farm girl vintage - vegetables and fruits

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Hi everybody! I hope that you had a great weekend! I've been enjoying the (very slightly) cooler temperatures here in Southern Indiana and the (barely) less humid air. I know that fall is supposed to be coming! I see plenty of leaves falling from the trees. But what's strange is that they aren't turning all those pretty colors that I expected to see. They go right from green on the tree to brown and crunchy on the ground. Where's the yellow? Where's the orange and red? I go for a long walk several times each week - I'm able to walk to Target and the grocery store, and there's ALWAYS a stop at DQ for a burger or ice cream, or usually both. Anyway, I love to step on as many leaves as I can while I'm walking. And when I step on a mushy leaf, well, that's just a wasted opportunity!

I had plenty of time to sew this past weekend. I've finished some of those blocks-of-the-months and sew-alongs (but I do have a Maggie quilt finish to show you in early November!) and I just wanted something "quick" to sew RIGHT NOW. I thought it was the perfect time to return to those Farm Girl Vintage blocks by Lori Holt. It's been months since I've worked on them, and I really want to get that sampler quilt done! First up, Garden Carrots and Shelling Peas blocks.

These blocks make me laugh. I use carrots in cooking all the time. But peas, not so much. I absolutely hated peas when I was a kid (why, oh why, did my parents insist that I eat them?!) and I still avoid them. But oddly, I love sugar snap peas and I can eat them freshly washed or tossed into pasta with basil pesto. And lately, I've started to add baby frozen peas into risotto, soup and creamy pastas.

Betcha didn't know you'd be getting a cooking lesson here today, right?!

Next, Summer Peach and Cold Watermelon blocks.

I'm using a mix of mostly Fig Tree along with Brenda Riddle fabrics for my blocks. I think that they complement each other really nicely. There are two really tiny mistakes with the peach block that I've decided I can live with, but you wouldn't even know it unless you compared the block to the pattern. It's a deliciously imperfect peach, just like the peaches that resulted in this summer's yummy cobbler (recipe here) and a disastrously icy ice cream (recipe in trash).

And next, Scrappy Strawberry and Pie Blueberries blocks.

I tried to do an ombre effect with the strawberry, shading the reds into a pink center. I love anything ombre, including the sound of the word :-) And I ate plenty of unripened strawberries this summer - the kind that look great until you bite into them and taste nothing. (I'm using frozen strawberries cooked with a bit of sugar and crème de cassis on tonight's cheesecake.)

Next... a Patchwork Pumpkin block!

This block sure gave me a chance to use scrappy orange prints! Many of these prints are several years old and had never been used. I unfolded those fat quarters and was really surprised to see that most of them were still intact. Now they're just fat quarters with a tiny 1 1/2" bite taken out of them! I added a small 2" heart to the center of the pumpkin just like Lori showed on her blog awhile ago.

So the fruits and vegetables section is now done. The pumpkin, strawberry and blueberries patterns are in the Farm Girl Vintage book. The other patterns are all add-on blocks and are sold separately. I bought just a few patterns at a time but now I have the whole collection. You can find links to the book as well as the individual patterns in the right hand column of Lori's blog here.

I have just 8 more blocks to make! I think I'll sew up some animals next: cats, cow, turkey, maybe a pig, maybe a sheep.

Finally, I'd like to chat briefly about comments on my blog. I love comments. And I love my readers :-)  I often reply to you by responding to your comments right here on my blog. I hope that you are receiving an email from me with my reply. Unfortunately, my blog host (Squarespace) does not provide your email addresses to me. I've complained about this to them several times... after all, isn't part of having a blog the ability to open up a conversation with my readers? I've been tempted to move to Blogspot, but I now have almost three years of blogging history right here. (I do have the addresses of several of my long-time readers, and I'll reply to them directly by email.) I love my blog because I get to say so much more here than on Instagram... although I do love Instagram too, where I am @greydogwoodstudio. So just please know that I appreciate ALL your comments, and I really hope that you receive my replies.  

more popsicles, and new things in my studio this week

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Hello everybody! I hope that you all had a great weekend. We did some unexpected gardening... or should I call it un-gardening? Our flowerboxes and potted plants were looking, how should I say it, exhausted. Or dehydrated, maybe. The plants have been extremely prolific but I think that they were just plain tired (and potbound). The bugs all knew it too, and lately they've been on the attack. So we did some extensive digging and cleaning and bagging and sweeping, and now we're down to one potted geranium. I like to think of it as just clearing the way for chrysanthemums and pumpkins.

Anyway... I managed to get some actual sewing done, too! I've been adding to my collection of popsicle blocks. The tilted blocks are done and now I just need to finish the simple, straight up-and-down blocks, and then I can sash them together. What's interesting is that when I started the blocks I used very subtle cream print backgrounds, but now I find that I really like the busier prints like the grey dotted backgrounds.  The pattern is by Fig Tree and Co and it's in the new pattern book Sherbets & Creams. You can check out the book and see the other patterns on Fig Tree's website here. I'm working with Moda Bella solids in a special Fig Tree bundle, mixed with cream backgrounds from my stash - Fig Tree, Minick & Simpson, Bunny Hill, Sweetwater, 3 Sisters.

And some new items found their way into my sewing studio this week! First, some really cute tins by Lori Holt for Bee In My Bonnet.

Are they the most adorable tins you've ever seen? The red tin also contains some notecards that correspond with the tin lids. They're sold as a set of 6 or individually here.

And then... more tins! These are the perfect size for holding a rotary cutter, scissors and thread, or let's be real here... they're perfect for holding sewing SNACKS (chocolate for me in one tin and Temptations treats for Miss Chloe Cat in another tin). Plus the new Jolly Bar Book by Fat Quarter Shop. It's been on my nightstand all week. Never mind that reading quilt books keeps me awake because then my mind goes to work, putting fabric combinations together when I should be asleep! (Same thing happens with cookbooks, only I start cooking in my sleep LOL!) The set of three tins is available here, and the Jolly Bar Book is here. 

And I bought a few new patterns and charm packs, too. I often buy charm packs just to see what the fabric looks like before I invest in yardage. This week I added Grand Traverse Bay by Minick & Simpson. I love a good blue and white quilt - so clean and crisp and classic.

And I also picked up a copy of Me and My Sister's Precut Primer book and a charm pack of their latest collection, Brighten Up! I've always liked their bright, happy prints and I'm trying to figure out how to make them work for me.

So that's what's new in the studio this week. Oh no, I forgot something! The Seedlings quilt is back from being quilted by Melissa, and it's gorgeous. Now I need to bind it. You can see it on my Instagram page here, and I'll show you more pics here on my blog after I've finished the stitching. Happy sewing, y'all!

holiday wishes blog hop

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Welcome to my stop on the Holiday Wishes book blog tour! It's time for Christmas in July with Fat Quarter Shop and author Sherri Falls. This book is full of great quilts (10 of them, including the sampler shown on the cover), plus a runner and a tree skirt.

I was curious to see if I could translate a Christmas quilt into a Halloween quilt, and I just happened to have a fat quarter bundle of Bunny Hill's latest fabric collection, Spooky Delight. I love those little goofy cats, mice and owls, as well as the dots and stripes.  After about a month of pondering (I am not kidding... I even had the book on my bedside table!) I finally decided on the Gingham Stars pattern.

Twelve "gingham" star centers coming right up! I used the smaller prints here, and I reserved the larger prints for the star points. The blocks measure a generous 18", so you could easily turn one block into a pillow, or keep going for a king sized quilt.

The top goes together very quickly once you've finished your blocks. Super simple sashing and no outer borders! (I backstitched all the seams that fall on the outer edges so that nothing will pop apart when it's on the longarm machine.)

The patterns in Holiday Wishes are very easy to understand, and the book has lots of construction diagrams. I always appreciate having arrows to indicate which direction to press my seams. (Hey, it's hot here, and my brain doesn't always function perfectly in the heat!) Of course, Sherri provides yardage requirements, but if you use a fat quarter bundle like I did, you'll definitely have a generous amount of fabric left over for another quilt (I'm planning to make a bunch of these cute scaredy cats with my scraps).

There are lots of other projects in this book that I'd still like to make (maybe even a Christmas quilt?!) so I'll keep it near my sewing machine. There's still plenty of time before Christmas, right? You can pick up a copy here. Special thanks to Fat Quarter Shop and Sherri Falls for asking me to play along!

crossroads quilt along - chain blocks

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It's Crossroads quilt along time again! This month I made the chain blocks that will link the blocks from previous months. It sure was nice to have simple, partially chain-pieced blocks to sew.

Sewing with red and pink fabric always puts me in a happy mood. For the block centers, my original plan was to go with just one color (either aqua or pink) but then I went scrappy like the pattern suggests.

Are you sewing along with the #crossroadsquiltalong? You can still join us! The pattern download is here, and it's free. A donation of $5 is requested to March of Dimes for the use of the pattern - we've raised over $10,000 so far! I'm using the quilt kit since I love the Fig Tree Strawberry Fields Revisited fabric so much. Watch the tutorial video here with Joanna Figueroa and Kimberly Jolly from Fat Quarter Shop. Joanna explains the inspiration for the chain block. And next month we get to start assembling the quilt top!

And I'd like to congratulate Lori Smanski! Lori is the winner of last week's giveaway, part of the Maggie's First Dance Quit Along. She'll soon receive a package of Thermoweb products valued at $60.

Now go download your pattern and start sewing!

happy birthday, farm girl vintage!

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Welcome to the birthday party! Look at the cute cake I baked for the birthday girl! Lori Holt's book Farm Girl Vintage is celebrating her first birthday. How much do we all love this book? Lori's patterns are always fun, and they come with very easy to understand directions. I want to make everything that she designs.

I'm still farming my blocks for the cover sampler quilt. I've completed over half of them, and I've added in a few of the bonus blocks that are available for purchase separately. Like the corn and tomatoes block. Oh how I love that corn block!

My blocks are 6" square. Now if only I could find nice juicy corn and tomatoes like this at a local farmstand. And the book also has a perfect flag block that you can make for the Fourth of July - it has a single friendship star.

Meet the mama hen block with her light blue wing. (Yes, she's missing her little embroidered eye. I'll add it later!)

I'm sewing with fabrics from Brenda Riddle and Fig Tree Quilts. I love how Brenda's pale Bespoke Blooms prints mix with my large Fig Tree collection.

I am having so much fun working on the blocks. They're like little gems, and every time I finish one I have to just step back and say "isn't this the cutest block." Luckily only the cats can hear me talking to myself! For the postage stamp below, I cut 36 different squares and hoped that it would be cute instead of a mess.

And while you might know me as the town mouse from NYC who packed up and became the country mouse in Indiana, would you believe that my mother grew up with a chicken coop in the backyard? I remember always seeing that coop behind my grandparent's house in Connecticut, and I was afraid of those clucking sounds. Here's 9 year old Bunny, my own original farm girl, with her baby brother and their pet rooster Whitey.

Just look at those chicken feet!

So I had to ask mom to tell me about Whitey. Well, he was the family pet until he pecked her. And then Whitey became Sunday dinner. Oops! But my grandparents always had fresh eggs from their chickens, and that was where I first saw brown eggs. And with those eggs, of course, my grandmother baked amazing cakes, which always had buttercream frosting, and often raspberry or lemony custard filling. That's what inspired the colors of my layer cake block. (I'm lucky to have several of her frosting recipes.)

Would you like to bake your own cake block? The pattern PDF is a free download at Fat Quarter Shop, and it comes in 6" and 12" sizes! No need to preheat your oven or sift the flour! Just visit the Jolly Jabber blog here for more information. The Farm Girl Vintage book can be purchased here, and the corn and tomatoes block pattern is here. And Lori always has something fun going on at her Bee In My Bonnet blog, too.

Finally, I'd like to invite you to see the cake blocks that many bloggers have "baked" for the birthday celebration. Feel free to visit their parties. And don't forget that you can see my daily sewing updates by following me on Instagram (I'm @greydogwoodstudio).

popsicles!

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Summer = an excess of frozen treats in my house. So a few weeks ago I started to work on this new pattern from Fig Tree Quilts called Popsicles. I like to think of it as a palette cleanser between the larger, ongoing quilt projects. Kinda like a lemon sorbet after the steak, know what I mean?!

I'm working with this luscious stack of Moda Bella Solids in sherbet colors, curated by Fig Tree. I ordered it here, along with a copy of the runner pattern. I think they'd be really cute in prints, too.

But... I don't have much use for a runner on our round farmhouse table. So I decided to keep making more popsicles for a larger quilt. (The runner needs just 11 blocks, but I've made 20 so far.) And now Joanna has designed a larger quilt just brimming with popsicles! I preordered my copy this morning, and I'll keep sewing blocks. The larger quilt pattern is available here. I might need to make that melon slice quilt on the cover, too!

I was thinking about my own personal history with popsicles. I remember going to the corner store with my parents in Florida, just to get an evening popsicle. But the wooden sticks give me tongue shivers! I loved Fudgsicles back then, and mom occasionally made popsicles with a Tupperware mold. Then came the Dove bar craze. My love of popsicles came to a crashing end in the late 1980's when I worked for a small company that couldn't afford to make the weekly payroll, so they'd pay us with... FrozeFruit. Seriously! I vividly remember the company owner cackling that "we can't pay you this week, but have a FrozeFruit." And to this day I refuse to eat FrozeFruit! But I still like those Haagen-Dazs dark chocolate ice cream bars! And I just bought a new ice cream maker last week.

DON'T FORGET TO ENTER THE AURIFIL THREAD GIVEAWAY! Leave a comment on my last blog post (not this one) for a chance to win! (ps - I'm using Aurifil thread, color 2000 on the popsicles)

farm girl vintage again!

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Happy Monday! I hope that you all had a great weekend! I finally had a chance to pull a favorite book off the shelf, dust it off, and start sewing. It's Farm Girl Vintage by Lori Holt.

So let me tell you about my experience with this book. I was so excited about it LAST MAY. I picked out my fabrics...

They're a blend of Ambleside by Brenda Riddle and Aloha Girl by Fig Tree. I happily sewed the first 19 blocks...

And then you can probably guess what happened. I found out that we'd be relocating to Indiana, and my focus became all about finding a place to live, buying some new furnishings and then the fun drive here from NYC with the cats in the car (anyone with a cat knows that I'm kidding about that!) I brought my sewing machine with us in the car because I was afraid that something bad might happen to it in the moving truck! But I didn't bring any fabric or projects to work on. So of course, by the time our stuff was delivered and my sewing space was set up, well, I had completely lost interest in the Farm Girl Vintage quilt.

But then something happened. I saw everybody posting their finished quilts on Instagram and I thought WAIT, I NEED TO FINISH MINE! So a few days ago, I pulled out all my blocks and started to sew. First, I made Grandma's Quilt block, and then the Kettle's On block.

I kept going and made the Haystack and Kitchen Window blocks. Would you believe that I spent two hours choosing these fabrics? The blocks took just minutes to sew.

The partial block lineup! I love how they look together so far.

half done!.jpg

But I could see that I was running into an obstacle. There are several blocks that almost need an orangey fabric. Yes, I could substitute... but you need orange prints to make a pumpkin! And I really, really wanted to make the Homemade Pie block. Of course, pie crust isn't grey or pink. So I asked my Instagram friends about if I should add orange prints. The comments came in quickly, and it was unanimous - everybody told me to not be afraid of orange. I'm now adding the more pale Fig Tree oranges - the butterscotches and softer pumpkins. (I'm adding a few prints from other Brenda Riddle and Fig Tree collections, too.) So here is Homemade Pie! And I needed the Pie Cherries block, too.

I actually finished the Homemade Pie block on Saturday at 1am (yes, 1am) and the fork tines looked bent. Ugh. That would never do. So after a few hours of sleep, I unsewed the block and fixed it. It quickly became my very favorite block.

l'm going to keep sewing blocks from the book, and I'll add in some of the extra bonus blocks like the hand mixer and the pig.  I even bought embroidery floss today for the electric cord on the mixer and the tail on the pig. I'm serious about finishing this quilt!

The Farm Girl Vintage book is available from many retailers, but I got mine here, and the pie block pattern here. There are also several other companion blocks, such as the mixer, a cow, a barn cat, a honey bee and more. You can find all of them here.

Thanks so much for stopping by today... see you soon... probably with more Farm Girl Vintage blocks!

little joys quilt along starts soon!

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It's time for the annual mid-year Christmas In July quilting fest! So throw a log on the fire (ok, maybe not!) because the Little Joys Quilt Along starts soon!

It's the perfect time to begin a small Christmas project. It's a small quilt (34" square) and the pattern is free! We'll have our quilts finished way before December!

Photo credit Fat Quarter Shop

Photo credit Fat Quarter Shop

Cute, right? We'll make 9 blocks using the adorable new fabric collection, Little Joys by Elea Lutz for Penny Rose Fabrics. I'll be using the kit from Fat Quarter Shop with fabrics as shown, but I might add some of the pink prints, too, for extra joy. The block patterns will be free and can be downloaded each week, so you can make the quilt with your own fabrics. (Wouldn't this be fun in 30's repros, or the new Holly's Tree Farm collection?)

Find all the details here, including a handy PDF with fabric requirements, plus links to the other bloggers who will be participating in this quilt along. The pattern for the first block will be posted on July 8 so you have plenty of time to gather your festive fabrics!