My Farmer's Wife quilt

I can't believe it, but I FINALLY finished the blocks for my Farmer's Wife quilt! I started on this quilt in the summer of 2011.  I made 71 blocks from the book and threw in one of my own.

Because I'm not a fan of paper piecing, all but two of my blocks were made using templates. For the squares, rectangles, and triangles, I just made notes on the template sizes and used the dimensions to cut the pieces, but I used the laminated templates for all of the angular or oddly sized pieces.

Unfortunately, I got a little bitter about this quilt over time. It was a lot of work fiddling with all the templates and cutting for only one block at a time, so in the end, I was desperate to just get it done. 

Here it is with all the finished blocks! If you look in the top left corner, there's an airplane in my Farmer's Wife quilt. I decided to put it in for two reasons. One, because I made that block a while back for my husband; I'm not a farmer's wife, but I am a pilot's wife. And two, because the thought of making one more stinkin' block for this quilt made me want to pile it up with some leaves and toss in a lit match.

I still need to add the border, but I was so excited to get the blocks finished that I just had to take a photo and share my excitement that the top is almost finished! I can't decide how wide to make the border or if I want to do just a plain black dot border or incorporate the grey seeds in the border too.

Hopefully, I can muster the discipline to see this thing through to completion before starting something else, but honestly, I kind of doubt it.

An Imprudent Post

I'm coming to my own conclusion that maybe I actually am The Uptight Quilter.  I don't post very often because I hate to post without thinking hard about what I'm going to say and wondering if anyone actually cares and making sure the photos look just so.

Well, not today!  Welcome to my imprudent post.  This post has no forethought whatsoever.  Other than the fact that I thought, I should post something and I should take some photos and upload them for the post.

Here's what's happening currently in my sewing room.

I bought some of each of the 19 new DS Quilts Daisy Mae prints for Joann. They don't feel as nice as the Fairgrounds and Picnic fabrics, but I really like the prints and was able to stack some coupons and get them for 50% off.  I think they are worth what I paid for them.  I'm not a pre-washer when it comes to quilting (to each his own, don't hate on me), but I think I'm going to pre-wash these to make sure they aren't going to bleed or develop crazy off-grain issues and I want to see how they feel after washing.  Has anyone pre-washed their Daisy Mae yet?

I worked on a few more Farmers Wife blocks. I'm going the template route, but I've been measuring the templates and just cutting my fabrics to size. I'm making notes in the book and on my templates of the sizes so I can just refer to the sizes and cut. It would seem like their would be more trimming involved, but I trim anyway, so it doesn't seem to be adding any extra time to constructing the blocks. I'm still using the templates for the unusually shaped pieces. 

Here are the four blocks I did this week.  I would tell you their names and numbers, but since no planning went into this post, I didn't take notes and bring them to the computer with me. I think one of them is called Friendship.

I cut into my DS Quilts Sugar Creek, Picnic, and Fairgrounds and started on a Swoon quilt. I LOVE the huge blocks!

Last Saturday, I moved my rotary mat, iron and scrap bin into the TV room and cut like made during the TCU vs. Boise State game.  Go Frogs!  My thought was to cut out pieces to take on an upcoming trip and assemble on my newest toy...

into super scrappy x and + blocks. But, I can't decide if I like these blocks. OK, well, that's not completely true, I like the blocks and I love the bright busyness. What I'm undecided about is if these blocks break so many rules that people will look at this quilt and think, "Ugh! What a disaster! What a waste of fabric!" I think it's a bit of a hot mess, and I think that's what I like about it!

And that's what's happening in my sewing room today. Happy Friday y'all!

Fun with the Go! Baby!

I'm sure you've seen a few of these new Go! Baby cutters around blogland lately.  I was so excited when I was presented with the oppourtunity to try one out and show it to you.  As someone who has been in the emergency room having seven stitches to re-attach the side of my left pointer finger after cutting all the way to the bone with a rotary cutter, the Go! Baby seemed like a great fit for me.  I was also excited because I teach kids to sew and I think this would be a really fun (and safe) product for them to use.

Accuquilt let me choose three dies, and I chose the Value Die, the Quarter Square 4" Finished Triangle, and the Half Square 4" Finished Triangle.  My favorite die so far is the quarter square triangle. It cuts eight triangles at once, but the best part is that they fit together perfectly making it simple to get perfect points.  I have never made HSTs or QSTs that fit together this nicely. 

The corners of the triangles are dog-eared, so that when finish sewing your four pieces together, there's nothing to trim!  Using the Go! Baby is easy and it's really portable.  I took it to a Saturday Sew with the Dallas Modern Quilt Guild on Saturday and it fit easily in my bag and wasn't too heavy.  When it's folded closed, it looks really cute on the shelf too!

I've been cutting lots of Kona white triangles and bright dots to make a quilt for my cousin's daughter.  I'm going with a totally random layout and I'm loving the way it's coming together.  I'll show you more as soon as I get the blocks together.  The way the points line up is amazing!

I wanted to share this link with you too.  Head over to Accquilt and sign up to receive 22 free patterns!  I downloaded the patterns and there are some really cute ones in there.  You get one set of quilt patterns and the other is a collection of quilt blocks.  I really want some more dies for my Go! Baby now.  I'l drooling over the Tumbler and the Drunkard's Path.  

So, stay tuned for more of the quarter square triangle quilt and some exciting news for one of my sweet blog readers!

Do. Good Stitches May 2011 Quilt

I'm a member of the "Love" circle of the do. Good Stitches bee over at flickr.  (There's a link to our bee in my sidebar to the right.)  May was my month to finish the quilt and I decided to let everyone choose a color and do whatever type of 12" finished block they liked. It was so exciting to see the blocks arrive!

I tried numerous arrangements for this quilt, but eventually decided on random. I like the way it turned out.  The binding is a diagonally printed black and white stripe and I used a bright floral vintage sheet for the back.

There's something special to me personally about this quilt too.  It's the first quilt I've quilted on a long arm machine. My new friend, Angela of The Jilted Quilt, rents time on her wonderful long arm machine.  She donated the time for me to quilt this charity quilt and it was so much fun to learn and play with the long arm. Thanks, Angela!

Long arm quilting was very relaxing.  It was so easy to get into "the zone" and just go with it.  Next time, I think I'll take my headphones and quilt to music.  I was disappointed when I finished.  I wanted to keep going!  (I just have to add that Ara Jane went over the top with those gorgeous pink hexies.  See a close-up at flickr.)

So, a big thank you to the do. Good Stitches "Love" ladies.  I'll get this quilt packed up and shipped to Wrap Them in Love right away.

Farmer's Wife on the Fourth

★ Happy Independence Day! ★

Today is a great day to thank a veteran and count our blessings!

I've worked on a number of sewing projects today, but I think crossing the Cut Glass Dish (#26) off my Farmer's Wife Sampler block list feels like my biggest accomplishment. This was my second go at this block. The first time, I tried using Moda crossweave as one of the fabrics in those 1" HSTs above.  I couldn't work with the bulk, so I tried again and the second time's a charm.

I am pleased with my points, but I was extremely disappointed when I put my block on the wall and stepped back to discover that those stupid dots not being straight makes my triangles look crooked! Ugh! That's what I get from trying to cut my fabric on the straight of grain rather than with the print.  It does create some nice movement and goodness knows I'm not redoing it.

The other two blocks I added are #41 Friendship Star (red star on the left) and #108 Windmill (gold and blue).  I love the way these are coming together.  It's a really fun project!  Are you working on a Farmer's Wife Sampler?

Farmer's Wife Sampler QAL

So, I mentioned that I got sucked in to the Farmer's Wife Quilt Along on flickr. These blocks are really addictive! I don't guess I'm going to formally follow the two blocks a week schedule a the quilt along, but rather just work on them when I need a quick sewing fix.

Actually, I use the term "quick" very loosely. That green, pink and gray block above, it's block #47 in the book, Homemaker. I'm so glad I have that one out of the way! I wasn't timing myself, but I suspect that block took me almost two hours. It was my first experience with Y seams in quilting and the one thing this book lacks for these blocks is instructions. This block had some notes that other blocks didn't have, but it still took some time to get it done right. I'm very pleased with the outcome though; I think it's my favorite block thus far.

I discarded one of the blocks I made last week and remade it. It was really bothering me, but the replacement seems to fit in much better. So far, I've made the following blocks:

#1 Attic Windows (very top)

#6 Big Dipper (purple and gold at the bottom)

#16 Calico Puzzle (with the fuzzy cut owl in the center)

#20 Churn Dash (aqua, red, and pink)

#29 Economy (pink/purple/orange with turquoise cross weave)

#47 Homemaker (green and pink star)

#49 Honeycomb (gold peas and carrots with orange)

#68 Postage Stamp (1" squares)

#73 Rainbow Flowers (with red floral KJR)

#77 Seasons (green cross)

#91 Strawberry Basket (pink and red 1" squares atop green Hope Valley)

I read that someone else was trying to alternate tougher and easier blocks and that sounded like a great plan to me. I don't want to put off all the challenging blocks to the end and then never finish because of frustration.

Speaking of finishing, I need do a round up of all my UFOs (UnFinished Objects) and take a look at everything I've got in the works. Maybe if I put them all together in a post, it might help me prioritize and get excited about finishing some things up. I did work on the hexagon charm quilt this weekend for the first time in months. That beast deserves it's own post. 

The busyness of summer

Summer came like a lion here in Fort Worth. Even before June 21st, we had over a week of 100+ degree days. I'm trying to keep my garden alive, but it's too hot for me out there during the day. My flowers and vegetables are just frying in the sun and heat. But I did spot this gorgeous dragonfly visiting my garden two afternoons in a row. He was the most amazing shade of orange and didn't seem to mind me taking his photo.

While reviewing the packing list for Shea's summer camp, we discovered it said "1 quilt or sleeping bag". Now what is it about me that makes something like, "I should make you a quilt for camp!" leap out of my mouth before my brain has time to realize what I'm saying. And once those words are out there, you can't take them back.

I suggested a rag quilt, you know, fast and easy. She loved that idea until she realized what a rag quilt looked like. She proceeded to show me her version of a "rag quilt", which was little pieces of fabric sewn to another piece of fabric and all raggy on the edges. Basically, a ticker tape. This thing is such a mess, I can't even believe I'm showing it to you, so don't look too closely. Hopefully, it's twin sized. I didn't even measure it, but I used twin sheets for the body of the quilt, a soft one on the back, a flannel in the middle and a boring white one of the front. Making a twin sized ticket tape is TORTURE. I tried every way I could think of to sew these squares on and finally decided that glueing on multiple pieces and sewing all the horizontals then going back for the verticals was the fastest way.

It's not finished, but I am out of time.  She leaves tomorrow. I didn't prewash the fabrics I used for the binding, so the binding shrunk quite a bit and I think it's going to make it a challenge to finish. But, I'll deal with that at some point in the future. For now, I'm considering this baby finished; it's folded and packed.

I've been keeping busy teaching sewing classes and doing some summer sewing for me. The dress above is a Lisette pattern. Highly recommended.

This is a top I draped as an attempt to knock off this cute Anthropologie blouse. Ignore the fabric; it didn't turn out like I wanted it to. If anyone has a suggestion for an affordable online source for fashion fabric, I would love find some new sources. Joann's fashion fabric stinks.

And lastly, my first nine blocks from The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt book. I've been looking for a traditional sampler to do in current fabrics, but every time I looked at quilt block encyclopedias, they were full of baskets and houses and other folksy stuff that's a little traditional for my taste. I was considering a Civil War repro sampler quilt when I saw this Farmer's Wife Quilt-a-Long on flickr. These little blocks are so addictive! The quilt along schedule is two blocks a week for a year. I'm sure it will take me a year to finish the quilt, but I think I'm just going to make blocks when I feel moved to do so. I did these in two days. I'll post more about them when I have more time.

Right now, I'm off to my birthday party. It's not until next week, but Shea is going to miss it since she'll be away at camp, so we are having a party early. And then tomorrow, it's off to the Ozarks to drop my baby off for two whole weeks! It's a little bittersweet; I know I'm going to miss her madly, but I get two whole weeks off! Two weeks! We've never been apart for two weeks, but I've decided that the Lord must make pre-teens act the way they do as a way to help mothers begin to let go. It makes so much sense. At the rate she's going, by the time she's 18, I will be ready for her leave this nest. If she remained the precious little sweetheart she was at six or seven, I'd never want to let her go. She's going to have a blast at camp. And I'm going to have a blast at home! Can somebody saw sew-a-thon!

Loops of Love (aka Single Girl)

I had the most wonderful weekend with my quilty friends! There was lots of sewing, lots of great conversation, lots of laughter, and lots of good food!  So, what did I accomplish this weekend?

I only accomplished one thing...

I finished my king-size Loops of Love (aka Single Girl) quilt top!

I worked on this monster almost non-stop from Thursday night until Sunday afternoon.  I'm just thrilled I was able to finish this top in one weekend! I still need to add the white borders to the top and bottom edge, but then I'll ready to sandwich and quilt. 

I used the entire line of Katie Jump Rope and mixed in some Flea Market Fancy. I love the way it turned out; those two collections seem to be made for one another. I really want to hand quilt this behemoth, so it may be a while before you see it finished, but I'm anxious to get started.

Are you making a Single Girl quilt too? Check out the SGSG on flickr while I go order a really big piece of batting.

My mother's first quilt

I'm so proud of my mom.  I just have to share this with you all.

My father passed away in May 2007. That's my daddy above in Korea during the Vietnam war. As of last summer, his clothes were still in his closet and my mom asked me to help her go through them. She wasn't quite ready to let them go and had the wonderful idea of making them into a quilt. My mom hadn't made a quilt before, but she's a very talented sewer, cross stitcher, crocheter, and crafter.

We sorted through my dad's shirts, 

cut them into large pieces, and tried to sort them out by color and shade.

She wanted something simple to construct, so I suggested the blocks above and she started cutting and sewing.

And here's the finished quilt! She did such a beautiful job, although I'm not the least bit surprised she did such nice work, I knew she would. I'm so proud of her!

The quilt is queen sized and she plans to use it on her bed. The backing is a purchased sheet in a shirting stripe; it looks perfect for the quilt. The binding is made of more shirt scraps and is hand sewn. We decided that tying this quilt might be the best option for her because she wanted to do the work herself (I know where I get my stubbornness from) and she didn't want to try quilting a queen on her domestic machine.

This quilt is a treasure! It's special and sentimental in so many different ways. I know this quilt will be loved and used for years and years.

So, after years of trying to talk my mom into quilting, I suspect this first quilt won't be her last. Between you and me, I think she's hooked.

do. Good Stitches December quilt

I'm a member of the do. Good Stitches {a charity bee} at flickr started by Rachel at Stitched in Color. My first moth to be the quilter was December and I decided on playing with color and asked my fellow stitchers to make these blocks. If you like these blocks, be sure to read the comments. There are some great suggestions for alternate construction methods.

So here's the finished quilt. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

(Remember, I'm giving up on perfection; this quilt proves I'm serious.*)

Everyone did a lovely job on the blocks. They worked so beautifully together. The quilt measures 50 x 58".

I had two extra blocks and I cut each of them into four pieces for the back.

I couldn't get a good hanging shot of the back to show the quilting, but it's a large double diamond with ties in the middle of the diamonds.

This quilt is being donated to the Wrap Them In Love Foundation and I would like to think it's got a long life ahead of it. I'll get it packed up and sent out tomorrow.

I wanted to share this photo too. I recruited my hubby to help me with the basting. He's such a good sport.

*Yes, I messed up when I sewed the blocks together. I noticed it when I took it out to take photos of the quilt top. But, I brought it back inside, took it apart, "fixed" it, and finished it up. When I removed it from the dryer, I realized that my solution to the problem wasn't a solution at all and I had created a row of blocks turned the wrong direction! I'm hoping maybe you didn't notice until I told you and I sincerely apologize to my fellow bee members for goofing it up.

♥ February + Pink ♥

It's snow day number two in north Texas and the coldest day on record in the last 15 years. The sleet and snow that fell on Monday night thawed a bit yesterday when the sun was out, but it all re-froze last night and today is cloudy with temperatures staying in the teens. We're staying inside today.

February is Rachel's month for the do. Good Stitches bee. She asked for wonky stars in pinks and reds. Pink is something I seem to have no shortage of.

I hope you like them, Rachel. The are making me crave some Valentine Sweet Tarts!

I started this quilt back in November for my cousin's new baby. I intended it to be finished before she arrived, but she was born on January 5th and the quilt was still stuck on the design wall waiting to be assembled. I focused last night and got the top finished. I can't decide how I want to quilt this one. The last time I did meandering free-motion, it looked terrible and I don't want to mess this one up. Any suggestions for something quick and easy?

The blocks in this quilt are from an American Jane pattern called Popsicle Posies and the fabrics are an assortment from my stash.