Farmer’s Wife 1930s Quilt Blocks 72, 73, 74, 75, 77 and 98

I am catching up on the Very Kerry Berry sew-along this week with another five Farmer’s Wife 1930s blocks.

                               

Block 72 – Mrs Smith.  There are a lot of notes in my book for this block.  Firstly “make sure you sew the arrows (chevrons) together correctly – don’t turn the pieces upside down”.  This comment tells you how my piecing went initially.  Next “make one corner unit and one arrow unit and use that as a guide for the others”.  More mistakes in my piecing which I soon corrected.  Overall note reads “really tricky block for placement – it is not enough just to mark colours on the chart.”

Farmer's Wife 1930s block no. 72 - Mrs Smith

 

Block 73 – Mrs Taft.  Thankfully this block was easier than Mrs Smith.  I made it scrappy but it would look good in two colours with one background as shown in the book.

Farmer's Wife 1930s block no. 73 - Mrs Taft

Block 74 – Mrs Thomas.  This looks complicated.  But it isn’t.  I split the center quite simply by patching four squares together and then cutting it on the angle.  Notes say it all ‘Loved making this block’.

Farmer's Wife 1930s block no. 74 - Mrs Thomas

Block 75 – Nan.  I initially made this block using English paper-piecing whilst watching over my father one Saturday morning.  Notes in book from October last year tell me “there are glimpses of the old Dad in there but not many”.   (I remade this block by machine - shown at the top of this post.)        

Farmer's Wife 1930s block no. 75 - Nan

Block 77 – Nellie.  I patched this block rather than paper-pieced it just because I was in the mood for a little patchwork.  It is not perfect but I like it and the imperfections will not show once it is quilted.  

Farmer's Wife 1930s block no. 77 - Nellie

It reminds me of Block 98 – Viola which I also patched last September.  The notes for Viola apply to Nellie “lovely block to patch using strip piecing for checkerboards.”

Farmer's Wife 1930s block no. 98 - Viola

You can find all my Farmer’s Wife blocks on my Pinterest page or by clicking on the ‘Farmer’s Wife 1930s’ tab above.

Until next time   ......

Splendid Sampler Blocks 32, 33 and 34

I am having so much fun with The Splendid Sampler sew along and have added another three blocks to my collection .....

Block 32 - Constant Needle alternative.  I needed a hand-stitching project so I grabbed the Block 32 pattern, four charm squares and some thread and this is the result.  

Block 32 - Hand-stitched Constant Needle

Block 33 – ‘Selvage Saver’ is a ‘use-it-up’ block from Pat Sloan.  Using selvages is not new to me – I use them as book names on my Tea-and-Books mug rug pattern.

Tea and Books Mug Rug

However, what was a shock was how much of my stash came from the big name brands – Moda and Riley Blake.  I did have other brands but a lot of my fabrics were from those two companies.  This is a change from a couple of years ago and I intend to redress the balance over the next few months. 

The Splendid Sampler block no. 33 - Selvage Saver

Tip:  Shorten your stitch length when sewing the selvages together as you may have less than ¼” seams in order to get the selvages to fit.

Block 34 – ‘Lemonade’ by that talented Amy Gibson.  When I first cut out the little pieces for the curved seams I was doubtful.  But I needn’t have worried.  I popped over to Craftsy and watched Lesson 11 in Amy’s free Craftsy Block-of-the-Month 2012 class showing how to match those curved seams.  I am glad to say block 34 went together easily after that – no seam ripper needed. 

The Splendid Sampler block no. 34 - (Pink) Lemonade

Tip:  Press both curved pieces in half diagonally so that you can match them up.  Pin at the center crease, then get the sides lined up exactly and pin.  From there it is a case of slowly and simply easing in the excess and pinning with lots of pins, before stitching the two pieces together.

I am looking forward to some more fun this coming week.  Sew until next time ...

The Splendid Sampler Blocks 30 to 32 and a bonus

Time to catch up with my latest Splendid Sampler blocks – and these three have been so much fun. 

But first I want to show you my blue ‘Scrappy Happy Heart’ (block 29)  I made a mistake but it doesn’t show so I’m not going to tell.

The Splendid Sampler block no. 29 - Scrappy Happy Heart

Block 30 – ‘Simple Surprises’ is a simple patchwork block which you can dress up in any fabrics you like.  I have used a mixture of charm squares and scraps here.  The design is by Amy Ellis.  

The Splendid Sampler block no. 30 - Simple Surprises

Block 31 – ‘Blossoming’ is a stitchery design by Jenny of Elefantz.  This is my first ever stitchery.  I added a touch of applique as suggested by Jenny.  Really pleased with how this turned out. 

The Splendid Sampler block no. 31 - Blossoming

Block 32 – ‘The Constant Needle’ is a lovely applique flower design by Laurie Simpson of Minick & Simpson.  I couldn’t help but reach for my red-and-white gingham.  And it just so happened I found a few other checks to accompany it. 

The Splendid Sampler block no. 32 - The Constant Needle

And in the middle of all this fun there was a bonus block ‘Matthew’s Block’.  

The Splendid Sampler - Matthew's Block

This is a little 6” block made up of a lot of pieces based on Matthew's drawing.  Read all about it and get the pattern over at The Splendid Sampler’s Matthew's Block page.

Time to sew start sewing these blocks into a bed-runner for my sister.

Until next time ....