A Farmer's Wife Sampler Top

Farmer's Wife Sampler

66 x 84

It's a top! Finally!

The theme here this month in my little sewing space is 1930s. I blogged earlier this month about some Farmer's Wife Sampler blocks I started in 2011 made of '30s reproduction fabrics. I made some blocks but didn't want to make all the blocks included in the Farmer's Wife Sampler (FWS) so came up with an idea to use an alternate block - Quarter Square Triangles (QSTs) - and to add in some 6 inch old swapped blocks made with '30s repros.   I chose to use some Kona Spring Green I had on hand for the QSTs because it is very close to the green my grandmother, a farmer's wife, used in her quilts.   How do I know that? Well, I inherited an old worn out quilt of my grandmother's and I made my version of that quilt and have a photo of them side by side as you can see below.

My grandma inspired quilt next to my grandma's quilt with their green borders. 

So, anyway...back to my FWS.   I didn't want to fuss around all that much with the block layout so randomly sewed blocks together.  If I had fussed around I would probably still be fussing (I never come up with the perfect arrangement) so why bother with all the fuss? After I made the top with the alternate blocks it looked incomplete around the edges so I added a border all around of Flying Geese and rectangles so it would complete the Square in Square look around the blocks. 

And now I'm so glad I moved that old UFO forward! 

Hooray for Farmer's Wives and for Grandmas! 

And sew on...

 

Decisions, Decisions! Moving Forward!

This month's theme in my sewing room is 1930s.  Back in January 2011 I started making Farmer's Wife Sampler blocks with 1930s reproduction fabrics. I chose those fabrics because my grandmothers were farmer's wives and those fabrics remind me of them. 

The Farmer's Wife Sampler calls for 111 six inch blocks.  As I made blocks I just inserted them in the book. 

I haven't worked on this quilt for a very long time and I think I completed almost half of the 111 blocks. 

Back then I worked on the simpler blocks that did not require me to use the templates. And now all these years later I don't think I want to make any more sampler blocks but I do want to use the ones I have made.  I was thinking maybe I could use an alternate block.  And I figured if I did use an alternate block then maybe I could make a quilt with 10 blocks x 12 or 13 blocks which would be a 60 inch by 72 or 78 inch quilt. 

I do have some six inch orphan and swapped blocks I can use to supplement my Farmer's Wife Sampler blocks and so came up with 65 blocks to use with an alternate block. 

I tried a Quarter Square Triangle (QST) as the alternate block. I chose Kona Snow and Kona Spring Green to use as the fabrics and made sure I had enough of both of those before I tried some test blocks. I stocked up on those two Kona colors before I retired to use with the '30s repro fabrics. The green reminds me of the color green my paternal grandmother (of Irish ancestry) used in her quilts and the Kona Snow is a good alternative to muslin. Although I do think I have some whiter Kona than Kona Snow mixed together in the stash. I'll use whatever.  

Ok. So I guess I like the QST as an alternate block so guess I need to make a few more and move this really old UFO forward. 

And sew on...

 

Time Warp

I have quite a few UFOs that use 30s reproduction fabrics (or fabrics I think remind me of my grandma's quilts). I decided I need to get them all finished before I start another 30s project. So, this weekend I worked on: 

7 more Tulip Blocks

9 more Great Granny blocks (only need 8 more for a total of 42, I think!) 

3 more Farmer's Wife Sampler blocks - Buckwheat, Butterfly at the Crossroads and...

...Cups and Saucers.  I need to count how many more I need to finish this quilt.  I file the blocks in between the pages and I probably shouldn't but other wise I probably wouldn't remember the name of the blocks or which ones I had finished. 

And I made 16 more String Star blocks

For a total of 46  that will be sewn together into groups of 4 

I can't help but feel happy stuck in a 30s time warp. 

To see what others have stuck on their design walls visit Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times.

I Never Grow Tired of the 30s (Mood Lifting) Reproduction Fabrics

The latest Farmer's Wife Sampler blocks. I need to count how many I have now. I have them all tucked into the book.

Wild Rose and Square. (Trivia: wild roses are the Iowa state flower. I have them in my wooded area and they are difficult to eradicate after they become a thicket).

Practical Orchard. (Again, I don't know how some of these blocks get their name; however, I thought a block with orchard in its name needed some branchy looking fabric as well as some fruit. My own orchard has apples, pears, cherries, grapes, black raspberries and blackberries.)

Railroad. (As in some of my Irish ancestors worked on. I can kind of see the reason for the name of this block).

Prairie Queen. (A wildflower that I used to have growing on our "prairie" but it seems to have disappeared completely).

Wedding Ring. (Do you know mine is a black gold band? Roses and leaves. I really don't much care for diamonds. I'm a plain jane kind of girl.).

Color me happy.

How Can You Not Feel Happy When...

...you are sewing with 30s reproduction fabrics! I am really not a bright fabric type of person but I loved my grandma's quilts and she made them with fabrics like these. What a pick-me-up of color. Anyway...these are the Farmer's Wife Sampler blocks I made today since I had an extra day off work. Above is Evening Star.

Farmer's Daughter. (She must be a star, huh?)

Flock (of what?)

Four Winds. (I think I see a piece out of place).

Homeward Bound.

Maple Leaf. (A pretty wild one.)

Northern Lights. (Not like the ones I've seen. And, quite frankly, looks like a bat in the middle to me.)

Old Windmill. I do like this one.

Peace and Plenty (looks better in person than on camera.)

Feeling Groovy!

Samplers

CW Sampler - Ladie's Aide block.

The outside piece on the cross is supposed to match the fabric of the corner pieces; however, I did not like how it looked since my fabric on the crosses did not match up properly to the corners. Maybe before the quilt is made I will redo this one.

CW Sampler - Calico Puzzle

FW Sampler - Big Dipper.

Do you know I was an old lady before I could actually look up in the sky and see the big dipper and then the little dipper? And now I look at this block and just don't get it!

FW Sampler - Broken Sugar Bowl.

This is my version 2 of this block since I made the other one undersized and we do know that size matters! And, on the subject of sugar bowls...I inherited and use grandma's sugar bowl and hope no one breaks it.

FW Sampler - Buzzard's Roost

Kind of wild...I used that brown fabric since it kind of looked treeish. Don't know why I used the green.

FW Sampler - Country Farm.

Hmmm, looks like that one side doesn't have enough seam allowance. Hope it's just the picture!

FW Sampler- Darting Birds.

Ok, not enough contrast. I wanted red birds since some of the other bird blocks are blue but I should have used the Kona snow. Maybe another one for the remake list. Or maybe not..

More Farmer's Wife Sampler Blocks

Cut Glass Dish

Churn Dash

Checkerboard (a fruity one)

Bow Tie

Broken Dishes

I'm going to have to count how many I have. I want to finish my quilt by next year. If I remember correctly the Queen Size takes 111 blocks set on point with sashing.

Who Says Size Doesn't Matter?

I had written previously about working on blocks for the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt. The book said blocks were 6 inches; however, the book didn't say whether that meant finished or unfinished size. So, I printed a couple of templates, made a few blocks and measured. Each block was a consistent 6 inches unfinished. And so, although I figured I didn't even need templates if the blocks were to be 6 inches finished, I figured I did need them for the weird/unstandard size of a 5.5 finished block. And then I joined a FWS list and found people chatting about 6 inch blocks, yadda, yadda, yadda... The fear set in and so I asked on list just exactly if the blocks should be 6 inch finished or unfinished. And, wouldn't you know it...the answer was 6 inches FINISHED. Yikes! And when printing the templates a bunch of adobe boxes and printer boxes dealing with unscaling, yadda, yadda, yadda... had to be changed. Depressed, I let the blocks rest. I let my mind rest. I finally quit cussing. I started on a different project. And then...I decided I'm not a quitter and that 1/2 an inch was not going to get me down.  I have remade blocks to the correct size and I'm on my way again - 30s reproduction fabrics are being cut once again.

Who names these blocks? Some of the names I just don't understand!

Postage Stamp

Autumn Tints

Birds in the Air

Box.  (Why?- I don't get it!)

Calico Puzzle

Contrary Wife (Again - Why?)

Wrench.

Friendship Star

Basket Weave.