Saturday, 23 February 2019

Farmer's Wife 1920s Blocks 39, 40, 41 and 42

Farmer's Wife 1920s Block 39 - Friendship
Block 39 - Friendship
I used my own patchwork pattern from The Patchsmith's Sampler Blocks pattern book.  
Block 14 from The Patchsmith's Sampler book

Block 40 - Friendship Block
Block 40 - Friendship Block - already sashed.
I paper-pieced this block in mid December and it is already sashed.  Notes remind me to "paper-piece the four corner triangle units and add them onto the middle square."  When adding the corners to the middle square, do so with the corners facing down so you have the wrong side of the corner triangle units facing you.  This will enable you to see where the points intersect.

Block 41 - Friendship Star
A favourite block deserves a little fussy cutting
It is no secret that the Friendship Star is one of my favourite patchwork blocks.  "So quick - I patched it whilst my computer was loading."  

Block 42 - Fruit Basket
Block 42 - Fruit Basket
"Lost a point when stitching the units together."  And so I did but it is still a pretty block in blue and yellow.  And I know from the other sampler quilts I have made that nobody will notice the odd missing point.

That is me totally up-to-date I do believe.  YAY.  Be sure to come back next week for more fun with fabric.  Until then check out all the Farmer's Wife 1920s blocks on Pinterest.  

Monday, 18 February 2019

Patchsmith Sampler Block 50 - Yacht

Block 50 - Yacht

You could be excused for thinking that this final block in the Patchsmith’s Sampler sew-along will have us sailing off into the sunset but that just isn’t true.  Every block in the book, together with its respective blog post/tutorial can be found HERE.  They are not going anywhere.  And I am just an email away from providing help and assistance should you need.

The Patchsmith Sampler pattern book is available from Amazon

So the final block is a lovely little make.  There is nothing difficult or new with this block as it is made up of quick corners and straightforward patchwork. 

It is also a lovely block to add to a project or quilt intended for a male recipient, whatever their age.  But remember, women like to sail as well (I was taught to sail when I was at school).
Red, white and blue can create a pretty yacht.
I particularly like using red, white and blue for this block making it a great Labour Day or 4th of July block. 

Whatever use you find for it, I hope you will share your blocks over on Instagram (#block50yacht) so that we can all share inspiration and fabric fun. 

So there we have it – a year-long project comes to a close.  I will be back with a couple of new mug rug books this year, together with an exploration of how quilting/stitching can help us find a little bit of peace in a hurried world.  I will also be using some of my Sampler Blocks in projects throughout the year. So I hope to see you back here again real soon. 
Click on the photo to see all my FW 1920s blocks
p.s. Don’t forget to check out the Farmer’s Wife 1920s blocks on Pinterest.  Just click on any of the photos and you will go through to the hints-and-tips for that block.

Sunday, 17 February 2019

Farmers Wfe 1920s Blocks 35, 36, 37 and 38

Block 35 - Flower Basket
Block 35 - Flower Basket
I used a floral background for this block (photo above) as it seemed rather plain without it.  Journal notes state "A very easy block.  I was away from my sewing room so I drew the handle freehand and only had white cotton for the blanket stitch."  I think it turned out very pretty.

Block 36 - Flower Garden Path
Block 36 - Flower Garden Path
My notes identify this as "a tricky block."  I paper-pieced it in a different order by creating four triangle sections before patching them together with 1¼" wide strips for the cross.  I am pleased with how it turned out - I was quite lucky that it turned out to size and that the print of the small gingham pink fabric wasn't too skewed.

Block 37 - Flower Pot
Block 37 - Flower Pot
What looked like a relatively simple block turned out to have two inset seams when foundation paper-piecing.  The leaves are also not lined up exactly and neither is the stripe on the main section of the basket.  But it is good enough to be sashed into row 4 and looks pretty good there.

Block 38 - Four Winds
Block 38 Four Winds
And finally, if you think the previous two blocks were tricky then watch out for Block 38.  My tip is "mark the paper-piecing templates with the colours before stitching the block as the layout is complicated".  Even doing this I still had to redo one strip as I didn't look at the markings - doh!

I am all up to date with Gnomeangel's Farmer's Wife sew-along having made blocks 39, 40 and 41.  But more on those next week.  You can see all the blocks made to date on my Farmer's Wife 1920s Pinterest board.   Until next time .......