Farm Girl Vintage

I love the Farm Girl Vintage Book by Lori Holt


I love this book!  She has done an amazing job of writing out the instructions, the diagrams are clear and easy to understand.

 I joined a block of the week club back in January of this year. We could choose to do either the 6 inch or 12 inch block.  Some really ambitious people are doing both!   I chose the 12 inch block, mainly because those small pieces in the 6 inch block really intimidated me.

Since it is now the second week of September I should have approximately 37 blocks done....I have completed 5 .  I knew when I joined I probably wouldn't be able to keep up, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to try.  Plus, I didn't think I would get this far behind!  I'm really kind of embarrassed sharing this.

I have enjoyed the few blocks I've gotten done.  I've learned a lot too, for instance I now understand what a scant 1/4 in seam is!

The fabric I chose is Aunt Grace by Judie Rothermel for Marcus Fabrics.  I got it at my local quilt shop Stitch On.

The first block I did was Apron Strings.  I figure it looked simple enough. And it was easy enough and it even came out the right size!

The second one I made was the Pinwheels block. This one wasn't too difficult.  I had made pinwheels before and they weren't horrible.  Don't look too closely at my points!

For my third one I chose the Corn and Tomatoes Block.  I figured it was sort of pinwheels again, I could handle that.

Next came the Baby Chick Block.  Technically, I don't have five blocks completed because this poor guy doesn't have legs or an eye yet.

 The last one I've completed is the Sunny Sunflower Block.  For some reason this one gave me the most trouble.  Maybe that's why I've come to a standstill.  Or maybe it's because I work 10 hour days, watch my grandson on days off and have about a gazillion other projects in the works!

I know this will be a long term project.  I need to set aside a little time at least once a month to work on it.

But, Halloween costumes are going to consume most of the next month and a half.  I'm making three costumes and I'm way out of my comfort zone on these.  I'm using different fabrics and techniques than I've ever used.  I can't wait to show them to you!

Happy Sewing,

Lori

Wacky Web Quilt

When I first starting quilting, I starting following Jenny Doan and Missouri Star Quilt Company.  I faithfully watched her videos and thought I needed to make every single one.  One of the first videos I watched was the Periwinkle Quilt so I ordered the template, the papers and some fabric.  At that point I had no idea about fabric designers or fabric manufacturers.  I just picked something I liked, probably a daily deal.  I went to my local Hancock's (they went out of business a couple years ago) and looked for white fabric to go with what I'd purchased from Missouri Star.

Again, I must remind you, I had no idea what I was doing.  I looked at all the white fabric and found some that was cheaper than the others.  Turns out it wasn't 100% cotton, but that's okay, right??  So I bought it and went home and started on the Periwinkle quilt.  Somewhere along the way, I realized that I probably shouldn't have mixed cotton and whatever the white fabric was, so I put it away.

It sat in a drawer for awhile until I realized I needed a quick baby quilt.  I pulled it out and thought "why not?"  I had all the triangle pieces sewn together, I just needed to trim and put them together.

This is the way Jenny put them together in her tutorial:

Notice the white?  You can tell it's not 100% cotton.

 My sweet hubby isn't into quilting but he loves helping with designs and placement.  He suggested I try something different.  This is the design we decided on.  Notice the double wedding ring quilt underneath?  My husbands grandmother and great aunt made it.

I quilted it with the walking foot and did wavy lines. You will notice the binding isn't finished.  I finished sewing the binding on the drive to the baby shower!  Boy was I cutting it close, thank goodness it was a two hour drive.  We got it folded, wrapped in tissue paper and stuffed in a gift bag as we drove up.

More close up pictures:

 My points actually match up pretty well!

 The back is a plain pink.

Because I cut it so close, I didn't have a chance to wash it before I gifted it.  I sincerely hope when the new mom washes it there won't be uneven shrinkage because of the different fabrics.   I do have plenty of blocks left over so I need to make another small quilt and wash it myself to see how it holds up.

Now I know to buy quilters cotton and I try to buy from a quilt shop whenever I can. I feel like there is always something to learn with quilting/sewing.  My next projects are another baby quilt (my first time trying applique), burp cloths, changing pads, and then on to Halloween costumes.  I'm going to be busy the next few months!

Happy sewing,

Lori