My Secret Quilting Life

I am not very public about my quilting life outside of Instagram and this blog. The fact is, I am a very busy mom, wife, piano teacher and student, and church musician. That is what I live for, and those are my first loves, my identity. I don't want that to change.

However, I am passionate about sewing and make time to do it almost every day. It calms me after busy days, inspires my creativity, and gives me something industrious to do that actually stays done and is pretty to look at. I try not to be inordinate about it, but it is just so much fun. I can't imagine life without it.

Several years ago I started seeing these Farmer's Wife blocks popping up on Pinterest and some of my favorite blogs. Kristyne and Camille, to name a couple, just made me drool with the blocks they made. I tried a couple for myself, but I didn't feel like I was good enough to demolish a whole stack of fabric to make the whole quilt.

Fast forward a couple years, and out came Farmer's Wife 1930's. I had been collecting my favorite fabrics for a while, too afraid to cut into them, undecided about how to use them. Then I heard about Angie's and Kerry's quilt-alongs through this book. What a great way to bust my stash, learn new techniques, and make those blocks I had been admiring.

It has been almost a year since I started this lovely little journey, and yesterday...

I was able to photograph all 99 blocks, finished!

I am tickled about this. I did what I didn't think I could do. I put fear and inability behind me and just decided to just go for it. And I have to say, foundation paper piecing saves the day with all the tiny pieces in these blocks.

I have to thank my favorite podcasters for all their inspiration. Stephanie at Modern Sewciety, I have become a complete sewing podcast junkie thanks to you! You are a true inspiration. And there are others:

Now onward and upward. I am going to put these blocks away for awhile and think about how to put them together. I have some other projects I would like to do in the meantime.

A few recent makes:

I participated in a mini-quilt swap a while back. Rather a disappointment because it hasn't turned into a true "swap" to this point, but I hope the recipient is enjoying this. Skulls are not my thing, but my partner said she likes them. So I found this pattern on Craftsy, and it turned out pretty cute. The grid quilting was fun and easy with the guide on my walking foot. I didn't need to draw any guidelines. I love scrappy binding and decided to use it on this mini. It's always a little bittersweet to send that swap package off after you've worked so hard on it.

This block...wow. I didn't know what I was in for. About 60 tiny pieces, an inset square, and y-seams galore. I foundation paper-pieced it, though, which saved the day. Otherwise, no way. I am so close to the end of this 99-block challenge. It really is a dream come true. I have drooled over other peoples' Farmer's Wife blocks for years thinking it was probably too hard for me. But I put away my fears and tackled this. Nothing is impossible if you really want to achieve it!

Primrose was not quite as difficult. I changed up the colors a little with random scrappy triangles. I love the way it turned out. Again, FPP'd this one. Too many tiny pieces to do otherwise.

I am debating how to put all my Farmer's Wife blocks together. I am a little daunted by the thought of quilting a huge bed quilt. I have never done that before. There's no rush, so I will continue to mull it over. I know one person who is slowly hand-quilting hers, and it is a slow, years-long project. She will get it out and work on it a little, then put it away again. I kind of like that idea, but maybe I would just get sick of it. I would really love to get better at handquilting.

I also did not deliberately lay out all my FW blocks as I went. I chose a stack of fabrics I liked, and I have just made different combinations as I have gone along. Some are more primary colors, like Primrose, and some are more low-volume. I hope they look OK when I lay them all out.

One thing I have observed from this quilt-along is how fear can paralyze you. It's sad when people let fear of color, or of a hard technique, or of others' opinions, stifle their creativity. This is not supposed to be a scary hobby. Pick something and go for it. It's only fabric. No fear allowed!

Farmers' Wives Speak

Here are the latest blocks I've completed for the Farmer's Wife 1930's sew along, and some thoughts from the letters in the book.

 Addie: This wife traded her electric washer for two cows when they moved to the country to build a homestead. I found myself really frustrated this past week over silly things compared to her circumstances. Who took all the rechargeable batteries, because my computer mouse is dead. My dishwasher is suddenly running inefficiently. My vacuum needed a new belt. Our power went out for 30 hours, and we were a little chilly. All those things add up in my mind, until I take a step back and put myself in her place! Thank you God for everything, especially the inconveniences that remind me that I need You.

 Aimee: "And go to bed with backward looks, At my dear land of Storybooks."  This school year I am trying to spend more time reading stories to my children. It is really the best time of the day. We are all together, all listening to the same thing, committing poems and Scripture to memory, learning to love what is true and beautiful. These will be the times we fondly remember years down the road.

 Margaret: Ahhh, this letter rings so true with me! Our house is often full of this same happy chaos, sometimes so much so that I can't be heard. The dinner table is the busiest, loudest, happiest place in our home. I am learning to love it because it won't be like this forever. They will grow wings and fly away soon. Not too soon, please. "Outside there was rain, wind, darkness, but indoors there was warmth, light, food, shelter, Home, and Love." Let this be said of my home.

Nancy:  "As a lasting investment there is nothing to compare with even a small library." This wife writes about what a treasure books are in the home, even if there are just a few. I heartily agree with her. I find warm delight in a child snuggled up in a chair immersed in a good book. Teaching a small child to read. Unhurriedly reading and re-reading favorite picture books to the toddlers. Our house is full of books. Too full? No. No house is too full of friends, and there will always be room for more.

This is my favorite letter of them all. She writes about "blind flying" in our lives, "flying by faith." Faith in what? In God's sovereignty and sufficiency, and in His unchangeable Word. Our ability to pray to Him as His children and know that He hears us. Our world is in confusion everywhere we look. But God does not change. What peace we have if He is our Father and we His faithful children.

Jenny

Here is my rendition of Block 45, Jenny. I constructed it using the "stitch and flip" method. I made two flying geese, one quarter square triangle, and four rectangle/square units. Pretty simple to put together, and again I was able to avoid cutting and stitching on the bias. If you are not familiar with "stitch and flip," Lori Holt's books are excellent. I have sewed through most of her books Quilty Fun and Farm Girl Vintage. I am using those same techniques to get me through Farmer's Wife. Whatever scraps I have left I try to save for mini-blocks, so I don't feel guilty wasting precious bits.

For my friends not familiar with The Farmer's Wife 1930's Sampler Quilt, it is a gem. The first half of the book consists of letters from farmers' wives of the 1930's, published in the periodical The Farmer's Wife in a column called "Letters From our Farm Women." Each letter in this book is paired with a quilt block, and the second half of the book provides diagrams and instructions for piecing each block. The CD included has all the templates as well as instructions for different methods of piecing.

I hope to be posting my blocks consistently as I sew along this year with Angie at GnomeAngel and all the other thousands of quilters participating. As it is the school year, I am busy homeschooling and caring for my family, so these blocks are perfect to give me a little sewing time each week without overdoing it.

A word or two about Jenny: this letter is about spending time with your kids. I used to count changing diapers and feeding them as quality time, but I was probably mistaken. As they have gotten older, I have learned how enjoyable it is to sit down and really give them my attention, whether it's working together cleaning the house or sitting down for our daily read-aloud time. It doesn't have to be playtime. Jenny reminds me that I should think of my children as my partners, my brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. We work together for a common goal. A good reminder!

Granny

Here she is, as perfect as she will be. This is block 41 in The Farmer's Wife 1930's Sampler Quilt. I love the challenge of figuring out how to make each block. Sometimes I will just sit and study the diagrams to try to figure out the best way to cut (avoiding bias at all costs!). If nothing else, these blocks are sharpening my quilt math, which seems quite dull sometimes. I used the "flip and stitch" method on this block and preserved the scraps to make mini blocks, because we have to keep in the 30's spirit and not waste! They are so cute! Granny was pretty simple to put together, though matching those points was just too much to ask at the late hour I was sewing this. So Granny will remain, maybe a little blemished on the outside, but full of spirit and seasoned character.