Hey everyone, can you believe September is almost over? That means that I'll soon announce the winner of the charm pack. Whoever left a linky or a comment is in the drawing, good luck to all!!
About this block party.... I have to confess that I was not enjoying this process because while I loved sharing all the block names and making them, they were like mismatched "pieces" that were just piling up with no direction or purpose. (I am done with potholders!) So I went back to The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt book.
While I was using it as a reference, I find that in order to be inspired I really have to like what I am doing. What is the big picture that gives this block party a purpose? For me I lose steam if I don't enjoy the process, it becomes a chore, ya know? Therefore, since I have soooooo many scraps, it's the perfect excuse to get started on this project!
The little scraps are "just right" for 6 inch blocks. So here I go. Going in order would seem logical, but today's block represents the plot in this quilt novel.
The featured block this week is called "Mother's Dream" (block #58) and reflects the hopes every mother has for their children. Susan is hosting this quilting/reading club that I could not resist, check it out here.
So NEXT week I will feature block #1 from the FWSQ so if you've been procrastinating or have been "spooked" by the thought of the FWQA this is a great time to start! The book comes with templates but I have to confess that I did not cut out these little diddies, I went straight for cutting the fabric. What I did was measure the templates and cut the scraps that size. For triangles I made squares and cut diagonally. I rather have extra fabric and trim down at the end.
I had all these white triangles left over from the Granny Squares from last week, they worked out like a charm! And for the pesky corners? I just ignored the largeness and sewed all the straight edges.
After piecing, the blocks varied in measurement from 6 1/4 to 6 1/2 inches. I consulted a few websites: Lillian's Cupboard , the Quilter's Board and Freshly Pieced and it seems everyone has experienced the same problem. The book says 6 inches but does not specify finished or unfinished that I recall.
A little math reveals the secret in some blocks, if you have an extra 1/4 inch on either side, that's an indicator! So as of now, I need to decide on the "final number" so they are all uniform. So I am trimming to 6" so after assembling the quilt each block is 5 1/2 inches. I can't wait to see how this one is going to turn out. I find putting each block together is like therapy and I love using so many scraps of fabrics that are so pretty.
Happy to have this 6 inch square ruler, I trimmed the block down to size.And there you have it, my "Mother's Dream" block. I just realized white on the outside is not a good idea if I use white sashing in the quilt, oh well!! I wish some of these histories were easier to find, all I find is more patterns on how to make it here, and this version is 8 inches and features lots of half square triangles instead of rectangles.
Please leave a link to your block or a comment to qualify for the charm pack giveaway!! And thanks to some of our sponsors.
I love your block and the story behind it is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThe story of this block melts my heart, and the version you made is very pretty! I think it's a great idea to use the Farmer's Wife blocks. It will be a looong time before you don't have more good ideas!
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