Sewing Progress

I know, I know. I haven't posted about the trip yet. Writing time since getting back has been very slim, and I'd rather do some justice to the trip, since the shopping was awesome, and the people more so!

I started this project on a whim months ago, and got the two blue-ish flowers done. Then I stopped. For a long, long time. Needing something to keep me awake, I pulled this project out right before leaving on Saturday morning. I had just enough time before Sandi arrived to cut some more hexagons with the Accuquilt GO!

I completed three flowers while on the drive. Clearly, I've decided to use brown for all of the centers. Why? I don't like using brown in my quilts, so I'm going to burn up what I have in my stash with this project.

Wait until you see the next flower! Let's just say it involves a certain *ahem* adult-themed fabric.

#040 Friendship Block

Slightly blurry photo, but, frankly, I'm too lazy to take another. It's way late :) Paper-pieced, by the way.

I used two coordinating prints from an older collection in my stash. I love this collection so much, but never cut into the majority of its coordinating prints out of fear. They're very busy, and I wanted to be sure about the project they would go into, as I'd never bought so much out of one line before.

#045 Grape Basket

I couldn't resist the fabric I picked up on the St. Paul trip, so all of the blocks I've pieced since getting back are out of what I purchased. This one came together easily. Again, I altered the sizes of the patches in order to make it rotary friendly. When it's not so late, I'll go back to Flickr and add patches sizes in the notes on this block.

#052 Hovering Hawks

Mmm... white and grey polka dots on yellow, and more grey. I swear, I was in heaven shopping on this trip! I ended up paper-piecing the large HSTs in the opposing corners, because my brain wasn't letting quilty math happen.

#101 Wedding Ring

Again, fabrics from the new purchases, except for the white tone-on-tone. This is probably the only block from this particular sampler in which I've nearly matched the colors as done by the author, but it's more grey and yellow, and I have so much more than I did :)

Again, I altered the sizes of the patches in order to make it rotary friendly. I'll go back to Flickr and add patches sizes in the notes on this block at a later time.

Seventy five patches into the Farmer's Wife. I have three more blocks in the Farmer's Wife that can be rotary cut easily. The rest, some thirty-four of them (one a re-make), I feel will be better served by paper-piecing. After that, I can turn my attention to the deciding which blocks to make to get to 122 blocks for my setting.

Last Week's Blocks

I actually pieced these all last week, on Thursday evening. I'd meant to post them during the day on Friday but then I got distracted with spending time with the family and cleaning before I disappeared for a road trip to St. Paul. More on the trip in a later post, because it was AWESOME!

#063 Ozark Maple Leaf

I've actually had the pieces for this particular block cut for a couple of weeks. I just kept skipping over it, despite its relatively quick and easy construction. Ah, well. It's done now!

#046 Hill and Valley

A very low contrast block - it's actually more attractive in person. However, I need a few blocks like this to make everything work well together. I'm still feeling these red-violet/raspberry colored fabrics.

#075 Rosebud

A bit of carelessness led to me having to re-piece one of the quadrants. Those big HSTs in the quadrants? Yeah, I sewed one on in the wrong direction, and then cut it, so I didn't have a rosebud in the end. No big deal. I caught the error before I cut all four quadrants.

#076 Sawtooth

I'm having a lot of fun picking fabrics for these blocks. I like to pair the unexpected. Here, a very contemporary print by Kate Spain with a Joann's Fabrics damask print.

Sewing and Sowing

Once again, some more Farmer's Wife blocks completed. Not as many as I'd hoped, by two. I used a batik in one, and the dye bled over into the white fabrics even with dry ironing. The other - I just kept sewing wrong. I got so frustrated it was safer to stuff the block in the waste basket along with the one with the batik fabric in it.

#001 Attic Windows

I think this was the final block I needed to remake to remove all of the cream from the quilt top. Much happier with this version.

#042 Fruit Basket

I'm officially into the blocks that are on a 5 X 5 grid. After working through one via paper-piecing, I decided to rework the patch sizes to that they'd work better on a six inch block. Click on the picture or block name to be taken to its Flickr page. I've made notes on all of the 5 X 5 grid blocks to indicate the finished size of the patches.

Fruit Basket is almost identical in construction to Grape Basket, which is one of the blocks I threw away. I'm hoping to get fabric cut for it later today.

#028 Duck and Ducklings

A couple of my favorite fabrics at the moment. That plaid, and some Michael Miller Cufflinks in green. Again, patch sizes adjusted to make the 5 X 5 grid work.

#050 Honey's Choice

Patch sizes once again adjusted to make the 5 X 5 grid work. The golden fabric is from the Joel Dewberry Heritage line. The spotty gray fabric is a Walmart print.

In addition to getting these four blocks done, I was able to work on my Double Wedding Ring top. I almost have two rows done. I need to sit down and complete a bunch of sub-units to make the DWR go faster.

Two More

Because I somehow forgot to post these blocks when I finished them five days ago...

A couple more blocks checked off, and a few re-drawn in EQ7 so that I can print the foundations for paper-piecing and have the blocks come out the right direction. If I'd remembered that I had the HSTs sewn, but not trimmed for another, there might have been three block finishes in this post, but my memory failed.
 

#067 Pine Tree

Not entirely thrilled with particular block, but I'm going with it. That dark green triangle is kind of throwing me off.

#051 Hovering Birds

I'm really liking this plaid fabric as a background. I almost wish I'd bought a couple of yards of it now.

Saturday Block Attack

This weekend is pretty much a sewing weekend. Today is Stitch N' Bitch. Yesterday, Zeb was super cooperative and independent, and I got to sew my heart out.

#027 Darting Birds

This is actually my second attempt at this particular block. I wasn't as careful as I should have been in the cutting steps, so it was considerably less than stellar, and definitely not up to my standards. Much happier with his second attempt.

#044 Gentleman's Fancy

Since I did Economy with black fabric, I decided to use white as the neutral in this one. If I'd been thinking ahead a bit more, I'd have gone with something other than orange. It wasn't until I uploaded the photos of the blocks I did yesterday that I realized that most of them had orange in them. *facepalm*

#023 Country Farm

Paper-pieced because I didn't want to figure out the math for the QSTs. Nice and quick to go together.

#087 Star Gardener

More 1" finished HSTs. I'm very ready to be done with HSTs this small. Speaking of HSTs, I have a lot of leftover HSTs from this project. I've decided to save them in a baggie. When I fill the baggie, I'm going to piece a scrappy HST top from them.

#014 Butterfly at the Crossroads

Some fussy cutting and a really fun black and white print. I initially paper-pieced this block, but was less than thrilled with how it turned out. So, I started over.

I ended up adjusting the size of the pieces so that the five by five grid worked better on a six inch scale. The patches in the corner quadrants all finish at 1.25" square. The sashing units, however, I did at 1" wide, to account for the extra .05" added to the corner quadrant patches.

I'll likely be doing this for all of the 5 x 5 grid blocks from the book.

Still Chugging Along

Despite the head cold migrating into my throat, making me lose my voice, and then feeling a need to sleep most of the day away on the couch, I managed to get some sewing done yesterday. I cut the fabric for eight Farmer's Wife blocks, and managed to piece three.

#080 Single Wedding Star

The points on this one aren't perfect, but I'm thinking they're within acceptable margins for the OCD side of my personality.

 #095 Temperance Tree

Now that I've done a few of these blocks with so many tiny HSTs in them, I'm being very selective about fabrics. I'm making sure they're thinner cottons, so that bulk is decreased, even though I'm already ironing all seams open at this size.

#085 Square Dance

I put this block off until I found the right fabric, because it looked so boring. I think I hit on just the right fabric with this print. It's a Kate Spain fabric, and I'm really happy with how it turned out. This way, it looks more like a pretty tiling.

With these three blocks, I think I'm at 59 total. That means I'm over the halfway mark if I decide to only make the blocks in the book. At this point, however, I'm pretty sure I want to do a different setting, and it's going to require 122 blocks. So, really, I haven't hit the halfway mark yet. Almost, but not quite.

It's a good thing I have so many block resources to refer to!

Feeding a Cold with Some Sewing

This stupid cold has my nose raw and irritated. I keep forgetting that the human body can produce so much freaking snot - I have tissues stationed all around the house, because at any moment, my nose will run like a faucet.

So, in between keeping myself hydrated and popping anti-congestion pills, I've been piecing blocks. Mostly just re-dos, to replace all of the blocks that had cream in them, because my eye kept getting drawn to them, and I didn't like their lack of cohesion with the rest of the blocks.

#056 Maple Leaf

This was the only non-replacement block today. I decided to experiment with a plaid fabric in the background. I'm really pleased, especially against the contrast of the delicacy of the green paisley.

#026 Cut Glass Dish

I was never really happy with his particular block when I first made it. The fabrics I used were too heavy for the smaller HSTs, leading to some cut-off points that made my eye twitch. Plus, I just needed to use the citrus-y fabric again. It's a great print for fussy-cutting.

#004 Basket Weave

I like this block much better now that it's brighter. And I'm really liking orange and pink together.

#081 Snowball

This is the third time I've made this block now. I had to go back and re-do it. Why? That second time I used some of the oldest fabrics in my stash. Every time I look at it, my eye twitched. So, I changed it out.

So, not a ton of actual progress, but I feel better about the blocks that I have. The only block I have left to replace is Attic Windows.

Four More Down

More blocks for the Farmer's Wife Sampler are done. Tonight was an even split between regular piecing and paper-piecing. I might have finished more, but a good number of the paper-piecing templates on the Yahoogroup don't seem to have been reversed correctly. I'll have to redraw a number of the blocks in EQ7 to get good paper-piecing templates.

#055 Linoleum

This was regularly pieced, using all Connecting Threads fabrics. I really do love that company's products. Their fabrics are so buttery soft!

#102 Whirlpool

This would have been a much easier block, but I under-estimated the thickness of the white and blue fabric. Still, it turned out pretty well, and I like the play of of the different shades of blue. This one was also regularly pieced.

#029 Economy

Another do-over, and paper-pieced for accuracy. The center is fussy cut, while I let the outer triangles be what they wanted to be. Very easy, very quick. Just my speed tonight.

#039 Friendship

I'm not in love with my choice for the blue quadrant, but I'm leaving it. It's a rather large print for this block, but I've got to use it somewhere. At least in a sampler I'll be less likely to keep staring at it and growing more frustrated.

I'm hoping to get more blocks done later today, as I have no intention of hitting the gym. I have one helluva sinus cold that's making me a congested mouth-breather. For now, though, I'm off to try and be productive.

A Kick in the Pants...

... for Generation Q Magazine.

If you've been following the Generation Q Magazine blog, then you already know what I'm talking about. GenQ launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the printing of their premier issue and to appear at the International Quilt Market in Kansas City this May.

If you've never heard of Kickstarter, prepare to be amazed. It's a way for smaller ventures to raise capital to attain their goals. The amazing thing is that this capital comes from you and me. See a project that you want to come to life? Pledge some funds.

And Kickstarter is an all or nothing deal. Either the base amount requested is attained, or the individuals who pledged money to a goal never spend a dime. As with most fundraising efforts of this sort, there are bonuses for different pledge levels. (Gen Q won me over by promising fabric - go figure!)

In an awesome example of how giving our online community of quilting bloggers is, the Gen Q Kickstarter campaign has already raised over $13,000 in the first 48 hours that it's been live!

I decided to pledge, because since its inception, I've enjoyed the content of the Gen Q blog, and would love to see a printed publication that appeals to a wider aesthetic. I love the way the Gen Q blog is written, and hope that carries over to the printed publication. Plus, I'm actually in a really good spot in my life, and why not share the joy a little bit? Especially when the people benefiting clearly have a passion for and commitment to quilting, which has been my creative haven for years!

So, anyway, check out the video. I'm not saying you have to donate, but maybe you will, and that would be pretty awesome. And, of course, there are many, many deserving projects on Kickstarter looking for funding. Maybe you'll find something that resonates with you. And remember, it doesn't have to be a fortune that you pledge. Pledges of any amount are appreciated.

Fresh Sewing Day, March 2012 Edition

1. The Complete Quilt, Front, 2. The Complete Quilt, Back, 3. The Quilt Label, 4. Not available, 5. Progress Thus Far, 6. #091 Strawberry Basket, 7. #069 Practical Orchard, 8. #103 Whirlwind, 9. #098 Water Wheel, 10. #089 Steps to the Altar, 11. #064 Peace and Plenty, 12. #107 Windblown Square, 13. #070 Prairie Queen, 14. #062 Old Windmill, 15. #061 Northern Lights, 16. #068 Postage Stamp

It's the beginning of a new month! Which means it's time for Lily's Quilts Fresh Sewing Day. I thought it would be fun to go over what I'd posted in February that was actually sewing-related, and not about stash enhancements.

Right at the beginning of February, I was able to post my first (and may only) finish of 2012! Cheating on the Farmer's Wife sprang out of my need to do something fairly simple to piece. It went along swimmingly, and quickly.

Until I got to quilting. Then I decided that I had to do straight line quilting throughout the entirety of the quilt, and only 1/2" apart. Still, I'm really happy with it, despite the stupid amount of hours I put into it.

Nine more Farmer's Wife blocks done through out the month. I'm nearly done with the blocks that are easily rotary cut. I think I have maybe a dozen more like that. After that, everything is either a paper-pieced block or on a grid that makes me go a little crazy. Those will probably end up being paper-pieced as well.

Pretty good progress. Now I need to get cracking on my WIPs and UFOs. It'd be nice so have something else finished this year.