Fabadashery

Tuesday, 29 January 2019

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.

Saturday, 26 January 2019

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.

Sunday, 20 January 2019

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.

Saturday, 19 January 2019

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.

Thursday, 17 January 2019

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.

Wednesday, 9 January 2019

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.

Sunday, 6 January 2019

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.

Thursday, 3 January 2019

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.

Sunday, 9 December 2018

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!

Monday, 3 December 2018

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 :(

Sunday, 25 November 2018

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.

Sunday, 4 November 2018

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.

Tuesday, 30 October 2018

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

Sunday, 28 October 2018

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.

Thursday, 25 October 2018

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 97 - Waste Not ... again

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 93 - Waste Not

Here is the final block which I have redone. Back in March I did the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 97 - Waste Not, but it wasn't packing the punch that it needed, so rather than start again, I unpicked the centre and made the wheel a bit bolder.

Tuesday, 23 October 2018

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 95 - Temperance Tree

Once in a while I like to remind everyone that all these Farmer's Wife blocks are constructed by hand, using the English Paper Piecing, so below is a picture of the back of this block. Here are the 42 pieces of the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 95 - Temperance Tree block.

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 95 - Temperance Tree

Way back in July I cut a load of blocks ready for piecing and today I realised I had made them all, so another stint of cutting is imminent. I think I am about half way through, having reached J in the alphabet of blocks.

Thursday, 18 October 2018

Nearly Insane Quilt

Suzi the cat helping with the Nearly Insane Quilt

My Nearly Insane quilt is in the middle of its tour of the USA, having just stopped off at Santa Clara. Lovely to hear from those of you who have been to see it and a special shout out to Molly from Suzi. I don't think the notice on the quilt mentions that the whole affair was a joint effort. I think that this photo is evidence of what a great help Suzi was when I spent 7 days removing the English paper pieces back in March 2015.

Tuesday, 9 October 2018

World Quilt Show - Pacific International Quilt Festival XXVII , Santa Clara

In progress - Nearly Insane Quilt

Just a reminder that if you are heading to Santa Clara this weekend, my Nearly Insane Quilt will be on display as part of the World Quilt Show.

Pacific International Quilt Festival XXVII
Thursday 11th October - Sunday 14th October 2018

5001 Great America Parkway, Santa Clara, CA 95054

Monday, 8 October 2018

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 43 Garden Path

I love to have the change to fussy cut a stripe fabric and the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 43 Garden Path, gave me just that opportunity. This block is not to be confused with Country Path or Flower Garden Path which are also blocks in this quilt.

Friday, 5 October 2018

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 48 Homeward Bound

This is the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 48 Homeward Bound. If you have been following my blog for a long time you will know that in previous projects I have done a Draw to choose which blocks I do, partly to take any bias out of choosing which ones I prefer over others. I wish I had done it with this Farmer's Wife quilt. It makes it a more interesting journey and I think I take better notes of which ones I have done and which ones are remaining. This is a really easy block made up from squares - big ones and little ones.

Tuesday, 2 October 2018

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 18 Century of Progress (again ..)

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 18 Century of Progress

Here is another block which I have done again, the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 18 Century of Progress. I did a lovely one a few months ago, but the colour choice was a little bit too strong for the way this quilt is developing.
I was away on a course with Jean Wells in Bristol this weekend and I was lucky enough to see a lovely Farmer's Wife made by Janet - it is so inspiring to see the different colours people choose.

Saturday, 22 September 2018

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 4 Basket Weave (again ..)

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 4 Basket Weave

I mentioned in my 6 month update that a few of the blocks I had done for my Farmer's Wife quilt had already been rejected for new colours. This is the first one, Block 4 Basket Weave - a simple block, but before I had done it in a brighter red which wasn't working with my subtle colour palette. It was a nice block, but maybe for my next Farmer's Wife quilt - HA Ha ...

Wednesday, 19 September 2018

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 64 Peace and Plenty

I love half square triangle quilts. I like the simplicity and the potential for variety. This is the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt (20's) Block 64 Peace and Plenty and a chance to use a bit of green fabric.

Monday, 17 September 2018

Great Northern Quilt Show 2018 - Dear Jane Quilt, Referendum Quilt

Great Northern Quilt Show 2018 - Dear Jane Quilt,
Overall Runner Up, Scrap Quilt, Bed Quilt, Judges Choice

A couple of weeks ago I had some of my quilts in the 2018 Great Northern Quilt Show in Harrogate, UK, and my Dear Jane quilt had success in achieving the Runner's Up Prize, Best Bed Quilt, Scrap Quilt and a Judge's Choice certificate from Jennie Rayment. The Runner's Up prize was a 'basket of goodies' sponsored by Sylvia Critcher and Maggie Davies - who doesn't love a basket of goodies!

Great Northern Quilt Show 2018 -
Referendum Quilt, Best Computer Guided Longarm Quilt

I also entered my Referendum Quilt which was awarded the Computer Guided Longarm rosette. I completed the top as part of a Quilt Along several years ago, but it was a few years until It finally got quilted! I love this quilt and when it isn't at a quilt show it hangs in our staircase. It is good to have them all home again.