FW99: Widow

This week. After laying out my blocks I realised that I needed only one of the last 5 blocks in order to complete my layout so I thought it fitting to just make the last one. It felt weird thinking this was the last time. A rite of passage.

Block 99 Widow
I wasn't that sure about this block but it felt like the one to make and in fact I really like it. I should have put the first block and the last in opposite corners but I wasn't that organised.


I really like the peachy colours combined with the yellows. Sometimes I wish all my blocks had followed this theme. I just hope there is enough of this palette in the end result.


Open seams were a must. I am pretty happy with the tidiness of the back. A very satisfying last block. Now back to sewing it all together. I have completed all my strips. I just need to sew the inbetween sashing strips. I doubt I will finish this before Birmingham but at least I tried. Roll on Thursday and The Royal Festival of quilts!

FW93: Starlight & FW94: Susannah

This week has been hard in the fact that I am so over making blocks! I can see the finish line so clearly now I am rushing. I decided to do both blocks this week; one easy, one a bit harder. I doubt there will many more weeks with both blocks completed. Above are my untrimmed sections. I also realised that after waiting till halfway through this process to get my small rotary cutting mat, then not using it for a long time, it has finally become a regular fixture. I wouldn't say it was essential, but once you are in the groove it does make life easier so I am glad I own it.


It's definitely an easy process to trim my blocks down using it in combination with mum's 6.5 inch ruler. I do think that ruler has been pretty essential to the process so I would buy more square rulers in the future if I was doing a big project.

Block 93 Starlight

I was in two minds about this block as it does have a few funny angles in it but I am glad I made it in the end. The finished shape is very pleasing and the pink fabric hasn't been featured much so it's good to get a bit more of it in. Nearly everything lined up perfectly in the end so it was relatively painless to put together.


I think the only slightly off bit is that dark purple ray coming towards you. Very slightly off. Oh well, I am still pretty happy.


And the back is very neat meaning the whole block lies nice and flat.

Block 94 Susannah

I wasn't going to make this block, purely because it was a bit similar to block 49: Katherine, but then I realised how much I liked that block so I changed my mind. So not only did I make it, I used my favourite fabrics in it.


I really like how it turned out. I love the peach solid.


And the back is very neat mainly because it was a nice, simple block.

Farmer's Wife Sashing

It was so hot here this week that I decided to take a day off. It was just too hot to work! But quilting... well that's fine! It gave me a chance to layout all my blocks and arrange them until I was happy. Some blocks didn't make it. I am glad I made more than I needed.


These guys just weren't working, which is good as I thought at the time that they weren't designs I really liked but I made them because I was unsure. It's good to know I was right. I think I got better at deciding which blocks were going to work out for me so I feel like I learned something.


I am half way through sewing my strips. It's a long process.

FW91: Sarah & FW92: Sonnie

This week I only did one block. Not because I didn't want to make it, more because I don't need it. Block 91 Sarah feels very similar to block 57 Margaret and 58 Martha so it was easy for me to drop it. It is a favourite block design of mine but I have done whole quilts of sawtooth stars in the past, so I think I can forgo this one.

Block 92 Sonnie  
There were lots of pieces in this block but compared to some of the y-seam blocks, this is pretty straightforward. All the seams nest nicely making it easy to sew together.


I'm not 100 percent certain the fabrics really go together but I really wanted to get more yellow and more of my special Denyse Schmidt fabrics in.


Everything meets up perfectly except this one bit. I am pretty happy though considering how many bits needed to line up. I did a lot of ironing and starching a long the way in order to get the fabric to lie as flat as possible.


The back is pretty neat too. I have definitely got better at this bit.

FW89: Ruby & FW90: Sara

This week was pretty easy. Only one block to do which came together without any problems. This is good as it allows me time to prepare myself for the bit after all the blocks are complete. I have my setting fabric all ready to iron and cut into strips so I am fitting this in on the quieter weeks.

Block 89 Ruby
I decided to drop this block, mainly because it was all odd angles which is never my favourite thing. As I get nearer to the end I am aware of exactly how many blocks I need for my final layout so it's become easier to drop blocks.

Block 90 Sara

I wasn't that bothered about making this block. It's okay, but it didn't wow me. I am trying to use up some of the fabrics I have put aside more often than not. The pink floral is a little dull next to my brighter palette additions and never seemed quite right. Suddenly it seemed muddy. But I thought I would use it up as when I laid out all the blocks, the initial, more dull blocks seem to blend quite nicely with the brighter ones.


Well this block is a real success. I love it. I don't know why. I just think it works and I love looking at it. It made me remember how much I love the floral fabric. I have hoarded it for years after buying it in a pack of fat eights from Sunflower Fabrics.


I also did a lot of pinning as I wanted it all to line up. All the seams seemed to nest nicely so it came together easily. I really want to be able to compare some of the later blocks with some of the very early ones and be able to see some kind of progression. Well this all lines up beautifully.


And even the back is nice and neat for a change. I starched it front and back once I had finished sewing it and it all lies nice and flat. A triumph.

FW87: Prudence & FW88: Rosemary

This week I did both blocks and I only have two blocks left to cut out the fabric for. The others are all in bags sitting by the sewing machine. I am itching to get them all finished. I can't believe we will soon be in the 90s! I also did some tidying up. I seem to leave heaps of tiny scraps of paper and fabric everywhere and little bits of thread are all over my clothes. I like to trim all the loose ends quite close to the block otherwise they get tangles up later on. I need a little bin underneath my machine as currently I just shove it all under my perspex table which attaches to my machine. It's a mess.

Block 87 Prudence

Cripes. What a complex mess of Y-seams. I wish I had made the changes that The Patchsmith recommended. I didn't enjoy sewing this block at all. Y-seams just take all the pleasure out of a block. It's a wrinkly mess!


It barely lies flat! But I did it! I really like the yellow here though. It's bright and sunny.


The back is a bit of a mess, but I followed the instructions to a T!

Block 88 Rosemary

This block didn't iron out very flat in the end which annoys me. There were quite a few thick seams. But it all lines up pretty well which is good. I am not sure about my fabric choices but I wanted to use up some more of the blue fabric.


The print is really too large so I have only really had success with it on some of the more simple blocks but I wanted it to appear in a few more blocks to give the overall quilt balance. I do like the pink and orange together.


The back seams are so thick. I am just glad these two are over.

FW85: Primrose & FW86: Priscilla

This week was one easy block and one hard one. Only hard in that it had lots of bits.

Block 85 Primrose

I decided to do a scrappy version. I am not sure it really works but I really like it anyway. I love seeing all the pinks and peaches together. I only wish the two like light pinks in the big triangle below the central strip and the small one to the right weren't the same colour. I didn't really think it out. I couldn't. I just did it randomly. It was a russian roulette chance that two the same would appear next to each other.


I think it looks very jolly. I think it will fit in nicely. So many small bits! It took an entire football match for me to put it together. Not that I watch football, but it was a convenient way of timing it.


I pinned all my points when I sewed sections together. I have a good technique now. I push a pin through the point on one fabric then through the facing one. I line the pin up straight then take it out and pin properly. That doesn't really make sense does it? Maybe one day I will try and make a video! Ooh hark at me!

Block 86 Priscilla

Considering this was such a simple block, I still managed to balls it up. I cut the low volume bits too small so I had to unpick a seam. Look you can see on the top left my row of holes! I hope it seals up. To be honest, I am not that into the block. It's totally warped from being cut at a silly angle.


Look at all those wavy, it's not ideal.

Farmer's Wife Layout

So at long last it's time to make some decisions. With only 6 blocks left to go (for me) I knew that time was running out. (I might make 8 more so I have some choices). It's been really hard, but after laying out all my blocks and ordering these fat quarter samples from Simply Solids, I have made some decisions. I am going to use the peach Cotton and Steel fabric for the sashing point squares and the pink stripe for the binding. I have put my order in! It's such a lot of fabric. I think I can get all the peach squares out of one fat quarter but the binding will be more like a metre.

So after much thinking I have decided on the following layout for my quilt. I am trying to keep the size down but maximise on the number of blocks. I have ordered the Kona white sashing. So I am ready to make the top. I am hoping I can get it all made in time for Birmingham so I can then spent all my cash on some backing fabric. I often just use old sheets and cheap fabric from Fabrics Galore but this time, seeing as this quilt represents so much work, I am hoping to use something a bit nicer. I still need to work out how much I will need!

FW83: Poppy & FW84: Posy

This week I decided to only do one of the two blocks. Block 83 Poppy was just too many odd angles. I just don't think it looks very comfortable. It's not symetrical which I realise I prefer. But it did give me a chance to start thinking about the complete quilt. I sat down and worked out my layout. I have two options which I will choose between when I lay the finished blocks out on the bed again. But more about that in a separate post.

Block 84 Posy

This block was surprisingly tricky. I didn't end up doing it very well. You can see it's wonky and the angled points are all over the place. It kid of caught me off guard. It's another secret Y-seam block. It just annoyed me. I am glad it's over.


I do really like the finished result though. I used my favourite colour combination again. I need to stop it or it will affect the balance of the quilt! I just love this combination.


If you look at the right corner of the central point you will see where I bodged it. It's got a small crease and I had to do lots of unpicking and stretching just ti get it this good. Life is too short to put so much energy into such a tiny point! I know though, that when the quilt is all made up I will always be drawn to this point and wish I had made the effort to re do it. But I am not wasting my favourite fabrics!


At least the back is pretty tidy for me.

Farmer's Wife Progress

Yes it's that time again. Time to take stock and lay everything out.


Every now and again I catch sight of the growing pile of blocks and I feet the end approaching. I have felt a bit lost about how the whole thing is going to come together. I think I have finally realised that the setting for the original Farmer's Wife is more to my liking than the 1930's one. So I think that is how I am going to lay it out.


I took a moment to lay all the blocks so far out on the bed to get some idea of how it might look. I was surprised by how big it is already. It kind of seems big enough without the remaining 18 blocks. Where are they going to go? At the moment it is 8 blocks by 9 blocks but I could a row to the top and side and make a huuuge quilt.


Jeez. I said I wouldn't do this! I think if I did do that then I would have a very narrow border and only quilt down either side of the sashing if I can get it through the machine. We'll see. The whole top row on the left represent my least favourite blocks so I could just edit quite a few out and stick with with the current dimensions.


I was also surprised by how nice it looked. To be honest, some blocks feel a little bright and garish but all together surrounded by white it seems to work and looks bright and happy.


Now I just have to choose the fabrics for the sashing, border and binding. I saw this fabric combination on Instagram on Laura_zuckerkuss's feed. It just seemed like a perfect combination. And she had helpfully listed where she got them and what they all were! Thanks Laura!
So from the bottom up we have Michael Miller basic little stripes in pink, Kona Cotton in peach, Cotton and Steel sprinkles in petal and peaches and Kona Cotton in bubble gum and carnation. All from Simply Solids. And they arrived really quickly!

I think the pink stripe will be perfect for the binding. I tried all the others but decided the sashing should be white, but the squares in the sashing might be a combination of the Cotton and Steel sprinkles. I actually would like to make something small with all of them together as I think they look so pretty. So now I just have to take the plunge and order the enormous amount I will need to finish this beast. It occurs to me that if I could actually get this done by Festival of Quilts time, then I will feel free to shop for new projects. There are a lot churning.