CHARM ABOUT YOU

I have been quietly hand stitching in the evenings and have finished a couple more Farmer's Wife 1930's Sew-along blocks. Both of these blocks were hand pieced, to see my hand piecing tutorial click here.

As someone that doesn't do well with change, I really admire the author of this letter for her determination and acceptance of the fact that her and her husband needed to return to the farm. "I was determined that I would go to that farm and like it, in spite of myself". The grey Carolyn Friedlander print represents the town and the Cotton + Steel Sprinkles is for the farm. The central fabric is both sad and happy, it looks like tears but the colours are very pretty. It turns out that she was not unhappy living on the farm, "We work together and plan together. To be sure we have had disappointments, but they are part of life, so we meet them together".

Another letter that focused on triumphing over adversity. I used Liberty fabric for this block. The brown pixels and the blue swirls are for the "the dust [that] fogs over us when it blows". The roses are for the fact that the family felt "blue" until they decided to go to Sunday School and the lesson was a "balm to our tired souls]... Now we sing as we work, and next year is another year".

I am still catching up on blocks though I'm choosing to skip a few here and there. I currently have 52/99 blocks and suspect I won't actually sew them all, preferring instead to make a quilt when the sew along finishes rather than to try and make all the blocks. The OCD part of me really hates that but I think it's more realistic and enjoyable for me to just make the blocks I like and actually have a quilt*! Does anyone else have this struggle?! Would you make them all or prefer to finish with what you had?

* I have decided on a layout, other than the one in the book, that doesn't require me to have all the blocks completed. I'm ok with that.

I enjoyed this positive account of farming life contrasted against her siblings, "They live in towns and work all day with other people's plans and problems". I used the brown sprinkles for "the dark earth" and florals, "an opalescent haze of coral and violet buds". The Lucky Strike print perfectly reflects her happy and fun attitude, "This is life!".

There is so much in this letter that strikes a chord with me - how I feel, despite the problems, about the joys of my home. 

"My home: It is sweet to hear my children laugh and play. There is still romance in waiting for Daddy to come in from the field. There is deep content in having someone to quarrel with, to love, to take care of, the scold and to forgive."

I chose prints that were busy, dark with gentle, to give movement and contrast. Work and play!

They also look like pink cats, or foxes or batman!

It has been a busy week and I've been doing lots of teaching. Really nice groups of women that all produced lovely work and have given me so much inspiration for new projects and classes. So a small finish for today...

I finished another Farmer's Wife 1930's Sew-along block, a simple one compared to my last challenging block!

#50 Lady

We all have those times like the author of this letter, "My thoughts were dragging me down; in my mind huge storms were brewing". I chose the dark navy as a symbol of feeling "blue". Sometimes the solution isn't as simple as thinking nice thoughts but it can help and I completely agree that "our thoughts are far-reaching in their effort on our inner selves, on our response to life". The floral Liberty print reminds me to think about "sweet things".

Have a sweet weekend!

linking up to finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts

#71 Mrs Morgan As soon as I read the letter I immediately thought of this Penny Arcade print, perfect to represent the drama guild the community created to battle the "restlessness" of the "young folks who were...pulling out for the city". The brown print for the country and grey for the city. This block was hand pieced.

#67 Mrs Brown I like the message of this letter, "the best light is the one that emphasizes virtues rather than faults". I decided to play with light and dark and used this beautiful Matt Maddison D Liberty print as a 'picture'. This block was English Paper Pieced.

I was itching to make these Work In Progress Bags, pattern by Amanda Jean. There's another cut out and ready to sew once I've made a bit more binding. They come together quickly, the binding was the trickiest part for me and wonder clips proved invaluable! I had to use tissue paper under the vinyl because there was no way it was going through my machine without it. I can think of lots of uses for these bags and definitely recommend the pattern!

One was immediately stolen by my son for a pencil case, saves him digging around to find the colour he wants! 

Who would have thought a quilt block would give me the confidence to blog about my anxiety?! It did, here's the spark and a couple of other blocks for the Farmer's Wife 1930's Sew-along...

#22 Cat It's just what the future holds for me. I know I will be Glad-after-all but it was heart wrenching working on this block. I used pink for my littlest girl, the Ruffled print reminds me of eyelashes (and wiping away tears!) and the tape measures are for the sewing I hope to do once she's at school. This block was English Paper Pieced.


#47 Joy I went back to hand piecing for this one. I had no fabric with plums on so I used blueberries. I picked the small pink dots because they are joyous to me so symbolises the way seeing a friend "revives my spirit" and the brown is for the coffee drinking!



I'm really doing these out of order now, just picking the ones I want to do and not stressing about getting them all done. I am loving the process and hope you are enjoying seeing the blocks, I will try to take a picture of them all so far when I get a chance. It's half term here this week so the kids are all at home (causing chaos). Today is our 9th wedding anniversary so my husband and I are off out to the cinema tonight. Deadpool and popcorn sounds perfect to me!


     

Along with Dolly I finished one more block for my Farmer's Wife 1930's Sew-along quilt this week and because it had bigger pieces I decided to do English Paper Piecing.

#86 Priscilla Fabric was an easy pick for this block and I enjoyed the letter! The way she stopped her younger brothers protesting about helping do dishes by telling stories "so exciting that dishwashing became a pleasure". I chose the dotty grey for the boring task of washing dishes and the Fibs and Fables print because it so beautifully represents a fairytale theme. 

   

I taught a beginner's patchwork class today and had such a wonderful time. The ladies were all so creative and enthusiastic. They made some beautiful blocks and really inspired me! As much as I am enjoying all the hand sewing I have been doing recently I am now itching to get back to my sewing machine. Hopefully I will find some time this weekend!

Linking up to finish it up friday at crazy mom quilts.

Aren't you glad this was the only block for the Farmer's Wife 1930's Sew-along this week? It is a beautiful block though and worth the time to match up all those points and corners. I hand pieced this block and want to share some tips to make it easier and go together a little more quickly!

Once all the pieces are cut I always lay out my block, this helps me make sure I am sewing the right pieces and for blocks with lots of pieces it means I can work out the best construction. There are four identical segments of this block with 11 triangles in each. I laid these out:

I then sewed the short row to the large navy triangle, followed by the longer row - as shown in the block assembly in the book. To attach the two other triangles I again sewed continuously, following the arrows below to attach them to the previously completed piece of the block.

The middle part of the block is a simple nine patch but making sure you centre the points of the adjoining triangles is not so simple! I tried by folding the nine patch in quarters and marking the centre of the middle outer squares in the seam allowance. As you sew the block together you can align the point of the triangle with the pen mark on the seam of the square:

#28 Dolly Sometimes it takes travelling the hard road to make you realise the importance and "quality of quiet living". Those simple pleasures of "old-fashioned Sunday dinners, neighborhood dances, and card parties". I chose the Macrame print because it reminds me of the plant holders my parents had around the kitchen when I was growing up. The metallic gold/navy print represents the "easy road" while the brown stands for the time they "scrimped and saved".

#10 Ava I chose the dandelion fabric for the wish for a child and the wish for a sister. The colour of the Blueberry Park print and the sweet little Liberty roses seemed perfect to evoke the love for the two adopted girls and the "bliss of having babies to cuddle". This block feels so 'me' - the colours, the sentiment, the traditional and modern. I really feel love when I look at it, maybe because I thought about my own two girls as I sewed.

#46 Jewel (English Paper Pieced) I loved this letter! I chose the Liberty flower print and the soft polka dots to represent the humbleness the farmer's wife feels and her realisation that she needs to listen more.

#79 Patience This was a "down" letter. I went with the muddy colour for the work and the (lack of) money, and the blue for the hauling of water. There is also hope in the block though, the strong blue running across the middle, standing strong. "I am down, and down bad. But I'm not out even yet".

#80 Patricia Hilarious! I think all mothers know how important it is that we get rest, especially when you have babies and very little children. I could never nap when mine were small but eventually I realised that just sitting and doing nothing was as good as and helped keep me "fresh and strong"! I chose the starry print for sleep and the low volume print to symbolise the peace that results. "There could not be not'ing happen dose children worse dan I not get my von little naps".

#39 Grandma It feels like there is lots of movement in this block, spinning and jagged. The "ups and downs" of family life, the children "fly[ing] away"  and the need for "bravery and brightness". Gingham always feels homely to me and I mixed it with a dark, busy print and a swirling print to capture the reflections of the letter.

More work on my Farmer's Wife 1930's sew along blocks. These three blocks were all hand pieced. I decided to rotary cut the pieces and used Marti Michell's templates for the triangles, which made it so easy! As the pieces get smaller it really helps to not have dog ears and I found the points came together as well as when I was English Paper Piecing. I will be doing a tutorial for hand piecing soon.


#78 Old Maid
I love this block! It looks so fabulous on point. The letter from Miss Homemaker was a nice testament to the satisfaction of keeping house for your family (provided they are grateful!). I chose homely feeling fabrics for this block, gingham is perfect for a Farmer's Wife homemaker!



#94 Susannah
A great lesson in saving and business! Wouldn't it be great if you could buy a Ford for $15?! I decided to use colours to represent elements of the letter - the green for money, the brown for wood and the pink for the children's pigs! I hope my children will be as resourceful.

#49 Katherine
One of my middle names. The letter was a tale of hard work, struggle and also contentment. I tried to reflect this in my fabric picks; the black and white for the toils, the brown for the fields of the farm and the flowers for the "well earned" rest as her children grow and leave home.





Now for the thank you! I received a package the other day from the lovely Amy, I had put my name down to get a gift from her and then I would pay it forward. You have probably seen this idea around blog land and social media. The first three people that comment to say they would like a handmade gift from me will receive a package within the next few months BUT only if you agree to pay it forward in the same way.
**EDIT - Thank you! I now have three people but stay tuned because I will have more giveaways coming soon!

These blocks were English Paper Pieced but I think they might be the last ones I do using this method. I am now hand piecing this weeks blocks and really enjoying it. It's easier and since that's how Laurie Hird, the author, constructed her quilt it makes sense to do the same. I may still EPP some blocks in the future but I now think the blocks lend themselves better to being hand pieced. If anyone is interested I could do a post to show you how I hand piece?

Most people in the sew-along seem to be paper piecing the blocks, I am not a huge fan of paper piecing but occasionally I do a bit...

Collette asked for sewing theme rows for Bee A Brit Stingy and the rows so far are gorgeous, it's going to be such a fun quilt! It took me a while to really decide what I wanted to do but I'm halfway done with the row and hope to finish it off this weekend. Here's a sneak at my favourite block so far:

I used the Clippity Clip Block pattern by Amanda - What The Bobbin? It's a really fun block to make and you can play about with fabric.

A little sponsor news:

There is a massive sale on Charm Packs at Green Fairy Quilts, most individual packs are $6.96 and there are crazy deals on packs of 10 or 20 too! Click to see all the Charm Packs!

You will always find stunning fabric and bundles at Pink Castle Fabrics, they have an amazing variety. The new Carolina Gingham by Robert Kaufman is the perfect stash addition and there are new Cotton & Steel stash boxes available, I adore the Limited Edition Au Naturale Stash Box!

Have a great weekend everyone :)

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