Farmer's Wife Quilt Along Week 43

Yellow, Green & White

Top o' tha marnin' to ya!  That's my best - and yet still insultingly bad - Irish brogue.  St. Patrick's Day is tomorrow so you know me, always on the look out for a color theme.

I was just gonna go green & white, but I'm still a little behind on yellow, so I reasoned it could represent the pot o' gold.

#99 - W.C.T.U.

I thought this block could pass for a stylized lucky four leaf clover

I know ... it's a stretch.

#107 - Windblown

I dunno.  It works.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  (Please don't drink & drive.)

Interesting.  I guess when I don't have anything funny to say, I turn into Lecture Mom.  Sorry. ;)

Daisychain Sampler "O"

Oh my gosh you guys!  I had no idea so many of you even remembered my poor Sampler, let alone missed it!  I'm totally sorry 'bout that.  Thanks for letting me know.  Now I'll be more motivated to finish it. :)

So here I go again coloring outside the lines not following the pattern.

And yes it's all because of my deep & abiding dislike for the satin stitch.  I especially didn't want to do it for this letter because the stitches would be reeeeeeally tight together along the inner circle and then a little farther apart along the outer circle. 

I don't know why exactly, but doing that makes me crabby.

As my daughter used to object when she was little(r), "Me no like!"

So.  I've chosen one of my all time favorite stitches instead - the feather stitch. 

Now, I didn't exactly plan that well and used a bright blue pen to trace.

But do you think I was worried?

(Oh, and by the way, to join a feathered circle simply thread your last stitch thru the first one.  Neat, eh?)

Sometimes I actually ENJOY solving problems like this ...

See?  Colonial Knot to the rescue.

"There are no mistakes, only opportunities for embellishing." 

Words to live by ... if you're like me and you love to make things, but don't always get it "right" on the first try.

Oh and in case you can't tell from the photo, I used two shades of yellow here.  Just 'cause.

And in case you needed reminding of the nerd that is me, here's what I think about my beautiful golden filagree letter ...

Is now a good time to admit that back in high school a friend of mine & I used to write notes to each other using Rune letters we decoded from "The Hobbit"?

This is me rolling my eyes and shaking my head at my 15 year old self.  Geez!  No WONDER my parents didn't worry about me getting into trouble! 

And no wonder I never had a date either!  LOL!  I guess I shoulda hung out a little more in the physics lab ...

How DID I end up snagging one of the hottest/most eligible jocks in school?  Damn lucky I guess. :)

Daisychain Sampler "N"

I feel so guilty having neglected my sweet little Sampler!  Aye yay YAY!  Thank you Sue Anne for the little nudge. ;)

It's not like me to leave something that I love so much alone.  But I think it's because I'm taking so many "in progress" pictures of each letter.  I literally have to perch in the livingroom next to my makeshift "photo studio" (THAT is a laughable description!), and hop up every 5 minutes or so to take a photo.  Plus I need to do it during the day for good lighting so I can't stitch this up in front of the tv in the evening - my favorite time to stitch.

But enough whining and complaining.  Here comes "N".

Wait, I take that back ... a little more complaining.  See, I'm not a big fan of the backstitch.  I like it more than the satin stitch, but ... it just gives me and my uneven stitches away.  I MUCH prefer the stem stitch, which totally hides any little uneven-ness.

I know, you're probably wondering why.  It's practically the easiest, most basic stitch of them all.  I'm no staticis statiticitia statis ... BLAH! ... expert on statistics, but I bet it's in the top 5 of the most common embroidery stitches ... maybe even top 3 ... (maybe even #1 ... but I feel super nervous about saying something that bold and daring without something more than a hunch to back it up!)

It's just that I like to stitch fast and I can't do this stitch fast AND well.  I can EITHER do it fast OR well.  Guess which one I choose ...

And now to my FAVORITE ... the Colonial Knot.

Have you guys tried it yet? 

Have I converted anyone from the French to the Colonial Knot?

I'm not just sitting here stitching & blogging for the fun of it, ya know.

Oh wait, YES I AM!!!! LOL!

Creative Teamwork

My daughter & I finished the Anniversary stitchery.  What do you think?

I confess to searching Amy's blog for some ideas and found this one ...

The cute "Washi Tape" idea on the corners of her quilt got me thinking about the seam allowance here which hanging by a thread ...

... LITERALLY!

I thought adding some washi tape applique would help, and be a cute little detail too.

I presented the idea of adding tape to all 4 corners but I was vetoed.   At least she allowed 2. 

AND she liked the buttons.

Maybe when she moves away to college I'll sneak on the other 2 tapes and hopefully she won't notice.

Here it is "in situ" in my favorite corner of the kitchen.

Livens up the place, that's for sure!

"Thank you Sweetheart for your beautiful handmade gift for Daddy & me.  We love it and will treasure it forever." ox

Farmer's Wife Quilt Along Week 42

Blue & White

I was just looking over my FW mosaics and I seem to be drawn to the blues.  I don't know what is UP with that!

#51 - Hovering Birds

I am really really liking these blocks that have little bits of white in the middle.  I like how they balance out my natural tendency to use white as the background ...

#53 - Jackknife

... like this one!  LOL!  Oh I am such a creature of habit.

But I love this blue print.  It just reads as lace to me.  And I love how the little blossoms remind me of embroidered lazy daisy flowers.

Remember This?

That was almost 2 months ago.  But my spunky little 8 year old didn't give up on it.  I think her interest was rekindled when I told her I'd like to sew it up into a wallhanging ... this mama's been around the block a few times now ... ;)

And this little issue about running out of room that was making her so frustrated?

Here is how we solved it.

Somehow the yellow floss she started with went missing so we color-matched as best we could.  We've decided it's not at all noticeable.

The little angel thought she'd "trim" the top edge for me ...

... I'll make it work somehow!  LOL!

Here are the fabrics "we" chose.  She picked the yellow polka dots "... 'cause they're so fun!"

Guess what I'll be doing this weekend!

(Right now I'm SO wishing I had the same kind of magic one of my all time favorite bloggers has ...)

FWQAL Latest Mosaic

A lovely reader asked a few weeks ago if I would show a "group shot" of my Farmer's Wife blocks.  I realized it's been a few months since my last block mosaics so here's the latest collection ... with a few of my past favorites thrown in for good measure. :)

I've been thinking a lot about how to finish my quilt.  The one in the book is set "on point" (like diamonds).  I really like that layout. 

I once made a quilt that SHOULD have been on point, but I was too lazy to make all the side-setting triangles so I set the blocks square and regretted it ever since.  Didn't help that my Bestie Kate made the same quilt but DID do hers on point.  Now every time I'm at her house and I see her gorgeous quilt, I find myself scheming about how to switch our quilts without her noticing. 

So my jealously experience is COMPELLING me to go on point.

But what about sashing & posts?  I've got these fabrics in mind. 

The red is another Lecien print, but it's not Flower Sugar like all the fabrics in my blocks - it's from their Old/New 30's collection I picked up last summer.  And I'm really going out on a limb with the pink ... it's an older 3 Sisters from Moda.

I KNOW!  I'm daring to mix lines ... something I HARDLY EVER DO ... 'cause I'm a great big chicken.

(Maybe ... it ain't over 'til it's over.)

But do I go white sashing with pink posts or red?  Or pink sashing with white or posts or red?  I just know for sure the sashing will NOT be red ... that much red would be way too "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" for me.  I seem to be favoring pink sashing with red posts, but I need to test drive that first.

And then what fabric do I use for the side-setting triangles? 

And then what about the borders?  I usually wait until the top is all pieced before committing to a border.

For me, this the exciting/nerve-wracking part of quilt-making.  These decisions will make the difference between and quilt I love and a quilt I hate.  I've screwed up this part sooooo many times.  I'm not joking about the nerve-wracking part.

Any opinions?  Maybe even something I didn't mention?

No pressure.

Workspace Makeover, Part IV

A pretty vignette in my sewing room ... which doesn't really exist.  Lemme 'splain.

Before this room was my mine, it was the guest room/office.  Before that, it was a nursery. 

This shelf was installed above the changing table.  (Yep, I changed a lot of poopy diapers in that very spot.)  But I've left it here on account of the metal plugs in the wallpaper holding it up ... I don't know how else to hide them other than keeping this shelf where it is.  I swear, if I wanted to hang a cotton ball on the wall, my husband would insist on using plugs!  ;)

A few years ago, I got the mirror from my good friend Barb, the same friend that shabby-ified my desk & lamp.  But I only just a few weeks ago added the ribbon. 

Back story ...

I finally got a chance to meet a blogger friend (thanks again for the tea, Andrea!).  She's got an amazing sense of style and she'd done this ribbon trick above a mirror.  I remember loving this idea the first time I saw it in a Martha Stewart Magazine a looooong time ago, but it just took Andrea's application to really inspire me to finally do it in my home somewhere.  Even before I'd left her house I was doing a mental inventory of all my mirrors and quickly zoomed in on this one.

When I got home, I looked in my now very nicely organized ribbon box - courtesy Kate - for the right size & color.  Of course my first instinct was to go for pink.  Two problems:  the best pink ribbon I had was too narrow and it looked too ... sacharin ... too little girly, even for me.  (It is staying up there with a piece of Mac-Tac ... tee hee ... I hate committing to things with a nail, especially on wallpaper!)

I also confess to propping here with the teacup & sugar bowl.  Before this photo was taken there was never china in here.  I just poked around in the kitchen cupboards for something pretty.  But now I sorta like them there.  I stuck the spool & trim in there - my feeble attempt at being a stylist - and I kinda like them there too. 

Another back story ...

See, we didn't have a lot when I was growing up and I don't have much in the way of family heirlooms.  But I do have a very few surviving pieces of my mom's wedding china - Wedgwood's "Patrician".  I feel bad for the sugar bowl with that brown glue repair.  But I just imagine my mom being sad when it broke and my dad lovingly repairing it as best he could to make her happy.  I've thought of having it professionally repaired, but I won't.  I like seeing the glue ... and remembering my dad. 

I made this sampler several years ago. 

It's a Shepherd's Bush pattern "Amaranth" (long discontinued, but you can probably still find it on eBay) and is one of a series of I think five designs.  I made 3 more that are tucked away.  I hung this piece as part of the makeover.

And yes that is a very sparkly, over-the-top chandelier ... yet another treasure from Barb.  Told ya there was a lot of her in here!

It hangs over my sewing table and sheds beautiful, twinkly light. 

It's probably very wrong to be in love with a light fixture.  I don't care. 

One of my favorite things about this chandelier is that Barb included some crystal drops I'd saved from an original - much less attractive - chandelier from the early 1950s that was in this house when we bought it.  I just KNEW they'd come in handy some day!  (See?  Things like that don't exactly help me "let go" of stuff ...) 

LOL!!!  My table is NEVER this tidy!!!

Seriously.  These photos are all just smoke & mirrors, people.  That bare spot on the table against the wall?  It's usually always buried under a mountain of scraps from the last 2-3 projects, bits of things in progress, bits of things I haven't started yet ... I'm constantly giving my table a police pat-down looking for my rulers & rotary cutter when I sew!

(The bench is ALSO from Barb.)

And my Pfaff. 

She makes me look good!

I always have my little thread snips and a 6" ruler right there ... love those snips.  The third most used tool is my seam ripper.  But I keep her - and her twin sister - in my machine's toolbox. 

But back to the part about this view not existing.

Sadly, the shelf is shamefully used as a clutter depot.  You know ... fabric scraps, receipts, children's art, mail, children's broken jewelry, orphaned buttons, bobbins, my growing stack of Farmer's Wife blocks ... 

Ha!  You know what?  It just occurred to me that if I can share my colonoscopy story on the internet, a little cluttered shelf shouldn't make me blush!  LOL!  Here's what it REALLY looks like ...

Please don't judge.

(You can find the previous posts about this makeover here.)

Farmer's wife Quilt Along Week 41

Before I get to today's fun, I need to say a HUGE thank you to all of you who commented on my colonoscopy post last week.  I was a little apprehensive about your response.  I'm so happy & proud to say all feedback was 100% positive.

I mean, this blog's primary content is about making pretty things and fabrics and sewing.  I'm sure you weren't EXPECTING to read something like that.  And I never DREAMED I'd be sharing it either!  But writing about my experience really helped me look for the funny instead of stressing (especially when staring at "the closet!!!").

And if I've helped someone - just one person - find the courage to get one done too, that really is the best thank you of all.   

Ok.  Back to the pretty.

                    *                    *                    *                    *

Pink, Yellow, Green, Blue & White

The colors in this week's blocks make me soooo happy! 

#33 Farmer's Puzzle

I had the same problem here as I did with this block looking like a notorious WWII symbol ... only worse!

So I did played around and came up with this pretty alternative.

I really like how it turned out, even though it's practically unrecognizable from the original.  Sorta pinwheel-esque / Union Jack-ish / asterisk-ey.  Reminds me of THIS cutie little project ... which has been on my "to do list" ever since I first saw it.  Thanks, Pam. ;)

#63 Ozark Maple Leaves

The original block has 2 leaves.  I fooled around with this one too but instead of the 4 leaves I was going for ...

... I ended up with 4 arrows, according to my 8 year old.  I have to agree with her.  Oh well, still pretty.

And did you notice I used the SAME prints in the SAME colors for BOTH blocks?  Must be spring fever ... even though it's going to snow all day today ...

Workspace Makeover, Part III

Here's where I park myself ... a lot ... at my new/old desk. 

I.LOVE.IT. 

I'm very lucky to call this talented lady friend.  One of these days I'll tell you story about how we met and how she was the first business woman to make me think I had legitimate sewing chops by selling my wares in her shop. :)

I bought this "Lady's Writing Desk" from Barb last Fall but I couldn't use it as my desk until I got my new computer because the old PC tower wouldn't fit underneath. 

AND it even has DRAWERS, which I lined with Laura Ashley drawer liners ...

- no longer scented but still pretty - 'cause they match my ironing board cover ...

and the hat box on top of my shelving ...

Is that totally awesome ... or just seriously pathetic?  Don't answer. ;)

The lamp - also from Barb (I've furnished my sewing room with a LOT of things from her!) - is perfect here in the corner. 

It was the raspberry beaded fringe that made me buy it ... well, and the crystals ... and the taupe shade that matches the stripe in the wallpaper.

The clock that taunts me all day long by ticking away ... but also reminds me when it's time to pick up the girls from school.

The oh so adorable applique ... which sadly is hidden by the computer ... but I know it's there. :)

The magnet board is new.  I've been meaning to get something like this for a while.  Kate found it at Ikea and said I should get one.  I've learned the hard way to always listen to her purchase recommendations.  I can't tell you how many times she's told me to get something and I hum & haw ... and then six months later totally regret it.  I know I'll never regret this magnet board. 

And the iron decoration was an impulse buy a few years ago.  I thought I'd put in the diningroom, but it's been neglected in a sideboard drawer.

My perch - another Honey B's score from a few years ago - which goes so well with the desk, even though they're not a set.  I'm thinking of recovering it with the same ironing board fabric ... or maybe the green check ... tee hee. 

Too bad I'm better with a needle & thread than I am with a screwdriver & staple gun ... 'cause I bruise easily.

I'm a wimp delicate flower. 

Farmer's Wife Quilt Along Week 40

Yellow, Gray & White

Ok.  How nerdy am I?  Omg, seriously nerdy.  I can't help it.  It's embarrassing.  Lemme 'splain.

I want my FW quilt to look balanced ... you know, not too much or too little of any color.  This is how I'm keeping track ...

I would TOTALLY not blame you right now for putting your finger & thumb in the shape of a "L" on your forehead ... I totally deserve it.

This week I looked for the 2 most lacking colors and they happen to be yellow & gray.

I know. 

Sad. 

And totally O.C.D. nerdy.

#109 - Windows

I thought of going red with the 2 inner triangles, but I've done that lots already ...

And since last week's fussy cutting turned out so well, I kept on going!

#28 - Duck & Ducklings

And the nerdiness continues ...

How on earth could I NOT make ducklings yellow?  I mean seriously people!  My ducklings HAD to be yellow.  I couldn't live with a quilt that had pink or blue ducklings. I just couldn't.

(Note to self - DUCKLING is my new favorite word.)

And in case you're wondering how I justified the gray, the ducklings are walking across a paved road.

Don't worry.  They get to the other side safely.  I made sure it was a quiet country road. 

Workspace Makeover, Part II

LOTS of pictures today to make up for all my blah blah blahing last time.

After the big fabric purge, the next project I took on was my disgusting ironing board cover. 

The super grotty section is just outside this picture frame ... too ugly to show here.

I should have made a new one a loooong time ago, but as usual I was crippled with indecision and couldn't settle on a fabric. 

But I found this Laura Ashely lightweight upholstery fabric during the purge ...

that I've been "saving" for too many years to admit.

(Ok, I'll admit ... for those of you who are a little rusty with your Roman Numerals that reads 1993.  Sorry, inner nerd just escaped for a second.)

I remember falling in love with this room in my previous life as a single girl.

So light.  Bright.  Fresh.  Pretty.  And I loved that little hit of a gingham check on the lampshades.

When we bought our house 16 years ago I got a 3rd-hand sofa, loveseat & chair suite of 1980s pine Ikea furniture.  Totally cheap.  Kinda ugly.  And super uncomfortable.  But I recovered all the cushions with this lovely print on one side and a damask ivory floral on the other.  LOL!  Nothin' like Laura Ashley to totally class up knotty pine Ikea! Even my husband thought it looked good.  

So when I found this fabric I knew right away it was going to cover my ironing board.

Tada!  Isn't it just so ... lovely?  Especially against my perfectly coordinating Laura Ashley wallpaper that my sister & I hung in 1997.  ('Member that sister?) 

If I were to ever become a marriage counsellor, I would strongly recommend that couples NEVER hang wallpaper together.  Especially if the wallpaper is NOT pre-pasted like the fancy-schmancy-totally-way-too-expensive-for-a-new-homeowner-unless-she-has-a-staff-discount-kind.  Sister's are a MUCH better option.  Am I right ladies or am I right?!

But wait, there more!

I found a Laura Ashley remnant of that green check too.  I know, what a shocker, eh?

For what?  So glad you asked.  Let me show you.

I was given this fairly old, handmade sleeve board a long time ago. 

I'm certain it was a DIY project - in just-git-er-dun style - from years gone by.  You can see the hand-chisel marks and the screw & bent nails ... clearly trademarks of someone more interested in function and not so much in aesthetics, eh? ;)

It was lovingly covered with a muslin-type fabric and hand-stitched in place.  I don't know who did it, but I imagine it was someone who loved sewing.  I mean, check out that beautiful envelope corner!  Someone really did a nice job.

Sadly the fabric was stained and I just never did anything about it.  Plus I didn't want to remove the padding.

It works well despite the stain and I use it a fair bit (although I don't have to iron teensy WEENSY little girl clothes anymore ... sniff!)

But then I got it in my head it would be nice to cover this board too ...

Tada!

Eeeep!  I'nt she cute?! 

I even like the ribbon tied as a bow hanging down.  I felt like I was cinching Scarlet O'Hara's corset pulling that ribbon so tight!  LOL!

So who says dreams don't come true?  It only took 20 years from the time I saw this room ...

to when I got this one.

Ok, ok, granted it's not EXACTLY the same.  But I love it just as much. 

Maybe even more.

Workspace Makeover, Part I

Warning:  Lots of blah blah blahing today ...

While I was offline, I found myself with time to clean house ... or at least clean my sewing room.  There was waaaaaay too much stuff in here and it was getting crazy messy.  I didn't have room for new fabric, I couldn't hardly see the floor (yes I know, bad grammar), I couldn't get to the closet, the spare chair was piled high with ... I dunno, ... stuff ... UGH!!!  It was terrible.

No I didn't take any photos to prove it.  I was too embarrassed.  Just trust me, kay?

So I begged my bestest friend Kate (let's just say she doesn't exactly live across the street ... more like she almost needs to pack a lunch for the drive to my house) to come over one afternoon to help me 'cause that girl has like a black belt in purging & organizing.  The word ruthless comes to mind ... in a good way, though. ;)  

PLUS she knows me really well.  PLUS she's a quilter/stitcher too (thanks in large part to me, tee hee) so she totally understands what I have, why I have it and has an impartial perspective on what I really need to keep and what I should get rid of (I know, more bad grammar).

The last time we went thru this exercise - I'm a work in progress - I got a taste of what it really feels like to be a hoarder in the middle of an intervention.  Now in all seriousness, I have a relative who's a bonafide hoarder, as in she could be on one of those reality shows.  And she was a MAJOR seamstress/quilter so I'm no stranger to what unhealthy fabric collecting looks like.  But I reeeeeally don't want to end up like that and seeing what happened to her is a very strong motivator for me to keep my fabric obsession under control.

Sorry, went off track a bit there.

What I was getting at about tasting hoardism is that when Kate was trying to help me part with certain things, I actually had the beginnings of a panic attack ... you know, elevated heart rate, sweaty palms, tight chest, feeling trapped.  And all she was doing was trying to convince me I could get rid of a little shoebox full of tacky Christmas fabric - SCRAPS no less - from the 80s.  I mean come ON! WHEN am I ever going to make something with gold lamé again?! Yeah, like NEVER.

That panic attack really surprised me and kinda scared me.  It was a good wake up call, let me tell you.

But I was now at the point where every time I looked around my sewing room to find inspiration and motivation, I felt stuck.  I couldn't think.  I felt anchored in the past with all my aging - albeit lovely - fabric.  I realized I'm no longer interested in making pretty things out of old fabric.  Or fabric I bought on impulse.  Or fabric that was given to me that didn't give me butterflies in my tummy.  Or fabric I'm simply SO OVER.

All this ... this STUFF was clogging my creative arteries.  ENOUGH!  BLAAAHH!!!

So I called in the big guns and we went to work.  Three hours later I was waving good-bye to her and about 100 lbs of fabric ... including my precious scrap bin ... and I've gotten rid of even MORE since then.  Confession:  she's having a garage sale in May so she said I was allowed to take back anything I NEEDED before then.  And I may have already brought back a few FQs.  But the exercise of removing all that fabric from my house is proving to be very theraputic.

ANYHOW (geez I'm long-winded today!) that purge got me started on a makeover of sorts here in my workspace where I sew, write & blog.  Now that my room is looking presentable, I thought you might like a peek.  I don't want you to get too excited.  I'm no Sarah Richardson.  But I think this room is pretty and I love being in it.  So I've written a little series of posts to show you around. 

Today - because I'm starting to bore even myself here - I'll just quickly show you the floor plan I drew up a few years ago.

I'd never done this before - drawn a room & furniture to scale on graph paper - and it turned out to be a great exercise. 

With graph paper, a pencil, a measuring tape and an Ikea catalogue I was able to see what I had to work with, identify what I needed and figure out what would fit.

There are a few Fung Sui problems with this layout, like my back is to the door when I'm sitting at my sewing machine and my desk, but that's the compromise I made so I could look out the window and spy on the neighbors watch the world go by.

So even though it's not perfect, it's perfect for me ... for now ... and I'm grateful.

Farmer's Wife Quilt Along Week 39

Pink, Yellow & White

Don't these blocks say SUMMER?!  I think sorbet & sunshine. :)

#57 - Morning

Oh yeah, this is a sunny summer morning if I EVER saw one!

I struggled with the yellow.  The block in the book uses the same fabric for all the yellow pieces, but I wasn't jazzed about doing that.  I toyed with using different colors, but then realized that I rarely use different prints of the same color in a block so I gave it a try.  Love.  Even the fussy cut center.  In fact, I really like how the blocks look like sisters with one big & one small fussy cut floral.

#37 - Flower Pot

Every decision that went into this block was followed by the thought, "I don't know if this is gonna work".  Yellow pot ... gamble.  The large fussy cut for the pot ... gamble.  Scrappy pinks in the flower ... gamble.

In the immortal words of Kenny Rogers, "You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em!  LOL!

O.m.g ... I just grabbed this video off YouTube and now my brain is spinning like a slot machine while I attempt to process that this song came out in 1978.  Nineteen freakin' SEVENTY EIGHT!!!

I feel a chocolate emergency coming on ...

Communication 101 ... For Moms

If your 8 year old requests macaroni & cheese for dinner and you go to the grocery store with her after school to get the ingredients and you're not sure how much milk is in the fridge so you ask her and she tells you there's LOTS, make sure she knows you mean WHITE milk, not CHOCOLATE. 

'Cause even hardcore chocoholics have to draw the line somewhere ... right?

Farmer's Wife Quilt Along Week 38

Kay, you're probably getting a little tired of FW catch up.  Sorry.  But now I'm back on track so this is the last set of blocks until next week.  Promise.

To keep with the Valentine's/Birthday theme for this week ...

Pink & White

I am so.in.love with these blocks.  Really.  I love them. 

#35 - Flower Basket

Inspired by the antique silver bowl in this block, I really needed to make this basket pink.  And I was in a silly mood, I guess, but something told me to fussy cut the little posies.  I was just going to do it for the 3 squares in the corners, but then I couldn't stop.  I was a little nervous while putting it together, 'cause it could have looked really stupid.  But it doesn't.  At least to me.  I think it looks sooooo pretty!

I had to move the top triangle a bit so the handle wouldn't cover the flower.  And it reminds me of the kalidescopes I used to play with as a kid.

#47 - Homemaker

When looking for a block to go with Flower Basket, I came across this one.  I nearly passed on it ... AGAIN ... because of the inset seams.  But then I thought:  these inset seams aren't gonna stitch themselves up and are STILL going to be here every time you flip through the book until you MAKE this block so ... what was that phrase? ... oh yeah ... Suck it Up, Princess!  LOL!

And then I thought about the name of the block.  I'm a homemaker (well, to be perfectly honest, I'm a quilter who is frequently annoyed that I have homemaking responsibilities, but never mind that) and I am pink so ... there you go.

It turned out a little wavy on the edges, but I've learned ... from lots & lots of practice ... that I can press just about anything into submission once I sew it into a quilt.

I'm a very happy Farmer's Wife today. :)

A Pretty Milestone

(Singing) Happy Birthday,

to you,

Happy Birthday,

to you,

Happy Birthday,

Pretty by Hand blog,

Happy Birthday,

to you!

Yes, Pretty by Hand is one year old today.  I can't believe what a year this has been for me!  Do you know it took me 11 months from the time I registered my website name to my first post?  I was so scared.  I researched the crap out of blogging before I started and I STILL felt ill-prepared.

But wow!  I've met so many lovely people, some of whom I'm delighted to call friends.  And all of you who have taken time to leave me a comment (almost 5,000 ... no WONDER I felt lonely when I was changing computers and couldn't blog every day!) or send me an email just to say hi or to let me know you like what I do or even share a little something about yourself with me ... crazy awesome.

I've met amazing people in the quilting world at Quilt Market and can't believe that I'm allowed to call some of them friends.  That totally blows my mind.

I blogged my way thru Camille's fantabulous book Simplify. 

Learned to free-motion quilt in the process.

FWQAL has been CRAZY fun!  Thanks Amanda & Angela for running this project!

And then there was the Mini-Series.  TOTALLY loved making those cuties. :)

My little cases made with 2-1/2" squares.  Felt the love from you over these, I tell ya!

The messenger bag I made for my daughter.  I still can't believe the reaction!

My Daisychain Sampler is coming along nicely.

(albeit a little slowly ...)

Lecien asked me to make a quilt for their Fall booth to launch the (then) latest Flower Sugar fabric line.  What an unbelievable honor.

And the tote bag I made based on that quilt.

And of course tons more.

But my most favoritest thing about blogging is hearing that so many of you find my little blog here a source of inspiration ... that something I made got YOU to make something, learn something, try something, whatever.  Even if you just dream about making something ... that is also part of what I consider life support for the creative soul.  I couldn't survive without inspiration myself and I find it funny ... and also just plain FUN ... that I can do that for you.

When I started my blog last year it felt a lot like holding my breath, shutting my eyes real tight and jumping into the pool.  Now that I've gotten used to the water (thank god this analogy doesn't require me to ACTUALLY BE in a bathing suit in front of y'all!) I'm ready to do it again ... into the deep end this time.

I have a few things brewing behind the scenes.  I don't mean to tease you ... ok, maybe just a little ;) ... but I'm very excited about the upcoming months.

Now excuse me but ...

this prettiest-little-pink-cake-in-the-whole-entire-world isn't gonna eat itself. 

If you're picturing me going all psychotic when I saw this to-die-for PINK confection in the shop window, I assure you ... it was even worse than that.  There may have been squealing and clapping and jumping up and down ... can't be certain ... I think I blacked out for a sec.

Farmer's Wife Quilt Along Week 37

Red, Pink, Green, Gray & White

Valentine's Day theme ... of course. :)

#45 - Grape Basket

I don't have any purple in this quilt so I couldn't do grapes.  But I thought a bouquet of red & pink roses - WITH a little bit of greenery - IN an antique silver bowl - would be perfect for today!

Oddly enough, I'm totally diggin' the asymmetry of the flowers.

#106 - Wild Rose & Square

I thought these roses were the perfect compliment to my bouquet. 

I did a little boo boo with this one and forgot to make the corner squares gray the first time around.  Had to redo.  Much better.  Glad I did.  Makes a big difference!

I know you're wondering why I didn't save this post for tomorrow ... you'll see. :)

Farmer's Wife Quilt Along Week 36

Red, White & Gray

#69 - Practical Orchard

Whenever I hear the word "orchard" I think "apple".  I don't know why.  There are no apple orchards where I live.  Come to think of it there aren't ANY orchards around here.

And I have no family or holiday association with apple orchards. 

But that's where my brain goes.  So my Practical Orchard symbolizes apples.  Handy that red is my accent color. ;)

And I couldn't resist throwing in a few apple blossoms with the floral gray.

#90 - Storm Signal

This block looks totally different than I thought it would.  But I really like it - especially when I turn it on point. 

I think it's going to play very nicely with the other blocks.

                                   *                    *                    *                  

Well what a great week this has been ... just as long as I don't count the night I had insomnia and thought watching Slumdog Millionaire at 2:30 a.m. was a good idea.  It is listed as a Romantic Drama.  Omg.  Seriously?!  THAT is not my idea of romance.  People if you haven't seen it yet let me warn you like I wasn't ... it is NOT a feel-good movie!!!  I managed 1/2 hr of horrific images before I just couldn't take it anymore.  And then I spent the rest of the night browsing the Comedy section of Netfilx looking for an antidote. 

Aah, but now the weekend is here and sewing can cure just about anything, right?! :)  See ya'll next week.

Farmer's Wife Quilt Along Week 35

Blue, Gray & White

You know, I was so smitten (Omg ... "smitten"?  Really?  Who USES that word anymore?!  Makes me sound like I should be using a walker and cranking up the volume on my hearing aid ...)

Let's try that again.

I was so HAPPY with my last set of blue, gray & white blocks I wanted to try that color combo again.  They just looked so different from the rest of my blocks.

#103 Whirlwind

I really really really love this dark blue.  And with the gray? Gorg(ous)!

#88 Star of Hope

Again, loving the big mass of dark blue.  The large square really shows of the print nicely. 

And the gray instead of white background just softens it a bit.  Although I confess to putting a white square in the corner because the other block has white in it too ... my OCD made me do it! ;)