Treadle Talk And Itsy Bitsy Gems

    Today I wanted to show a WIP that I have been doing since this past summer. This past summer was so darn hot for me. On top of that- we had the Amish at my home doing repair work on roofs, ceilings and doors. They were here for a good couple of weeks. If you have ever had work done in your home-you know that dust and dirt come out of know where and go everywhere. There is no fighting it and no getting angry over it because it doesn't help. You just have to wait till it is all over and then bust your hind end cleaning it up. And need I say that my Sewing Studio was greatly effected during this whole ordeal. Well.....at one point during all of the work, I became anxious and fidgety because I could not get to my machines. I didn't sew because I did not want all of that yucky stuff to find it's way into the inside of my machines and ruin them. As I was walking around my studio picking up chunks of plaster and wood, and other untidy things- I saw....... no, I heard my one treadle calling out to me! Ha---I know, you think I have lost it- as I am grinning while typing this out. I have 5 treadles and there was one that was only partially covered--that was the one calling to me. I swear she said: " Nadine--come play with me today, this messy boy stuff will not bother or hurt me". I don't know about you- but when my treadle talks to me-- I LISTEN!!!!👂👂👂

    The treadle that was calling out to me is my beautiful Franklin. She is so darn pretty. She sews like a dream. Her art work is of the Egyptian style. Her cabinet is different from all of my others. From what I have read on it-it is a cabinet that was for apartments. The iron treadle wheel and foot pedal are all housed on the inside of the cabinet, so when the front door is closed---nothing is visible. Simply beautiful. Who ever owned it previously to me must have loved it a great deal. You can clearly see that she was used a great deal, but she is in great condition. Back to my story- I saw her and the bright idea of moving her out of the studio and onto my deck outside with some scraps of material, my iron and ironing board was larger then life in my head. So, without paying attention to the questioning looks on all of the hard working Amish men---I wheeled everything past them and out to my deck.  I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner. I love Bonnie Hunter and she has mentioned a few times how she has taken her treadle out on her deck and sewed the day away. That day I did just that and let me tell you---it was FABULOUS!

    I did not bring a current project out with me, mainly because they were all packed away safely. What I did was..... I grabbed a bunch of scraps, my cutting mat, blade, scissors, ironing board and iron. I decided to do something that I have wanting to do for awhile. I wanted to make " Crumb Blocks". I so love Bonnie Hunter's quilt that was made out of crumb blocks. I thought I would give it a try. I decided to make mine 3 1/2 by 3 1/2 square. I just grabbed what ever little piece of scrap that I saw in the heap. It didn't matter the size, color, shape or width. I just grabbed it and started sewing them all together. When I thought it was big enough---I squared it up. I used spray starch on it before I trimmed. They are so beautiful! This type of sewing is so relaxing and mindless. Literally hours went by in a snap of a finger. When I had about a dozen, I laid them out on a table and admired them. So darn pretty.
 

Here are a few of the Crumb Blocks that I have made so far.

   I have a bag filled with more. I am not sure as of now what I will do with them. I know that they will be put into a quilt top. I just have not come out with a clear plan for the design of the top. For now, I will continue to work on making more. To me, this is a project that I will do here and there between other projects. I will slowly let my bag fill with more blocks. I will keep you up to date as I move along with these. These are small crumb blocks- in my minds eye, I see bigger ones in the future!

    Have you made any crumb blocks? If not---let loose and give it a try. I promise you that you won't regret it!😉