Finally a fall table runner

 I finally got myself a fall table runner. I've been wanting one for several years now. It measures roughly 15" x 40". Very simple piecing and quilting, the quilting lines are roughly 2" apart.

 My son and I like Snoopy so when I saw this at Joann's I knew what the backing would be. :) I always put it out with pumpkin side up and  then my son comes by and flips it over to Snoopy.

The brown and orange pumpkins are from Home for the Harvest by Heather Mulder Peterson, the green apples was a sewing market find and the binding is from Wilmington.

I machine bound it using the stitch-in-the-ditch method where you sew the binding to the front. I don't have a special foot for stitching in the ditch so I made do with my zipper foot. If you want to do the same, just place your zipper foot up against the fabric and then move your needle position over to where the seam is. Works like a charm! :)

Farmer's Wife 1930s: 8 blocks down

I'm already behind! That didn't take long did it? ;) I put off doing Belle and Old Maid simply because I'm not sure if I want to piece them the way the book shows (Y seams and all!) or if I want to piece them differently. I have the measurements for both, it's just a matter of me deciding now. Hopefully I will get them done soon so I can be caught up. But here are the other 3 ladies, for a total of 8 blocks completed.

#24 Coral

#49 Katherine

#94 Susannah

I recently put together my binder organizing my blocks. I printed off all the diagrams and the cutting instructions along with the cover page and put them into a binder. I have a little video up on my Instagram that shows me flipping through the pages.

The cover page lists my start date (with spaces for when the top is finished and then when it's quilted and bound) along with all the fabrics I'm using in this quilt.

All the block diagrams along with any notes are in sheet protectors. The colored in blocks are those that are already finished. I originally was going to have everything spiral bound, but I like the ability to take out an individual block diagram. I end up cutting fabric for 2-3 blocks at a time and I use the diagrams to sort and separate the cut pieces. But I think when I am finished piecing the top together I will get everything spiral bound and keep as a memento. Then I can use this binder for the original Farmer's Wife quilt! :)

Needlework update and secret sewing

In addition to sewing I've also been making progress on my embroidery and cross stitch projects.

The house on my May cottage is finally done and now I'm working on the trees.

The garden is complete and now all that's left are the raspberries and the final border.

I did end up purchasing the custom blocks from Sweetwater's First Crush block of the month. But this is secret sewing for Christmas gifts. All I can tell you is that there are quite a few of them and I need to get to stitching! :)

Farmer's Wife 1930s and Fabric Finds

I got the last two blocks done yesterday. Caroline gave me more trouble than I thought, all those seams coming together made it a little bulky. But so far so good on keeping up with the sew along. I hope it continues! 5 blocks down and 94 to go. :)

#14 - Betty

#20 - Caroline

I've been sewing postage stamps together while also working on my Farmer's Wife blocks. I make it a point to sew together four-patches when I'm finished with the Farmer's Wife blocks. It's the last thing I do before turning off my machine. I added 21 new four-patches just with these 5 blocks! Maybe I'll have two quilts done next year when the sew along ends? :)

Also I started pulling fabrics for my son's twin size quilt. While digging through one of my (many) boxes of works-in-progress I found these at the bottom! A lot of these fabrics were used in my pinwheel sampler and I originally was going to use them for the Great Granny quilt. But I decided to just make pillows out of the two blocks I've done so now these will be used for my son's big boy quilt. Hooray for buried treasure! :)

Linked up at Gnome Angel

Farmer's Wife and a Birthday

Here are my Farmer's Wife 1930s blocks. I had them all cut out and ready to go last Wednesday but I didn't get around to sewing them until yesterday. A pesky little thing called my birthday got in the way. ;)

#12 Becky

#8 Aunt

#16 Bonnie

I also thought I'd share with you how I'm keeping all my fabrics organized.

I got 3 plastic shoeboxes from Walmart. The top is for completed blocks, the middle for Bella Solids and the bottom for Fig Tree.

The Bella solids are organized even further. I put all scraps into plastic bags labeled with the color name and number. I wrote the name and number on the selvage of the larger pieces and I'm cutting from the opposite end of where I wrote.

Here are the solids I have so far:
Fig Tree Cream 9900-67
Sienna 9900-194
Tan 9900-13
Fig Tree Olive 9900-69
Celery 9900-72
Mist 9900-37
Coral 9900-147
Butterscotch 9900-36
Ruby Ice 9900-169

I kept all the layer cake and charm pack tags, simply taping them to the inside of the box. I couldn't bear throwing them out! :)

Here's one more layer cake that's going to be added into this quilt, Fig Tree's newest collection Strawberry Fields Revisited! It doesn't come out until January 2016 but I was able to find a fellow Fig Tree lover on Instagram with extra. It's a birthday gift to myself. :)

Speaking of which, here is an in progress shot of my birthday gift - my own quilt ladder! My husband and son built it for me. It just needs another coat or two of stain and then it's all done! I can't wait to hang my quilts on it. :)

Linked up at Gnome Angel