FWQA: Plan B

School has started and summer is over. {This is very sad to type} The school gives us a nice four day weekend for Labor Day. So, Mike and I headed up to Vermont for some relaxation with great friends and this nugget. Isn't that car awesome?

Now for the real share of the day. In my "free time" this summer I did come up with an alternative plan for my Farmer's Wife Quilt Along. At this point I am so desperately far behind and have no desire to catch up.

Absolutely none. 

Currently 21 blocks are done, so abandoning the project completely also wouldn't work for me. Too much time has already been invested.

Introducing Plan B ...

Each Farmer's Wife block was matched with a 6.5 inch hourglass block (finished 6 inches).  I used Cirrus from Cloud 9 fabrics in Mist with Kona Snow. The blocks are arranged alternating hourglass and Farmer's Wife block to create a 6 x 7 grid. 

Around the outside is an 1.5 inch border. To make this quilt finish a little larger, I added another border of flying geese. Each piece finishes at 3 inches x 6 inches, with a diamond in each corner. Two sides are in warm colors, the other two in cool colors.

I used the four geese at a time method to speed up the process. In total I needed 14 different prints to make 56 flying geese. The backing was pieced from extra fabric not used in the blocks. 

One afternoon was all I needed to get the new plan completed. It came out super cute and it done :) 

Details:
Finished Size: 51 inches x 57 inches, Pattern: 1930's Farmer's Wife Quilt Blocks, Fabric: various  1930's prints, Batting: 80/20 blend, Thread: Connecting Threads - Parchment, Quilting: Stipple

Quilt Net: - 6.5 yards

Year to Date: - 90 yards

99 Problems

Ever have that feeling you bit off more than you can chew? Like 99 blocks too many?

That is how I feel about the Farmer's Wife Quilt Along. I only have 20 blocks done .... that puts me at 79 to go.

Insert screaming contorted face.

Seriously, what was I thinking? Am I insane? Did I really think I could make that many 6 inch blocks on a schedule? I see all the pretty blocks posted on the group and want to cry at the fact I will never reach that level of Farmer's Wife success.  

Here is my level of Farmer's Wife fail, I don't even know the names of these blocks!

So, onto plan B ...

The new idea will include 36 blocks some sashing and lots of flying geese. I haven't worked out all my details yet, but I will share more later when I have a legit plan not a fancy idea.

The goal is for the quilt to finish at about 48 inches square so it's useable but not overwhelming to finish. 16 more sounds so much better than 79 more!

Deep breaths. 

Down on the Farm

The NEW camera is here, in my hands. You are looking at my first post using my new toy. Nothing crazy, but a newer version of my ten year old DSLR. (Whew, times flies.) The weather around here has been dismal in the last week. I finally lost my patience for real daylight, I decided to take out the flash to see what this camera could do at night. There might be a learning curve but not horrible.

Now onto the meat and potatoes of this post. Last year I signed on for the 1930's Farmer's Wife Quilt Along hosted by Gnome Angel and friends. It was a good ambition. Between holiday sewing and other craziness the project was forgotten with only five blocks done. Now, things have settled around here and it's time to get going again. The goal is to get caught up, hahaha. I laugh while writing this. So far, I have made an honorable attempt but not caught up. I did get 9 block finished.

Yes, the corners got sewn on wrong in my attempt to mass produce these blocks.

I must admit these shots would have come out so much better had I used natural light, but I just couldn't wait! Dear sun come out so I can play.

1930's Farmer's Wife - Aunt, Becky, and Bonnie

Here we go! Looks like this quilt along has taking over the quilting community. A couple weeks ago, I posted about my stash for the quilt along. Over the weekend I was able to get some quality sewing time in! It was awesome and very productive. After Gnome Angel released the tutorials for the first 3 blocks, I was determined not to fall behind. This weekend #8 Aunt, #12 Becky, and #16 Bonnie got finished. Now I just need to keep up the pace ... 

If you have not seen the others work head over to the Instagram hashtag #fqs1930quiltalong. It's been awesome to see everyone else's color choices. 

- Patch & Chels

1930's Sunday Stash

Is anyone else as excited about the 1930's Farmer's Wife Sew Along hosted by Gnome Angel, Marti Michell, and Fat Quarter Shop? Let's say I squealed with glee when this was posted a while back. I quickly pulled all the 1930's print I had on hand. Then purchased a few more (shhh!). All the orange, yellow, and green prints got removed as I refined my final sections.

Here is the final line up, I did keep the aqua/teal colors but removed anything that was green.  I also included some brown and neutral prints to tone down the rest of the colors. Then I found a layer cake of Storytime Prints, circa 1930, so I added them to the stash.  This layer cake included some of those cute character prints that I love so much.  It was such a great free find! 

Then I pulled this chalkboard out and painted it a mint color. I had a wooden chalkboard for my 1920's Farmer's Wife Quilt, it got passed along as the "Traveling Chalkboard" so a new mint colored chalkboard is necessary for the 1930's round. 

My copy of Farmer's Wife 1930's Sampler Quilt by Laurie Aaron Hird has arrived in the mail, and I have patently waited to start my blocks. Lets just say I am ready to take on this challenge! 

Anyone else joining in the fun?

-Patch & Chels