More Farm Girl Vintage Blocks...Canning Season, Chicken Foot and Churn Dash

I've been busy trying to catch up with the

Farm Girl Vintage sew along...

and I'm starting to accumulate

lots of pretty blocks.

I had really been looking forward to capturing

some sweet strawberries

in the Canning Season block.

I picked my berry fabrics and cut my pieces out ahead of time.

Later, when there was a bit of time for sewing,

the block went together quickly.

I took a glamour shot with my Pyrex bowls

and my mini design board.

{I LOVE my gingham lids.}

Next up was the Chicken Foot block.

I think I've seen this block around,

but I never gave it much credit...

what a charming design,

especially when some favorite fabrics are used!

The "positive/negative" effect was fun, and

I was really pleased with my sharp HST's.

With the stitching method used in this block

there was no need to oversize and trim!

Then it was time for a Churn Dash block...

always one of my most favorite quilt blocks!

I chose a fresh navy, yellow and blue palette for mine.

I think this block is one of the best designs ever...

so simple and pretty...great for a beginner to make.

Soon this pretty block was born.

I love the bright 30's style prints I'm using...

mostly Fresh Air by American Jane,

with some Bake Sale by Lori Holt,

assorted polka dots,

and a dash of 30's Playtime Favorites 

by Chloe's Closet.

{I REALLY LOVE that one in the upper right corner...Betty's Green.}

Stop by again soon, for more Farm Girl Vintage fun!

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Making Do

I've given the subject of quilting a lot of thought...

I often wonder why I have the "need" to quilt.

I figure it's in my Pennsylvania Dutch genes,

and I just have to do it.

{I'm like a beagle who longs to chase rabbits, even though it's a house dog.}

Today I read a post by my dear friend Amanda

The Patchsmith,

about the philosophy of quilting.

I would highly recommend that you 

visit her blog to read about the Fabric of Life.

{Always good for a giggle, Amanda has a serious dimension as well.}

Amanda's mug rug for me, made with scraps

As I stitch and sew,
I love to think about the way our foremothers

somehow managed to create beautiful quilts
using only what they had on hand.

{Amanda thinks about this stuff, too.}

Antique 1930’s Garden quilt exhibited by Lynn Kough, 2013 AZQG
from Quilt Inspiration blog

As I thought of vintage quilts,
I was reminded of a project that I made 10 years ago,

and I'd like to share it with you today.
The block is called Bride's Bouquet,

but it's also known as Nose Gay

or Old-Fashioned Nose Gay.

There's a nice new post here about this block
on the blog called Tim Latimer - Quilts etc.

Believe it or not, I had never seen this blog before,

until I was researching the block for today's post.
This post was just written yesterday!

{Very timely, Tim!}

The story of my little table topper began
many years ago...
I made this label for the back of my project.

I won an Ebay bid for some scraps of feedsack cloth.
Along with the fabric pieces, I found an unfinished
Bride's Bouquet block.
I don't have a photo of the original block
I received, but it needed some work.
I picked apart the stitches
and put the block back together again, more carefully,
but in the same order as before.

{I'm pretty sure I had the luxuries of time and good lighting
that were lacking many years ago.}

I think it took me more than a few minutes to appreciate
the shocking selection of fabrics that the original quilter
used for the petal pieces.
Never, never, never 
would I have put all of these prints into the same quilt!

{Until I remade this block...and now I find them utterly charming.}

I had some pink polka dot feedsack scraps for the border,
and I used some vintage pink and green floral fabric for binding.
I made a crude cardboard template to mark clamshells
for the hand-quilting.

{I still remember the peace that came over me as I quilted this block.
My PA Dutch genes were working overtime that day.}

I think using bits of solids in 30's shades

helps to settle down those crazy feedsack prints.

I love "that green" and "bubble-gum pink" together.

Not only did our foremothers "make do" with what they had...
they also made it into something awesome.

Nowadays when I look at those wild prints,
playing so nicely together in this little old block,
I think to myself,
"That farmwife had an excellent eye for color."

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