week 5 - FWQAL

Here are my two blocks for week 5 of our Farmer's Wife quilt along.

The lighter one is #30 - End of Day, and I love how this one turned out.  The scale and color of the prints worked out so nicely.  The pink is from Lizzy House's 1000 Peeps, the green is Tula Pink's Prince Charming, and the words are an older print from Timeless Treasures.  I've been hoarding that print, only using bits of it here and there (like in this one!) and I love it for my Farmer's Wife quilt. It is a good one for fussycutting.

The second block I made is #25 - Cups and Saucers.  I am less thrilled about this one.  I used two Habitat prints here, but there just isn't enough contrast.  It is hard to see all of the little seams and pieces, that is no good.  Note to self: don't do that again!!

Go say hi to Amanda, and go visit the flickr group!  It is a great resource and a nice way to connect with other people who are sewing with us.  If you haven't yet, come over and introduce yourself!!

xo, A

This post is part of the Farmer's Wife Quilt-a-long, please feel free to jump in at any time!  More information and previous posts can be found HERE.

this morning.

I finished up a couple more blocks for my Good Folks quilt.  I don't think you could make me choose a favorite block so far, I really like them all.

I spent some time on my Farmer's Wife blocks for this week.

I'm pretty entralled with all of the bits and pieces that make these blocks.  I have never worked with anything this tiny.

And a couple quick shots of the kiddos from this morning.  Steve took the boys to get haircut this past Friday, and they came home with the buzz cuts.  This is the shortest my oldest son's hair has ever been, it was longer even at birth.  I literally cried (out of shock mostly), but I like it a lot now. 

Finley cracks me up here.  She is always trying to steal Eli's sippy cup, and she finally got ahold of it.  Sneaky baby!

Hope you are week is starting out well!

xo, Angela

two more.

3 down, 6 to go!

xo, A

fwqal - week 4

This post is part of the Farmer's Wife Quilt-a-long, please feel free to jump in at any time!  More information and previous posts can be found HERE.

Hey friends!  Can you believe that we are four weeks into our Farmer's Wife quilt-a-long?  That was fast.  I am having so much fun with these little blocks.

My first block for the week is #27 - Darting Birds.  Lots of little pieces to this one, but don't be scared by them!  As long as you slow, use your pins, and sew with an accurate 1/4" seam allowance, I promise they aren't bad!  For this block I used mostly squares and HST's, and then a few triangles traced from the book's templates.  The purple print is from Bohemian by Anna Maria Horner, and the gray scallops are from Bonnie and Camille's Ruby.

My easier block this week is #29 - Economy.  I used lots of favorites in this one - Lecien folklore trees, Sherbet Pips square dots, and American Jane mono pez.  I am completely in love with this one, but I wish I would've remembered to fussy cut the middle square on point.  Oh well!

Here is a little round up of the blocks I made during the first month.  I think they are playing nicely together so far!  That makes me happy. 

Just a side note on the book templates.  I've had several emails about the notched/curved/whatever-you-call-them corners, and why they are shaped the way they are.  Many people are confused by them, but really they are so beneficial!  They allow your pieces to line up so nicely when you sew them.  I took a closeup shot while I was sewing my first block today, and it'll give you an idea of how the templates line up if you are confused.  Notice the upper right corner of the fabric that is laying wrong side up:

Hope that helps a little!  Also, if you need more template help, there is a really great thread full of tips.  I'll end with a cute picture from this morning.  My little helpers (and iced coffee) are never too far.  :)

Don't forget to head over to Amanda's and check out her blocks, too!

xo, Ang

pretty things.

Though we have an extra bedroom upstairs, I do all of my sewing in the dining room so I can be with the kiddos.  I keep all my sewing supplies and current projects inside and on top of this cute little Ikea cabinet.  Lots of pretty things going on here this week.. 

Strawberries in my new berry bowl.

Swoon blocks in progress.

A pretty pincushion from Jessica in use.

A tiny little charm pack and some fabric. (Thanks, C, I love them!)

My Hope Valley string quilt.  STILL working on the binding.  I don't know why it is taking me so long!

And here are a few pictures of my amazing husband and kids.  We had a wonderful weekend and an especially nice Father's Day.  It started with a great morning at church and ended with fishing and fireflies.  I love watching him with our kids, he is the best.  I am so thankful for him, and we are blessed to have him.

with love, A

FWQAL - week 3

Hi there!  Hope that you are having a nice week where you are.  It has been good here, very productive so far.  The weather has been cooler than normal, but we took advantage of that yesterday and finally put mulch in our two gardens.  Now they look nice and neat, love that.  In more important news... Finley took her first steps yesterday!  Just one or two at a time.  She is a little over 11 months, so I guess it is about that time.  Sigh.

I am having so much fun with my FWQAL blocks!  I love making them.  The first one that I made this week is #60 - Noon & Light.  I used the templates to make this one, and though it took awhile, it came together nicely.  I really like how the book templates work, the notched corners really do make it quite a bit easier to line up all of the corners when sewing.  For this block, I used Aneela's Sherbet Pips, AMH Good Folks, and Freespirit dots.

My second block for the week is #87 - Star Gardener.  I used a pink woodgrain from Joel Dewberry and a Parisville print from Tula Pink in this one.  I love this block, it may be may favorite so far!  I have to tell you though, I was so thrilled when I measured it at the end and found that it was the correct size overall.  I was a little nervous about that one!  All of those tiny little squares and HST's measure 1" finished, and there are close to 60 little pieces in this one 6.5" block. 

Okay, time to crawl out from under my Habitat quilt and head out for a playdate with some friends.   Amanda will be posting about her blocks later on today, so be sure to check them out too. :)

xo, Ang

This post is part of the Farmer's Wife Quilt-a-long, please feel free to jump in at any time!  More information and previous posts can be found HERE.

amazing.

Have you checked out the flickr group for the Farmer's Wife quilt-a-long?  Amazing.  As of this morning, there are currently 281 people in our group (WOW!) and the blocks that are popping up are seriously fantastic.  Here are just a few, please click on the links to see more detail.  In terms of fabric, there is a little bit of everything here: modern, vintage, civil war, repros... Such a great mix!

1. FWQAL week 2 blocks, 2. FWQA- Block 26, 3. First four blocks, 4. FW #83 Spiderweb v.2, 5. Farmers Wife Sampler blocks - week 2, 6. Block 1 - attic windows, 7. Farmers Wife 39 Friendship, 8. Hand Pieced Blocks FWQAL, 9. Farmer's Wife QAL Block #3, 10. Farmer's Wife | Block #, 11. Farmer's wife quilt-along, 12. Farmer's Wife, 13. FWQAL Week 1 Blocks, 14. Birds in the Air, 15. Farmer's Wife QAL [week 1]

I am truly thrilled to be hosting this QAL with my friend Amanda, and also to be sewing with so many wonderful people.  The community that is quickly forming in our group is so fantastic and supportive, so make sure to check it out if you haven't already.  One of my favorite threads in our discussions is the one where people are sharing why they want to sew the Farmer's Wife quilt.

If you are interested in joining in, but don't want to commit to the full 111 blocks, there are other options in the book!  One is a 50 blocks version, and there are several women who are doing those.

xo Angela

yesterday in pictures

My favorite flowers have finally bloomed!  They have been cut and dispersed around my house.

Some new fabric arrived for my Farmer's Wife quilt.  I picked some of my favorite prints from the new 1000 Peeps (Lizzy House) and Loulouthi (Anna Maria Horner), along with a little Parisville (Tula Pink).  I have another small package coming in this week too.

The view from my dining room sewing room.  Love it.

A little helper left his Panda mask on the the dining room table sewing table.  Eli made this in vacation Bible school last week, and has been wearing it everyday since.  He loves Po from Kung Fu Panda (so much that he named one of our new cows after him... cute!)

My journal for 52 Lists, 52 Weeks.  I am using this pretty one my bff Vanesa (you remember her, I gave her this quilt) and my favorite pen.

Week 1's list.  I crossed them all off before the day was up.

And last, my first Swoon block!  I think she's pretty.

xo Ang

FWQAL - week 2

Good morning!  Here are my next two blocks for the Farmer's Wife quilt along.  Since I am doing the blocks out of order, flipping through the pages and deciding which ones to make is so much fun! 

First up is #61 - Northern Lights, and I used some leftover Habitat dots and Lush woodgrain.  I adore those dots so much, and that woodgrain is one of my top 3 favorite fabrics.  Which is kinda funny, since I barely sew with brown.  Not sure why, I guess it is not one of my favorite colors.  I have a feeling you'll see a lot more of this woodgrain in this quilt

Next I did #62 - Old Windmill.  I love windmill blocks, and this small version was fun to make.  32 little pieces in this one!  It was fun picking out the colors in this one.  I used more Habitat dots, Hope Valley, Tula Pink ladybugs, and some AMH Bohemian.

In other sewing news, I am all finished quilting my Hope Valley quilt and have moved on to the biniding.  I loved reading all of your ideas for the quilting, either stippling or straight line.  I ended up going with stippling for a couple reasons.  I like how the curvy stitching softens the sharp lines of the strings, and also, I enjoy that type of quilting so much more than straight lines!  I love the final result of the straight lines, but to me the process is not nearly as much fun.

I ended up going with Kona in raisin for the binding.  I had the hardest time settling on this.  I thought about using one of the prints in the quilt, but it is already so busy!  I think the raisin goes nicely with the darker purples and will frame the quilt well.  Isn't it so pretty all wrapped up and ready to go?  I love binding.

Okay, time to get moving.  Hope you have a nice Wednesday!  It is supposed to be a hot one here.

xo A

my Farmer's Wife quilt-a-long page and posts can be found here.

color choices for FWQ

I've been thinking quite a bit about color choices for my Farmer's Wife quilt.  My plan is to go scrappy, and use bits and pieces of my favorites.  But let me tell you, scrappy is really hard for me!

I adore scrappy quilts, but I have such hard time with them myself.  I am one to agonize over layout and colors, so giving up that control is so hard for me.  This quilt is a good challenge for me that way.

  I'm still planning on following the book's diagrams in terms of color inspiration, and hopefully that will result in balance in terms of color.  It has been fun raiding my stash for smaller prints, and it seems like the large ones would be lost in the block.  I'm realizing that I have a lot of multi-color fabrics, and I think I may need to do a little shopping for some tone-on-tone prints.  Good excuse to pick out some new fabric, right?

I'm also thinking ahead to the sashing.  I hope to use either the use natural crossweave by Moda (which I used in my Habitat bowtie quilt) or some sort of gray.  I am also incorporating creamy white fabrics in some of the backgrounds, like this solid from Pat Bravo and the dashed lines from Cosmo Cricket.  I need to find some more of creamy white prints, any suggestions?

xo Angela

my Farmer's Wife quilt-a-long page and posts can be found here.