Swallow

Hello! I sewed another Farmer's Wife Sampler block on Monday night. This is block 93, Swallow:

It was a nice quick one to put together. I used the templates to cut all the triangles, and for the rest I just used my ruler and rotary cutter.

I always have such fun making these, and really want to step up the production a bit... maybe try for a couple a month. So many projects, so little time... I bet a lot of people can relate to that!

Bye for now

Hope x

Evening Star

Good afternoon, and happy Tuesday to you. I'm back to share another Farmer's Wife Sampler block. This time it's block 31, Evening Star.

This block went together so nicely. I used the templates provided on the CD for the triangles, and cut the squares using my quilting ruler and rotary cutter. That's my usual way of doing these blocks, unless the squares will be funny sizes like 1.7 inches or something - then I use the templates for the lot.

I was very organised last night and printed off three pages of templates. I find that if I don't have the right template printed it will put me off sewing these Farmer's Wife blocks. When I want to sew I just can't be bothered with turning the computer on, finding the right template, printing, etc... Now, I will have no excuse not to dive right in to the cutting!

Bye for now x

Hovering Hawks

Hello, and Happy New Year! Once again I've been absent from my blog for a long time... Things get busy and I forget about my blog. Maybe I can make more of an effort in 2014, make it one of those dreaded 'new year's resolutions'. :)

I made a Farmer's Wife Sampler quilt block today, my first one in a long time. It's called Hovering Hawks:

My Farmer's Wife quilt is another thing I've been neglecting. I have done a total of 46 blocks now, out of the 111 in the book. I would love to get it finished in 2014. I'm not yet certain what size I'm going for, but will probably aim to make all the blocks regardless. They're fun!

I have a new mini pattern just about ready for the 1.5 inch Rainbow Flowers block. I just need to proof read it and then I'll put it up on Craftsy for free download. Soon!

Have a lovely day, bye for now. x

Mini Blocks - and a Free Pattern

Hello! Though things have not been as active on the sewing front around here lately as I would like, I have had the chance to do a little sewing - and I do mean little. Two little miniaturised Farmers Wife Sampler blocks actually. Each one is two inches square and will finish at 1.5 inches.

Here we have Block 80 - Single Wedding Star (also known as Rolling Stone):

And this is Block 73 - Rainbow Flowers: 

I find these so much fun to make, and they're so quick compared with their bigger cousins. Having given away the mini sampler I made with my first mini blocks (you can see that here) I thought I'd make myself one. No rush, just the odd block now and then.

After posting my first mini sampler last year I was asked for a tutorial on some mini blocks, so I thought I'd do up a free instruction sheet for each of these, and for more as I make them. If you're interested, the Rolling Stone Mini Block pattern is now available for (free) download at my Payhip Pattern Store. :) There are step-by-step instructions and diagrams, as well as a few "Tips for Success". It only takes the smallest of scraps to make these blocks, so why not have a go? There's nothing to lose really :)

Bye for now, and happy sewing!

Hope x

Back Again - with Star Gardener

I'm back! Back after an extended period of no blogging and no sewing. I had a hand operation in May, a month earlier than I was scheduled to have it, on my right (dominant) hand. Consequently I had to resist using it for a long while. It is almost back to normal - well, almost almost - so I am happily back into my sewing.

Among other things, I've sewn a Farmers Wife Sampler Quilt block. This is block 87, Star Gardener.

I have mainly been sewing rectangles to rectangles lately, so it was really fun to do something a bit more intricate. The cutting took me a long time, but the block went together quite quickly. There are a couple of points I'm itching to re-do, but I'm letting it sit for a bit to see how I feel about it later.

I was planning to do the centre square in the same fabric as the star points, but I cut it too small and didn't have enough left to re-cut. So, after trialling a few different options, I ended up with a rose centre.

Of course, having done this block I'm dying to more. They will have to wait for another weekend though.

Bye for now x

Flock - A Farmers Wife Sampler Block

Good afternoon!

I actually made another Farmers Wife Sampler block today. It has been SUCH a long time since the last ones.

This is block 33, Flock:

This was quite quick to make - not many pieces compared to a lot of the other blocks - and went together pretty well. I started cutting it out last night, and finished it up today. I do so love these Rose Parade fabrics from Moda. LOVE them.

I am sort of considering putting the blocks I've made together into a quilt top now... I don't know if I want to make a queen size any more. There are a couple of reasons. One, I feel like it will be a million years from now before all the blocks are done for it. Two, I can't help but feel the blocks will get a bit lost in the crowd with a big quilt, and a smaller quilt will make it easier to see each block - and can be used more often. Still, no need to rush into a decision, I've got plenty of other projects to keep me busy!

I would also like to say, if any of you lovely people are reading, thank you to those who have purchased my pattern. It is such a thrill, and I can't wait to see some heart quilts made from it.

Bye for now :)

Liquorice Allsort - A Miniature Sampler

A couple of weeks ago, I made one more miniature Farmers Wife Sampler block, and finally assembled all nine I'd made into a very tiny quilt for a very lovely friend. 

And here it is, with the book that started it all: 

This little quilt is roughly 20cm square, or about 8 inches. It was so much fun to put together, and I definitely have plans for more! I already have two more blocks made, so I have to make more, right? 

The small blocks are a little fiddly, but surprisingly quick to put together. I suppose that when the longest seam in a block is 2 inches, with a finished block size of 1.5 inches, it isn't all that surprising it should go together quickly. 

Having made these tiny blocks I feel like the regular size blocks made as per instruction are not that small at all. See, they're quite big really, almost covering the little quilt:

I ended up calling the quilt Liquorice Allsort, because that's what Susan was reminded of with the stripes, the black and the bright colours. I think of fizzy drink and lollies when I look at it. :)

I am very pleased with this little quilt, and if I hadn't been making it for the express purpose of giving it away, I think it would have been very hard to part with. 

As it happens though, after I'd dropped it at the post office I was on a high that lasted till it arrived at its destination, at which point I was on a SUPER high because it was received with such excitement and heartfelt thanks. 

It's true what they say, that the joy is in the giving. ;)

Farmer's Daughter

This weekend just gone, I managed to make two Farmers Wife Sampler Quilt blocks, and I love both of them. :)

First up was Farmer's Daughter:

This is so similar to another block I've already done, Butterfly at the Crossroads, that I had to keep checking to make sure I hadn't done it before. :) I actually had this one mostly cut out for a week, but didn't get a chance to finish cutting and sew it together till the weekend. 

Next up was Farmer's Puzzle: 

I am very much in love with the yellow and aqua combination. It is so sunshiney and lovely. This was a nice quick block to make, with not many pieces to cut out. Hooray to that!

Darting Birds

One more Farmers Wife Sampler block complete, Darting Birds. This one was going very well, until it came to attaching the 'birds' to each other. I had trouble with one point in particular, and ended up calling  it done after several unpicking sessions, though I was not 100% thrilled with it.

Here is the block:

It is a bit wonky in places, but oddly ended up nice and square...  

And because I hadn't laid them out in a while, here are all my blocks to date:

Having them all laid out like this makes me wonder about doing a couple of smaller quilts, rather than the queen size I was planning. Still plenty of time to decide. :)

Hello Blog

Long time no post! I have not been idle, I just have not taken proper photos. Instagram photos, yes, but not photos with a decent camera of a decent size.

Today I quickly snapped these two Farmers Wife Sampler Quilt blocks.

Here is Block 29, Economy:

And Block 28, Duck and Ducklings:

I've noticed recently that I seem to have a lot of the blue Rose Parade fabrics left, so have been using those. I am currently working on Darting Birds, again using blue and the black/white spot. Lots of little pieces in that one, so I'm taking it slowly.

I must take some photos of what I've been up to. Poor blog has been very neglected.

Just a couple of things...

I have been a busy bee and finished a couple of quilts, as well as making progress on a couple. For now though, here are just a couple of blocks I've done. The finished quilts still need a proper photo shoot. :)

First of all, here is a block called Dutch Rose. I have made it with Ruby by Bonnie and Camille for Moda. It's one of (probably) three I will be making for a table runner.

Next up is another block in the Farmer's Wife Sampler, called Wild Goose Chase:

It was a breeze to put together. Instead of making the individual flying geese units and joining them, I made one unit, then added the big triangle, then each of the small triangles, then the next big triangle and so on. It makes for a nice flat block and pointy points.

That's it for now. Hopefully I will be back soon with some Marmalade.

End of Day

Last week was not the best of weeks, and though I had made it my goal to get a couple of cushion covers made last week, I decided that yesterday I needed a bit of escape sewing. So, I went for a couple of the quicker Farmers Wife Sampler Quilt blocks. The cushion covers will wait.

The first one was as desired, nice and quick. It's called End of Day:

It came together nice and easily, and I just undid the last seam once to get those points in the centre right. Or right enough, anyway.

The next block is called Homeward Bound (and each time I think that name I get the Simon and Garfunkel song in my head):

It came together easily enough, but I undid it because I didn't like the fabric choices. I didn't take a photo of the original. This remake was finished this morning. I think I like it. I think. It is nice and yellow anyhow.

I have missed doing these blocks, and really ought to start doing them regularly again.

Big, and Little.

The mini Farmers Wife Sampler blocks are very addictive, but I have still managed to do some big ones. Here we have Cut Glass Dish:

Friendship (I pinched my fabric choices from Suzitee's block, here):

And Spool:

I also did another couple of minis, just because they're cute. They are Calico Puzzle:

And Spool:

I feel a bit odd about using a different fabric for the mini spool, and not sticking with the Rose Parade. My little scraps will not do all the mini blocks I have planned though, so I had to branch out to other scraps. I keep the tiniest little oddments of fabric, and since these little blocks sometimes use pieces as small as 3/4 inches square, the tiny scraps are well worth saving.

Babies

The farmer and his wife have been having babies:

These mini Farmers Wife Sampler Quilt blocks, done with scraps from the big ones, will finish at 1.5 inches square. They're kind of addictive.

Cups and Saucers

I did another couple of Farmers Wife Sampler blocks on the weekend. Each one was done over a couple of days. It's kind of nice doing it that way because all the cutting is over and done with on one day, and then there's just a little bit of sewing to get a finished block the next day.

Anyhow, today we have Block 25, Cups & Saucers:

Soft and pretty, I think. This went together quite well, just one seam where the points didn't match, but that was soon unpicked and redone.

This is Block 90, Storm Signal:

Somewhat bolder in colour, huh? The points that don't meet nicely on this may require me to redo those particular parts. We shall see. I am trying to be less fussy - it won't be going to a show, will just end up on my bed, but I really am a bit of a perfectionist so they will probably bug me. :(

Friendship Star

Another Farmers Wife block done on Sunday, Friendship Star:

I love the blue and yellow together.

I went out of order again to do a quick one. This was definitely quick, only 13 pieces.

Country Path

Another Farmers Wife Sampler block is done! Yay! I've missed doing these. This one is called Country Path.

I chose my colours to make the block appear a bit different to in the book. Light and dark make such a difference to the final appearance. Best seen in black and white maybe:

Anyway, I was particularly pleased with how this went together. No unpicking required whatsoever, which kind of surprised me to be honest. 

A Group Shot and a New Project

I felt it was time for a group shot of my Farmers Wife Sampler blocks. I have left the two Frog Prince block out for now, thinking of making them into cushion covers or something instead.

Meanwhile, I've been cutting pieces of fabric for a quilt for a nephew due in July. I'm using a pattern from Simplify by Camille Roskelley. Fabric is Meadow Friends by Deb Strain for Moda. I got the 'boy' jelly roll. It is so adorable with all the little critters, and isn't babyish so should be fine for a quilt to be used on a proper bed in years to come.

Not all the cutting is done, just the main bit from the jelly roll. Getting there though.

Country Farm

Two more blocks in the Farmers Wife Sampler have been completed! Corn & Beans, was done over three days, in little bits here and there. Country Farm was done in two days, in the same way.

Here is Country Farm:

And here is Corn and Beans:

I am finding, when I look at the photos of these blocks, not just mine, but other people's too, that the size is just not conveyed. They are so sweet and cute in real life. Maybe something to give a sense of scale is in order for the next photos.

Churn Dash and Checkerboard

I had a great morning sewing today and got two more Farmers Wife Sampler blocks done. Block 19, Checkerboard:

And block 20, Churn Dash:

I've skipped block 18 for now, as I'm not sure what combination of fabrics to do, or if I'll stick to the fabric placement in the book.

I wonder if I'll get more done this afternoon? It is wonderful to be doing these little blocks and neglecting the binding on my single bed quilt. I don't feel the least bit guilty, just happy. :)