Sunday Morning, Sunny Sunflower, Tumbleweed and Water Turn Blocks - Farm Girl Vintage

Hello, Friends!

We're coming to the conclusion of the 

Farm Girl Vintage Sew Along!

This week the last two blocks are being featured.

I can't believe it, but...I have actually made

every block in the series.

There are a few I haven't shared yet,

but I will eventually post about those, too.

For this edition, allow me to introduce four fun blocks.

{Well, at least three of them were fun.}

First, here's the block named Sunday Morning.

This is such a pretty block.

Never mind that I lost a couple of points in the center somehow.

Sundays are all about relaxation, right?

If this block grew up to be a mug rug,

it would be fun to use this little red cocotte for some oatmeal

on a Sunday morning.

{I just learned that word...cocotte. I'm going to use it at least once a week. 
The word, not the thing.}

The next block might just be the most understated beauty

in the book, in my humble opinion...Sunny Sunflower.

This block was truly a pleasure to make,

and I can really see myself making a bunch of the 12" blocks someday,

for a larger project like a table runner or a quilt.

I really adore this flower...ever since I bought a big bunch

of cut sunflowers for my sister, as a housewarming present.

She was living in New Jersey, 

and I found the sunflowers at a local farm stand. 

They looked fabulous on her new kitchen island, in a simple white pitcher. 

It was a long time ago...maybe 20 years...

before I ever knew about blogging, or I would have had a photo to share.

That's okay...this block reminds me of that day whenever I see it.

Isn't that what a great quilt is all about?

As much as I loved making the sunflower...ahem...

the Tumbleweed block was not so much a joy.

Maybe I was tired, but I found this one a bit tricky.

It turned out fine, but there is a little note in the margin

of my book, reminding me that there are plenty of other

cute blocks that are more fun to construct.

{It actually says, "Not as enjoyable to sew...not sure why."}

I made a note for every block in the book...whether I loved it, liked it, or whatever I thought about making more of them.

The Tumbleweed block came out very nicely...

so I'm glad that's over!

The last block for today's post is called 

Water Turn.

I think this is a new block to me, and it's really pretty.

I kind of wish I had not put red and orange together

in my block, but sometimes it's good to just try a new thing.

I like the "open" feeling of this block,

with lots of background fabric in it.

You get a lot of practice making Flying Geese

for this block. I am growing to love those FG's more and more.

Come back soon for some more Farm Girl Vintage blocks...

only a few more to go!

Oh, My Stars - Simple Star, Spring Star, and Summer Star

OK, I admit it...I'm starstruck!

The Farm Girl Vintage book is filled with magical star blocks.

I've got some new ones to share today.

It's always good to start out simple, right?
The Simple Star is truly a basic block,

but it comes out so differently, depending on the fabrics selected.

For mine, I selected a gray and green palette...

a bit of a modern departure from my other blocks.

I really LOVE the lime green with the gray,

and the tiny dash of red is just right.

Could those wee little strawberries be any sweeter???

The next block is called Spring Star.

This is a new block to me, and I love how complex it appears,

but the construction is very easy.

I liked the palette in the book, so I copied it.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

I bought some new bowls to use in my blog posts as props.

Don't they look pretty with these colorful fabrics?

{They also come in handy keeping my little scraps close at hand.}

After the Spring Star comes, of course, Summer Star.

Something really fun happened, as I was stitching this block.

I use my little mini design boards that I learned to make

from this Lori Holt YouTube video.

Now I know why it's called a "design board"...

I found some alternate block designs that I'll have to try someday!

Here's how the block would look without adding the little white corners

to the outer corner squares.

Oh, I was soooo tempted to leave out 16 tiny pieces!

And here's what it looks like, if the hourglass segments are rotated.

The square surrounding the navy blue center is yellow now.

Interesting...

Enough daydreaming...

I stitched up the block as written, in the end,

and it's as lovely as a summer evening.

Now that I'm down to the last few blocks of the Farm Girl Vintage
sew along, I reverted to my earlier palette of primary colors,
with a pop of navy blue.

I'm glad now that I stuck to the original design for this block,
but someday I'll play around with the alternate ideas.
Come back soon for more sewing inspiration!

Scrappy Stuff - Farm Girl Vintage

Hello, Friends!

I've got some more blocks to show you,

from the Farm Girl Vintage sew along.

Now that autumn is on its way,

the leaves are starting to fade and fall.

The Scrappy Maple Leaf block is a sweet way

to make this lovely season last and last.

I spent a lot of time choosing my fabrics for this simple little block.

I love how it looks....a wee bit rustic,

lying beside some fall dishes.

Or sophisticated, posing on a crystal plate.

Wouldn't it make a pretty mug rug for this yellow bowl?

The next block featured in the Farm Girl Vintage book is

Scrappy Strawberry.

The one in the book was pink, but I prefer a juicy red berry myself.

I have more reds than greens, but I still had to repeat my fabrics.

"Use twenty-two different scrappy fabrics," said the instructions.

I'm still giggling.

{Oh, wait. I probably have that many in my stash...somewhere.

But I'm not going to all that trouble to find them.}

Strawberries always look better on a pretty dish, right?

Come back soon for more blocks, fresh from the farm!

Farm Girl Vintage Blocks - Peas, Carrots and Lots More

Now, where we?...

Life interrupted our conversation about my

Farm Girl Vintage blocks.

The last time I blogged, I was talking about the

Out to Pasture and Patchwork Pumpkin blocks.

Pumpkin season seemed so far away...

and now it's almost autumn!

I'm so tempted to skip ahead and show you

my blocks that match up with the sew along...

but let's stay in alphabetical order,

so I won't miss any.

{This book is so much fun that I'm making every single block in it.}

So, the next block in the book was the Peas and Carrots block.

Yay!

After making that pumpkin,

I decided that my finished quilt is going to need some more orange.

{Do you have orange-o-phobia? You really should get over it. 

Some pretty orange fabrics are very therapeutic...trust me.}

I thoroughly enjoyed stitching this block.

I've been skill-building as I work my way through the book.

Oh.My. How I looked forward to making the next block...

Pie Cherries!

This block was probably the deal-breaker block.

I couldn't wait to buy the book after seeing these cherries.

To be honest, I feel a wee bit of disappointment

in my version of the block.

Check it out - my stems are not as uniform as they should be.

But never mind...my pie bird loves these cherries just as they are.

I adore cherry red color anywhere in the kitchen.

It's so retro.

Next in the book is a simple little Pinwheels block.

It's a classic favorite, fun to make, and oh, so cute!

I followed my own tips, and I chose prints of similar value.

I think my favorite one is...that orange one.

{What is the opposite of orange-o-phobia? I have that.}

Have you ever made a Postage Stamp block?

I really want to make an old-fashioned quilt made

entirely of postage stamp blocks, using all of my favorite fabrics.

You don't even need a pattern to create these blocks from 1 1/2" squares.

Just use an accurate scant 1/4" seam, and the squares line up perfectly.

Ahem...almost all the time.

Just because we're best fabric friends,

and I know you love fabrics almost as much as I do,

I'll show you some more close-ups of my postage stamp block.

Just one more photo, to say goodbye for now.

Come back soon to see more of my Farm Girl Vintage blocks!