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

Fair Isle Quilt Top

It's done! It's done!! I can't believe it! (Warning: picture heavy!)

The reindeer row! I love how the snowflakes turned out.

Check out the sparkles!! I chose this fabric specifically because of the sparkly snowflakes. They are very subtle, you can only see them in the right light. I'm in love! :)

I nicknamed this quilt the "$500 Dollar Quilt", any guesses why?? ;) Truly a labor of love and if I sell it (and that's a very big IF) I won't take a penny less than that.

I found this flannel sheet set at the thrift store for $3! I'm going to piece together the back using it. For the batting I'm using Warm and Plush so it's going to be extra warm and snuggly. :)

Once the backing is pieced this baby is off to the long arm quilters to get the sweater treatment (ie a cable quilting pattern!). I can't wait to show you the finished product!

If you are making this quilt here are a few tips that I've learned along the way:

1. Starch is your friend. Seriously. Starch all your fabric before cutting for accuracy and then after piecing the blocks/rows starch the back side and iron. It makes your seams lie really flat. 
2. Get yourself a strip cutting ruler (any size will do). I so wish I had this ruler when I first started but it was a huge life saver for the last few rows. Go get one. Now!
3. Stay stitch the blocks with lots of pieces. Especially on the reindeer. Stitch 1/8" away from the edges to make sure all the seams stay together. Something else I wish I would've done. I ended up hand stitching a handful of seams closed.
4. Sew your blocks into rows as you go. Give yourself one less thing to do by the time you get to sashing. 
5. Definitely check out the sew along for more tips and tricks for each block. You especially want to check out the post on cutting.

Stats:
Pattern: Fair Isle by Freshly Pieced
Fabric: Quilter's Linen in Silver by Robert Kaufman
           Raphael Snow in Pearl by STOF Fabrics

Linked up!

WIP: Fair Isle Reindeers

I'm so close! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

I finished my reindeer row last week. Woo! :)

When I first cut my fabric (almost a year ago) I did it according to the pattern and then I had a little *facepalm* moment. With all the math I did just to figure out yardage for two colors, I should have included cutting for non-pixelated reindeer. Oh well, I pushed it out of my mind until after I finished the zig zag rows. Then I sat and stared at all the little 1.5" cut pieces and I made the choice to re-cut the blocks using larger pieces. Let's just say I'm very happy I had extra fabric! I barely made it but I was able to squeeze out what I needed with very careful cutting. And you know what? I'm so happy I did it.

When it came time to piece it all together, I did it a little at a time over the course of several days. First the snowflakes, then the heads, then the bodies, then putting the blocks together and finally putting it into the row. It came together very quickly with those larger pieces.

I'm in the middle of sewing all the sashing onto the rows and then it will be done!! :) I can't wait to share it with you.

Linked up!

Quilty friends...

...make the best pen pals. Thank you Amy for some beautiful happy mail! I hope you like bright colors. ;)

Oh and I finally found a way to get on Instagram without a smartphone! :D You can find me @gracelovequilt, although my feed is looking rather pathetic at the moment. ;)

WIP: Fair Isle Zig Zag

Wow, I really AM on a roll! :)

I started the zig zag row on Sunday, sewing together all the long pieces and then sub-cutting them. But I lost a bit of steam so I put off sewing all the pieces together until yesterday, when I made myself sit down and finish.

All that's left is the reindeer row and then putting the top together. I'm making it my goal to get the top completed before I start on my Farmer's Wife 1930s quilt. So I only have a couple weeks to get it all done.

Linked up!

Farmer's Wife revisited

I decided to revisit my Farmer's Wife goal. I never did start it. To be honest, the original intimidated me so I just collected fabric and shoved it in drawers. Out of sight, out of mind. ;)

But after reading about the Farmer's Wife 1930s book including rotary cutting instructions I decided to give it another try. And with two quilt alongs starting next month (see both buttons on the right) I figured why not start now? I'm hoping it will give me the motivation to sew every week.

I still want to make the original Farmer's Wife but that will be on the back burner for awhile until I can find enough fabric.

Since I want the original in our bedroom, I decided to use all the Fig Tree fabrics I've collected so far for my 1930s quilt. So far I have Mirabelle, Honeysweet, Farmhouse, Butterscotch & Rose, and Tapestry along with the Moda Bella solid Fig Tree Cream (9900 67). I'm thinking I may throw in a few more solids in shades of browns, yellows, greens and blues to help mix it up.

Our bedroom colors are blue, brown and cream so I decided to use only those colors from Fig Tree. Though, I prefer the older collections' shades of blue versus the more recent blueish-green. So I'm on a hunt for the older fabrics. Right now I have Fresh Cottons and Breakfast at Tiffany's with the cream solid. I'm thinking I may take a few of the precuts in those colors, as well as get some more solids. I may throw in a few other lines to even it out but I mostly want to keep it Fig Tree, as they are my favorites. :)

Here's hoping I can actually stick to it this time around. ;)