Farm Girl Update

These are the 2 latest blocks for the Farm Girl Vintage Sew Along. The block on the left is Cool
Threads. I didn't think this block would be difficult but it took much longer than I anticipated. The block on the right is Churn Dash which is a familiar block to most of us. This block was very quick to make.

If you check out A Bee in My Bonnet, Lori Holt pieced a heart into the center of the Churn Dash block. So cute! I didn't see her post until after sewing my block. I'm so afraid I'll fall behind that I try to make the blocks as soon as I can! I should check out her blog post before sewing the next 2 blocks.

Here are the 9 blocks so far in the Sew Along.  I'm sewing the 6 1/2 inch blocks. I think they're adorable! Not bad for a stash quilt!!  I'm already looking forward to the next 2 blocks!

More Machine Quilting!

I've been machine quilting Ladies of Downton Abbey.  I have finished quilting each block. I still have the sashing as well as the set in triangles along the edges left to quilt. I thought this would be a good time to work in all my threads. Each block was quilted individually so I cut thread each time. Each block was quilted the same way. I tried to make a secondary block design using my quilt pattern. I think it's hard to see in the above picture.

 

 

 

 

You can sort of see the pattern in the backing. I felt like this was taking me forever but I'm glad I stuck with it. I still have to decide how to quilt the remaining areas. I'm hoping the quilt "speaks" to me!! I used King Tut thread in a variegated beige color.

 



I think my two kitties approved of my quilting! They liked laying on it and getting it ready for me! It's so nice to have 2 helpers.



Boomerang!!

This is Boomerang, block 8 of Arcadia Avenue. The wedges were easy to paper piece but not so easy to put together. I was chopping the points off of a few of the wedges as I put them together. This doesn't usually happen when paper piecing. I'm not sure I made the wedges properly. It ended up working out but this block made me sweat!

I think they look pretty good all together! I can't believe I'm so close to finishing these gorgeous blocks. I thought it would take me so much longer. I'm starting to think about what color background to choose. I still have no idea.

Here's a peek into the next block. They may look like rockets but the name of the block is Filmstrip!
Doesn't it remind you of old filmstrip?? You'll have to wait and see what this block looks like when complete!

Baking and Churning!!

Here are my first 5 blocks for the Farm Girl Vintage Sew Along. The top row are blocks from the first 2 weeks. The bottom row are my new blocks featured this week.

Butter Churn is the top block and Baking Day is on the bottom. They all measure 6 1/2 inches square.

I found the first blocks very challenging. I haven't pieced difficult blocks in a long time! This week's blocks seemed to be easier. I followed the directions and had no problems at all.

I love this little sew along. I'm using fabric from my stash. (Free quilt!) The blocks are so darn cute! I just can't resist! There are 45 blocks that make up this quilt. I have a long way to go! I'm hoping I can keep up!

Circling Geese and Constellation

Here are my 7 blocks so far of Arcadia Avenue. I'm truly enjoying making these blocks. I thought each block would take me longer. I've sort of devised a plan that works for me. Each block is made up of 12 wedges. I work on 3 wedges at a time. It usually takes a little over an hour to complete the 3 wedges. It takes 4 sessions to complete one block. Then all I have to do is put the block together!
(Easier said than done!) I'm actually getting better at sewing the wedges together and having the seams meet where they're supposed to meet to enhance the pattern.

Circling Geese is Block 6. This block was very easy to sew the wedges together. No seams had to meet.

Constellation is Block 7. As I made each wedge, I wasn't sure I was making it correctly. The pattern didn't really emerge until the wedges were sewn together. I really love this one. Then again, I love them all!

On to Block 8, also known as Boomerangs!! (Also working on other projects! Quilting can become an obsession!)

Happy Mother's Day!!

Wishing you all a wonderful and Happy Mother's Day! Hope you all enjoy the day.

This is what I think about today. I miss my babies! This photo is 23 years old. They're so grown up now. It's sad and wonderful at the same time.

Enjoy your day! Remember your memories and look forward to the future! There are more wonderful times ahead.

Lori Holt's Farm Girl Vintage

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I don't need another project but I couldn't help myself! There's a quilt along over at A Bee in My Bonnet that started this past Friday. It follows the directions for the blocks shown on the cover of Lori Holt's new book, Farm Girl Vintage. It's a wonderful book. So many gorgeous blocks and so many projects! It's a feast for the eyes!!

The first block is Apronstrings. You can make 2 different sizes, 6 1/2" or 12 1/2". I'll be making the smaller block. The quilt along will be making 2 blocks per week from now on. I'm not sure I can keep up at that pace but I'll do the best I can.

You can also make a pin cushion using the Apronstrings pattern. The directions are on Lori's blog.

I think it's going to be fun. I also love being able to use my stash. There's so many options with this quilt along. I had to join!!

Blooming!

Blooming, block 5 of Arcadia Avenue, is complete! The wedges were rather easy to sew but sewing them together proved to be a bit more difficult. As you can see, that center has to be just right! I tried it about 4 different times before I was satisfied. I will say "satisfied" since it's still not perfect. It's good enough and I was getting tired of doing that one seam over and over again. It looks better in the picture than it does in person! I think I'll like it better once all the paper is removed. That's going to be a fun job! (Not really!!)

Here are the 5 blocks all together! So fun to make! This quilt has to be one of my favorites so far. It's like getting a surprise with every block. I'm always afraid a block might end up being too hard for me so I'm so happy when it's done! I can actually do this! Block 6 is already underway. I'm almost halfway done!

I thought you'd like to see Molly and her cupcake! She's one year old! My little 4-patch kitty is now a cat! (But she still acts like a kitten!) She wasn't interested in the cupcake. That's okay! It wasn't a problem to get rid of it!!

 Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Can't believe it's May already. It really felt like Spring today. At last!!