Truth Be Told

If the truth be told, once I knew that I was going to join in the fun at the Farmer's Wife Quilt-a-Long I started hanging around the Flickr group and seeing what fabrics people were using, etc. Before the book landed on my hallway carpet I had a very good idea of what colourway I was going to go with. That was because I had already experimented and made a few blocks.

Well, I know technically I should have had the book first, but some of the blocks are easy to figure out. The maths are simple enough and I didn't do any blocks with anything more complicated than the odd HST or two. They all ended up the required 6.5" square. And I am pretty happy with most of them. I might redo a couple. I might not. When I have done a lot more then maybe I won't notice the ones that I am not so fond of so much. We shall see!

Here is what I have accomplished -

#21 - Contrary Wife
This is going to be my favourite block of all just because of the name.
What's not to like?!

#68 - Postage Stamp
I actually rather enjoyed putting together these mini pieces of fabric.
I am not sure if it would have been so fun if the block was any bigger.

#73 - Rainbow Flowers
Since I didn't have the book yet I didn't make this quite right.
More of a log cabin here - and I am not so happy with my fabric choice either.

#20 - Churn Dash
I love this one. I just love the way the purple and green work together.

#16 - Calico Puzzle
Liking this one too.

#4 - Basket Weave
Think I am going to pull this one apart.
I do not like the white in the middle of the colours once I put it together.

#2 - Autumn Tints
Not very autumny in colour but I love the fabric combination here.

I believe it is quite obvious what my fabric choices are now. Each and every block I do will have green in it, and hopefully white too, and then I am delving into my scraps and putting as many different colours as I have in modern, bright fabrics - with smaller prints for the most part. I am trying to keep the blocks unified rather than going for a true scrappy look. I thought then it might compliment my newly made cushions and be a throw for our ugly sofa.

So that is it, my first seven Farmer's Wife blocks made. I would like to be making more. I just sat at the Singer and tried to finish turning the wonky stars into 9" blocks. I now remember vividly why I acquired such a hatred of that machine. It makes me want to scream. The feed dogs are useless. Too wide apart and ineffective so 1/4" seams are impossible, nor is starting sewing from the edge of the fabric. The needle just goes up and down, knotting the thread and the fabric goes nowhere. An absolute waste of space! So, no more sewing today then.

But again, it is not all doom and gloom. Because the sewing shop rang this morning and he found time to look at my machine already. Bless that man, I think I love him. He said he has the thread catching again, but that things are pretty clogged up behind the scenes in the bits I can't get at myself, and the tension needs a little work (I knew that but worked around it) and after a (not full) service it will be mine again. All for £50 plus VAT. Yippee! Less £££s than I thought it would be too. I can pick it up tomorrow. Happy, happy me!

The only thing that the Singer did accomplish during its little excursion out of the garage was to assist me in Emily's card making endeavour for the fundraising Grow-a-Pound that is happening at the end of the school day today. She had already made a number of cards and sold them to the neighbours. But she didn't have many left to sell at school so using Karen's card as inspiration Emily cut up my tiniest scraps and I sewed and twenty cards later we had these -

She plans on selling them for 50p each. I do hope that she succeeds as she is very excited. She has already made £8 so her growing of said pound is already a huge success. I won't say how much the supplies to make the cards cost!

Have a great weekend!

Susan

Monday, Monday, Happy Days...

Edit note: I have linked this post in the Quiltstory's Fabric Tuesday's again. There is a linky button on my sidebar now.

Happy days indeed. I am having a great day here in my solitude. I have three - count them - three finishes and one find. It amazes me that some people don't like to be by themselves. I love it, and some of the conversations are very interesting!!

I am sure you know what the first finish will be. Yup, my cushion, which I adore and am so very pleased with, and it makes my horrid sofa look so much nicer. Must make more - eventually you wouldn't see any of the horrid and only the homemade. Lovely thought.


Front



Back

I shall fore go the ugly sofa photo. I am sure even the little bit you can see is enough to get the idea. We have an ugly sofa because when we came to the UK after Helen was born we didn't bring any of our Canadian furniture. So when we moved into a house we needed furniture immediately - if not sooner. We got it by walking into large furniture stores and asking them what things we could have delivered the next day. This sofa was one of those items. Though I have little love for it, I have to say it blew the vivid purple leather and large floral suites out the water. It was the least of three evils.

So I have finished a cushion. And I liked making it. Think I shall have to add make more cushions to my list of things to do.

Next today came the making of a quilt. A special quilt. I cut, pieced, basted and quilted it all this morning. What do you think? It measures all of 5" square.

And another photo because Baby Bunny is so cute -

Moving swiftly along, I did my bee blocks for Miss June - Fiona. I can't show them to you yet because Fiona has to give the word when she has received everyone's before we can blog photos. I still have to do the signature block as well. Here is a sneaky peak at a tiny corner of one of the blocks -

While I was rummaging about my boxes - I can't remember what for - I came across this little find -

These HSTs are the off cuts from the quilt I am making for Helen and have been lingering at the bottom of a box for a very long time. Maybe I secretly knew that one day I would find a liking for HSTs and think of a use for them. There are 116 of these babies. I had a little play with a possible layout (though I would mix up the colours more and not use all the pink the way I did here). All I would have to do is add some white squares in those blank spaces -

Theses squares will all need trimming to 2 1/4" - won't that be fun?! But I have learned that squaring off your HSTs to perfection is the key to getting things right so sometimes I have to bite the bullet and just do things the 'proper' way.

Here is a little look at the quilt I started for Helen and which I now widely ignore due to the onerous task of hand quilting that I took on. I posted pictures of this quilt when I first started blogging and some day I hope to post photos of it completed. It is my take on the Hugs and Kisses blocks - though some people in the UK call them naughts and crosses. It really is a lovely quilt - or will be when I get it done.



Now you know why I wish I knew about perle cotton thread when I started quilting this. Wouldn't it have had more impact, and been quicker to do? Live and learn. That may end up  my motto as much as 'life is good'.

In the midst of writing today's post I had to go up to the school to get my girlies. I came home with none. I did get to bring home their lunch bags, and their book bags, and their lovely, chlorine scented swimming things - but no girls. Apparently they are staying to make props for the end of year school play - Cleopatra. Apparently it is okay for me to come home and put the smelly swim things in the wash, cook dinner, get Helen's tap dance shoes and clothes and return for them at 5pm. Apparently they are happy to eat at 7pm as long as I bring them a snack when I return. Apparently this is the plan.

Well, their wish is my command after all. (Good, thing you can't see me rolling my eyes!)

Susan

Double Fat Jack Gets Fatter

It has been a productive day here in my little household. Not only do I have a relatively clean house (for me), but I have been cutting and marking, pinning and sewing, more cutting, ironing, and then endless trimming. But I do have something to show for all that work.

First I took my Double Fat Jack and turned him into a Double Fatter Jack. He is now big and he is rounded.

I used one of yesterday's purchases to create an envelope back and turned Fat Jack into Fatter Jack the Pillow -

In actual fact, Jack is such a greedy pillow that he is stuffed with not one but two bed pillows. I think I will either have to go out and buy the biggest, fattest pillow I can find or else make one. I am tending to prefer the first option. If they make oversize pillows for the bedroom. Otherwise I am going to have to make one because this is one big pillow cover! It needs a big pillow inside, or two. Bigger than we currently own.

Once the Fatter Jack task was accomplished I really got into the cutting, and sewing and trimming lark. I was on a HST (half square triangles) marathon. But I did it. I produced with barely a procrastinated moment. Which is remarkably good for me!

Fifty of them, made with another of yesterday's purchases - those green fat quarters. I am even more in love with these fabrics than I was in the shop. I set out with a pattern in mind. I wanted to go for the extremely simple design of this -

I always liked the way the triangles looked once quilted.

But then they were lying there on the table and I started playing. Needless to say the possibilities are endless. I could sew this pattern -

I prefer this to...

... this one as I like the green square in the middle rather than the white.

Not really sure about this one.

Too boring!

Nope, not this one either.

Maybe?

This one appeals because - well because it does.

Umm... hmmm... I don't think this is the one for me. But it could be.

I do kind of like this one too.

Now I am totally confused and know the longer I sit there and play with the various combinations the more muddled my brain will get. Should I go for the original idea of just the small triangles lined up in rows, or one of the other ones? What do you think?

Susan