more farmer's wife blocks

I've been working on my Farmer's Wife blocks again.  I love making these blocks, they are small enough that most come from my scrap bin, some are really quick and others take more time.

I think I've settled on a size.  I'm going to make it throw size, so 8x10 (blocks)--maybe even 9x11.  So far I've made 48 blocks (see here), so I have 32 more to make.

Four Square

This is one of those quilts that I didn't really like until it was finished.  I started those blocks several years ago and put them away when I wasn't really feeling it anymore.  

A year or so later I pinned this quilt and knew I could make these 4 patch blocks work. 

I used Kona Essex Linen for sashing, and (I know I am going to be in the minority here) it was not my favorite to work with.  I'm not exactly sure what I didn't like about it, maybe the weight, and it definitely frayed easier.  But anyway, it's really pretty.  I do love the way it looks and in the end it turned out really great.

 I quilted figure 8's, my first time trying this pattern.  I used the grid in the quilt pattern as a guide and I love how it turned out.  I will definitely try it again.

I gave this quilt to my in-laws for Christmas.  I feel like it is a mellow enough pattern and fabrics are "neutral" enough to go with just about anything.

Quilt stats:

Size:  67in x 67in

Pattern:  none (each block measured 8.5 inches.  I strip pieced it.  Each strip was 2.5 inches.  I sewed 4 together and then flipped each row). 

Fabric:  4 patch blocks are mostly Glimma by Lotta Jansdotter.  Sashing is Kona Essex linen in Flax.  Binding is Denyse Schmidt, Hope Valley

Batting:  Warm and White.

Apple Hot Pad

I love making hot pads for a quick project in between bigger ones.  I saw this pattern, by Charise of Charise Creates and wanted to try it out.

I love that it has pockets to make holding it and hot things easier.  

The back is my favorite part.  I love that fabric from Ayumi.  Sewing on the binding was a little tricky around those curves, and I lost some of the apple definition at the bottom, but I think it turned out just fine.  I cannot wait to try another one.  (There's also a pear pattern).

Insul-Bright is a MUST in hot pads, it's wonderful, keeps hands safe from heat and is easy to sew with. 

Knitted Dishcloths

I am by no means a knitter, but I really, really love the knitted dishcloths for wiping my counters everyday.  So with a lot of help from you tube,  I learned to make them myself.  

If you haven't used them yourself, you really should.  Funny story, I was given a set when we got married, and we thought they were hot pads...my husband and I always complained that they were the worst hot pads in the world (and they are).  Then a friend told me they were dishcloths (about 12 years later)...you get them wet, ring them out, and wipe up messes... and once I used them I didn't want to use anything else.

I am in the process of replacing my old worn out ones, and I love them all over again. 

Stats:

Materials:  100% cotton yarn.  worsted weight.  I like sugar 'n cream, peaches and cream, bernat.  You can find them at JoAnn or Walmart.

Pattern/Tutorial:  Pink Knits

Mountain Majesties

I gave this quilt to my sister for Christmas, and can finally share it here on my blog.  After making this quilt (and this one), I can finally say I LOVE solids.  Not that I didn't like them before, but when shopping for fabric, I will generally always reach for prints over solids.  

But I think I might be changing my mind...Bold geometrics designs are everywhere right now, and solids sure do make a stronger statement than prints.

Several months ago, I took of screenshot of this instagram and I knew I had to make that rug into a quilt.  I love how it turned out...

 I used this gold stripe again.  It's still the perfect mustardy yellow. 

 Feathers on the backing.  

 I quilted in the ditch vertically and horizontally, with both white and black thread.  There was no way to keep the quilting thread completely hidden, but switching threads turned out to be pretty great.

Quilt stats:

Pattern:  Mountains Majesties, from Quiltville

Fabric:  front--Kona Black and Kona Snow.  back--Wonderland, Cheshire Feathers (Art Gallery).  Binding--Fantasia, Monokeros Stripe Ocre (Art Gallery)

Batting:  Warm and White

Pineapple Quilt

 This is another quilt I photographed in The Smoky Mountains. 

I love this quilt, one of my very favorites.  It plays with your eyes.  Almost feels like it's moving. 

Amanda-Jean posted a tutorial, a year or so ago, and I couldn't resist trying it.  I love the pineapple block and this tutorial doesn't use paper piecing!  These blocks are labor intensive, lots of sewing and lots of trimming.  I cannot remember how long each block took to make, but I could really only get one block done per sitting.

I used all scraps and stash, but went with a specific color palette, plums and teals and fuchsias and grass green and orange.  I used this image as my inspiration.

I had the hardest time deciding on a pattern for quilting.  I ended up quilting lines, so they intersected in the middle of the block, and went through every "pineapple".  I also stitched in the ditch around every block.  I'm still not certain I picked the right pattern, I feel like it might need more quilting.  On the plus side, it's a very soft quilt.

Bound in a pink stripe.  Can you see there are two pink stripes?  That was a make-do moment.  (As was the backing, I used larger pieces of orange, green, and fuchsia from my stash!)

Stats:

Pattern:  Pineapple block Tutorial by Amanda Jean (I made 20 blocks--4 x 5) 

Size:  61.5in x 77in (after washing)

Batting:  Warm and White

Fabric:  Stash and scraps.  Background is all low volume.  Binding is mostly Monokeros Stripe Candy by Sara Lawson.

Quilty Christmas

Happy New Year!  I cannot believe December is over!  I fully expected to post all my finishes from 2015 before the New Year...but I didn't.  The good news is, I have several finished quilts to share over the next few days (or weeks, as it usually is).  The first one being a Christmas Quilt.  I hope you will forgive me for bringing back Christmas in January.

I started this quilt a year ago with Lori Holt.  She hosted an Instagram quilt-along last December.  I had the funnest time putting this quilt together.  It's so different than what I usually sew, definitely cuter.  Most of the blocks are in her Quilty Fun book, but several were freebies she shared on Instagram.

 The original quilt was meant to be a wall hanging, but I made extra blocks so we could use it as a throw blanket.

 Quilted in an all-over cross-hatch pattern.

 The backing might be my favorite part...it's so soft!  We like to pretend those deer are actually reindeer.

Candy Cane Stripe binding is a must on a Christmas Quilt.

Stats

Pattern:  Quilty Fun by Lori Holt

Size:  49in x 60in (after washing)

Batting:  Warm and White

Fabric:  Stash and scraps.  Backing is Buck Forest by Bonnie Christine, Binding is Little Red by Tasha Noel