Farmer's Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt - August

Here are my Farmer's Wife blocks for August 2006:

02 August - Block 18 - Carol

09 August - Block 93 - Starlight

16 August - Block 54 - Magnolia

23 August - Block 73 - Mrs. Taft

30 August - Block 89 - Ruby

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

Here are my Farmer's Wife blocks for July 2006:

05 July - Block 21 - Carrie

12 July - Block 63 - Mollie

19 July - Block 56 - Marcella

27 July - Block 85 - Primrose

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

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

03 May - Block 31 - Eva

10 May - Block 50 - Lady

17 May - Block 5 - Anne

24 May - Block 29 - Doris

31 May - Block 48 - Judy

Georgetown On My Mind Sew Along

#GeorgetownOnMyMindSewAlong

For some time now this quilt has been on my wish list.  I promised myself that I would make it after I had finished my "Circle Game Quilt", so I bought the pattern, mulled over fabric choices and as time and money permitted started purchasing what I needed.

I have decided to use the "Bright Blueberry Park" bundle by Karen Lewis Textiles for Robert Kaufman Fabrics with a charcoal homespun background. I have also decided to add a touch of Kaffe Fassett fabrics to give it a bit of zing.

When I posted this photo on Instagram a few months ago, a few friends asked if they could sew along with me so we have decided to make this an informal sew along and invite everyone else to join us.  Karen @VintageStrings and I will be ready to kick off in July and you are welcome to join us.

There are no set deadlines - you are free to sew along at your own pace, knowing that you are with good company who will keep you motivated and encourage you along the way.  

This pattern can be made using various techniques.  I plan to hand sew mine using my own templates and will be typing up a tutorial showing just how easy this can be.  

If you would like to join in you will need the following to make the quilt top:

• to purchase a copy of the pattern "Georgetown On My Mind" by Jen Kingwell
• 6m (6.5 yards) of background fabric
• 3m (3.5 yards) approximately of coloured fabrics (fat 16th & fat 8ths work well)
• Template plastic, 
• Fine marker - I use a Sewline Trio Colors fabric pencil with ceramic leads 
• Fabric scissors
• 1/4' Seaming Wheel/Quilters Wonder Wheel
• Fabric Scissors
• A sheet of fine grade sandpaper or a sandpaper board
• general sewing items - needle, thread etc etc

Sewline Trio Colors comes with 3 coloured lead pencil points – white, pink and black. Just turn the barrel to select your colour. The ceramic leads glide smoothly over fabric, leaving a nice clean line with no chalky residue. The special grip means it’s comfortable to use with good control. When you wish to remove the marks, simply use a polymer eraser ( there is a small one under the lid) or the Sewline Aqua eraser.  The tip is fine enough to use with a 1/4" Seaming Wheel/Quilters Wonder Wheel

This little tool called the Quilter’s Wonder Wheel or 1/4" Seaming Wheel is a great way to easily and accurately add a ¼″ seam allowance to any template. The wheel has a hole in the middle which is countersunk on the top side. The bottom side is smooth and flat allowing it to move freely over the fabric or paper.  A nice sharp pointed pencil (or Sewline Trio Colors Fabric Pencil) fits nicely into the indented hole so that the seam allowance lines can be drawn using the wonder wheel. This cool little tool allows for a simple and easy way to add an accurate ¼″ seam allowance to templates that do not have them or to shapes that you want to use for appliqué or hand sewing.

DISCLAIMER: This sew along is in no way affiliated with Jen Kingwell or Amitie Textiles. "Georgetown on my Mind" is a licenced pattern by Jen Kingwell and can be purchased from most good quilt shops or from Amitie Textiles (Jen's shop).

The Farmer's Wife 1930's Sampler Quilt - Week Three

Week Three kicked off on the 12th of October and these are my two blocks:

Block 13 - Belle

Belle's accompanying letter was all about "Gift, Fun, Fellowship".  Whilst I don't celebrate Christmas, I could relate to the comments regarding inexpensive exchange of gifts. There is no need to spend a fortune on a gift for someone only to find that they don't appreciate what you have given.  One of my favourite swaps this year had a spend limit of USD10.00 on swap extras.  We could not spent more than this on the extras that we included with our main gift.  This meant that we had to be creative.  It is amazing what you can make out of inexpensive embroidery floss, ribbon, zips, and fabric scraps.  It is also a great way to learn new skills and try new patterns.  How much more enjoyable is it to receive a beautiful hand made gift, knowing how much love and effort the maker has put into it!  

Block 24 - Coral

Coral's accompanying letter is "Take Time for Enjoyment".  We all need to take "little whiles" in the midst of our busy days - whether it is some quiet sewing time, play time with children, kitty cuddles, or just sitting out in the fresh air.  Life goes by way too quickly, don't forget to enjoy it before it passes us by. 

The Farmer's Wife 1930's Sampler Quilt - Week 2

Week Two kicked off on the 5th of October and these are my two blocks:

Block 14 - Betty

Betty's letter "A Dream Come True" speaks of her love of music and living frugally.  It reminded me of my own journey with quilting; how regular practice has helped me to improve my sewing and develop a great love for it.  My own meager pension makes it impossible to spend much on fabrics.  But I have learnt that you don't have to spend a lot to create something beautiful. 

Block 20 - Caroline

Caroline's letter "When I Behold the Heavens" gives praise to God and his beautiful creations.  It is so easy to view the beauties of nature as "commonplace" or to take the gift of life for granted.  When did you last stop and truly appreciate the wonders all around, or to ponder over the complexities of the human body and its amazing power to heal and grow? Despite our hectic pace of life, it is important to slow down and really appreciate what we have been given, and to give thanks to our God Jehovah.

The Farmer's Wife 1930's Sampler Quilt - Week 1

I suppose by now you've all heard about The Farmer's Wife 1930's Sew Along that Fat Quarter Shop and Angie (Gnome Angel) are hosting? Of course you have, everyone knows about it, it's all over social media ;0)  The sew along is based on the book "The Farmer's Wife 1930's Sampler Quilt - Inspiring letters from farm women of the Great Depression and 99 quilt blocks that honor them" by Laurie Aaron Hird.

Well yes, I have decided to sew along.  I have had intentions of making a paper pieced quilt made up of small quilt blocks for a while now but just hadn't had the time (I have been collecting patterns from another source but I will start this another time). When I saw this sew along start up I thought this will do, it's only 2 blocks per week over 12-months and no doubt with the masses of people sewing along I will be motivated to keep up. 

I ordered my book thankfully before the publishers ran out of copies, and it sat on my coffee table untouched for weeks until the sew along began late September - I still haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I have printed off my paper piecing templates from the CD Rom, yep - all 99 blocks:

The book and my 99 paper piecing templates

I had big intentions of making my version of the quilt using a combination of Bonnie & Camille fabrics, or the new Bloom & Bliss range by Riley Blake Designs, but the budget just wouldn't stretch that far.  Instead I decided to "Sew my Stash" and went rummaging though my fabric stash.  I have a large selection of black & white prints which I had been saving for another idea (which is still floating around in the vast abyss in my head), so I decided to go through them and to separate them into a "black" pile and a "white" pile.  I also had a fat quarter bundle of teal homespun solids which I had purchased from Spotlight.  And thus my theme was born - I am going to make MY VERSION of the "Farmer's Wife 1930's Sampler Quilt" a scrappy monochrome version with a pop of teal.

My Fat Quarter bundle of Teal Homespun Solids from Spotlight

my "blacks"

my "whites"

Week One kicked off on the 28th of September.  The first week we had 3-blocks to sew, and they were all rather quick and easy to piece together.  Although I am displaying my block photos like this, they will be set "on point" in the final quilt layout:

Block 16. Bonnie

Block 12. Becky

Block 8. Aunt