Friendship Block...

Brynwood Needleworks - Friendship Blocks

Remember when I shared Friendship blocks I'd received from my blog friends? I decided to add them to my Farmer's Wife quilt. Well, someone in my Brynwood Needleworks Facebook group (BTW-Have you joined the group yet?) suggested that they'd like to contribute a block to my quilt. 

I decided to invite anyone who would like to participate, to send a completed and signed Friendship block to be included in my quilt. Of course, I would make and mail a Friendship block in return to everyone who sends one to me.

The finished blocks are 6.5" square, and if you look at the photograph (above), you can see where these two blocks were signed using a permanent Pigma™pen. These blocks are assembled using paper piecing templates. If you've never done paper piecing, I'll be doing a video that I'll share on Facebook next week.

Brynwood Needleworks - Farmer's Wife Quilt Layout With Friendship Blocks

I'm sharing my blocks again to show you the colors and prints I've been using. You can tell from the Friendship blocks I've already received that my choices lend themselves to a number of options. See how lovely the Friendship blocks look with mine? So, there are really no restrictions for fabric choices, if you'd like to send one.

Please let me know if you'd like to exchange a Friendship block with me. Of course, be sure to include your return address, so I'll know where to send your block. 

In case you're wondering what you might do with a single block...You could make a mug mat, a pincushion, or add more fabric to turn it into a pillow. You might even frame it on its own for a little conversation piece. Do you have any other ideas? Please share in the comments so others can see.

I've uploaded the pattern and a photo to print out your own paper piecing template to make your block. Once you download the template, be sure to print it out full 100% size onto paper piecing paper (it's a little lighter weight, making it easier to pull off the back of the finished block).

Click THIS LINK to download the Friendship Block. 

Of course, please let me know if you have any questions. You can leave a question in the comment section. Come back and check in a day or so, and I'll answer right below your question. You can also feel free to send an email to me through the link in my sidebar (there -->).

 

By Jove, I Think I've Got It...

Thank you to everyone who left a comment on yesterday's post. 

I read (and think I replied to) every one of them and tried your suggestions.

No matter how I tried, that luscious fabric included with the kit just wasn't

going to work. Even skinnied down to 1", there was too much white to avoid.

I love the fabric, but not for this project. I'll save it to use with something else.

What to do? Go shopping in the studio, of course!

I liked the comments suggesting I skew this toward a holiday piece by going 

with the red/pink/green colorway or a plaid-patterned fabric, so I started 

thinking about what I had that might incorporate all those colors in one fabric. 

I remembered purchasing a fabric like that when Sandy's Quilt Shop was 

going out of business (bowing head). I climbed my step ladder until I could 

reach the right shelf on my "tower" cubby storage. Bingo! I found it! 

When I put with the blocks, it worked!

  While I was up there, I found a "pinky" red that would coordinate, too. When I laid everything out like this a light bulb went on...table runner! I'm thinking I'll use the much more subtle tone-on-tone floral as the main  fabric, turn the blocks on point and then use the patterned fabric for the  backing and binding. You like? It's ok. You can be honest.   I'm saving the assembly for a few days. I'm heading off to another retreat with my gal pal, Susan Slaton on Sunday. I'll be in Sebring, FL until  Wednesday...three full days of sewing, creating and sharing girl time. I'll pack this with my other projects and work on it while I'm there.   One more very important thing:

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Today is Patriots' Day. My prayer is that today, and in all the days ahead, our country is never again attacked as we were on that fateful day thirteen years ago. Today, I'll be pausing to reflect on the events of 9.11.01 and remember those who were lost. Stay safe and vigilant, my friends.

I'd Love Your Opinions...

I finished all four blocks from my mini quilt kit. It's a great design for honing 

paper piecing skills. I mean, repeat the same thing sixteen times and it's flat

impossible not to become proficient in any given technique. (Well, unless you

repeat the same thing one hundred times more...which I won't be doing here.)

Here's my dilemma, and I'd love your opinion on this. I'm not at all sold on the

 kit fabric chosen for the sashing, border and binding. While I like the fabric on

 its own, I'm concerned that it detracts more than it enhances this final design.

  My first photo shows the kit fabric behind the blocks to give you an idea of  what it might look like. This photo showss the blocks on a white background to help you consider other colors. So, what do you think? What would you do?   If I don't use the kit fabric, what would you suggest? Help me think outside  the box, please. I'll tell you that Handsome was the first one to question the  use of the fabric, and he's got a photographer's critical eye. I couldn't avoid  a second look once he told me he thought the fabric overpowered the blocks.   I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts. Thanks!

First Things First...

I can't play in the studio yet. I have other obligations that require my attention.

I'm laundering the bed linens from the Flying Cloud, and putting our second

guest room back in order (since the studio remodel). This part isn't much fun.

 

But that doesn't mean that I can't dream about those projects I want to get back

to stitching. I have prepared more little squares of Moda™ Plum Sweet fabric,

just waiting for me to sew them into that sweet hexie shape for future projects.

  I also have more paper piecing to do so that I can complete this mini quilt. The colors in this kit make me smile. I think they're such happy colors! It's also on my Top Five list of projects I want to finish - soon.

I went to Paneras last night to see the ladies. I really missed all their happy faces. Krisann, who is a certified massage therapist, texted me in the afternoon offering to give my hand some of her special brand of TLC. (Remember, I fell first week in Wisconsin? Yup. That hand.) Of course, I eagerly accepted her generous gift. (BTW-It's nice to know that nothing is broken. It's just taking its time healing.)
I took my "Ewe-nique Bag" along to show that I'd finished at least one project while traveling, and I could see that Krisann really admired it. She massaged my hand for about an hour (it feels soooo much better now), and before I left to head home, I gave it to her. She was surprised...and tickled. She asked, "How did you know I wanted it?" I smiled and hugged her and told her I could tell. I was so glad  to be able to give this gift, knowing ahead of time how much it was appreciated.
So, now you know another project on my list. I want to make at least one more  bag for myself - and perhaps a few others to tuck away as gifts. If I can just get  my chores finished!!! Then I can get back into the studio (where I belong).

Feeling Nostalgic...

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  I have an ongoing class that I teach in paper piecing at Crazy Quilters.   Some students are "regulars", who have already learned the technique, but they return twice a month to pick up new foundations from me. They have become  friends, and they stay to sew up a block or two while we visit with each other.   Others are new students who have come to learn how to do paper piecing. I teach them how to think in mirror-image and shepherd them through their first block to be sure they understand the technique. Then, I supervise as they tackle one on their own. I always enjoy seeing the "light go on", and knowing that they now have a new skill to add to their quilting/sewing/needlework repertoire.   Yesterday was such a day. My newest student was dropped off by her husband  with her sewing machine and a great deal of enthusiasm. She was ready to learn.   She set up her antique Singer 221, while I set up a cutting station for her and  we began our session. I explained how to place and sew the fabrics to the   paper foundation and then my student commenced to piece her block. When she was ready to sew her first seam, she took it to the flatbed of her 221 and I was immediately taken by the sweet "ticka ticka ticka ticka ticka" of her machine. We all actually talked about her little Singer's's quaint sounds.  I told her they brought to mind our life in farm country in Wisconsin. 

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 One of the local farmers had an old two-cylinder John Deere tractor. They were nicknamed "Poppin' Johnnies" because of their distinctive sound. I well remember warm fall days with all our doors and windows open, the sounds of  that old tractor lifting on the breezes that cooled our home. The slow, steady  "chocka...chocka...chocka...", rhymthically moving across the hillside behind   our woods. I'd always stop what I was doing, just to listen to that old tractor.   Hearing the sound my student's 221 yesterday brought those memories back  to life. In a day when many of us use computerized sewing machines, with all their useful bells and whistles, it was so nice to see that sturdy, old machine still serving a seamstress eager to learn. It created perfect, tiny stitches on her reproduction fabric - and for just a moment - it became a time machine, transporting all of us to years gone by. It was a lovely day indeed.

A Sew And Sew (More) Weekend...

One of the vendors at our 2014 DPQG quilt show was Grannie Suzannie. 

I purchased this pretty, little kit called "Magnolia Bud" and packed it for our

retreat. It was the last thing I worked on before we parted company yesterday to

travel back home. (That was after our Sunday Ice Cream Social with the gals!)

This is a paper pieced pattern and each block is comprised of four separate

bud elements. There are a total of four blocks like this one in the final quilt. 

It's a mini quilt, and will measure 17" x 17" after I assemble all the blocks, 

add the sashing and border. It will be such a pretty little quilt when it's done.

We all shopped at A Quilter's Stash in Sarasota, and three of us purchased this kit.

I was the first one to finish mine, and Joan B. said I inspired her to make hers up

before the end of Saturday, too. I know Number Three will be made up soon, too.

All the pieces were pre-cut and assembled around a central panel, so it went

together in almost no time at all. This is going to be a Christmas gift this year.

Here's a close-up of the central panel. It's so much fun, and although it's

 feminine, it's not too girly. A Quilter's Stash purchased all remaining stock

of these fabrics from the manufacturer, so if you want it, I don't think it

can be found anywhere but at this shop. ( I thought you'd want to know.)

Unfortunately, they don't have a website, but (HERE) is how you can

contact them if you want to find out about ordering your own quilt kit. 

My first finish of the weekend was this handbag. I made it with double

 layers of Soft & Stable and scrim, so this bag won't sag over time as

many of the quilted bags have a tendency to do - and it's still lightweight.

I chose three coordinated fabrics from the same line (shopping my stash)

and added a beautiful, ceramic button (also from my button collection).

The result is a high-quality, stylish handbag anyone would happily carry.

This bag is for sale and can be seen in my Etsy shop (here).

I'll complete the jean quilt after we return home this summer, and I'm 

happy to have a head start on my gift sewing this year. Golly, it'll be "that"

 time again before we know it! I'm making my list early for a change.

I had so much fun last weekend and feel I accomplished quite a bit.

It was wonderful to spend the weekend with 15 other beautiful, talented

quilters and I'm looking forward to doing it again next year. Thanks,

Arleen for all your hard work to put together our annual retreat. We all

had a grand time and appreciate your efforts to make it another success.

Back To The Farmer's Wife...

 Finally! 

All this time has passed and I am again turning my attention to

the Farmer's Wife. I know. I should be ashamed of myself, but I've

been so darn busy with the quilt show that I just had to put something

on the back burner. My last progress report was last September! (here)

 Well, today, I'm packed to go and teach four blocks at Crazy Quilters. If

you were a participant in the Farmer's Wife QAL, you'll be getting an email

from me over the weekend. I've also been preparing new paper piecing

blocks to add to our Box account. I'll let you know when those are up, too.

So, I'll be stopping for a latte' and then heading over to the shop first thing. I'll

have a whole day of teaching, sewing and getting back to my only serious 

UFO...The Farmer's Wife. I'll be teaching this class and adding new blocks

twice a month at the shop. Goodness. I'll be finished before you know it.

It's gonna be a great day!

Flo Continues To Teach...

 When I saw the girls at Coffee Club last Saturday, I was surprised to find

that each of us received a gift of one of Flo's unfinished works-in-progress.

Each kit was different, and we all got a kit using a technique that is new

to the receipient. Mine looks like paper pieced diamonds assembled in a star 

pattern. She always used to tell us that she liked to save her scraps.

 These stars are examples of all the fabrics she'd used in other projects. I've

 done English paper piecing before, so that's not the technique that's new to me.

 Flo loved hand sewing her quilts. That's right. This entire project so far, has 

been hand sewn by Flo and will be finished by me using the same techniques.

I've never hand sewn a quilt - or even a single block - before. Making 

consistent 1/4" seams with needle in hand will be my challenge. As I take

extra care to create each tiny stitch, I'll imagine Flo looking over my 

shoulder...and hope that I'm not disappointing her. She'll continue to teach 

me,  even as she is absent from our daily lives. I aim to make her proud.

I'm in no hurry. Doing this project right is definitely going to take me a while.

Chocolate And A Plan...

My favorite candy dish.

Sometimes projects have to go on the back burner, house chores will wait

for another day, and things that were important yesterday aren't quite as

 critical today. When you have a friend (or two) in need, you prioritize.

My BFF has one that matches it.

 Recent developments with a dear friend and his loving wife will be

limiting my studio time and Handsome's free time as we do our best to

support them in the coming days, weeks and months. It's who we are.

I'm going to be creating more Farmer's Wife foundations for those

who are working on them. I intend to have them all uploaded by the 

end of the summer...back to school - back to the Farmer's Wife.

I was also thinking I'd delay any large projects for a little while, but you 

 know me by now. I have a "creative imperative", so I'm going to start one of

my BOM or needlework quilts. One at a time, the blocks are small, portable

and manageable. When they're finished, I'll assemble them into a quilt.

It's good to have a plan.

"Have needlework (and chocolate), will travel!"

Paper Piecing...

 Don't you love shopping your stash? I sure do!

Last fall, I attended a local quilt show and found these sweet, little 2 1/2" Moda 

"mini charms". They're little versions of the 5 1/2" charm squares. I picked up 

four of them with no project in mind at all. The creamy Moda jelly roll 

behind them would be a great contrast so I pulled it to use in this

photograph. I also have another one that also cream-colored, but it has 

a variety of prints, which might work, too. I'll decide that later.

 You know from checking out my left sidebar that there is a long list

of blogs that I love to visit. One of them is well-known blogger, Jodi

Nelson of Pleasant Home. She sells these diamond-shaped templates

for paper piecing. The light went off when I saw them!

 They're the perfect size to use with my mini charms!

 I've put all the supplies I'll need into one of my vinyl zip bags, and I now

have a portable project! All I have to do is "grab and go" and work on them

as I have time. I really love  Jodi's project using these templates, and I may 

decide to do another small project using brighter colors. 

Here's a link to her project,  and 

another link to purchase your own paper pieces from her.

 (She has hexagon pieces, too!)

As it's already June, I need to start thinking about Christmas gifts this year. No 

procrastinating this year! I'm thinking table runners, pillows or wall hangings.

I'm still writing my pattern, so I can't show it to you yet. It's been a long time

since I did a pattern this involved, and I forgot just how intense it can be!

(I get tired, too - darn it - so I have to stop to rest. So frustrating!)

I'll continue to work on it through the weekend, and will debut it very soon.

Enjoy your weekend. I'm starting mine by joining the Coffee Club girls.

I've sure missed their smiling faces!

Free To A Quilting Home...

 As I trimmed the blocks for my most recent quilt, I saved all the scraps in a

container. There are a lot of triangles, strips too short or narrow, and even an 

assortment of flying geese blocks that were cut the wrong size for this project, 

but all the same size to each other. I've found myself contemplating what I
should do with all this. Heck! I don't want to just throw it all away, after all!

It occurred to me that one of my readers might want this assortment of fabrics, 

and I'll even add some larger pieces of the fabrics to "beef it up" a bit. I'm sure

these would work well for placemats, mug mats, pillows, mini quilts or many

other projects using smaller blocks. I bet you already have a few ideas yourself!

Does anyone want this box of scraps?

If you leave a comment on this post voicing interest in getting these scraps, I'll do 

a drawing on Friday and give it to one lucky person. If you're the only person 

that shows any interest in my offer, you'll be the recipient. I'll even pay postage!

 If you have the pattern for "Over The River and Through The Woods" and you 

like to paper piece, I've created foundations for the blocks. You can download
them by going to the menu on the top of my blog to "BW Free Patterns & 

Tutorials" link and then scroll down to the Box™ widget. Choose "Over The 

River Paper Foundations" and it will take you to the patterns you can download. 

Be sure to first download them to your computer and then print them at 100% 

resolution so that they print the right size. They are 6" finished blocks, but you need

 to download and not just print from the window for them to print the right size.

For today, I'm sharing the direct link, too. Just CLICK HERE to go to the files.

Please only make copies for yourself and do not sell my patterns.

They're for your personal use only.

Today is "Clean The Studio Day". I can't find a dang thing in there right now!

Hope you're enjoying Spring weather in your part of the world.

It's just perfect for Spring Cleaning here.

(Don't forget to leave a comment if you're interested in my scrap box!)
UPDATE: 10:30 pm Friday, May 17, 2013 DRAWING CLOSED
Thank you!

A Productive Weekend...

 I hope everyone had a nice Mother's Day weekend. Mine was restful and

creative. I spent both days in the studio working on my quilt and I finished

attaching the flying geese borders all around the stitched panels. 

They turned out great!

Today I'll add the final black border and then prep the last of the applique' to

embellish it. The geese took a little longer than planned because the ones I

thought were ready to join were sized wrong. I have no idea how I managed that.

(Guess I forgot the old "Measure Twice, Cut Once.")

So, I just pulled out the fabrics and carefully cut new ones. By the time I was

finished sewing them all together and attaching them to the quilt, it was dark outside.

(That accounts for the slight color shift in my first picture. The green isn't right at all.)

 I find myself with a hefty assortment of scraps, including those flying geese

that, although they all match each other, were too small for my project.

Do you think I should offer this assortment in a giveaway?

They'd be great for pincushions, or something using smaller pieces.

Let me know what you think?

Is this something you might want?

 First order of business today is to scan these foundations and upload

them to my site. Anyone who has the pattern can download them to

make their own paper pieced blocks. I promise. Not another day will

go by that I don't get this task accomplished! No excuses!

UPDATE: The foundations are now uploaded. You can access
them by clicking here - or by going to my menu bar at the top
of my blog and clicking the link to BW Free Patterns and Tutorials.
Once on that page, go to the Box™ widget and click on the 
"Over The River Foundations" folder to download. 
These patterns are free, but I ask that you only photocopy them
for your personal use and do not sell them. Thanks!

Have a great day and a better week.

It's gonna be busy around Brynwood!

Session Three Class Today...

I'll be teaching Session Three of my four session Over The River quilt class at Crazy 

Quilters in Venice, Florida today. I'm actually much further along now than when this 

photograph was taken. In fact, I'm nearly ready to assemble the entire quilt!

Here's a peek at the divider bands arranged with the first completed needlework panel

and the flying geese border. I'll start sewing the applique' panel by the weekend. 

I drew the square-in-square block, star block and flying geese as paper foundations for 

my class, and as soon as I get home from the class today, I'll be uploading them to my 

Box.net account so that anyone who wants to can download them for their own use.

I'll share the link with you as soon as I've completed the file sharing.

(I'll update by adding the link to this post, too, so be sure to check back here tomorrow.)

I sure hope you have something creative planned for today.

You know it makes you feel better, don't you?

Make time. Even if it's only for one hour. One hour to less stress and more happiness.

You deserve it.