The Farmer's Wife 1930's Sampler Quilt Sew Along - April

At the beginning of April the announcement was made that there would now only be one block released per week.  I think too many people were struggling to keep up with the sew along.  My feelings about this are mixed.  A large part of me is relieved as I was struggling to stay up to date sewing all of my blocks, let alone blogging about my progress.  However, the realisation that it was now going to take more than the initial 12-month investment to complete this quilt frustrates me.  I have already cut back on some of my commitments to try to keep up to date with this sew along and the thought of adding another 3-6 months to this project makes it feel like a never ending task - at this point in time anyway. Just my initial thoughts; who knows, it might actually be a good thing.  

Here are my Farmer's Wife blocks for April 2016:

05 April - Block 32 - Fanny

12 April - Block 97 - Tracy

19 April - Block 72 - Mrs. Smith

25 April - Block 44 - Iris

So far I have made 53 blocks and I still have 46 blocks to go.  The big decision ahead of me is: do I continue to sew these blocks as they are announced each week with the official sew along or should I forge ahead and work at my own pace?

I have now used up most of my fat quarter bundle of solids that I was using for the shades of teal.  I am also starting to think about what colour sashing I will use for this quilt - I feel that a solid white would look too stark, and a solid black would look too heavy.  My current thoughts are to use one of the paler shades of teal - such as the lighter shade shown above in block 97.  Meanwhile I have added to my black and white prints as I slowly use up my smaller scraps and I have also purchased some yardage of the darker teal shades.

The Farmer's Wife 1930's Sampler Quilt Sew Along - March

Hmmmm, that annoying moment when you have written a blog post & thought you programmed it to post some time ago but you hadn't hit the right button so it didn't....  Here's a post you should've got AGES ago *hangs head in shame*

After a short break, the sew along re commenced on the 1st of March.  Here are my Farmer's Wife blocks for March 2016:

01 March - Block 88 - Rosemary

03 March - Block 66 - Mrs. Anderson

08 March - Block 43 - Hope

10 March - Block 15 - Blossom

15 March - Block 6 - April

22 March - Block 30 - Em

29 March - Block 77 - Nellie

29 March - Block 98 - Viola

The Farmer's Wife 1930's Sampler Quilt Sew Along - February

Following on from my last brief post, here are my Farmer's Wife blocks from February 2016:

02 February - Block 61 - May

04 February - Block 37 - Georgia

09 February - Block 69 - Mrs. Keller

11 February - Block 23 - Charlotte

16 February - Block 11 - Bea

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we had a break in the sew along until the 1st of March.  This was a great opportunity to catch up. I must admit I am enjoying this sew along but it does take up a lot of time. 

The Farmer's Wife 1930's Sampler Quilt Sew Along - January

I've really fallen behind with my blog posts this year as I have been madly scrambling to keep up with all of my sewing commitments whilst battling bad health.  I'll be honest, I have not had time to read the stories in the book that accompany each of these blocks, but here are my Farmer's Wife Blocks for January 2016:

05 January - Block 47 - Joy

07 January - Block 51 - Lily

12 January - Block 71 - Mrs. Morgan

14 January - Block 53 - Lucy

14 January - Block 67 - Mrs. Brown

19 January - Block 40 - Grandmother

21 January - Block 42 - Heather

26 January - Block 28 - Dolly

Double Goosed Kaffe Style

 

It all started with this lovely piece of Kaffe Fassett fabric called "Purple Big Leaf" from his 2014 Fall collection.  I wanted to send a special gift to a dear friend of mine overseas but had been undecided what to make for her.  When I posted a photo of this purchase on Instagram, she commented how much she loved this print.  I knew then and there that I would use this print for her gift.  I know that my friend especially loved the teal and the purple in this print so I wanted to make a feature out of both of these colours.   I spoke to the squirrels and we selected a pattern - "Double Goosed" by Jeliquilts.

 

My friend had no idea what the squirrels & I were planning, but she did get taunted with the following photos which I tagged her in on Instagram...

 

Snowy the Squirrel cranked up the Bollywood music and danced in his Sari whilst we sewed





I couldn't work out why I had such a hard time removing the papers after I had pieced it - later I realised that I had forgotten to change my needle.  Instead of a 90/14 I was still using a 70/10.

Binding - purple & teal.

The parcel decided to take the slow boat to America, but after 4-weeks of anxious waiting (and stalking of my friend's Instagram feed) it finally arrived YAY!!!! Now that I know that she has her parcel, I can share the rest of these photos with you...

 

Completed top with border number 1 attached.

The completed mini.  I decided to use teal binding to enhance the centre circle of teal geese.

 

  

Click on the logo above to access Jeliquilts' pattern shop.

The perfect gift for an Odd Sock

odd sock - An affectionate term for a person who behaves in a strange and puzzling way.

 

I wanted to send a thank you gift to a special friend who forever keeps me in stitches.  She always cracks me up with her witty comments and funny photos.   Another friend - Juliet over at The Tartan Kiwi - had recently released a new pattern called "Odd Socks" which I was dying to try out, so the idea was formed, I would make a mini quilt for my friend who is an "odd sock".

 

Keeping to the mismatched theme, I wanted to make the socks purely out of pieces from my fabric scrap baskets.  I sorted through my scraps looking for coordinating fabrics to use for the heal & toe area and the bodies of the socks.  This is what I came up with:

 

 

The background fabrics and sashing also came from pieces from my fabric scrap baskets.  The binding was the only fabric cut from an unused fat quarter. 

 

Close up of the echo quilting

 

I echo quilted around the socks using a Perle 8 thread colour coordinated to the colour of each sock.  I then used a cream thread to stitch a fancy design into the sashing.  This was such a fun project to sew.

 

Yes my friend laughed when she received it - she got the joke :0)

 

And on the subject of odd socks - here is one of my favourite cartoons:

 

 

Secret Squirrels on a Mission

Ok, before you start to read this post I really want to get you in the mood.  Please turn your speakers up and enjoy this film clip before reading on:

Eiffel 65 - Blue (Da Ba Dee)

Yes, my squirrels were happily singing this song and dancing as they worked on this project.  Who said that you can't have fun whilst you work?

 

The recipient had no idea that the squirrels were making this for her, and we all had a little chuckle each time that we saw that she liked one of these photos on Instagram. 

 

Our friend loves blue.  She deserved some spoiling, and secret squirrel sewing and spoiling is something that my squirrels and I enjoy doing. So do it we will!



Snowy & Woody selecting fabric.

 


Snowy & Woody show off the first completed quarter.

 


Snowy & Woody show the completed block.

 


"Goosed Up" in blue (da ba dee)

 


Hand quilting the centre.

 


Hand quilting the geese.

 


The mini quilt is bound and the label is sewn on, but who is it for?

 


The squirrels are very proud of their accomplishment but who is it for?

 


A close up of the finished mini quilt - "Goosed Up" in Blue.

 

And a few days later as I was stalking this person's Instagram feed I heard a loud squeal of excitement as she opened her mail and discovered this:



Yes Annabel, of course it is for you!  And you know why. :0)

So, are you still singing that song?  I warn you, that song will be in your head all day now! ;)

"Goosed Up" by Jeli Quilts can be purchased from Craftsy. 

Please click on Craftsy logo above to access the pattern.

 

Easy to piece and no tricky angles, this block would look great in a cushion, quilt or even scaled down to make an intricate pincushion. Pattern includes two sizes of templates to make 12" and 4" finished blocks. Please note that this pattern does NOT include instructions on how to foundation piece. The template has clearly labelled sections and includes a 1/4" seam allowance.

Would You Like To Build A Snowman?

I recently helped out a friend in trouble who was a bit swamped time wise.  She had started to paper piece an "Olaf" from the movie "Frozen" (which I am yet to see) but ran into trouble.  Being the paper piecing junkie that I am, I offered my help which she gladly accepted. 

 

The completed Olaf block

 

The fabrics were all chosen & supplied by Sharon.  They were dropped off together with some chocolate & Aurifil and I set to work.  This block is definitely rated at an advanced level, because some of the pieces are quite small. However, they are necessary to achieve the level of detail.  The completed block finished at 10.5" with seam allowance.  

 

Sharon collected Olaf last Friday and the following day I was pretty excited to see this post on Instagram, she had turned it into the most adorable cushion for her daughter.

 

 

If you would like to find out more about her cushion, please visit Sharon's blog post:

Would you like to build/sew your own snowman?  The pattern is a free digital download by Sew Much Mischief.