whoop Whoop

Cynthia at Oh Scrap

 

 

In the Merry Month of May

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!

The Rainbow Scrap Challenge color for May is red, so I'm making a start.

No matter how many Friendship Star quilts I make (3 so far, I think?), I just can't keep the piecing straight.  I have to pin up an example right in front of me so I get those triangles placed right.  Is this a common problem, or some kind of elderly dyslexia?

Come to think of it, I have the same sort of placement problem with other blocks, like these Poinsettia Stars.  It's especially bad since I only make them once a month.  

The large block is part of the Barbara Brackman Block of the Month, Hands All Around:  Alcotts at War.  April's block is for Louisa May Alcott herself.  (Click HERE for Ms. Brackman's first post on this quilt.)

Hey, dinosaur, come back with that quilt!

There it is, Little Buddy's new quilt, finally finished.  I bordered it with a light blue bandana print, and bound with dark blue.

He picked out all these fun/silly fabrics from my stash back in February. (Click HERE to see the top and it's transformation.) It was my Little Buddy's idea to pose the T. Rex on it and have it biting the edge.

Check out his haircut!  He's not too happy about it, but I think he looks very handsome.

The quilt backing is this Scooby-Doo print.  I bought it in an antique mall before the pandemic.  There were 10 yards of it!  When Bonnie Hunter was looking for Scooby fabric, I thought of it, but couldn't remember where I put it.  Once I found it, she already had what she needed.  There's enough left now to back a couple of baby quilts.

There's nothing like a grand child asking you every day if their quilt is finished to make a grandma buckle down and get done.  Ready for naptime.

The little Monsters or Aliens top I showed last week is done, too!  Baby Buddy very nicely posed for me with it.  It's ready to go to Little Lambs, as part of the Hands2Help charity quilt drive.

Here's the back.  I bought it as a remnant at a quilt show with my friend Debbie back in the good old days when we went to quilt shows in person.  (Remember?  Sigh.)

Do you recognize the kid TV show that inspired this fabric?  Are you humming the theme song now?  "Down the hills and round the bends, Thomas and his friends."  For a year or so, Little Buddy and I  watched Thomas the tank engine every day.  So of course I snapped up the fabric.  Maybe the child who gets this quilt will be a fan too.

A mad photographer was on the loose at our house yesterday.

He took this scary selfie...

and a sweet picture of his baby brother.

I'm a lucky grandma.

Whatever this week holds for you, I hope there's room for some fun.

Cheers for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with these great hosts:

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Sarah at Can I Get A Whoop Whoop

Angela at So Scrappy

Cynthia at Oh Scrap

 

 

Hello, Yellow!

 Welcome to Treadlestitches!  What's going on in your world today?

February's color of the month for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge has really been brightening up my sewing room.  I've been sewing mostly in the morning before my baby grandson gets here, and the treadle wheel has been flying.

Every month I'm making 3 hearts from strings and the little scraps we quilters call crumbs.  These are so much fun to make.  These just happen to be timed right for Valentine's Day tomorrow.

Friendship stars are next.  I'm using up all sorts of yellow bits and pieces.

All four little yellow triangles in this block are made from the crumb triangles cut off when making the hearts.  Waste not, want not!

I have to admit, the ice cream cone blocks are my favorite.  I've gone so far as imagining what flavors these would be.  Left to right, cherry/French vanilla, lemon-citrus swirl, banana, and vanilla custard with sprinkles.  Yum!

Last week's Bright Hopes baby quilt is bound and washed, ready to be donated.

I wanted to use a different color on the binding, but I didn't have enough of it.

So I chose this crazy print.  Isn't it a hoot?  I just love these chickens.  The print isn't really visible in the small slice of a binding, but the colors are good.  I like all the little pops of yellow.

Okay, who ordered the snow every weekend?  No wonder I'm surrounding myself with bright fabrics.

And bright faces!  Baby Buddy likes sweet potatoes, can you tell?

We made chocolate cupcakes (with sprinkles!) on Thursday, and Little Buddy got to lick the beaters.

Here he is with a clean face, pretending to be a fierce dinosaur.

My lovely little orchid is blooming again.  It's a sign of hope.  Spring is coming.  Well, eventually.

In the meantime, let's get some sewing done!

Have a great week, and stay safe!

Cheers,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Angela at So Scrappy

Sarah at Can I Get A Whoop Whoop

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Quilts

Cynthia at Oh Scrap