Farm Girl Vintage Quilt Finished

The quilt--it is finished.

With persistence, all 326 inches of the binding was hand stitched to the back and done before I went home for Easter.

Here is a full view of the quilt:

It contains 44 of the 45 blocks from Lori Holt's Farm Girl Vintage book. (I omitted the "Old Glory" block of the American flag.) The setting is my own invention. It needed to be created to accommodate my combination of 6-inch and 12-inch blocks.

The sashing is proportionally a bit wide, but I wanted the centre of the quilt to cover the top of a queen mattress. I think it also helps to calm the quilt down a bit because that is a lot of busy blocks all together!

Looking at it now, I would have liked the green diamond accents to have been larger and perhaps centred differently. But there were constraints presented by the way the sashing was constructed and the fact that a 12-inch block is not as big as two 6-inch blocks plus a sashing in between.

The corner blocks of the border are also an issue as they don't appear to be centred in the space because the outer triangles match the border fabric. I'll have to research how to do it differently, or just use a different block as cornerstones. (I did consider star blocks but I wanted to keep the borders simple and clean. Maybe I should have used the maple leaf block.)

Don't start thinking that I don't like the quilt because I certainly do. But I can't help but evaluate what I think worked and what I would do differently next time. And this is the place where I record my thoughts.

One thing I am happy with is the look of the blocks. I was going for a low-contrast look and think it worked out. The contrast between the different block pieces isn't really stark but it's not all mush either. You can still easily see what the blocks are.

I don't think I've showed the binding yet:

I ended up having enough of the same brown to make another flange on the outside of the border (with all of 10" leftover!). The binding is a very bland print that I bought a lot of once because I thought it would work for a quilt, but it's never been right. Since I didn't have enough of the blue polka dot for the binding, I am happy with this nondescript colour that doesn't compete with the flange.

I cut the backing and batting about 1/8" past the quilt top so that I could sew the binding on with a 3/8" seam. This way binding will be completely "stuffed" by the batting but you won't end up with a really thin binding on the front.

I basted the flange down first with a zigzag stitch so it would tamp down the outer edge at the same time. I cut the binding at 2.5 inches (worried it might be a bit large) but am very happy I didn't go with 2.25 inches. There ended up being a few spots I had to trim the extra batting and backing down a bit so the binding would fit.

This was the first quilt where I sewed down the mitred corners of the binding. I never really believed it was necessary or made a difference, but dang if it didn't look a lot better!

Sewn on right; not sewn on left.

So now I guess I will be doing that from now on. The good news is that the idea was planted by watching a video of an easy way to do it. (Not so much an easy way, but how to do it while stitching the binding down. I had always thought of it as a separate step and it's not.) So although it is "one more thing", it's not much extra and actually does make a big difference. (This is me eating crow here.)

After the quilt was done and I could sit back and look at it, I was surprised at how well centred the quilting pattern turned out. You can see on the farmhouse that the pattern has loops exactly on both chimneys and first floor windows.

The barn was similarly centered:

Presumably a coincidence of the stitching repeat and the size of the block, but a happy one.

I mentioned that I pieced the back:

The large center piece is the yellow gingham that I had. The rest is made up of fabrics that weren't my favourites and then a few more to make up the difference. I used 10" blocks to fill in the sides, with some 10x20" pieces and one 20x20" piece where I had enough fabric to do so.

The back ended up quite a bit larger than the front, which is good for loading it on the long arm machine, but did result in some funny spots on the back. Like here:

where you can see a 1/4" strip of fabric at the top of the photo. If I had known it would work out like that, I could have shifted the back and gotten rid of that extra seam. But when you load the one end of the quilt on the machine, you don't know exactly how the other end will come out. (And as long as it's not too short, you don't really care!)

On the sides, the outside 10" blocks were cut off to just a few inches:

But again, as long as it's not too short, we don't really care! I did recover all that extra fabric after the backing was cut off and put it all in the box of scraps. So they may resurface on another quilt one day.

One thing I noticed while doing the binding and my nose was just inches from the quilt, was a lot of spots on the back where the batting was pushed through the fabric and where the needle tore through the fabric instead of piercing it cleanly.

You may have to click on the picture to see it in a larger size, but each circle in the picture is a spot where the stitching push through a tuft of batting. (This is called "bearding".) Each line is a thread of the fabric that was pulled because the needle didn't go through cleanly. This didn't happen with the last quilt I did using the same batting, so my current theory is that the needle was too dull. (I have since learned that wool batting can be tough on needles. I don't know exactly why.) Next time I use the long arm machine, I will ask for a fresh needle to be put on and that should take care of it. (I hope.)

While visiting at Easter, I had a little quilt show and tell at my mom's house of my recent quilts. Here is the Farm Girl Vintage on her bed:

And I know you've been waiting for this too...here is Kim's quilt:

The top is in two halves and is not put together or quilted but you can see how her blocks are arranged and how the quilt will look. She also had to get creative with her layout as she had even more 12-inch blocks. Her quilt has such a crisp clean look with the light sashing and the clear contrast in all of her blocks. It looks fantastic.

And here's one more shot of my quilt on the bed we set up for my sister (a different sister) in the construction zone:

That's right, she had the honour of being the first to sleep under the quilt!!

Project stats and facts:

• The quilt is 74x84".
• The project was started in January 2016, and one block was done each week throughout the year as a quilt-along with my sister.
• The blocks are a mix of hand sewn and machine sewn.
• Although I would do it if I had to, I have no desire to work with 1" and 3/4" pieces again!
• I spoke to this sister more in 2016 than any other year of our lives as we Skyped each week to show our blocks.
• Most fabrics were purchased as I decided on a 1930s theme and had none in my stash. (A few stash fabrics that fit in well enough were used.)
• It was the third quilt I have done on a long arm machine. I created the pantograph pattern because I wanted the look of chicken wire.

Borders and Chicken Wire

When we last saw the Farm Girl Vintage quilt, I had completed the top and had decisions to make about a border.

I didn't have enough fabric to do a pieced transition section but I wasn't satisfied with how the blue and brown fabrics looked next to each other.

I tried a flange of the (more) solid brown in between and it was enough of a separation/definition that I liked it. I didn't think I would have enough, but I did some quick calculations and realized I only needed 8" by WOF, and I definitely had that.

What I didn't have was enough of the border to go the full length! I bought two yards (72") and the longer size was 75". While working on how to solve that, I decided to add some square in square blocks at the corners. I thought the brown fabric was going to be dark blue but it didn't look as good in real life as it did in my head. The one pictured above matches the flange, but I used several browns over the four corners.

I knew I had a big chunk of yellow gingham which I thought would be perfect for the backing. Turns out it was enough for half of the back. I thought I had enough yellow fabrics to make up the difference, but I didn't.

I ended up pulling out all the fabrics leftover from the quilt that I didn't think I would enjoy using in another quilt. I cut squares and rectangles as the fabric allowed and pieced it together into a back. It took a lot longer than I was hoping, but I did manage to get it done in time to be able to take it all to the long arm store this past week! I had a couple days off and I was really hoping it would work out.

When I showed up at the store, they didn't have any record of my call to reserve the time. Also, almost everyone was gone to a show so I wouldn't have much support or help if I needed it. I was irritated, but it all turned out. The machine was available and I manged to load the quilt all by myself!

Another thing I did myself was make the pantograph pattern. I was going to do up some hexagons in Word to look like chicken wire and then thought...I bet there's already something on the interweb. And sure enough there was! So I played with the scale and when I had it the size I wanted, I printed multiple copies, taped them together and boom! I had my own pantograph paper to follow!

Here's some of the paper on the table and above it you can see the pattern on the back of the quilt.

Things were going well, but after a couple passes, when I went to check out the front of the quilt, I saw that the flange was sewn down in all different directions!

I should have basted it in place. :( I debated how (not whether) to take it out and fix it, and decided I didn't have time to take out the whole row at the store. So I picked out the stitches that went over the flange, basted the flange in place and then sewed another pass across the same row. My "accuracy" is such that I didn't double the stitching very much. This meant when I got the quilt home, I could pick out the row that was sewn first. It was more comfortable doing it on my couch and I wasn't paying $15 an hour to do it!

After some time, I had the whole quilt quilted! Here it is fresh off of the machine:

While I'm quilting, I can't really let my thoughts drift because I have to concentrate on the pattern I'm doing. But I couldn't help seeing the price tag of the machine I was using (about $18K) and later I started to think about how many rental hours it would take me to cover the cost of the machine. A lot! And in the meantime, the store can store the machine and take care of maintenance for me. :) I think it's a pretty sweet deal.

And now I've had a few days to think about the binding and I think I have settled on a plan after not having enough fabric to do what I first wanted. The challenge is to have it done before I go home for Easter so my sister and I can do a big "reveal" to each other!!

Farm Girl Vintage Quilt - Putting it all Together

In all my enthusiasm for my nine patch quilt, my Farm Girl Vintage blocks have been sitting in the same box that they came home in after Christmas.

Since I'm hoping to have it done or nearly done by Easter I thought it was time to get to the next step. On Sunday I got them out of the box and organized them. (Basically sorting them by top row, left side, right side, etc.)

On Monday at 10:50 pm I decided I had done all the work I was going to do that night and had the thought that I could sew for 10 minutes before bedtime. Since my sewing machine has been living on my coffee table (where I've been sewing), there was time wasted with set up.

I pulled out the blocks and sewed the first row together. That's as far as I got, but it was something. (And no, I didn't finish in by 11:00. When you start sewing for 10 minutes, it's most likely going to turn into 30.)

Thursday was another evening with
very limited sewing time but I
did manage to get two sets of rows
pinned and ready for sewing when I
had another "quick minute" to sew.

Over the next couple days, I got all the blocks sewn into rows. And then slowly but steadily rows were joined with other rows.

I decided to press the seams open because I couldn't decide how to deal with the excessive bulk where the diagonal "cornerstones" were inserted. I thought it would also make the separate sashing pieces look more convincing as one piece. It's pretty subtle, but I think it makes a difference.

And I think because I came to quilting after garment sewing, I still am used to an open seam. Even though I get why pressing to one side works so well for quilting, deep down I still am bothered by the extra bulk!

Tonight, being Friday night, I gave myself extra sewing time and got all of the rows together and the whole top pressed.

The top right now is about 66" x 75". Adding one more border should make it a generous double bed size, and plenty big to be useful for a queen size.

I had thoughts for a pieced transition from the border to the center of the quilt and now is the time to decide if it's worth it/the quilt needs it/will it work?

I'll let you know....

Block 44: Scrappy Strawberry Block

Here we go...the last block! I think we saved this one because we liked it--the Scrappy Strawberry block:

I had plenty of reds to chose from. Much like the patchwork pumpkin, I arranged the lights and darks to mimic a sunspot on the strawberry. My greens are a little less convincing, but I'm not going to let it bother me.

In the pattern book, the triangles of background fabric on the lower right and left were done with two half-square triangles and a solid square in the corners. That looked like too much seaming to me, so I changed it to a single triangle on each side to cover the area. It worked well to simplify the seams in the finished block.

Here are all the blocks in the virtual layout:

_________________
Here is Kim's scrappy strawberry:

I think we used quite a few of the same reds, but her greens are quite different. (And here you can see how the pattern instructs you to do the lower corners.)

Although the scrappy strawberry was my last block, it was not Kim's! After considering layouts she was going to do with the blocks she had in 12" and 6" sizes, she discovered she needed two more 6" blocks to make it work.

The first is a variation of a rail fence block, done in the colours that our barns were painted on the farm we grew up on.

We had four barns and the trim and matching silos were each done in a different color.

Here second additional block is a 6" version of the maple leaf block done in patriotic red:

We both eliminated the "Old Glory" block that was in the book so Kim decided to replace it with this homage to the Canadian flag. It's very striking in person.

And I'll even give you a peek of our layouts:

While spending Christmas at my mom's, we had time to lay out our quilts to show each other in person. (Mine is sashed in the foreground. Kim's is in the background and she had just started adding sashing to her blocks.)

And most of the family was kind enough to take a break from the festivities to parade into the side room and check them out.

Now I am finished telling you about all of the blocks. It's a project I have very much enjoyed doing with Kim. I am eager to get the blocks sewn together and I have some ideas for a pieced border. I think I will also add some length so I have to work out how I want to do that. Our plan is still to have them finished by or on Easter weekend 2017 when we will be meeting at my mom's again.

Block 43: Summer Star Block

We are getting dangerously close to the end of the year and I am determined to finish my Farm Girl Vintage posts before the year is up.

Here is the second last block, the Summer Star Block:

By now, it's been so long since I made the block that I don't remember much about it. Looks like a lot of fiddly pieces, though. I'm not crazy about that bright tangerine colour in the quilt but it seems appropriate for a summer star.

Here are all the blocks (so far) in a virtual layout:

___________________
Here is Kim's version of the block:

She used some lovely orange and yellow tones as well.

Sashing Through the Snow

I know I still have two more blocks to show you from my Farm Girl Vintage quilt (and yes, I'll get to it; I'll get to it). In the meantime, I have been looking ahead to the next step--sashing and putting the blocks together.

With some calculations about what it would take (I was surprised it was more than 3 yards), I realized I didn't have enough of any one fabric for all of the sashing. So, first good chance I had, I was off to the fabric store! :)

I pulled out fabrics I thought would work and then spread them out on a table in the classroom to audition blocks on them.

Some options included a classic red with white polka dots.

A soft blue with larger white polka dots.

A small print on black. Not very traditional but I thought that the blocks might really pop.

A pale orange...not a colour I really thought would click but I wanted to try something unexpected in case it worked.

I was really tempted by this busy brown print. I know it's not the prettiest option but I somehow thought it was closer to what would be available at the time. It felt more "authentic" to the 30s repro prints in this quilt.

A darker blue with the white polka dots.

And a similar blue with the smaller polka dots. Obviously I had a thing for polka dots!

After multiple comparisons, I narrowed it to two finalists: the busy brown and the darker blue with medium polka dots in white:

I made my choice, added a completely different fabric for an outer border and made my purchases.

I couldn't start cutting or sewing right away because I had to determine a layout and I had to decide how I was going to do the sashing. I like to add a strip to one side and the bottom of each block but this wouldn't help me hide the fact that my blocks vary in size by 1/2". Instead, I planned to sew a narrower strip on all four sides of each block, which would then form the right width sashing when I sewed two blocks together. (Got all that? Don't worry if you don't!)

First step is the layout:

I had to know where the blocks were going because the strips on the outside edges had to be the full width of the sashing. I laid the sashing fabric on the spare bed and arranged (and rearranged) the blocks. Yes, I know, I know...you're all happy I picked the blue sashing. Me too! :)

Once I had the layout, I did all of the calculations for how many strips I would need and what sizes they would need to be. I ended up having to cut 176 strips with 5 different dimensions.

A few of my many, many cut strips!

Then I pulled the blocks off the bed in groups that were sashed the same (such as corner, left side, bottom, etc). I added the correct sashing strip to all four sides and moved on to the next set.

Instead of the most common way to border a block (sewing strips on opposite sides and then sewing strips on the remaining two sides), I decided to sew on the strips rotating around the block. This way the sashing didn't dictate a vertical or horizontal vibe to the quilt and all the blocks would be the same.

Here's how I did it in this quilt:

Start with a bare block.

Place the first strip on the block, matching one end of the strip to the edge of the block. You then have to start sewing in the middle of the edge somewhere and sew a partial seam. You can't start sewing at the start of the seam.

And you get something like this. You may note that the top edges are not exactly aligned. I "overshot" the edge on purpose and then cut it even with the block edge after it was sewn. It's much more accurate than trying to match up the raw edges. (It shouldn't work that way, but it does.)

Then, since the lined up edges were on top, you rotate the block clockwise and add a sashing strip to the edge of the block and the edge of the first sashing strip. You can sew the whole seam this time.

 This is the result.

Rotate the block in the same direction and add the third strip, same as the second.

Three sides done, one to go!

Rotate the block one more time in the same direction and add the fourth sashing piece. I went ahead and pinned back the loose part of the first sashing strip to make sure it wouldn't get caught in the seam.

And now it looks like we're done.

But of course we're not, because the first strip is still only half sewn!

But now that the fourth strip is in place, we can flip the first strip so it is right-sides-together with the block and sew the remainder of the seam.

And now we're done!

So far, I have finished all four corners, the four 12" blocks (which needed yet another size of sashing strips), and all of the outside pieces. (Hmm...it almost sounds like I'm putting together a puzzle!) All of the blocks on the outer edge needed thicker strips on one or two sides. By only working on blocks that were oriented in the same way and by adding the wide strips first, I was able to keep track of what I was doing.

Now I have only 14 interior blocks to go and they have the same four pieces on all four sides. I'll just have to continue to make sure that I rotate the sashing in the same way and that they get back into the layout right-side-up (as in not up-side-down).

After that they will all get a good pressing and then be cut to size. I made sure the sashing was sized for the smallest square and that means I'll have to cut most of the blocks down--the price to pay for being able to assembly-line sew this step. It also means I'll be able to make sure each block is centered in its section no matter what size it is.

Also, I have one more surprise in the setting of this quilt that this method of sashing allows for! :)