Farmer’s Wife and Friday Favorites!

Happy Friday! This week has flown by…it seems like I was just writing a Friday favorites post the other day! Anyway, I have a good mix for you today…Farmer’s Wife blocks, a work in progress update…a sneak peek, and more!

Keeping up with my 1930’s Farmer’s Wife blocks has been something fun to look forward to each week. This week’s blocks were fast and fun. I actually used

a little different construction technique on block #13, Belle. It just seemed easier than making a y-seam. When it’s my turn to share block constructions for the quilt along I’ll be using the exact pieces shown in the book, but for the other weeks I’ll definitely be making the blocks in the most simple way.
 

 By making flying geese and a quarter square triangle block I eliminated the y-seams. The pressing was pretty straightforward for this (although you might notice I spun the seam on the quarter-square triangle block).

The other block for this week was #24, Coral. I used the rotary cutting instructions for this one with the exception that I made the half-square triangles a bit bigger and trimmed them down to size.

 All of the half-square triangle blocks were pressed open, and the other pressing was to the straight edges where possible.

 I love these two blocks. The colors and prints I used give them a bit of a different feel than my first blocks…

 but I sure do love them all together! Just a note on my technique for choosing fabrics. I started with a big pile of fabrics for this quilt which I keep in a plastic box for now. Each week after I finish with the blocks of the week I put those fabrics into a separate bin. This way I won’t re-use any fabrics until I’ve used the majority of my original pull. I did use the solid yellow again this week…but generally I’m trying to make sure I use everything evenly by the time the quilt is finished.

Two of my quilting bee friends sent their blocks this week! It’s fun to have work coming in on a work in progress…my friends Nedra and Stephanie made these two gorgeous blocks.

 I also have a fabric sneak peek…well the selvedges, at least. We were able to pick a favorite quote or saying for our selvedges this time around, and we chose the phrase, “There is beauty all around.” Sometimes I have to remind myself of these words in the middle of the summer here in the desert. I try to keep a positive attitude about the heat, and this phrase has always helped me do that! You can get a little glimpse of some of our colorways, here, too! More Monday!

 Finally…I have another Craftsy class discount code to share! Amanda Jean of the wonderful blog Crazy Mom Quilts has done a scrap quilting class for Craftsy called Colorful Scrap Quilting. I’ve been reading Amanda’s delightful blog for several years, and she is always inspiring–her scrap projects and quilts are delightful. I’ve had fun reviewing her class where she talks about fabric selection and color and then shows how to put your choices together making a delightful row quilt. The row quilt features nine-patches, snowballs, fan blades, flying geese, hour glass, framed squares, pinwheels, shoo fly blocks, and simple applique’. Learn how to set the rows together and also learn about her techniques for making a pieced backing.

 Take Colorful Scrap Quilting at 50% off  (just $19.99 regularly $39.99) through October 23rd, 2015 at 11:59 MST. (Note, the class was provided to me for free; however, the opinions are my own…it’s a great beginner class for learning to use your scraps…and Amanda is a fun teacher)!


Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a wonderful weekend!