I love improv patchwork so much. Right now, I’m loving sharing it with my new Improv Patchwork class. Working through these techniques with a group is incredibly inspirational. I’m learning so much and having so much fun seeing what everyone creates. I made two blocks during class this week that I’m really excited by. Both of them are outside my usual colour palette, which makes them even more awesome to me.

I’m especially smitten with the pink and cream block. I can’t stop staring at it. I’m pretty sure this is the start of something bigger.

OK! Let’s talk about getting started on this Farmer’s Wife Quilt. I’m super impressed that so many of you are off and running with making your blocks. Some of you have a dozen or more done already! Some of you, I hope, might be like me and getting off to a slower start. Either way, there’s no rush and no rules! Most important is having fun making these blocks and sharing the process with each other.

The Templates

The templates that come on the CD in the book don’t have the best layout. They use up lots of paper. Liz A has created a document with all the templates laid out on just 15 pages. You can download it here. She also recommended having your template pages laminated at Staples and then cutting them out as you go along, rather than using template plastic. I am trying this out and I like it so far. There is a great discussion on the Flickr group here about different ways that people are using the templates. If you would like to foundation paper piece, there are templates that have been created for that as well. Take a look at this post by Jessica, to learn more about how you can download that template file. Another intriguing idea is printing the templates onto freezer paper, ironing the freezer paper onto your fabric and cutting with a rotary cutter. I’m going to try this out. If you’re doing this, it might be helpful to use these templates from the publisher that have them organized by block.

Starch

These pieces are really tiny. I’m using starch to help control my fabric. I find it really helpful to starch and iron my fabric before I trace and cut it out. Things don’t shift as much. I’m currently using Mary Ellen’s Best Press.

Hand Piecing

I have gone through my fabrics and selected prints for eight blocks. I’m not necessarily going in the order of the book, but trying to start with easier blocks while I get the hang of it. At the beginning of each week, I’ll cut out all the pieces for my week’s blocks so that they are ready to sew. I’m also attempting to hand piece these blocks, but I think I will also try foundation paper piece some of the trickier ones with tiny pieces. We’ll see. I wanted to hand piece because I feel that I can be more accurate with my stitching this way. I also don’t often get to machine sew during the week, so it is easier for me to sit in bed and hand piece before I go to sleep at night. It’s pretty relaxing and super satisfying. Thank goodness for Carolanne and her Intro to Handwork. The skills from this class have done me well over and over.

Flickr Group

The Farmer’s Wife Quilt-a-long Group is an AMAZING resource. The group was started by Angela & Amanda. There is a wealth of information and discussion. If you have problems I’m sure that it’s been addressed here already, since they are about six months into making the quilt. I did create a Flickr group called The Farmer’s Wife Quilt-a-long Toronto, as a way for us to share our photos with each other, as well. It is so encouraging and exciting to see each other’s blocks as we create them. Please join the group and post your photos! Even if you’re not in Toronto, but just starting out or already halfway done, we’d love to see how you’re doing. Many of us are on Instagram, so there are lots of ways to share our progress with each other. Take a minute to join the group and then introduce yourself here!

Last night I finished my first two blocks! #29 Economy & #30 End of Day

Have you started? How is it going? Let’s talk about this!

Pattern : Wiksten Tank Top by Jenny Gordy
Fabric : Paris Map from the ‘Etchings‘ collection by 3 Sisters

Let’s talk about the fabric first. This Paris Map fabric is incredible. It’s the kind of fabric that I could use over and over again and never get tired of it. It’s the kind of fabric that only lasted in the shop for about 24 hours before all 3 bolts of it were gone. It’s the kind of fabric that you want to hoard forever and never not have it in your life.

I really wanted to enjoy this fabric on a regular basis, not just visit with it in my stash. I knew that this tank pattern would be a satisfying way to cut into this print. You just can’t go wrong with the Wiksten Tank. It is so versatile and easy to wear. (I have fabric picked out for my first Wiksten Tova that I hope to be able to sew up soon)

Again, I have to say that I super proud of my pattern matching on the pocket. (See my first Wiksten Tank here) You can barely see that there is a pocket!

I still have at least a metre left of these Paris Maps (plus every little bit of scrap from cutting out the tank) and the rest will likely go into some future quilts and definitely into my Blue & White Farmer’s Wife Sampler.

MISC.

• Our dear Kristiann, has recently launched her own line of pdf sewing patterns. Her company is called, ‘Victory Patterns‘ and I know you’re going to fall in love with her designs. I have my eye on the Hazel dress with those sweet front ties.
• I’m adding this DIY Fur Pom Pom project to my list of things to do
• Have you seen the online magazine, Covet Garden? It is SO good. Each issue features a different house in Toronto and this issue features Arounna & John’s home from ‘Bookhou‘!
• The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery is starting a Dessert of the Month club. Each month you get a new adorable dessert cross stitch pdf pattern emailed to you. the workroom will be working with the Pumpkins to create Cosmo floss sets every two months that will contain all the colours you will need to work on your desserts. We sold out really quickly on the January/February sets yesterday, but more floss is on the way. Let me know if you’d like to buy a set when they are back in stock!

Quilting by Eileen Quilts
Quilting Pattern : Signature

Finishing a quilt is a true labour of love. Most people think that you sew together a bunch of fabric into patches and there you go, a quilt. Oh NO. A quilt is about twenty times more work than that. There is the back of the quilt (for me, often improv pieced), basting the quilt, quilting all the layers together (this is where most people get stuck) and then sewing on binding. Don’t forget a quilt label too! To anyone who has ever finished a quilt, I applaud you. It is a long road to finishing even the most simple of quilts, but it is so worth it in the end. To be honest, I would make quilts all the time, every day if I could. I finally feel like I have worked up to understanding how to finish the quilts that I start. This has meant getting over my fear of machine quilting and starting to explore free motion quilting. But it has also meant sending off my first quilt to a long arm quilter.

It’s a scary proposition, sending off your quilt top and back to someone else to have them quilt all over it. Amanda uses Lindsay to do her long arm quilting. Lindsay quilted her Halloween Swoon quilt with the coolest spiderweb pattern. A recommendation for a long arm quilter is a MUST. I also got to meet Lindsay at the Sewing Summit in Salt Lake City. She is a sweetheart and even though she lives in Virginia, I felt really good about sending away my Cog & Wheel to her.

I wanted a swirly pattern, so Lindsay sent over some options of designs she suggested. I chose one that is called ‘Signature’. I liked that it appeared to be more random. I think it looks really good with the Cog & Wheel design.

I know some people who always send their quilts out to be quilted. This way they can enjoy the patchwork process and finish more quilts. I will probably try to do the quilting on my smaller quilts and have Lindsay work on my larger bed-sized quilts for me. It is really exciting to receive a box in the mail, open it up and have your professionally quilted work all bundled up inside.

I cut the binding last night and I’m looking forward to spending some time sitting under the quilt while I hand stitch the final step.

p.s. Happy New Year! I’m picking out my first blocks to start my Farmer’s Wife Sampler this week. I’ll post about it soon.

Happy Holidays, friends! Now that the pressure of Christmas is lifted, I can get back to my goal of completing as many quilts as possible before the end of the year. (or close to it) I am in the binding stage for THREE quilts right now! I’m pretty excited. All the other quilts are gifts. This one I’m keeping.

I know that machine sewing on your binding is much faster, but I really enjoy spending some final time with my quilts as I sit underneath them and hand stitch on the last part of the binding. It seems like a worth while ritual to me. I recently started using binding clips which is way safer than using pins to hold down the binding as you stitch it on. This makes all the difference.

This Quilt Sampler 2 was started last January in class and I only recently finally got around to doing all the quilting. I have a tendency to baste quilts and then abandon them for a new quilt project. I am hoping that I’ve conquered this  I love that Sampler Quilts are learning quilts. Since each block is different, they are the perfect way to improve your technique and learn some new ones. They are usually a bit of a challenge and this one was no exception. Some of these blocks were difficult and hopefully this will help me get through some of the tricky Farmer’s Wife blocks I’ll be tackling very soon. I learned so many things from making this quilt. I’m especially happy that I’ll now have two Sampler Quilts as a record of my progress in patchwork.

Here’s my first Quilt Sampler. I still love it.

The end of the year is always about cramming in as much sewing time as possible for me. Unfortunately, I ‘holiday sew’ the same way that I ‘holiday shop’. Make one or two for me, make one for you. I find that this keeps me motivated and excited about the projects I’m working on. Even though I’m way behind on my sewing this year (not unusual), I’ve been working hard on finishing up quilting projects that got started this year (& before). Right now I’m on the binding stage of my Sampler 2 quilt, a plaid quilt and I’ll start quilting my Field Study quilt this weekend. Plus! My Cog & Wheel is with Lindsay for long arm quilting. I have a little dream of ending the year with a pretty clean quilting slate so that I can start up the Farmer’s Wife Sampler in January.

This little mini quilt wasn’t on my list to complete, but I found it the other day and decided to add it to the list. This mini quilt is completely hand pieced. All those little half square triangles (HSTs) are 1″ finished and the entire mini quilt is 12″ square. It’s tiny!

The reason that I hadn’t finished it off when I made it was that I had no idea how to quilt it. I thought it would be impossible to hand quilt through all those tiny seams and I worried that machine quilting would take away from the handwork. I decided to try machine stitching in the ditch. After one line, I stopped and ripped out the stitches. Finally I realized that I could tie it! I have never tied a quilt before, but it was really the perfect solution. You can’t tell at all from the front and from the back the ties look pretty cute. The only machine stitching on this quilt was when I stitched my binding onto the front of the quilt.

This mini is definitely on my list of favourite things that I’ve ever made. Anything that I’ve hand stitched seems to be on that list. (This, this & this!) Hand work just has something about it.

MISC.

• I made this lasagna soup recipe last week, found on Pinterest. it’s pretty awesome and I highly recommend it
• City of Craft is THIS WEEKEND. This is by far my favourite holiday shopping event of the year. Any gifts that I’m not making will be purchased at the show. Maybe I’ll see you there!
• We have Lizzy House holiday cards at the workroom. One of the cards has a Yeti on it. I am in love with it.
• I’m in a new book called Zakka Style by Rashida Coleman Hale – with 23 other awesome designers that is coming out very soon. You can win a copy of the book over at the Stash Books blog right now. I REALLY want my copy so I can start making those cute projects.
• BlogTO is doing their annual poll for the ‘Best of Toronto’. Voting ends tonight for your favourite local French baguette, Chinese restaurant, Calzone, Hot Pot and FABRIC STORE.
• The first part of our January class calendar just got posted. You guys get first dibs. Everyone else will know tomorrow. Can’t wait for this new class.

This was a fast quilt top to make. Really fast. I kinda love it.

I cut out all the pieces for it in less than an hour and a half. The main reason for this was that I actually had the exact size rulers that you need, a 6.5″ square and a 12.5″ square. If you can, make sure you have these rulers! They are handy to have in general but seriously made the cutting for this a breeze.

I sewed up all the blocks in one night. It was actually pretty fun and incredibly satisfying.

PLUS! I used a trick that Katrina taught me to save the triangle off cuts and create easy half square triangles (HSTs). You simply draw yourself an extra sewing line that is 1/2″ over from your first sewing line. Sew both lines and then cut in the middle. You get your main block and a ‘free’ HST. By doing this I made 72 HSTs that are about 5.5″ and there was ZERO waste. This will all make sense if you get the pattern. I’ll be using these extra blocks to create something for the back of the quilt.

All in all, the quilt top took me less than 2 days. Whoo!

My goal right now is to finish as many quilting projects as possible before the end of the year. I’ve been making good progress and I’m close to finishing three quilts!! Somehow, I started pondering a new pattern and before I knew it, I had picked fabric and started working on it. When inspiration hits in sewing, I like to run with it and see what happens.

This is another Christmas gift and I’m really hopeful that it will actually be done in time. The pattern is Tula Pink’s Field Study quilt. I’ve chosen to do the Medium size (72″ x 72″). What I like about this pattern is that I think it is perfect for a guy and it’s very simple to make.

The fabrics are Tula Pink ‘Prince Charming’ Aqua Snail, Lizzy House ‘Outfoxed’ Brown Vine, Basic Grey ‘Curio’ Aqua Grunge, Lizzy House ‘Outfoxed’ Hunter Green Jewel, Michael D’Amore ‘Wordplay’ Espresso Text and Lizzy House ‘Outfoxed’ Yellow Hedgehogs.

I am actually almost done the quilt top. It took me one day to get the blocks cut and sewn! I’ll take some photos and show you what I’ve got so far this week.

I am often guilty of starting up my holiday gift making quite late in the game. Usually on Christmas eve I’m up late rushing some final stitches on projects.

Last week I made my first holiday gift of the year. Not bad, it’s the middle of November. The shopping tote is my own design and I’ve made it so many times now. It’s such a useful bag to have around. (and it’s reversible!) I used a lovely yellow floral Japanese linen/cotton fabric for the outside and a pink ’1001 Peeps’ fabric for the lining. When I picked out the fabrics, I knew exactly who the bag would be for. I’ll be sending it off to NYC really soon so that it arrives before Christmas.

Now to get organized with the rest of my holiday making!

I’ve admired everything Wiksten for so long and finally I ordered her two sewing patterns a couple months ago. So far, I’ve just made the tank top (twice!), but I’ll be making the Tova as soon as possible. I’ve had a crush on that shirt for ages.

The tank pattern is awesome. Jenny’s patterns are hand drawn and incredibly well designed. You don’t even need a serger for this project, since it is sewn with french seams and bias finished hems. Genius.

I am MOST proud of the pocket on the tank. I PERFECTLY matched the pattern on the fabric so that you can barely even see that the pocket is there. Small details like that make me so happy.

With winter approaching, I’ll be wearing it layered with cozy cardigans.

It doesn’t at all seem unreasonable to me that I might need a rainbow of colours in this tank. It’s clearly a wardrobe essential.

You can order Jenny’s sewing patterns and clothing from her online shop here.