Farmer's Wife Sew Along Begins!

                                                                     

The Farmer's Wife Sew Along finally began! I had fun buying some 1930's repro fabrics. They're so pretty! The colors are so bright and cheerful which is surprising since the 1930's were not a fun time.

Anyways, we started by making 2 blocks.

The block on the left is Bonnie. Becky is the block on the right. We started with simpler blocks and will work our way up to the harder ones. Another block was released tonight so we'll make 3 blocks this week. Most weeks, we'll only make 2 blocks. We have the option of paper piecing, rotary cutting, English paper piecing or templates. It's a fun project! We're all sharing pictures of our blocks on Facebook and Instagram. 

 Just thought I'd show a cute picture of Molly while she was sleeping. She's so cute! She gets into lots of trouble when she's awake. Don't let the cute face fool you!!

Farm Girl Vintage Blocks Done!

Here are all my blocks that complete Farm Girl Vintage. There's a total of 48 blocks. Each corner is made up of the same star block, in different colors! This quilt was so much fun to make. I joined the Sew Along and it really helped me stay on track. I've actually finished a bit early. Of course, I still have the sashing and borders left. The finished quilt will be 62 1/2" X 76 1/2 ". One of the borders is made up of flying geese, so this may take awhile!

Here are the blocks I made since my last post.

Here is Sunny Sunflower Block (which I made in green!) with Tumbleweed Block.

Next, we have Water Turn Block and Welcome Block.

Lastly, we have Winter Star Block (which I inadvertently put together differently) as well as Woolly Sheep Block, who still needs eyes and legs embroidered!

I'll be posting Farmer's Wife 1930's blocks very soon! We just got our first block today! I finished these blocks in the nick of time!!

Farmer's Wife 1930's Sampler Quilt Along

I'm ready! This wonderful Sew Along is beginning September 28! That's this Monday! As the Farmgirl Vintage Sew Along is just about to end, I'm all set to start a new project, (Hope that sounds familiar to many of you!)

Here's the fabric I bought. I also have many solids left over from Arcadia Avenue that I plan on using.  Most of these fabrics are Moda Chloe's Closet 30's Playtime Favorites. I also bought a few fat quarters of Penny Rose Mini's 30's. I'm not even sure what size quilt I'm going to make. I'll figure that out as we go along. The blocks are 6 1/2 inches square which is the same size as the Farmgirl Vintage blocks. The book contains directions using templates, rotary cutter as well as paper piecing. The book is fabulous! There are letters included from women who lived during the depression. Many different emotions are presented in these letters. They're wonderful to read.

If you're interested, you can read about the Sew Along here. You still have time! Gnome Angel will be our guide, She has some great ideas and lots of info on her blog. Would love to have you join in the fun!!

Finished Mystery Quilt!

I'm thrilled to be able to say that I finished quilting the mystery quilt! The show is about 4 weeks away. I still have to sew down the binding and add a hanging sleeve. I think I'll have plenty of time for that. This first picture is the finished quilt without binding.

I've added the binding in this picture. It's a little difficult to see since the color of the border is very similar. I tried a new method of joining the binding ends. You can read about that here. It's very similar to the method I blogged about awhile ago. I feel this method is a little bit easier.

Here's a close up of the machine quilting. I feel my quilting improved over the course of finishing up this quilt. I'm much better at swirls, although not perfect at all! I definitely feel more comfortable with these shapes. Time to relax and sew down that binding!

More Scrap Blocks

This is the latest block I've made for my Scrap Bag Quilt. Each of these little blocks are 5 1/2 inches square. Four of these blocks make a 10 1/2 inch block to join the other blocks I've made. I noticed I had plenty of scraps but not enough of them to make a 10 1/2 inch block. I can use those smaller scraps by making these smaller version. I also think these smaller versions will add more interest to the quilt.

Here are my blocks so far. I haven't worked on them too much. I'm so close to finishing the machine quilting on the mystery quilt that I've been working on that as much as I can!  I have to get it done for the quilt show next month. I'm not used to working with a deadline! I'll be relieved when it's all finished. Pictures coming soon!! (I hope!!)

Farm Girl Update

The Farm Girl Sew Along is almost over. I realized I hadn't posted any new blocks in awhile. These are the blocks I've made since my last post. I will reveal all the blocks when I'm finished in a few weeks. The blocks are 6 1/2 inches square. The two blocks above Old Red Barn and Old Glory.

Here we have Patchwork Pumpkin and Out to Pasture.

This is Pie Cherries and Peas and Carrots.

This is Pinwheels and Postage Stamp.

Next is Scrappy Maple Leaf and Scrappy Strawberry!

Here we have Simple Star and Spring Star.

Lastly, Summer Star and Sunday Morning.

So sad that this is almost over. I feel that my piecing skills have been fine tuned sewing these little beauties. Just in time for the Farmer's Wife 1930's Sew Along! More about that later!!

Scrap Bag Quilt

Have you ever felt as though your scraps are multiplying and you have no control?? That's how I felt every time I looked at my scrap bag. It just seems to be getting bigger. I save all my scraps from the quilts I've made over the years. Some of the fabrics are old, but I still like them! I feel it would be a shame to leave these fabrics in a bag with no way to use it.

I've been looking at scrap projects on websites, book and magazines. Nothing interested me very much. I've always loved the log cabin block but didn't feel like cutting a ton of strips.

I've seen different versions of the block I ended up choosing. I'm using a 2 1/2 inch square to start each block. I add a 2 1/2 square to 2 opposing sides of that square. I add a 2 1/2 inch  X 6 1/2 inch strip to the top and bottom. I end up with a 6 1/2 inch square. I add a 2 1/2 inch X 6 1/2 inch strip to opposite sides of that square. All that's left is to sew a 2 1/2 inch by 10 1/2 inch strip to the top and bottom and I'm done!! So easy.

I decided to alternate light strips and dark strips around that middle square. I think it will be a nice contrast when the quilt is sewn together.

I plan on making these squares as I work on other quilts. I feel I can use up my stash and work on a new project at the same time. (Less guilt!)

FMQ Update

I took my quilt off my machine today to see how the quilting looks. It's so hard to tell while you're actually quilting. I'm still quilting my little silly flowers. Depending on the space, some are small while some are a bit larger. Some have a longer stem but others have a very short one. I wasn't sure if the quilting looked cohesive enough.

Here's the center of the quilt. I was pleasantly surprised! Everything looks great. You really can't tell if a flower is much smaller or larger than others. The flowers all seem to blend very nicely. I'm trying to get the amount of quilting to be uniform throughout the quilt.

I think it looks very even! So glad about this! That was my primary goal.

I'm close to 75% done quilting this quilt. I'm getting much more comfortable quilting this design. I notice spaces and add little leaves or small spirals. I'm relaxing and enjoying it more! So glad I took the plunge!!