farm girl friday - baking and canning

I've been doing some "cooking" this week with the Farm Girl Vintage sew along. I "canned" the seasonal fruits and vegetables. There's strawberry and raspberry preserves, green pickles, yellow summer squash, and... blue stuff. Uh, blueberries? Blue cheese dressing? 

And a chicken foot block. Me and the chicken did not get along. This block gave me trouble, and I did the rubber chicken dance when it was finished!

I forgot to show you last week's blocks! The baking day block was fast and easy. I even have a matching mixing bowl from Cath Kidston!

And the butter churn block just might be my favorite block so far. It's that electric jolt of blue that wakes it up.

If it wasn't for the weekly quilt along, I'd probably just sew every block in the book as quickly as possible - they're that much fun.

For more details on the sew along (and some block inspiration!), check out Lori Holt's blog today here.

And Happy Memorial Day weekend to my friends in the USA!

fig tree mystery sampler - two more months done!

Hi everybody! Ok, this past week saw a return to some serious sewing! 

I've been completely obsessed with getting caught up on the Fig Tree vintage mystery BOM quilt. I've also been making the blocks in the right order, even though I wanted to jump around. While working on these two Cross & Crown blocks, I thought it might be fun to have the tape measure print pieces lined up. (I'm taking liberty with my use of the word "fun" here. Maybe I should have said that it was like a self-imposed dare.)  I cut each piece as I sewed rather than all at one time, so the 6" block took a few hours. It wasn't as difficult as I expected, and I loved the result. So why not do it again with two Noon & Light blocks?

And here's the second of four pineapple blocks that will go into this quilt. I know that this block looks tricky, but the Pineapple & Figs pattern is so easy. It's made of ivory solid strips, with print squares sewn diagonally onto the corners flipped open. You don't need any special rulers or templates. If you've ever wanted to do a pineapple quilt I would highly recommend this pattern.

Now on to the pastels, with a 6" Lady of the Lake block. Oh how I love this aqua solid paired with a sweet pea print from Fig Tree's Mirabelle collection. I pressed the seams open on the 1 1/2" HSTS to keep them flat, but I pressed the seam on the large HST to one side.

And a springy rosebud block, too.

Finally, a spool quartet block with a text background.

Now I have just one more month to piece and I'll be caught up! But there are a few appliqued blocks this month, so I need to put on some calm music while I work on them, because turned applique edges are not my strength. (I've gone kookoo over Sam Smith's entire album right now. I think I've played it a billion times. Possibly more. You know, the "Stay With Me" guy?)

I was super excited to see that Joanna just showed a preview of her upcoming Fig Tree collection for fall. It's called Farmhouse and it includes black prints, text and cherries! You can see the fabric and the upcoming patterns on her blog here. I already know that I'll need a bolt of the cherry print to use for backings, maybe even on this mystery quilt!

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I'll be back this Wednesday with April's Snapshots sew along block... a cute puppy. I'll have the link to the pattern and the tutorial video, so be sure to stop by!

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!)