Farmer's Wife Friday

Hi! I'm back with some Farmer's Wife Sampler blocks... FINALLY!!! With the holidays fast approaching, the gal getting more active, and work, I've been neglecting this project.

block #31: Evening Star

A bit of Appleville in the center, some Denyse Schmidt dots for the points, and some unknown scraps of navy as the background. I love how it reads from a distance! The dots make it *glow* when you pin it up across the room.

block 69: Practical orchard

What's better than some Apple Dots? Not much for this block. Loving these two together!

block 39: Friendship

Well, then there's this block... How could I resist using these fun charm squares from Aneela Hooey's Little Apples line??? I love how the kids appear to be going around the center. The white is some scrap Kona cotton.

block 41: Friendship Star

And speaking of friendship, here's what I came up this one. Not quite convinced there's enough contrast, but we will leave it up on the board to ponder. It may be a redo. Fabrics are more Denyse Schmidt as the background and some fun scraps of some girls playing (Moda? Maybe Michael Miller?).

block #6: Big Dipper

I love using up favorite scraps as in this case. Loving the large scale brown pattern against the semi regular strips of the Japanese mushrooms print.

block 85: Square Dance

And then there's this one. My FAAAVORITE from this batch! So perfect! I used a bit of this awesome Japanese girl and bear apple picking print as the center and triangles, some scrap red vintage dots, then a bit of Aneela Hooey's Apples print for the corners. I love the repeating of the apples theme!

Hope you enjoy your weekend of Turkey sandwiches, turkey pot pie, turkey soup, turkey hash, turkey salad... you get the drift.

Leafy Kids

What happens when you rake your leaves?
Kids jump in them.
And what happens when a baby eats leaves?
She promptly spits them back out.


Happy Thanksgiving!

Back to the Modern Standards

Fall brings me back to my old playlists, nestling back into the familiar and dear songs that carry me through the short days and changing winds... a favorite to share.

Rolling Over!

Guess who can roll over from her back to her tummy? Yes! She is growing exponentially these days, changing rapidly and developing new skills faster than we can get the camera out.

Or dodge her big bother. We need to work on our reflexes.

Norah

It's hard having an older brother sometimes. That said, enjoy a little bit of Norah in all her 5 month old glory!

Halloween!! Costumes!

...so what were we for Halloween? Well, Bennett was a robot. We toyed with different styles, and had a lot of awesome bells and whistles (foil dryer tubing "joints," awesome lights and dials) but per Bennett's requests (read: vehement vetoes) it was a simple cardboard doublet with cutouts.
We spray painted it silver, added some knobs and let him go to town with the glitter glue, added a couple of reflectors, and presto!


Underneath I bought a pair of simple grey fleece pants, a grey sweater, and he was as happy as a clam with his costume!



Norah went as a spider. I made her a pair of webby shoes using a bit of Echino I had around.I had big plans for buying a black onesie and sewing on two pairs of stuffed black socks for arms, then using a little black pilot hat, etc... But, when I stumbled across this outfit for $1.75 at a kids consignment store, I was sold. There was no way I could have made her outfit for that!
Now we just have to wait until the sugar wears off. Candy anyone???

Halloween!!

We have been short on time around here... I honestly don't know where the month went! It feels like a haze of fall walks, work, nursing marathons, laundry, work, and just a dash of sewing around washing diapers. We didn't even make it out to a pumpkin patch this year. Instead we made these awesome luminaries (thank you Momtastic!) using old jars and some painter's tape and tempra paints. Super easy and SUPER fun!






And here is how they looked on the porch. Awesome, no? We used some battery operated tea candles to keep them cool.

Vincinnati

It's an honor to be asked for donations to a cause, especially when it has affected good friends who have lost someone so important to them.

Go and see beautiful photography from someone who has departed far too soon, and bid on some awesome items and support a group who can be a safety net for others who are hurting.

Vincinnati

Garden Closing

Well, the garden is about done. We have pickled the last batch of peppers, picked the last of the tomatoes, and are expecting a frost tomorrow.


We dug up the last of the few onions that made it (not sure if we can blame the squirrels or extremely dry weather on their lackluster growth) and carrots a couple weeks ago. We will miss the fresh produce, but not the weeding.

Ever have one of those weeks?

Yes, you know you have.

one in four

One in four. Each of us has a unique set of circumstances, but the grief and ache is uncomfortably familiar. Love to all my fellow lostbabymamas and lostbabypapas out there on this day. There's a candle on our mantle for you.

Farmer's Wife Quilt Along week 9

Happy Farmer's Wife Friday!

Back on track with two new blocks this week. No real theme, except maybe "lots of little pieces."block 7: Birds in the Air

Ok, so maybe using some scraps of this awesome clouds print makes it a bit too literal, but hey! It's a perfect compliment to the orange Kona scraps! Getting those dang half square triangles of the clouds print oriented properly was a pain, but I love the overall look.

block 72: Railroad

More scrappy goodness used up! The hedgehog print is just fabulous. They managed to pack in all kinds of goodness in this Japanese print: mushrooms, flowers, hedgehogs, wee houses, clovers, flowers, apples, acorns, squirrels... you get the idea. I'm going to be so happy when I see them all in the finished quilt. I paired it with some vintage scrap of red dots from my mom's stash. Another block I'm loving!

That's it for now, I promise another update soon, complete with photos of things other than quilty stuff. Have a great weekend!

Farmer's Wife Quilt Along week 8

Well, a day late and a block short from my weekly 2 block goal. There's been an upswing in orders on my Etsy site, a sure sign the weather is getting cooler in other parts of the country (and the world, for that matter), not just in our neck of the woods. So, my sewing time has been spent filling orders this past week.

block 95: Temperance Tree

What a block. I guess it could count as 2 blocks since it has a whopping 42 pieces. I'm not sure if I'm happy with the results, but I'll chalk it up as done and revisit the block later on down the line. I used some cute Japanese bits as the tree top and some more brown scraps from Norah's Brown Bear quilt. The background fabric is some vintage red scraps and a neutral crackle print from the bottom of my stash.

Hello, Dolly!

I signed up for September's Doll Quilt Swap at our August Cincinnati Modern Quilt Guild meeting.
After my first doll quilt fail (hello, seam allowances I forgot to add. That will teach me about midnight sewing, right? Right? Right??) I had to come up with a plan B. this idea banging around of a funky star quilt on a deep gray. So, I dug through the scrap bin a bit and here's Jeanie's doll quilt!




I quilted around the perimeter of the stars in progressively wider spacing using a pale gray thread. I love the look!

The back is a remnant from I don't know where, but the color is tremendous, and it just feels so good to "shop" my stash.

The binding is some of Cosmo Cricket's Taylor Made. Again, perfect color and loads of personality.



I love stars.

Pumpkin Harvest

Anyone remember this tangle of sprouts from the spring?



Well, we just harvested the sole pumpkin. Behold!
She is already baked up, pureed, packed in baggies, and loaded into the freezer, all 7 cups! Who knew we would get so much from such a wee pumpkin? Here's to a few batches of pumpkin bread and maybe a pie. Mmmm, pie...

Farmer's Wife Quilt Along week 7

Well, here we are at week 7 with two more blocks. Not too shabby with a busy week and sickness throwing a wrench in the works. Everybody's feeling much better, and I'm counting myself lucky that I magically managed to dodge that bullet!!! The leaves are starting to turn around here, and thoughts are turning to apple picking, canning the last of the peppers from the garden, and getting ready to celebrate Fall (happy equinox!). I chose a couple blocks along this theme:

block 56: Maple Leaf

I love this hippo print and was excited to use it up. I tried to fussy cut a bit, but there wasn't a whole lot left, so I just did the best I could. I'm pleased with it, and glad I went with the pale gray Kona as the background. I think it's Kona Ash?

block 88: Star of Hope

The second also used up some fun scraps! I love the gold against the brownish pumpkin color of the kitchen print. Mmmm, apple pie... This was a block that took some fussing. I screwed it up once (templates are wrong, I think!), then tried to paper piece it, and found the foundation paper piecing is also drafted incorrectly. Sigh. Sooo, I ended up designing my own foundation piecing block and voila! Here she is in all her cuteness. For those that haven't done this one, beware! It's fiddly, you'll have to adjust somewhere, regardless if you are doing the blocks by templates or paper piecing!

Happy Farmer's Friday!

Quilty mail!

Look what just arrived from New Zealand!! My godmother sent along two quilts, one for each kiddo!
Each one is perfect for the kid intended.


Norah's batik pinwheel quilt has awesome baby animals appliqued in minky fabric with embroidered faces. So cute!


The white background is quilted in a tight stipple that accentuates the soft plushy animals.

I love how the bunny matches her little green onesie!



Bennett's is embroidered with cute Disney characters, check out the close up of Donald and you'll get a sense of the insane number of stitches this quilt required. Totally awesome!

It's become his favorite, as you can tell. I am still in awe that a little package could contain such wonderful gifts! Thanks a million, Anne!