Farmer's Wife Friday 22

Happy July 4th to all of my fellow Americans. Five years ago my brother-in-law had just graduated from his masters program and started a new job. He asked that my husband and I wait until July to get married. We looked at the calendar and saw that July 4th fell on a Saturday that year. Since most of our guests were travelling from out of town getting married on a holiday made perfect sense. I can't believe all of that happened five years ago. Even more amazing is that I've gotten to be the wife of this amazing man for the past five years.

On to this week's Farmer's Wife blocks. I try to avoid swearing, but sometimes it's just necessary. Since it feels weird using traditional swear words I tend to invent my own. In honor of Y seams the swear word of the week has been Yak. I went to a quilt show last weekend that had a few antique quilts. I was amazed how many of the quilts from the early 1900s used Y seams on blocks that we now make with extra pieces.

The first block is definitely a Yak block. I used the templates, measured my seams, and things still don't line up. I know I probably should fix mistakes as I go, but after four and a half hours working on these blocks I was happy enough to have something that resembled the picture. 

#37 Flowerpot

Since I haven't had a lot of success getting blocks to be the right size when I use the templates I decided to make this block with half square triangles. The 1" HSTs do make the black bars a little wonkier, but I think when it's in the quilt it won't show as much.

#43 Garden Path

I love how my last block this week came turned out.  The top corner does have a little extra fabric, but it's the right size and my points all look pretty good.

#47 Homemaker

56/111

61:55

Out of the Black Hole

I can't believe that last week I was complaining about the never ending sweater and this week I'm 3" away from the end. I think last week I'd fallen into one of the knitting black holes where you knit and knit without it growing. Then one day you add one more row and discover your sweater has grown by 6 inches. I'm hoping to finish the back over the long weekend, but I know I have several quilting projects that will take priority. 

I'm debating whether I want to work on the front panels or if should be good and finish dad's Father's Day socks (yes I know Father's Day in the US was June 15th, but he likes me and doesn't wear wool socks in the summer.) 

This weekend I did cast on for the second sock. I got to go see my sister play oboe and english horn for the Cherokee Community Theater's performance of Les Miserables. We had to arrive at least half an hour early to pick up our tickets and it's an hour drive over there so I had some quality sock knitting time. I'm still in awe of how great everything was. I reserved tickets the week they went on sale so we got to sit in the front row right by my sister. I've seen my her perform in band concerts several times, but it's been a while since I've heard her by herself. I still remember the days of learning where she sounded like a dying duck, but that was almost 15 years ago. I couldn't believe how amazing she is. I've heard my dad say that my talent is with quilts and hers is with music and it is so true. Sorry for all the gushing, but I'm so proud of my baby sister and the amazing woman she's become. 

Farmer's Wife Friday 22

I'm so glad I saved these blocks for today. I decided to look at what blocks were next and there are Y seams in the next two blocks! I'm so tempted to either skip them or just quit. Unfortunately I love this quilt and have committed to doing all 111 blocks. I guess I'll have to suck it up and do it, but I want the record to show that I am not happy.

At least with these three blocks I didn't have any issues. I really love how impressive the Star Gardener block looks. This is another of those blocks I'm thinking about playing with in a larger size. Maybe doing one of those single block baby quilts.

#87 Star Gardener

Another really easy one was Evening Star. I love how much a white star pops on a black background.

#31 Evening Star

The last block in my trio is Ducks and Ducklings. I'm not completely sure what this block has to do with the letter it's attached to, but it's such a cute name (and block) I really don't care.

#28 Ducks and Ducklings

I was really excited to see that Quilt Story is featuring a Farmer's Wife quilt this week. Not only is it the quilt I'm working on, but Amber made it monochromatic with shades of red.

53/111

57:25

Insert Fun Never-Ending Sweater Blog Title Here

I hate coming up with blog titles. It feels like there are so many people out there who just whip up these funny titles that suck you in. (Okay so they probably they spend several hours thinking about it while working on other projects, but I'm still not one of them.) Even without a great title my sweater is looking really good this week. As of last night I have three more inches to go before I start decreases for the arms and neck.

I love the lace detail running up the center of the back. It's so simple, but adds the perfect bit to this sweater. Not sure why my camera is acting up this morning, but this detail also gives a better idea of the true colors of my sweater. 

I'm using KnitPicks Stroll Tonal in Blue Yonder and Anne's Cardigan also from KnitPicks. For full details please check out my ravelry project page here.

Supernova Swap Month 1

My first block for the Supernova Swap has finally arrived! I love this block so much and it has been such a big challenge to keep it a secret. I've seen some really cool ideas for sneak peek photos of these blocks so I might share a glimpse of the next block on facebook or instagram. I've been hesitant to join instagram since my phone was 4 years old and took really bad pictures. I knew that if I tried taking pictures with my camera I would first have to get my camera, then when I loaded them onto my computer I would edit them, and then upolad them to the internet. By the time I finished all of that it was no long "insta"gram. My phone finally died last week and we upgraded to smart phones! Now that I have a phone with a good camera and internet access I've joined instagram. I've even put a link in my sidebar so it's easy to find me. Here's my practice "sneak peak" shot of my block.

Of course I had to try a different angle on my partner's block too.

I don't think this post would be complete without showing our blocks together. We've decided to do a checkerboard layout so all of my blocks will have a dark grey background and hers will all have the light grey background. 

In addition to swapping our blocks we were encouraged to write a list of 25 Things You Don't Know About Me. This should be a really easy list to send to a complete strange since they don't know anything about you, but I've heard from lots of people that the 25 Things list was harder to make than the blocks. My partner's shows how very different we are. She's a long arm quilter (I'm just starting to do some free motion quilting on my machine.) She's been quilting since 1992 (I'm somewhat ashamed to admit what I was doing in 1992. Let's just say I was learning skills necessary for quilting, but hadn't hit division yet.) She has a black lab named Bailey, 3 children, and 3 grand children (I have a stuffed penguin named Matilda that my husband gave me for my birthday a few years ago. I wish we had a puppy, but our lease doesn't allow it.) She loves the beach (I can feel a sunburn just thinking about the beach. Thankfully Iowa doesn't have a lot of beaches.) 

With all of those differences we still have a lot in common. She loves modern quilts (me too! I think that's why we got matched up as partners.) She's started designing quilt patterns (me too!) She's a night owl and gets some of her best work done in the wee hours of the morning. (Okay so I'm not a night owl, but I do wake up in the wee hours of the morning. Some of my best quilting gets done before my husband gets home from work at 7a.m.) She hates to cook, but loves to bake. (I don't do much baking since it's just my husband and me, but I'm the same way. Also like her I had the good sense to marry a man who can cook.) 

I love that quilting gives a common ground that allows people of all ages to connect. I've especially observed this in my quilt guild. I'm closer in age to the children of my fellow quilters than to them (I suspect some of them may have kids older than me,) but they've accepted me as a friend. I'm hoping that in the course of this swap I'll be able to add Cheryl to that list. I can't wait to see what we come up with for next month.

Farmer's Wife Friday 21

I'm actually on top of my Farmer's Wife blocks this week! I finished three this weekend, and then found out Tuesday that my workplace was surrounded by water. I work with adults who have mental and physical disabilities so I wasn't worried about my job, but I was very worried about how my people would be handling life in the shelter. Today one of them greeted me by saying she got to go to camp the past two days and I knew everything was okay. On Tuesday I was able to distract myself for a while by making three more blocks. I've decided I really want to work on quilting my Hedgepigs and Hares quilt so I'm saving the second set of blocks for next week.

#52 Hovering Hawks

I had a minor heart attack with the Darting Birds block. After finishing all of those tiny pieces (if anyone's interested there are 60 pieces in this 6" block) I was pressing my block like a good quilter. I was struggling to get it to lie flat so I gave it a shot of steam. My iron spit an ugly blot of rust on one of the white squares. I ran to the sink, but cold water didn't get it out. I asked the members of Late Night Quilters on facebook what I could do. I got tons of great suggestions and unwittingly started a discussion on steam vs. starch. Since I had vinegar on hand I tried rinsing my block with vinegar and then used a little dish soap and was able to get the spot out. 

#27 Darting Birds

The last block was a nice break. It's a little wonky looking, but after the fiasco with the last block I was a little afraid of doing a proper pressing job. I'll go back in my July 4th fixing spree and give it a proper pressing.

#85 Square Dance

50/111

54:40

Sealed With a Kiss: A finished top

This week has not been a good weather week for my area. Between the tornadoes that have been hitting the past two nights (it's expected that tonight's thunderstorm will have good conditions for more) and the rain that all of the thunderstorms have been dumping it's been a bit scary. Thankfully my home is safe, but I work in Rock Valley, IA which has been battling flood waters the past two days. Someone flew over the town with a helicopter and put the pictures on facebook. It's a bit surreal to see the street you drove down Monday filled with water and watch the flood waters creeping towards your workplace from two sides. They say the water is going down and we should be allowed back in tomorrow. My arthritis prevents me from assisting with sandbagging and clean-up efforts, so I've had two days for sewing. Yesterday I finished 3 more Farmer's Wife blocks (they were so great at getting my mind off the water) and today I finished my Sealed With a Kiss quilt top. 

A few weeks ago I went to order the grey background fabric I needed for my Supernova blocks (still no sign of my partner's blocks so I'm not sharing those yet.) Missouri Star Quilt Co. had a sale of 30 precuts for 30 dollars. I really wanted to make Jenny Doan's You've Got Mail quilt and when I saw the Briar Rose layer cake I knew I'd found my fabric. My quilt guild makes comfort quilts for the local women's shelter and for our DA to give to victims of violent crimes. I haven't heard anything yet, but this quilt might also be headed to someone affected by this week's weather. 

When I started this project I decided to make a twin sized quilt for a little girl at the shelter so I knew I didn't want a white background. I thought about grey, but I know the building they're in isn't the most cheerful. Our women's shelter is a 2 year program that helps women and their children get back on their feet so I wanted a quilt that would be a vibrant sign that life was going to get better. When I saw this pink solid at my LQS I decided to embrace the girliness of this quilt. 

Last Friday my guild had a work day and I got most of the top assembled. I was thinking about making borders with something green or maybe a grey polka dot to tone down the pink a little. Instead I found a darker pink with green and light pink polka dots. I'm really not sure how I ended up with a quilt that is so PINK!!! Even as a little girl I don't remember liking pink this much (I think a lot of that is that my sister loved pink and I wanted to be different so I liked purple. Now my favorite colors are blue and green as will be shown when I finally get to share my Supernova blocks.) I keep telling myself that there will be a little girl who loves this quilt, but I haven't convinced myself of this yet. 

I used half the layer cake with plans of making a coordinating quilt with similar fabrics but a different pattern for a sister or mom. I'm trying to decide if I want to keep the pink background for the second quilt (I have about a yard left) or if I should do something less pink.

*This picture shows the importance of being patient when photographing quilts. I spent about 15-20 minutes with my finger on the shutter button and took 35 pictures before I got this shot. I like the "action" shots of the quilt, but it took a lot of waiting for the wind to die down long enough to get this picture.