The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 51 Hovering Birds

 The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 51 Hovering Birds

It is just about warm enough to do my photoshoot outside.  Everything is starting to flourish and spring is on its way. This is the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 51 Hovering Birds. Certainly the birds are all very busy at the moment and I have caught Suzi napping on the job, whilst she keeps check in the pigeons.

Suzi the cat

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 28 Duck and Ducklings

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 28 Duck and Ducklings

This is the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 28 Duck and Ducklings. I am trying to add a bit of the very dark pink / red fabric in little bits across the quilt, so really pleased to fit in the centre square and to fussy cut the stripes.

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 69 Practical Orchard

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 69 Practical Orchard

Yes, this is just a nine-patch, but look how I fussy cut the cross-hatch fabric. This is the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 69 Practical Orchard.  With all these orchards, no wonder they needed so many baskets.

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 57 Morning

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 57 Morning

This is the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 57 Morning, which put on point looks very similar to Block 24, Country Path . In fact they all seem to be a variation on a theme.  The more I do these sampler quilts, the more I want to design one of my own ....

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 45 Grape Basket

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 45 Grape Basket

This is the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 45 Grape Basket. There are lots of baskets in this Farmer's Wife Sampler quilt, I guess a farmer's wife will use baskets a lot in her day to day work. This one was obviously on a vineyard.

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 24 Country Path

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 24 Country Path

I have been running this blog since late 2012 and naturally over time things change.  One change which I miss is the Comments popping up in my Inbox each day.  Often it is only once I return to add a post that I realise you have kindly taken time to comment - so I am taking this opportunity to say thank you.
This is The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 24 Country Path. From my notes it says I have adapted this block - maybe I have, that would be nothing new.

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 72 Railroad

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 72 Railroad

Still having fun with the gentle progress on the Farmer'sWife Sampler Quilt. This is the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 72 Railroad.  Although, this is no 72, I would not want anyone to think I did anything in order - I am currently working on No 24.

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt - First Year Anniversary

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt  - First Year Anniversary

The other day I was pondering about the progress of my Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt and browsed back through the blog to find out when I started it.  The first post was 12th February 2019, so I though I had better show you all a photo of all the blocks done so far. 

In total I have done 66 blocks which represents 59% of the blocks, with an average of 5.5 blocks a month.  Before my big prep day over Christmas, stitching on this project had ground to a halt, but it is making happy progress at the moment, so I am optimistic about finishing the rest of them this year.

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt  - First Year Anniversary

When you take a photo of them all laid out you spot some blocks that you would like to change.  Two have been replaced already, but there are some there that probably need a bit of adjusting.  I still haven't worked out my layout, but I think I had better concentrate on finishing the blocks first - that can follow.

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 58 Mother's Dream

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 58 Mother's Dream

I found this little block, the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 58 Mother's Dream, hiding in a bag half done.  I don't know how long it had been sitting there.  There was enormous satisfaction in stitching a few seams together to get a quick finish.

BTW, pop back tomorrow as it is the First Anniversary of this Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt!

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 70 Prairie Queen

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 70 Prairie Queen

This one is Oh so pretty - the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 70 Prairie Queen.  I seem to been having a 'pink' phase at the moment as it seems to be my go to colour. What colours are you using these days?

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 61 Northern Light

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 61 Northern Light

From this photo you probably can't guess the actual size of my Farmer's Wife blocks, but I am working at 4" square.  When I made the decision to make the blocks smaller than the original size I flicked through the book and sought out the block with the smallest pieces to see if it was a viable endeavour.  When faced with this block, the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 61 Northern Light, clearly there was not going be a challenge.

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 55 Linoleum

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 55 Linoleum

Her is the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 55 Linoleum - don't miss the fussy cut rectangles!  Once you start fussy cutting you can never go back and you start to look at the fabric you buy very differently.  I have enjoyed quietly getting this block together over a busy week.  It seemed like my feet did not touch the ground, but somehow this came together.

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 62 Old Windmill and an English Paper Piecing tutorial

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 62 Old Windmill

I thought I would go back to basics on this post.  If you glance down the side bar you will see that I have been blogging since 2012.  Over that time I have made my Nearly Insane quilt and my Dear Jane quilt, plus a few others along the way.  Just this week I got an email asking questions about my Nearly Insane quilt and how I make my quilts.  

This is the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 62 Old Windmill.  It is English paper pieced.  Yes, I know it is just squares and triangles and some of you could do it quicker on the sewing machine, but I choose to make most of my quilts by hand and sometimes it is the only time I have to sew.  You will see that I have included a little label of its name today.  I have taken each of the Farmer's Wife blocks and drafted them into Electric Quilt 8.  This enables me to make the block at any size and in the case of this quilt, I am making the blocks at 4" instead of the original 6" - not translated well in a picture on the internet (NB: Sorry, no I can't sell / give you a copy) .  Once drafted I print out an outline drawing of my block an usually it has its name at the top of the page which I snip out to label my prepped bags of sewing.  I have scanned all my Fig Tree fabrics into Electric quilt and it is a really worthwhile task as I can test out colour combinations before I take my rotary cutter to my fabric.  I usually use my iPad to take a screenshot as a record and use it as a reference to cut out the fabric.  Once cut out, it is put  in a bag, in a bag with thread, needle and a thimble, ready for a MOMENT.

This block was done whilst watching television last evening during down time.  These days, down time is down time from quilting other people's quilts as part of my longarm quilting business, where I get to quilt some mega quilts for my customers - do take a look.  

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 62 Old Windmill

Here is a photo of the back - I do this once in a while, just for new Followers.  You will see that I have coded each piece with a letter, so I know what fabric it goes with which piece.  I tack through the paper  for basting and leave all the papers in.  Why? Until the edge pieces have something to be sewn to, they will need the paper in them. Also, I usually put no time limit on my quilts, so I will probably handle the blocks quite a lot  between now and quilting the quilt, so it keeps them square for the years between - yes, years.  When your quilts are English Paper pieced and they are pretty much dead square, it is hard to appreciate why anyone would piece otherwise - but they do.  Once I blog a block, I number it and add it to a pile.  It's slowly getting bigger.

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 66 Periwinkle

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 66 Periwinkle

This little block, the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 66 Periwinkle, takes advantage of the same pretty fabric as the last one.  I don't have much of it, but it is SO versatile in a sampler quilt like the Farmer's Wife.  The pieces are mirror imaged - yes, I had to unpick one set. School girl error.

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 81 Snowball

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 81 Snowball

Tonight they are predicting the first snow of the year.  It is a bit colder here in the UK, but I don't hold out much hope. So this Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 81 Snowball might be the closest I get to the white stuff for a while.

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 63 Ozark Maple Leaf

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 63 Ozark Maple Leaf

I can't believe what a relief it is to have this project moving again.  I have managed to do three blocks in as many days.  This is the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 63 Ozark Maple Leaf, yes, another Maple Leaf design.

Clover Field, Ellie and Ollie, Fig Tree Fabrics

My mega prepping day highlighted a lack of versatile fabrics in my Fig Tree fabric stash.  Amongst the Moda Scrap Bag I had purchased several months ago there was one strip of this pretty fabric and I found that it worked well in lots of blocks, so I followed it up with some internet shopping from Honeybee Cloths, which arrived swiftly and beautifully wrapped - lovely to get a late Christmas present to myself.

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 71 Puss in the Corner

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 71 Puss in the Corner

 This is the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 71 Puss in the Corner.  My Puss in not currently in the corner, but swiping her tail across this keyboard for my fingers to dodge.

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 56 Maple Leaf

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 56 Maple Leaf

Happy New Year! 
I hope no one has been waiting on me for the next block. It seems ages since I have even picked this project up.  The main problem has been that I had completed all the Farmer's Wife blocks which I had prepped and have had absolutely no time to get more done.  Yesterday was the day and I spent a lot of time getting more ready so that I can get some blocks done in those magic moments - those times when you can be sewing whilst waiting, travelling and having some down time.

This is Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 56 Maple Leaf.  It was sitting in my project bag with just one seam waiting to be done, so a few stitches and here is the first block of 2019.

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 53 - Jackknife

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 53 - Jackknife

Oh so pretty! This is the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 53 - Jackknife. 
What I like about patchwork and quilting is that you can use fabrics which you would never wear or have in your house - it gives you another outlet for your love of colour and fabric - THANK GOODNESS!

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 83 Spider's Web

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 83 Spider's Web

Yes, this project is still moving along, albeit at a very slow pace.  This is the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 83 Spider's Web.  Not much time for this , let alone the Good Fortune Mystery Quilt this year :(

Good Fortune - 2018 Mystery Quilt , Bonnie Hunter

Good Fortune - fabric selection
2019 Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt

Are you taking part in the Quiltville 2018 Mystery Quilt - Good Fortune?
Yes, Bonnie Hunter's 2019 Mystery Quilt has been launched, with the first clue being revealed on Friday.  My longarm customers are keeping me busy at the moment and I really don't have time to do it this year, but I couldn't resist pulling out the fabrics from my stash today - if only to do a bit of fabric stroking.  Initially I wasn't sure about the colours, but when these fabrics are together don't they look great together.

Good Fortune - alternative fabric selection
2019 Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt

When I do partake, I usually switch up the colours and do something different.  This time I switched the blue and green for brown and black. going for a more tonal quilt. I am keeping a record of the clues and meanwhile will be watching from afar as the clues develop. 

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 50 Honey's Choice

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 50 Honey's Choice

I am currently taking a class where we are drafting our own traditional blocks.  However, as much as I try, they all seem too familiar from all the blocks I have done over the years.  The other challenge is making them WITHOUT my English Paper pieces - thank goodness I have my little Farmer's Wife blocks to take refuge.  This is The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 50 Honey's Choice - seems like it is based on a traditional 5-patch block.  I am learning something.

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 3 - Basket with Embroidery Perse

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) 
Block 3 - Basket with Embroidery Perse

I pieced this block a long time ago, but thought it was a bit 'blah', so decided I would add some flowers to the basket. I prepped the flowers once I made the basic block but it is only recently that I managed to do the detailed embroidery work I intended. The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 3 Basket, was originally just a basket with a handle, but I have removed the handle, fussy cut some flowers and used embroidery perse to attach the flowers to the basket.  The photo below shows some of the dimension of the flowers.  I think there are several variations of 'basket' in this quilt, so look out for some other baskets of bounty in the future.

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) 
Block 3 - Basket with Embroidery Perse

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 42 - Fruit Basket

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 42 - Fruit Basket

Yes, there is real fruit in this Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 42 - Fruit Basket, this time strawberries, from the Strawberry Fields Revisited Collection by Fig Tree Quilts.

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's)  Block 42 - Fruit Basket

I have also reached an epic moment in this quilt project where I have reached the end of my sewing thread - 500m in total.  There was a time when I never seemed to get to the end of a reel, but with my longarm quilting business I buy it in wholesale in large cops and get to the end of them more quickly these days. But these 500m have all been hand sewing.