farm girl friday - raising chickens

/

It's time for Farm Girl Friday! Or for me, Farm Boy Friday. Farm Girl Vintage is the latest book by Lori Holt, and whole bunch of us chickens are sewing along with Lori. This week, I had a big challenge raising my baby chick block. I have a fear of embroidery! Oddly, when I was a kid I remember embroidering mushrooms on burlap. (It was the mid 1970's, so that makes it ok, right?) And when I started to quilt in 1999, I made Christmas stockings of flannel, embroidered with feather stitches, flowers and cross hatching. But then I was traumatized by a redwork project, and I couldn't get my stem stitch to look stem-ish. And, seriously, how does anybody really thread three plies of floss through a tiny needle?!

I knew that I needed to make the baby chick block because my grandfather built a chicken coop in the backyard of his city house. He raised Rhode Island Reds and Leghorns. Of course, my mother vividly remembers her favorite pet rooster, Whitey, who pecked her and then became confined to the barnyard. Now I know why I was afraid of the chickens and I stayed far away! I watched this short video about how to do a backstitch, did a practice piece and then finally stitched the chicken legs. I think he's pretty cute!

The Autumn Star block was fun to make (whew, no embroidery!) and I really love the contrast between the brighter Aloha Girl prints mixed with the more subdued Ambleside.  

The first three blocks make me so happy. This is exactly the look I wanted. Now maybe I'll cheat a little and get started on the blocks for next Friday!

Want to learn more about the sew along? You can join us! More details are on Lori Holt's blog and the Jolly Jabber blog, and be sure to use the hashtags #farmgirlfridays, #babychickblock and #autumnstarblock on social media so that everybody can see your blocks.

 

farm girl vintage sew along!

/

So have you all heard about Lori Holt's newest book and sew along, Farm Girl Vintage? It's just getting started today! Ok, so here's the scoop. Lori's new book has 45 block patterns that you can mix and match to create your own custom quilt, or you can make the sampler shown on the book cover. You can choose to make 6" or 12" blocks. And you know how I love a sampler quilt! I find them fun to sew because there's always a new block to work on, and you only need to make one of each. Sometimes with traditional quilts I get bored sewing the same block over and over and over and over...

Lots of quilters are already sewing up these cute blocks. For the sew along, we'll make 1 or 2 blocks each week, and we'll post them on social media using the hashtag #farmgirlfridays (and in my case, I've added #farmboyfridays!) I'm making the sampler quilt with 6" blocks.

But what fabric to use? I've been thinking about this for WEEKS. I had many different ideas - scrappy brights, 30's reproductions, Fig Tree, etc. I was making myself crazy. But Brenda Riddle's new Ambleside and Fig Tree's new Aloha Girl collections have been sitting right in front of me this whole time, and they mix together beautifully! (Thanks, Susan, for pointing out what should have been obvious to me!)


And here's this Friday's featured block - #apronstringsblock.

Each Friday, two bloggers will share a special block with us, and gradually, we'll work our way through all 45 blocks. For even more details on the sew along and a list of the participating bloggers, bookmark the Jolly Jabber blog here (you might even find me on the list for June!), and Lori Holt's blog here. Maybe you think that you'd like to make a block but aren't up to doing the whole quilt? Well, turn your block into a cute potholder using this nifty video tutorial. I hope you join us. It will be fun!

fig tree mystery quilt - month 2

/

Hi everybody! I'm just back from a week of travel and now I can get BACK TO SEWING. More about the trip in a few minutes.

As soon as I got back I cut up fabric for month 2 of the Fig Tree mystery sampler quilt. The two weathervane blocks in the third photo went together really quickly. The single plum colored pineapple block was fun to make - Joanna Figueroa's pattern for this block uses the stitch and flip corner construction so you don't need to cut any weird shapes or use any awkward rulers. I made a quilt with this pattern a few years ago and it was simple to put together.  

The three nosegay blocks at the top are my favorites. I've been wanting to make these blocks for years but I was scared of the pattern. Joanna originally called it Coney Island. I love that name because I visit the Coney Island amusement park in Brooklyn every summer. I don't do the rides, but I like to walk on the boardwalk and visit the aquarium. It's a little seedy and very old timey New York. Let's go on a little visit to Coney Island now, ok?

That was a fun diversion, right? But back to the quilting. The nosegay/Coney Island blocks actually aren't that difficult to construct as long as you pay attention. I had to do a few steps over with new fabric because my seam ripper really messed up some of the bias-cut pieces. But I absolutely love the finished blocks. I'd really like to do a whole quilt full of them.

Last week I traveled to Houston on business. I was a guest speaker at a military convention. I taught ten classrooms of managers about my company's current fragrance and cosmetic promotions. This involved a day of classroom setup, then 10 solid hours of talking, talking, talking, and finally the classroom teardown. Chocolate and tea helped. Exhausting but rewarding. As a treat, I flew to Santa Fe for a few days to recover. Of course it rained the entire time I was there, but that didn't stop me from eating amazing food like the pumpkin waffles with vanilla cinnamon cream at Inn at Loretto. I got to listen to my favorite cabaret performer, Doug Montgomery. And I visited some of my favorite museums, where I found a painting by American Indian artist Fritz Scholder done in Fig Tree colors.  It really doesn't get much better than that.

I've even started a new quilt using the blogger bundle that I put together for Fat Quarter Shop! It's cute and happy, and I'll tell you all about it next time!

snapshots block 3 - put the kettle on

/

Welcome to the third installment of the Snapshots quilt along with Fat Quarter Shop! This month's block is a kettle. That's perfect for me because I'm a big fan of imported teas here at Grey Dogwood Studio, and my vintage kettle is in constant use.

In case you haven't heard about the sew along, the Snapshots blocks help us to capture life's photo-worthy moments in a quilt. You're invited to sew along with us! We'll sew a new block each month this year, and we'll have a finished quilt top in December! The monthly block pattern is free, but a donation of just $5 is requested for St Jude's Children's Research Hospital. I'm using the Snapshots kit and customizing it to make it a little more unique. For my kettle, I've used the kit's Daysail fabric, and I added a navy solid from Bonnie & Camille's Miss Kate collection for the center star.

And who doesn't like to have some cake with their tea?! Doesn't the kettle look cute next to January's cake pattern?

Ok, so here are all the links that you need. You can get the whole scoop on the sew along from the Jolly Jabber blog here. The free pattern download for the kettle is here, and you can make a donation to St. Jude's here. Use your favorite fabrics from your stash, or purchase the kit from Fat Quarter Shop here. Finally, there's a new video tutorial to help you with your block construction here.

Be sure to check out the Snapshots blocks from these fun quilters!

snapshots february block - sewing machine!

/

Are you ready for block 2 of the Snapshots Quilt Along? We're making a sewing machine!

Now why don't we have cute sewing machines like this? I'd love to have a gingham print sewing machine. Or maybe rose print... or polka dots!

Well, you can make your very own sewing machine block, and it can be gingham or roses or dots! Sew along with us!

This block is super easy to sew, with mainly squares and rectangles, and a few stitch-and-flip corners. And there's even a space to put a few strategic, fussy cut motifs like these "dials."

I love how it looks alongside January's layer cake block.

Snapshots is a sew along to benefit St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. The sewing machine pattern is available as a free download, but a $5 donation per pattern is requested. So far, $11,772 has been donated by generous quilters. We have already exceeded the donation goal! The pattern download is available on the Jolly Jabber blog here, and you can make a donation to St. Jude's here. Snapshots would be cute in lots of different fabrics from your own stash, or you can purchase a kit with Daysail fabric by Bonnie and Camille here. I'm using the kit, and I'll enhance it with some other Bonnie & Camille fabrics from my stash in future months. I'll also use the backing kit with a pieced camera block. I've heard that backing kits often sell out quickly. Watch a fun video tutorial with Bonnie and Camille and Kimberly Jolly from the Fat Quarter Shop here. And if you share your block on social media, be sure to use the hashtag #fqssnapshots so that other quilters can see your block.

And there several other bloggers participating in the sew along. Check them out to see all their cute sewing machine blocks.

Thanks for stopping by today. Be sure to visit me tomorrow because I have another top secret project that you won't want to miss!

modern building blocks month 6

/

I'm getting near the end of this quilt! It feels good to have finished this month's collection of blocks. Last night I celebrated this with a midnight snack. Leftover Christmas fruitcake, anyone? (I am so not kidding. There's another fruitcake in the fridge that I'll eat in July while sewing Christmas quilts!)

Each month there's one block that proves to be a challenge. This month the culprit was this 18" block. I wasn't happy with my block - it was 1/2" too big, and then I realized that I used the wrong fabric! - so I remade it. Now I love it. The rest of the blocks were a piece of (fruit) cake.

I completely love the Somerset houndstooth and teal star, and I don't even like teal! See how the houndstooth pieces all face in the same direction? That took some careful planning and fabric waste. I had a tiny bit of the houndstooth left that I wanted to use in another block. After much procrastinating, I altered Joanna Figueroa's color suggestion for the next block.

There are just 8 more blocks to go! Yay! I still need to make a 36" star (eek!) and some smaller, simple blocks, and then the big assembly can begin. Now I'll just sit here quietly and wait for the fabric to arrive. Kidding! I've got more stuff to sew!

If you visit my blog often, you know that I'm a devotee of all the fashion exhibits that we have in NYC. Yves Saint Laurent + Halston Fashioning the 70's opened at the Museum at Fashion Institute of Technology this past weekend. Eighty ensembles and accessories are displayed in a gleaming white space filled with disco music. The show compares and contrasts their highly influential work - Halston's clean, deceptively simple American sophistication and Saint Laurent's opulent, fantasy dresses, each leaving a permanent mark on 70's fashion and continuing to echo in today's fashion. It's a perfect show.

moda modern building blocks update

/

How did I let nearly two months go by without working on the Moda Modern Building Blocks, Fig Tree Style? It's time to get caught up!

It's fun to receive the block-of-the-month fabric packets from Fig Tree. My challenge is that if I don't start sewing them immediately, then I move onto something else. (Kinda like magazine subscriptions, right? I'm reading January issues quickly, before the February issues arrive.)

I love watching the contrasts develop each month. I'd probably never put these colors together by myself, so in this case, it's nice that somebody else has made the fabric selection for me. These fabrics are Fig Tree's Somerset, Mirabelle and Moda Bella Solids. But I'm getting itchy and might start to shuffle some of the block colors, because, you know, I'm a quilty rebel. Haha.

Look at those two super-easy blocks! A big 'ol 6" half square triangle block in grey toile and coral dots. It almost seems like it's a cheater block because it only took 5 minutes. It should be a component of a block instead of a real block! It was a treat to sew after some of the more difficult blocks, and it gave me a chance to showcase the entire white flower.

The orange and green star block nearly killed me. I spent an entire night on that little 6" block! It was all about sew, unsew, repeat, and yet I love the finished star. I won't think about how many of those magazines I could have read in that time!

I have 30 blocks done! Just 19 to go. And the January fabric pack has new colors, like teal and a frosty green houndstooth.

Today marks my 1 year blogging anniversary! Another anniversary is about to arrive soon, along with a few milestones. I think that this calls for a celebration. Stay tuned!

(And before I forget to tell you, I added photo links to my new Blogger's Bundle at Fat Quarter Shop and the Snapshots quilt along. They're near the top of the right column. Click them for more information. More about that Blogger's Bundle soon!)

snapshots quilt along starts now!

/

I'm so excited today! Why? It's the first month of the Snapshots Quilt Along! I'll give you the full scoop in just a minute. But first, I gotta show you this month's block! It's a LAYER CAKE! 

Just what we need right after the holidays, right? A big piece of yummy cake. Except that this cake has no calories. None whatsoever. And we can all feel good about having our cake because the Snapshots Quilt Along is a fundraiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

On the 15th of each month for twelve months, Fat Quarter Shop will post a block pattern that you can download. The link to this month's pattern is here. The blocks represent snapshot-worthy moments in our lives, such as sewing (of course!), food, entertainment and pets. (My cats can't wait for me to hurry up and get to the kitty block!) The patterns are free, but a donation of $5.00 per pattern is suggested. St. Jude will benefit from the funds raised, and Moda Fabrics and Fat Quarter Shop will match donations, with a goal of $10,000. As I write this, donations are already at $2040, and today is just the first day!

I'll be sewing with the Snapshots kit. It features Bonnie & Camille's hot new Daysail fabric collection for Moda Fabrics. I'll also add in some of Bonnie & Camille's Miss Kate just to be a little different from the kit. The kit is available for preorder here, and it even includes a spool of Aurifil thread and some buttons for the cat and dog eyes. There's also a backing kit which has a camera block. But you can definitely get creative and use your stash or your own customized fabric collection. All you need to do is download the pattern each month and you're ready to sew! I'd love to see this done in Me & My Sister's new Bandana fabric, a grouping of Fig Tree fabrics, or Bunny Hill's new Mistletoe Lane.

Bonnie & Camille have even filmed a tutorial on how to assemble the cake block along with Kimberly Jolly from Fat Quarter Shop. You'll see that the block only looks complicated. It's easy to do when broken down into simple steps. And there's no applique and no templates!

Each month, I'll be sewing along with a group of amazing designers and bloggers. I'm honored to be included with this talented group of ladies. Be sure to hop over to be inspired by their cake blocks, too.

Even more details can be found here, along with a preview of all the upcoming blocks! I do hope that you'll join us. It will be fun for a good cause!