Farmer's Wife Quilt Along - Week 6*

So, I didn't have nearly enough WIPs/UFOs, so I took a running start and jumped on the Farmer's Wife bandwagon. I got the book on sale at Connecting Threads, it arrived literally minutes before I left for the holiday weekend, took it with me, and commenced making blocks the minute I got home.

My fabric/theme is 30's reproductions, which I'm just crazy about. Right now I'm working with the remains of a fat eighth bundle, again from Connecting Threads, but that won't make it the whole way, so I'll be forced to buy some more fabric. Tragic, really.

#1 - Attic Windows

I did this one mostly using Marti Mitchell templates (the A set), and I'm happy with how it sewed up, but I'm a little iffy on the colors. I'll probably make another one more in keeping with the overall theme.

#2 - Autumn Tints

This one may be my favorite -- I really like how the colors work. No templates here, just rotary cut the large squares, and strip-pieced the smaller 4 patches. (Made a little big, then trimmed after sewing).

#3 - Basket

The was the first time I used my machine's buttonhole stitch for applique, and it was surprisingly easier than I thought it would be. Pieces were cut from templates for this one.

#4 - Basket Weave

I did originally sew this in the same arrangement as the book, but even in the Easter egg colors, it still looked a little too much like a swastika for my taste, so I re-did the bottom half in the Roman Stripes arrangement. Strip-pieced.

#6 - Big Dipper

I've had this yellow solid fabric FOREVER, so it's nice to be using up some of it. By itself, it's a nice plain yellow, but oddly, when it's next to the green, it starts looking like a light green. Used the "sew squares together, cut on the diagonal" method for making the QSTs. (Is there a shorter name for that?)

#10 - Bowtie

I was a little worried that the red would totally overpower the block, but I think the blue holds it own. Made using the "small square in the corner of the big square" technique. (Again, is there a better name?)

#6 - Bat Wing

D'oh! Almost forgot this one! Put it together last night, using shiny new templates.

#9 - Box

Just whipped this one up this morning. I didn't want to chop up the plaid background too much, so I made this with 4 Flying Geese blocks around the central square.

#16 - Calico Puzzle

Also did this one this morning, and I'm not entirely pleased with it. The colors are kind of jarring to me -- maybe it should have been just two patterned fabrics and one solid, or even white? Also, for whatever reason, I kept making mistakes putting it together -- I had to rotate the HSTs a couple of times.

* Although it's my first week, it's Week 6 of the QAL.