Truth time

I was encouraged by Jennifer to share all of the blocks I made last week. I guess it was a little silly to claim to be on a bender and then hold back some of my crafty craziness. I'm also sharing a few frank comments about the blocks as I go.

Four winds has sooooo many HST's but soooo worth it in the end.
farmer's wife sampler, block 38


I wanted the red key fabric to stand out on this block. I don't think I was successful, but I do like the overall effect of the tiny diamond DS fabric and the diamonds in the block design.
farmer's wife sampler, block 66


I may redo peace & plenty.  The blue ribbon flowers is a favorite fabric and I don't think this block does it justice.
farmer's wife sampler, block 64


This one seems a little jumbled with all of the prints, but I'm not touching it.  I love every square inch just as it is.
farmer's wife sampler, block 106


The point in the center of this spider web was wicked hard to get right.  But, I used my trusty seam ripper and straightened things out with some hand stitching.
farmer's wife sampler, block 83


This corn & beans block was a thorn in my side.  I finally finished it but those gaps in between the triangles may still merit some work.  Although, this block was so difficult that I may never be brave enough to tackle it a second time. 
farmer's wife sampler, block 22


I adore this one.  The color and tone contrast may be low but I love these two fabrics together.
farmer's wife sampler, block 87


I don't want to talk about how much I had to unpick on this block.  Let's just say that the one of the downsides of the Farmer's Wife book is the lack of instructions for sewing the blocks.  And parallelograms seem to be my downfall.
farmer's wife sampler, block 33


I paper pieced the quarters of this block. Even though I had to redo one quarter of it, this block ended up much faster than I initially expected.
farmer's wife sampler, block 97


This block is SO stiff with starch!  I didn't want a repeat of the corn & beans block fiasco.
farmer's wife sampler, block 43


When I saw the pattern for the bouquet block in the book, I thought I'd skip it.  But I love the goofy fabrics I picked so much that this block may be one of my new favorites.
farmer's wife sampler, block 8

The rest of the truth is that I'm not showing you how badly I goofed up two other blocks. You'll just have to be patient until I take more quality time with my seam ripper.

On a bender

Is there a 12 step program for quilt sampler blocks? I may need one. I've made 15 blocks this week. I've only included five photos here because even I know that 15 is obnoxious.

farmer's wife sampler, block 98

farmer's wife sampler, block 62

farmer's wife sampler, block 80

farmer's wife sampler, block 58

farmer's wife sampler, block 63

I'll probably work on a couple more tonight....
My other projects are probably feeling neglected, but I can't help myself.  These are quite satisfying.

Recovering

We've had the bug from hell over here.  I had no idea that bronchitis was so wicked.  When your family is sick for a week, and then you are gone on vacation for a week, and then return in time to be sick for another week--the laundry sure does pile up.  My house is returning to some semblance of normalcy again now. 

So, anyway, I'm recovering from illness, but not my Farmer's Wife block addiction.

farmer's wife sampler, block 109


farmer's wife sampler, block 72

farmer's wife sampler, block 108

farmer's wife sampler, block 99

farmer's wife sampler, block 60

farmer's wife sampler, block 53

#53 is my favorite.  I love the shape of it.  I think that is a block that I'd like to explore again.  On the other hand, poor #46 will need to be redone.  That is the saddest, most crooked block I've made in a long time.  I still had to show it here.  Keepin' it real....

farmer's wife sampler, block 46

My ode to six inch traditional blocks

In a month full of new experiences and anxieties in my family life,

farmer's wife sampler, block 54

the Farmer's Wife blocks are pure sewing perfection.

farmer's wife sampler, block 52

I picked out 40 fabric combinations three months ago and cut most of the pieces.

farmer's wife sampler, block 24

So, now I just put things together.

farmer's wife sampler, block 5

No decisions to make.

farmer's wife sampler, block 15

No designs to ponder.

farmer's wife sampler, block 94

Just HST's, QST's, nesting seams, templates, lots of starch, press seams to the right, to the left, press open, trim to square, etc.

farmer's wife sampler, block 77

Then step back and admire the simple pleasure of a 6" traditional block design.

farmer's wife sampler, block 18

What a feeling of accomplishment in these unsettled days.

My Pretty

In and amongst the sewing adventures at Melissa's, she and I took a break for photos of my shawl.


soooo long


love the green


pretty


I may be ruined for all other yarns after using Madelinetosh yarn. I may have turned into a dedicated shawl-wearer, too.

Sewing bliss

I am currently on vacation in Minnesota and staying with my sweet friend, Melissa.  I've had toddler-free crafting time all. day.  I am in sewing bliss.

farmer's wife sampler, block 23

farmer's wife sampler, block 61

farmer's wife sampler, block 44

farmer's wife sampler, block 40

farmer's wife sampler, block 55

And rockin' out the Farmer's Wife Quilt-a-long blocks.

What are you making in your free time (if you have some)?

Sweet

sweet

These will be my last blocks for the do. Good Stitches bee.  I like that bee very much, but I need to trim back from commitments where I can.  My little guy needs a lot of my energy now, and four bees is just too much.


all done

I finished this block for the Pastiche Bee.  I tried a some embroidery in the rose and I couldn't get it to work.  If I was using this block in my own quilt, I'd use quilting to define the rose better.  But, I did a bit of machine stitching to complete the paintbrush.

painting


And the sweetest thing of all, last night Henry spontaneously said, "I yuv a Bert.  I yuv a Ernie."  He has been having a hard time expressing himself, especially without prompting.  These two sentences made my week.

Zipper, Cut, Fabric--Sew Out Loud

Have you seen the cool block sewing going on in the Sew Out Loud group on flickr?  Nearly every day a new fabulous block pops up.  Here is Julianna's "Zipper" design for week 1.

Block 1 - zipper {Sew Out Loud QAL)



Here is Joanna's "Cut" design for week 2.

CUT - block 2 in Sew Out Loud QAL


And here is the link to Muriƫl's "Fabric" design that was just posted Monday.

My block won't be posted until April 16th.  But you still have plenty of time to put on your thinking cap and design a block for this project.  The very last slot in this 12 week adventure is reserved for the winner of the design competition.  I can now reveal that Suzuko Koseki is the judge of that competition.  She is a fabric designer and artist from Japan and her work is amazing.  There are a number of fabric prizes that go to the competition winner, too.  The details are all in this post. 

Happy block sewing and block designing to you!