Farmers Wife Blocks

I'm really enjoying the Farmer's Wife Quilt book. I work on a block here and there choosing fabrics on a daily whim. It's been a fun side project & process. This quilt will be all mine (which is rare)!  I thought I'd share my blocks so far. If you are looking for perfection, you won't find them here! Tiny piecing is new to me and I enjoy the challenge & embrace my mistakes. When it's finished it will definitely look hand made!

A few things I've decided in the process: I'm not making every single block.  Some blocks have millions of pieces and I just don't enjoy that. My mistakes multiply and I get frustrated spending so much time on something that doesn't line up in so many places. 

I figured out that my Bernina 350 pieces way more accurately than my Juki TL 2000. The Juki is so heavy duty that it's not easy on the delicate pieces like the Bernina. So, after so many blocks, I'm only piecing them on the Bernina.

I'm drawn to navy & red in these blocks often buying fabrics that fit that mold even though I have  SO. MUCH. FABRIC! I decided to make the blocks without regard to my house colors, just fabrics & combinations that excite me.

I love being able to use some fabrics I've held onto because I can use really small scraps. Ideally, these blocks should all be from scraps, but I can't help pulling from my stash!

Those tiny bit of Susan Branch pie fabric is one of my favorites and I had just a teeny piece of it. Perfect use!

Hope you're inspired to make a quilt for yourself! I feel like these blocks reflect me in some sort of way and when it's done it will be a piece of me to pass on to my kids.

Swoon Along

I was really intrigued by this block as part of the Swoon pattern by Camille Roskelley. I had seen many quilters I admire tackle it and I decided I wanted to try it myself. I chose Loopy Vintage Floral in brown, Carrie in green (both Jennifer Paganelli) & Plaid in cream (Tanya Whelan Sugar Hill). My goal was to finish one block and if it was too much for me, it would be a pillow or wallhanging. This block is 23 1/2", so it could definitely stand alone. I purchased & downloaded the pattern here and began my cutting. There is A LOT of cutting and cutting the 7/8" for the half square triangles threw me off at first, but now I've got the hang of it. My new goal since I made one block and enjoyed it is to make a quilt for my bed for the summer. I'd like to hand quilt around each star and then machine quilt the rest. I figured if I sew one block a week and when finished hand quilt each week one star, that would be 18 weeks which brings me to the summer. Perfect timing if I can keep up that pace! So, in other words, the block is not quick, but so satisfying! It is truly addicting because it takes patience and care and you just grow to love it in the end! If you are up for the Swoon Along hosted by Katy you can join the flickr group as well to be inspired and there are lots of forums for questions there as well that are really helpful!