Farmer's Wife 32

Here are my new Farmer's Wife blocks - sorry cannot keep to two per week!  I seem to want to do them in big batches and then take a break.  When I get started I just want to keep going until something else takes over.


No 48 Homeward Bound

No 55 Linoleum

No 56 Maple Leaf

No 68 Postage Stamp

No 69 Practical Orchard

No 108 Windmill

No 109 Windows

No 111 Wrench

Here are my blocks all together in a mosaic - what's the quick way to make one of these as I seem to have spent ages on this one??

Also trying out a possible sashing colour for my blocks - I think it is Kona Hibiscus - one of my favourites!

So now I will let you catch up a bit but I will not be putting my feet up yet just other things are calling me and Liz I am going back to applique soon...

Farmer's Wife 24

I fell behind in this QAL again!


I have made up for it and jumped ahead doing six new blocks yesterday.


They are 

No 5 Bat Wing

No 6 Big Dipper

No 10 Bow Tie

No 30 End of Day

No 40 Friendship Block

No 54 Kitchen Woodbox

And then just because I still didn't like my No 4 Basketweave I did it for the
third time...

No 4 Basketweave (third version)

New blocks on Kona Hibiscus background

New Blocks + Basketweave on Design Board

I have done 24 blocks now.  It seems to work for me to do a whole batch rather than just two at a time - in fact I have another one cut out and ready to go and may do even more tomorrow...??  


They are a bit additive once you get started but my sewing room (aka the spare bedroom)  always ends up in a mess doing these blocks as I look for that elusive piece of fabric to make my block look better! 


Are you neat and tidy or a bit of a messy sprawl like me (only with regard to sewing of course)?

Nicky

FWQ 18 blocks!

I forgot to do my Farmer's Wife blocks last week so I am playing catch up here.


I have done three blocks to get up to the correct number - I had also done three blocks two weeks ago.  So I have a total of 18 blocks.


After all those Spool and Churndash blocks my first two blocks were an obvious choice

Then I did a block I have always had a great affection for - the Friendship Star!

And here are the eighteen blocks together..

Has anyone thought of how they are setting their blocks?  I know they are on point but I haven't really thought about my sashing yet.  I will think about that this week - perhaps the very lovely Kona snow will help calm down my patterns and lift some of those darker colours....!




Nicky

Farmer's Wife 7

Is it week 7 already? 



Here are my blocks this week

The periwinkle block - a bit like the flower shape I suppose  

 OK why is this one called the box?

Honeycomb - I get that one  

Three blocks this time so I could but them all together for this photo 

 

Is this coming together?  Will it gel?  What do I need more of?

Any suggestions gratefully received as I am sort of out of my comfort zone with these fabrics and such a range of colours - so don't leave me stranded!  

Think I also need to try some more complicated blocks next - don't want them all at the end.

Nicky 

Mosaic magic!

I know everyone is very clever at all this technical stuff but I am a technophobe by nature so it is all a bit taxing for me.


I am pleased to have sussed out how to blog with help from my daughter and to be able to load photos onto my blog - something she hasn't worked out yet, though I have no doubt she could if she wanted to.  


Since joining the Farmer's Wife quiltalong I have been grappling with Flickr - actually much easier than I first thought.  And recently I have been eyeing up all these mosaics that everyone does - how clever I thought, this would be a nice addition to my blog!


So I found out where to do it at Bighugelabs mosaic maker and here is my first effort

Room for improvement I know as the photos would be better without the writing and if my blocks were all turned the same way but I will get better...!?

So what are you all waiting for - if you are not already making mosaics - get to it!

So useful to sort out how to layout your blocks although laying them on the bed and taking a photo seems to have worked for me so far.  Onwards and upwards...

What other clever techy stuff do you have to teach me!  ....do tell!

Nicky

  

Farmer's Wife Post 6

Here I am again with my plaid and funky flower blocks for week 6

Block no 58 Mother's Dream

I know it doesn't look like it but the middle square and the pink and black end rectangles are all from the same piece of fabric.

and block 21 Contrary Wife

Think the title of this one refers to me....but anyway I am really pleased with how these two have turned out! 




Seem to be going down the pink and blue route...




Hope you like them too!  And that your own blocks are going well






Nicky

Farmer's Wife Post 5

Here is my Farmer's Wife post no 5.  


I have been disappointed with a couple of blocks so I have fiddled with them a bit and hope you agree that they look better now






Block 88 Star of Hope before

and after

Block 4 Basketweave before 

after

And here are this week's newbies


Block 16 Calico Puzzle

and Block 1 Attic Windows

Now all of a sudden I seem to be going very blue.  I wonder which colour will feature next?


How are you getting on with your blocks?  I hope I am getting better at putting the fabrics together and constructing the blocks...have to say they are getting quite addictive!  


Nicky

Farmer's Wife Post 4

Onto the fourth post of the Farmer's Wife quilt along - and some more complicated blocks with more HSTs. 


Have to say I am not really loving these and am considering a re-think on the concept of plaids and funky florals.   May have to be either plaid or floral and something else as I do not seem to have much value difference in my blocks, which was something else I wanted to explore in this quilt along.  


Oh well I do quite like the ugly block look in antique quilts so a few yucky ones will be ok but I do not want to end up with an ugly quilt...?

Block 88 Star of Hope

and Block 93 Swallow

and here are my eight blocks all together

At least the colours seem better balanced with a bit more blue as I was thinking I had gone too pink.  But now I need to work on more value contrast I think.  


This is certainly a learning process...


Nicky

Farmer's Wife post 3

Here I am in my third post on the Farmer's Wife, trying to catch up a bit,
and still having fun combining florals and stripes/plaids for my funky, country look.



Block no 15 Buzzard's roost

Block no 3 Basket 

My six blocks so far

Need to do less pink I feel...  Oh well plenty more to go!




Nicky

Farmer's Wife 2

My next two blocks are completed.


I have done the easy Basketweave block no 4 - the dotty fabric is actually sage green but shows up differently on my laptop 

and Economy block no 31

Here are my four blocks together

I seem to have a lot of pink/red and my poor bottom left block seems to be overwhelmed a bit at the moment.  Time will tell....




Nicky


Previous post on Farmer's wife


http://mrsssewandsow.blogspot.com/2011/06/farmers-wife-im-jumping-in-with-welly.html

Farmer's Wife - I'm jumping in with welly boots on!

I know I've been saying no new big projects until my UFOs are complete but now you know why I keep saying it - I am trying to keep myself in line when what I really want to do is jump on the next thing that comes along.


I have picked this book up several times and put it back down again but when I saw that Lynne from Lilysquilts had committed to joining in a quilt along using the Farmer's Wife book (available here!) using brighter fabrics my will power just threw in the towel, my resistance melted away and I had ordered the book before I knew it!   

The quilt along is being hosted by Angela from Fussy Cut and Amanda at Msmcporkchopquilts.  The Flickr group is here: Farmer's Wife Quilt flickrgroup

You probably already know all of this as there are lots of bloggers joining in on this one. 

I have never done a quilt along before so this is scary new territory to me but I have just received my copy of the book and I am throwing caution to the wind.

There are 111 blocks, some quite simple and all are 6" square!  The challenge is to complete 2 per week so here are my first two

Puss in the Corner

Autumn Tints  

The unpick gadget got a lot of use with this one before I was happy enough with this simple little block - eek - what will I do when I get to the difficult ones???

During this challenge I will be trying to learn more about value of fabrics and given that the book is called Farmer's Wife I want to introduce something of the countryside into my blocks but with a brighter colourway so I am cutting up my collection of plaids and hope to build my blocks around them and some funky florals.  

Nicky