Farmer's Wife 3

A few more blocks to add to the collection. I'm not sure I'll do all 111; I think I'll just play it by ear.

Block 12: Broken Sugar Dish

Block 14: Butterfly at the Crossroads

Block 13: Buckwheat

Block 15: Buzzard's Roost

Markets and Birthdays

This weekend has been one of my busiest ever, and it's safe to say I'm actually looking forward to Monday just to have a break!

First off I visited AQM on Saturday, where I got the chance to check out all the new fabrics and patterns heading our way. There are so many gorgeous new things that it's hard not to be overwhelmed.

I ordered some of Natalie Lymer's Woodland which I'm really looking forward to, got my hands on some A Walk in the Woods jelly rolls ahead of time, and bought some patterns from a newish Aussie designer, Lenora Jenkins. I also said hello to Clare's Squiddley and am now stocking kits of this gorgeous softie.

After market I headed home for a quick tidy up, then off to celebrate the 1st birthday of my friend's little boy. How gorgeous is the cake! My friend is a very talented pastry chef. Inside is a yummy layered mudcake.

Today I headed off for the November Maker's Market; while the weather wasn't too great to start with, it cleared up and there was even some sunshine by the end. I had a great day with lots of customers, and had an opportunity to try out my newest product; some little zipped makeup bags.

Now I think I'm owed some sleep!

A Spoonful of Swoon

Done!

Now I just need to find my quilting mojo...

A Winner and Some Markets

Thanks for all the entries and messages for my 300th post giveaway! It was interesting to see what everyone picked.


Random.org did its thing and my winner is Chookyblue! I shall be in touch.



In other news, I have a tonne of markets booked for the near future. First up we have the Mulgrave Maker's Market.

First up is Sunday 27th of November, then Sunday 11th December, then a twilight market on Friday 23rd December for last minute Christmas shopping.

I also got an invite to be part of the Pop Up Markets, so I'll be at the Rock Your Stockings christmas market on Saturday 17th December.

Lucky last, and most excitingly, I finally got into Mathilda's Market after trying for almost 18 months. So I shall be at the Malvern Town Hall on Sunday 26th February.

Farmer's Wife 2

A few more Farmer's Wife Sampler blocks. It's a gloomy day in Melbourne so the photos haven't turned out too well (and the second one is blurry, sorry).

Block 6: Big Dipper

Block 7: Birds in the Air. Not much contrast in this block so I may redo it...


Block 9: Box


Block 10: Bowtie

Block 11: Broken Dishes. Snuck a bit of Bliss into this one and I love it.

Just a reminder, if you haven't already entered my givaway, you have until 5pm tomorrow (AEDST) to enter to win a pattern of your choice.

Swoon Blocks 8 & 9

Block 8; love the contrast of the blue and yellow.

Block 9: Lucky last! Was worried there wouldn't be enough contrast, but it has turned out way better than I expected.

300th Post Giveaway!

While babbling on about Swoon last week, I knocked up my 300th post! It really doesn't suprise me, I do talk a bit.... so a giveaway is in order!

I'm offering up the pattern of your choice from Bella's Patchwork. So whether your a Thimble Blossoms girl, a Schnibbles fan, or into Cluck Cluck Sew, there is sure to be a pattern to suit you.

Pop on in here, take a look, then come back and tell me which pattern you'd like to win and why. Entries will close 5pm Australian Daylight Savings time on Sunday, and I'll pick a winner soon after.

Strawberry Twist

The last of the binding has been stitched down, and the sun is out, perfect for her photo shoot.

She is now "Strawberry Twist".

A gorgeous red, strawberry-covered backing. And I love how the red binding really zings!

Pattern: Sugar Twist by The Pattern Basket

Fabric: Strawberry Fields by Fig Tree Quilts for Moda

Farmer's Wife Sampler

Have you heard about the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt-a-Long? It's been buzzing all over the net for months and I finally decided to bit the bullet and buy the book. If you do some googleing, you'll find where it all started, and plenty of examples of gorgeous blocks.

After seeing Camille's blocks, I had to do mine in Ruby...plus I needed a little break from Swoon.


Block 1: Attic Windows


Block 2: Autumn Tints



Block 4: Basket Weave

Block 34: Flock. I skipped ahead to this one as I liked the look of it.

Swoon Blocks 6 & 7

Block 6, a yellow and green combo (and that spot on the yellow near the top is just some water from the iron)




Block 7; purple and blue combo. That purple is my favourite fabric from the collection.

Swoon Block 5

Another day, another block. I really do love the purple & orange combo.




Seam-Pressing
Like a lot of patterns, Swoon doesn't have any instructions on how to press the seams. If you're an experienced quilter it's not too bad, but if your a bit of a newbie, it can be a bit daunting. These are my tips.

HSTs: For the blocks that are half colour/half white, press towards the coloured triangle. For the block that is colour 1/colour 2, press towards colour 2 (the colour of your centre star). That way your seams will go together nicely when you make the corner blocks (shown below).

This gives you an idea of how I pressed the seams, starting with the HSTs as described above. I tended to press the seams in the direction they wanted to fall which helps minimise bulk.

The other component is the unit made of of the flying geese and solid rectangle. No matter which way you press the seams, they don't fit with the corner units. So I found it easier to press them open. There is still enough bulk in the seam to allow the seams to butt up against each other fairly well, without being too bulky.

Swoon Blocks 3 & 4

Block 3; not such a striking contrast but I love it anyway.




Block 4...its so sunny!

Swoon Block 2

Another block, and I LOVE this one. I'm not usually a fan of orange but it's quite striking against the deep purple.

Do you think Bella could be any more of a sticky beak?

Swoon Block 1

Boy is this block bigger than I expected! Lots of seams, and no pressing directions, but it seems to go together pretty well.

And it looks like this is my 300th post! I see a giveaway in the future...

Colour

The bit I find hardest about quilting is choosing colour combinations, even within a line of fabric. Sometimes I think two fabrics will go together, I stitch them up, and it just doesn't work. It's hard to visualise how the fabrics will look in a particular block before you've seen it.

I'm trying to pick 18 Central Park fat quarters for Swoon, and I'm finding that I'm really drawn to the purples and blues, but not so much a fan of the greens.

This is the first combination I had, but thought it might be too much yellow.


I subbed out one of the yellows for a brown.



Thoughts? Is there too much or two little of any of the colours? Do the combinations work?


Update: my latest combination...I think this works a lot better.