Stitches...

There have been all sorts of different stitches around these parts lately.  Some beautifully soft malabrigo ones on my dpn's--I can feel a knitting phase coming on ...

Remember this? Well, it has been coming along s-l-o-w-l-y, inch by inch, stripe by stripe. Another 14 or 15 inches to go to cover my bed. It is a monster of a blanket and incredibly cosy. I can vouch for this for I am enjoying snuggling under it as I crochet the evenings away.  I hadn't touched it throughout the whole summer and paid for it dearly as quite a few of the colours I am using are now discontinued and it has been a job in itself tracking down odd balls here and there.  There are some pretty impressive stats to go with this blanket which I will finalise on its completion. Miles of yarn, miles!

There are a couple of sewing projects on the go too, which have required some accurate top-stitching.  I find that if I look at the needle as my guide, my stitching seems to go all over the place and so now I have discovered my own trick to fairly neat top-stitching. Not exactly rocket science, but all part of the process of learning!

There's been a new venture in bag-making, with a slight modification of my own due to my preference of a long handle to go over my body rather than a shorter one which invariably falls off my shoulder.

And then there's the stitching that needs to be unpicked and re-done. Sigh.  I'm trying to catch up with the FWQAL and not doing too badly considering how far behind I had fallen.

Things to do on a rainy day...

• Catch up on my Farmer's Wife blocks

Week 12:

Week 13:

• Take note of book recommendations from the lovely Pomona and duly purchase.

• Anticipate handling of hot pots and pans on campfire.  What better to while away a few hours than playing with my scraps and make a couple of pot-holders inspired by one of the Farmer's Wife blocks (Evening Star, above).

I made a little pocket for my hand on the back to give extra grip.  I used a plate to draw round for the curve.

I have found the best to handle linen when making hst's is to cut it bigger than needed to allow for the movement which it is prone to, being such a loose weave compared to the quilting cotton.

After sewing the two pieces together, cutting along the marked line and pressing open, it is easier to achieve a square block.

I use the diagonal line printed on my ruler to line up the seam to cut the block down to size.

There may be a tiny bit of waste, but I think it is worth it.

FWQAL week11...

In a fit of procrastination about doing the things I should have been doing last week, I made the decision to get ahead of myself and make four blocks and draft this post for today so that I'm on target with Week 12. I'm actually sunning myself in Portugal.

These teeny tiny squares were crying out to be made (I'm getting quite into this scale of sewing) and again, were perfect for my skinny strips.  Postage stamp being a very appropriate name for the block.

I'd been making other star blocks that week too so I thought I'd keep the theme going for the Farmer's Wife quilt.

Have you  looked at the Flickr group lately?  It's full of inspiration.  I love the blocks made solely from solids.

FWQAL week10...

My first block this week was chosen just because I wanted to carry on using my very skinny (1 ½") honeybun roll strips.  Each strip doesn't yield much, so mistakes are going to be unforgiving.  I'm pleased with the way this one matches its points and corners up.







The second block I chose was a real brain teaser.  I checked out the errata page and couldn't find any comment about it, but the block assembly directions just weren't making sense to me for its construction. Maybe I was missing something.

In the end, I had to fudge it together by sewing the little seam on the end of the long strip by folding the already pieced part over and then sewing on the corner triangles.  Probably not the right way, but other than a couple of hardly-noticeable tucks on the corners, I think I've got away with it.

I also wish I'd placed the middle fours tiny squares differently.  Never mind.  No matter, I like this block anyway.

FWQAL week 9...

Blimey, nine weeks!

I have surprised myself by actually managing to get any sewing in at all this week, what with child-minding and day trips out.  After a while, I find the need to sew or make, almost compulsory to reducing my stress levels.  This week's blocks are of the one easy, one not so easy deciding factor.  I was also keen to start introducing some different colours using the fabrics that came in the post last week.

The easy one!

The not so easy one!  There are a few not-very-well-matched points and corners in this one. I need to remember that when the pieces are so tiny, what looks like a nicely coordinated selection of fabrics on the cutting table, doesn't necessarily make for a well-defined block.  Maybe I'll remake this one at a later date.

FWQAL week 8...

Here are my blocks for week 8 of the Farmers Wife Quilt-a-long.

It seemed wrong not to fussy cut this cute bird and nest.

I couldn't resist using both of these brown prints together either.

This mosaic shows all my sixteen blocks to date.  My other fabrics arrived today and so I am looking forward to introducing the other colours from the line.  It is looking predominantly red at the moment.

FWQAL Weeks 3–7…

I’m a happy bunny now!  I have completed a total of 14 blocks and so I have managed to catch up with everyone on this fab quilt-a-long!

 

 

There hasn’t really been any one reason for which blocks I’ve been making.  Some of them are as they appear in the order of the book.  Others are ones that I thought were easy to do, so good to do as catch-ups.

 

 

And then others, have been made as a combination of easy and more difficult blocks.  It has depended what I’ve felt like on the day!

 

 

I managed to find a honeybun of this now out-of-print line of fabric online which I decided to buy, reneging on my previous plan of using co-coordinating fabrics from my stash.  The honeybun is only 1 1/2 “ wide, but having looked through the templates, there are plenty that I can use with such a small amount of fabric.  I’m looking forward to including some of the other colours in to the blocks now.

 

 

I have to confess to a bit of wastage with these limited fabrics from last week’s struggles!

 

 

 

 

 

I’m staggered at how many members there are now in this group.  Check out some more of the amazing interpretations in the Flickr group.

My next job is to make a mosaic of my blocks so far to see how they are looking together.

FWQAL progress…

So, everywhere else it is week 6 but I’m only in my second week and there’s been some catching up to do.  Last week, after the success of my first two blocks, I managed to get another two made.  Easier than the first two!

 

 

I was on a roll with the hst’s!

This week, I decided to have another look and see what Carla was up to so I could learn from her again.

I struggled! For a long time and plenty of mistakes were made and more than plenty of unpicking was done.

 

 

There may have been a bit of this being said too at some point!  Then I decided (after about 2 hours…) that maybe I should use the templates. 

 

 

I think the back shows just how difficult I found this block to construct. Even now, it is not perfect and I may make it again at some time, but for now, I needed to move on from it!

 

 

This week’s blocks are done and I have done some serious catching up to do too.  Rushing now as I have a train to catch!

 

 

My first quilt-a-long…

I’ve been watching with interest and growing curiosity about the Farmer’s Wife QAL that is popping up all over Blogland.  You know how it is, when you’re on a finishing up marathon.  Something catches your eye and before you know it, you’re in!  I happened to spot the book in a fabric shop last week and I have to confess that judging by the cover, I wouldn’t have normally given it a second glance, but having seen some of the modern interpretations in the Flickr group I knew it didn’t have to be in any way traditional.  The following morning I went on to Amazon to buy the book and decided on a whim to download the Kindle version for instant gratification. 

I then spent a good while reading through the Flickr group discussion and I was well and truly hooked.  Two blocks a week sounds manageable and I am hoping that by doing perhaps some of the easier ones first, I could catch up.

Until this morning, I had no idea what fabrics to use but I’d seen a comment on the Fat Quarterly blog about using whatever you felt like on the day and thought that sounded like the way to go.  Looking in one of my fabric boxes, I found an unopened bag of these Momo Wonderland fat quarters and made an instant decision to use them.  Once they have gone, there is plenty in my stash that will fit in with them, I think.

 

 

Then I found myself on Carla’s blog reading her first post for the QAL and before I knew it, the first block I was making had 51 pieces to it! In a 6” block!!!

In spite of having made probably 10 quilts to date, I have never made a half square triangle!  Throwing myself in at the deep end, I set about making 24 1” square hst’s, carefully following Carla’s instructions.

 

 

Am I pleased? I’ll say! I don’t know exactly how long it took me but I do know that I ate lunch somewhere in the middle.

 

 

Before I knew it, the second one had been made as if by magic! 

 

 

Oh, and while I was busy, the postman delivered the backing and batting for my Babette quilt so it’s back to the UFO’s for the rest of the week.