2012 A Scrappy Year

Do you ever look back at a year

and wonder where it went

and if you

accomplished anything?

2012 feels kind of like a blur

it sped by so fast.



As far as

quilty things

I was feeling a little concerned

that I had much more starts than finishes.

It helped to go through my pictures

to remember I actually did

finish a few things.

Tell me if you see a theme here?

Farmers Wife Quilt Along

50 blocks

all from my scraps.

 Modern Chevron Baby Quilt

that I pulled from my blue and cream scraps.

a gift for a special friend :)

 Festive Cheer

A great project to use up

some of my red and green scraps.

 I did get all of the sections pieced together

but, I'm still working on hand appliqueing

the 60 circle centers.

 Great Granny

I loved being part of Lori Holt's quilt along

and using up some of those bright and happy scraps.

 Wild Thing

a quilt for a grand daughter.

 Oh My Stars

a guild challenge quilt

which helped me use up

even more scraps!

Yes, the theme for 2012

was

USE WHAT YOU HAVE!

 I did make a few other projects other than quilts.

A crocheted Chevron Afghan

for my daughter.

 A few wool projects that were gifts

 and charity auction donations.

 and matching pajama pants

for the grandbabies and their stuffed animals.

 In 2012 I joined

several Block of The Month

projects yet to be completed

My New Word I've selected for

2013

is

FINISH!

 It's been so fun to be a Bee's Knees member

 and to make blocks each month

for someone special.

And I'm really looking forward to seeing

what Lori will reveal

for the next rows

on her

Row Along

2013 here we come!



Farmer's Wife Finish

I got so distracted last week working on getting caught up on some BOM blocks, that I forgot to show you that I finished my Farmer's Wife Quilt!

Yay! A finish!

This really was a fun Quilt Along to be part of this last year.
I enjoyed making the blocks from my scrap pile, and increased in learning some new quilting techniques.

For the border fabric I decided to use the same fabric as the sashing.
The solid colors allow the bright and busy blocks to do all the talking.

Finished size 61" X 70"
which also fit very nicely over a picnic table.

My thanks:) to Angela (Fussy Cut) and
Amanda (Hey Pork Chop!) for hosting this wonderful
Quilt Along!

Farmer's Wife Setting Triangles

I've made a little progress on my Farmer's Wife quilt in the last few days.

I now have the inside assembled with sashing, cornerstones and setting triangles.

Many have asked what color I was going to use for the setting triangles.
I decided on another Kona solid, opting for a lighter blue.
Why?
Because I had a piece large enough in my stash, and I liked how the colors played together.
*remember, one of my goals in making this quilt was to use fabric only from my stash :)
This really has been a scrappy quilt, using somewhat the same process our grandmothers used when they made quilts.
I didn't have clear idea of how the finished quilt would look when I started.
I just jumped in, started making blocks with left over scraps and hoped it would all come together in the end.

I like this quilt even MORE now that the inside is complete .
Next, I will be auditioning some fabrics for the outer border.
I still have enough of the darker blue originally used for the sashing.
What do you think?

Limbo Land

Ellen said...

I love the sashing. It works so well...my question for you is, did you have that sashing in mind as you selected your scrappy block fabrics? What process did you use for fabric selection? I can't wait to see your choice for the setting triangles. Thanks for sharing your journey.

January 12, 2012 8:21 AM

Ellen: your e-mail came as a "no reply comment" , so I will answer here. Others have been asking similar questions, and hopefully I can shed some light on my process for making the Farmer's Wife quilt.

Each quilter travels their own journey. I feel that many the quilts we select to make are a reflection of particular events or experiences going on in our life.

These are individual paths, and one of the beauties of quilting is to see the unique reflections of each person in their quilt.

I love to see the same pattern made in a wide variety of fabrics. It tells me so much about the quilter. Have you noticed how much our tastes in fabric change over the years? Mine certainly have!

For my particular situation, we recently moved to be near our two oldest daughters and our most precious, heart stealing grandchildren.
With the slow real estate market, we have rented out our home in Southern Utah, put all of our belongings in storage and have moved into an apartment in Arizona.
Mr. Cactus told me to bring along only the bare essentials until the house sells.
For me, that translated into my sewing machine, and quilt fabrics.

O.H. M.Y.
I thought I had a pretty good concept of how much quilt related items I had gathered over the last 13 years, plus I'd sorted out and donated quite a bit before the move.
Then reality hit when we began lugging bins of fabric to our apartment.
(you know, that ESSENTIAL stuff you just can't part with?)

Thus: my goal has been to use
What I Have!
One of the reasons I joined the Farmer's Wife Quilt-Along is because I knew it would be a good stash buster.
I did not have a pre-planned color scheme before I started.
The fabrics selected for the blocks were random pulls from my baskets that have been sorted into colors.
When I reached the point to select a sashing, I looked into my basket of solids, and auditioned several colors. I ended up selecting the gray Kona because it framed the blocks well, and I had a large piece.

I wish I could tell you there was more of science or technique to my quilt, but in truth, it is a reflection of what is going on in my life right now.
We are living a little bit in
LIMBO LAND
waiting for the real estate market to bounce back.
(hmmm... Limbo Land just might be a good title for my next stash buster quilt)
I must mention how patient and supportive Mr. Cactus has been of my quilting addiction.
He agreed to let me cordon off the entire dining room of our apartment for my fabrics, quilt books, cutting table, and boxes of quilt related stuff.
He has been kind about hauling quilt bins up stairs and having my sewing machine set up in the living room.
But, do we want to move ALL of it again when we purchase our next home?
(nope)

Farmer's Wife Sashing

I've had several people e-mail me, asking what colors I will be using for the sashing on The Farmer's Wife quilt.
Last night I had a little bit of time to place the blocks up on my design wall and play with ideas.

I really like the On Point setting shown in the Farmer's Wife quilt book.
I put all 50 blocks up on the wall, and auditioned colors from my stash.
One of my goals is to make this entire quilt as a scrap quilt and only use fabric I have on hand.

My fabrics are very different than the original quilt made by designer Laurie Aaron Hird, which was made with dark Civil War type fabrics, and brown sashings.

Maybe because I've been a City Girl most of my life, I wanted to use more of the current fabrics on the market today.
Final decision: a Kona solid gray for the sashing, and a Kona blue for the cornerstones.
Because these are from my stash, I can't remember the exact color names, but if I were to guess they are close to Medium Gray and Cornflower blue.

I still haven't decided what color I will use for the setting triangles.
I'll keep you posted.
But, I do have to say that I like the Farmer's Wife quilt even MORE now that the blocks are framed with the sashings.

50th Farmer's Wife Quilt Block

Yee Haw!
I've now completed 50 blocks for the Farmer's Wife Quilt Along.

The last 5 now play happily up on my design wall.

#80 Single Wedding Star
It was
A Long Row To Hoe
the last few months, but I'm so glad I
Kept My Nose To The Grindstone

#66 Periwinkle
I don't mean to
Spill The Beans,
but I wish I could say I was
Cool As A Cucumber
during the entire project.
Truth be told, there are always challenges when undertaking a quilt.
I discovered that using the templates from the book just wasn't my thing.
My blocks rarely seemed to accurately measure 6 1/2"
Several attempts
Bit The Farm
and ended up being thrown in the garbage.
Small little itty bitty templates for small blocks have now been placed in the
When Pigs Fly
category.

#33 Farmer's Puzzle
My favorite part was learning from Lori Holt (Bee In My Bonnet) on how to graph blocks that could be rotary cut.
They really were the
Bee's Knees.

#3 Basket
Another favorite part was viewing your progression and fabric choices while working on the Farmer's Wife blocks.
It just made me feel like
Two Peas In A Pod

#30 End Of Day
It seemed only appropriate that the last block to finish, my goal of 50, be called End of Day.
The next step will be place the blocks in a setting right away.
No
Waiting Till The Cows Come home.
And preferably
Make Hay While The Sun Shines

More Farmer's Wife Cliches

Well, Bless My Bloomers.

Two more Farmer's Wife blocks are now completed.

#97 Waste Not

#19 Checkerboard
Only 5 more to make!
Now don't that just butter your grits?

Anyone A Farmer's Wife?

With the onset of the holidays, I noticed the posts featuring The Farmer's Wife Quilt Along really came to a halt.
I hope you didn't
Give Up The Goat,
Fall Off The Turnip Truck or even worse,
Kick The Bucket.
I don't mean to
Ruffle Any Feathers, but it's now time to
Get Back Up On The Horse and not let
Any Grass Grow Under Our Feet.
At least for me.

I now have 43 completed FW blocks.
We can make any quilt size we want, and I've set a goal of 50 for the lap size.
That means only 7 more and I'll be ready to assemble the top!
For this week, I think I will be
Putting All My Eggs In One Basket,
and really concentrate on being a Farmer's Wife.

#6 Big Dipper

#29 Economy
This really has been a fun Quilt Along, and I consider you
The Cream Of The Crop.
In fact,
I'd Bet The Farm On It!

Still A Farmer's Wife

Yes, I'm still a Farmer's Wife.
I haven't forgotten about the FW Quilt Along, and I hope you haven't either.
Four more blocks this week, and two helped me practice using the templates provided in the book.
They are a more challenging to work with, and I've noticed a few of the edges have come out a tad skewed.
Anyone else having this problem?

But, I'm still having fun, and that is the most important thing.

#5 Bat Wing
(a good one to make during Halloween week, don't you think?)

#108 Windmill

#107 Windblown Square
*I noticed that this block and #102 are the same layout except #107 uses three colors instead of two.

#56 Maple Leaf

FW Seasons

One of the reasons I decided to join in the Farmer's Wife Quilt Along is because I knew it would stretch me to use a variety of quilting techniques.
One of my favorite parts in the learning curve so far has been following my friend Lori Holt (Bee In My Bonnet) as she taught us how to draft patterns on graph paper.
Drafting was useful in many of the patterns, but cannot be applied to all.

#77 Seasons
Some of the patterns require using the templates provided on the CD in the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt book.

From the CD you can print out all the templates.
!Remember to set your printer on "none" so they come out the correct size!
I keep the printed pages in a file folder.

For my first sample block using templates, I went with the easiest one I could find.
#77 Seasons has 3 common shapes.

Some of the patterns are more complicated.
I'll do those after I've had a little practice.

Once the pieces are cut out, I like laying the sections down on the mini design boards Lori taught us to make.
This provides an organized visual as we sew and press sections together.

One of the nice benefits of the templates are the notched edges, allowing easy line up and saves trimming once sewn.

All done!