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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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. 

I adore this one.  The color and tone contrast may be low but I love these two fabrics together.

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.

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.

This block is SO stiff with starch!  I didn't want a repeat of the corn & beans block fiasco.

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.

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.

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.

#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....

My ode to six inch traditional blocks

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

the Farmer's Wife blocks are pure sewing perfection.

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

So, now I just put things together.

No decisions to make.

No designs to ponder.

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.

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

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.











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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

And here is the link to Muriël'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!