Strawberry Garden Block-of-the-Month

 

Fig Tree Farmhouse: Mystery Block-of-the-Month 2019

 I am very late with this finish, but it's done. Pieced, quilted, bound. And I love it.

This is Fig Tree's Mystery Sampler Block-of-the-Month from 2019! Of course, it's now 2021.

This was a relatively challenging program -- interestingly enough, the block that I had the most trouble on was the pitcher-and-flower block on the bottom left of the quilt. For some reason, I could just not get some of the pitcher pieces to line up correctly. And I made one other mistake, but not going to dwell on it (too much). 

I loved the cherries and barns, and of course churn dashes and Dutchman's puzzles are a couple of my all-time favorites. I quilted on my domestic sewing machine (a Janome MC6600) with a standard all-over stipple. Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done.

Strawberry Fields (it took) Forever

Seriously, this took forever; it was a BOM from Fat Quarter Shop from 2011! No joke. And I just finished quilting it on the longarm in November (sadly the longarm has since found a new home), and put the binding on last week.

When I joined the BOM, I didn't have the foresight to also order the finishing kit before it sold out. That's okay, as I enjoyed coming up with my own setting. The quilt finished at about 84" x 84" which is a decent size. The all-over quilting is from a pantograph pattern called "Lida," a very quick but pleasingly textured design.

As 2016 is winding down, I find it interesting to take note of how my aesthetics have changed. Had this quilt not been lingering for five years, I probably would not have chosen to make it today. But still, I like it.

Designer Mystery BOM - Blocks 3 & 4

Just one more block to go and then I'll be caught up...just in time for this month's block to arrive.  For more information on this block-of-the-month program, go to the Fat Quarter Shop.

Block 3 - "Pretty Pansy," by Carrie Nelson.

I'm a big Carrie Nelson fan, although I haven't actually made any of her quilt patterns.  I do have plans to make a couple of quilts from Schnibbles Times Two and Another Bite of Schnibbles.  But first, gotta get the holiday sewing started, as well as some birthday stuff.

Block 4 - "Rose Buds," by Anne Sutton.

Designer Mystery Block-of-the-Month: Installment One

This is my first ever block-of-the-month program.  It's so exciting when when the kit arrives in the mail each month, like a little surprise, because you don't know what the block will look like or who designed it until it arrives on your doorstep. 

This is Block 1, called "Sweet Pea," designed by Bonnie Olaveson and Camille Roskelley.

I chose this program for the fabric, Strawberry Fields. I absolutely love this line but am kinda bummed that I didn't order the finishing kit right off. As far as I can tell, it's now sold out, as I can't find it on the store website, but I'll keep my eyes out for it. This BOM is offered exclusively by The Fat Quarter Shop, details here.

Getting better at piecing -- my corners are mostly spot-on!

The (Unfaithful) Farmer's Wife - Week 4

I have not been true to my FWQAL blocks, true, but it's never too late to make amends.  Especially as these two blocks are so pretty.  This first one, Whirlwind (No. 43) was easy peasy.  For once, I didn't have to use the templates, as the math was fairly straightforward.

Block 103. Whirlwind

This next one, however, was very challenging.  I have tried to avoid Y-seams in the past, and now I remember why I made that vow.  I had to rip out those seams on the coral polka-dot after my first attempt.  My triangle points also did not match up as well as I would have liked.  With a total of 44 pieces in this block, some of the seams got kinda bulky, and I just didn't know how to avoid that.  It's not perfect, no, but it's finished.  And I love how the colors came together at the end. For a truly lovely version of this block, look here.  This is what I aspire to...

Block 43. Garden Path

Farmer's Wife QAL - Week 3

So I'm a leeetle behind -- I'm not going to sweat it, though. I've just had too much fun with other projects, and my mind is teeming with more ideas for projects.

This block, butterfly at the crossroads, took me a long time.  The template cutting was kinda fussy, and because it is a 5-grid block drafted to be a six inches finished, the math was beyond me to avoid using the templates. That's not to say I didn't enjoy making it -- it just took me more time than I wanted to spend on it.

Block 14 - Butterfly at the Crossroads

Snowball, on the other hand, was easy peasy.  I love the simplicity of this block.  I also decided to go with a solid cream background as much as possible.  Looking at the other blocks I made previously, they all looked a bit busy to me so I thought to tone things down a bit.  I don't know, too boring?

Block 81 - Snowball

Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt Along?

This quilt-along is being organized over at Ms. McPorkchop Quilts and Fussy Cut, mostly as a motivational tool for this long-term project.  The idea is to finish two blocks (out of a total of 111 blocks) per week.  Will this get me going?

Block 1 - Attic Window

Block 2 - Autumn Tints