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!

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Christmas Pinwheels

As another month came to a close,

I found myself hustling

to make something else for our

Across The Pond Sew Along

as well as for my monthly Christmas project.

Christmas Pinwheels count for both!

While I was researching

ideas for the Pinwheel theme for August's

Across The Pond Sew Along, I came across this block.

It's called Flying Kite Pinwheel...so fun!

I found an error in this PDF for the block,

plus I didn't want my block to be as large,

so I decided to draft my own version.

I used some of my red/white/blue repro 30's prints,

as I'd done in my Daisy Pinwheel block.

These were my first efforts...

I love this one, but the points were too close to the edges!

Back to the drawing board!

This time I got the points right, but the blue triangle size was a bit off.

The third time was the charm, using my Cherry Christmas prints.
My method of making this block results

in a pair of blocks that are mirror images.

See how they spin in opposite directions?

{Oh, never mind...it's dizzying to figure that out!}

All it took was a wee bit of quilting to convert the 8 1/2" blocks

into a pair of pretty mug rugs for Christmas.

{Note to self:  Points on the edges will be hidden under binding.}

I used my own free tutorial

for Machine Binding, and it was a quick finish.

Here's the back of the red one.

Here's the green one, on the back.

And now I've got some cute mug rugs,

ready for Christmas cocoa and cookies...

when the time comes.

Have you made any pinwheels this month?
It's never too late!
Show off your finishes at the Across The Pond Flickr group.

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Pinwheels for August - Across the Pond Sew Along

It's been a nice hot summer where I live,

and I've been thinking a lot about cool breezes,

vintage fans, and fresh air.

That's how I came up with the August theme for the 

Across the Pond Sew Along...

We're going to be making Pinwheels!

Here are some ideas for inspiration.

Anything can be a pinwheel...

there are pinwheel cookies...

Pinwheel Cookies by CookEatDelicious

pinwheels made from folded paper...

Wreath by Simply Sweet Home blog

and of course, all kinds of Pinwheel quilt blocks!

Here is a sampling of the awesome pinwheel quilts

I came across, looking for my own inspiration.

There are some great 3D Pinwheel patterns out there!

{Our friend Vexa from Negligent Style has a flair for 3D, and she's going to love these!}

This one is from The Pattern Basket,

and I love the way the white pinwheels contrast with

the colorful backgrounds.

If you want a great free tutorial,

check out this recent post from Moda Bake Shop

by Anjeanette.

Photo credit:  by Anjeanette

Also, I couldn't believe the perfect timing for this

charming table runner,

made by Angela of Knitty Bitties, from another free tutorial.

{Sadly, I couldn't get the link to work for the tutorial, but you could use one of the others I found to make the 3D blocks.}

Photo Credit:  Knitty Bitties blog

You'll find some more simple, but clever,

pinwheel block tutorials over at Pleasant Home.

Jodi must have a "thing" for pinwheels, too,

because she's got a bazillion sweet projects,

including this adorable Christmas table runner.

Photo by Pleasant Home - Christmas Pinwheel  Runner

There is also a Funky Pinwheel Template Set

available in the Pleasant Home shop on Etsy.

I've got one, and I used it when I made my

vintage kitchen table runner, shown here.

There are soooo many more great pinwheel

blocks out there!

This one caught my eye...I hope to make my own version

of this incredibly sweet vintage design from Charise Creates.

It's called Daisy Pinwheel, and

there is curved piecing involved, but it looks well worth the effort.

Photo from Charise Creates blog

If that looks too complicated,

you can always get back to basics with a few

squares and half-square triangles.

Use this diagram from Free Quilt Block Patterns,

and create countless variations.

{Time to sharpen our colored pencils!}

Let's have a fun time this month,

creating a bunch of pretty pinwheels!

Don't forget to show off your finishes

in our Flickr group for Across The Pond!

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