I *AM* a Farmer's Wife

Have you heard all the excitement about this book? I have been amazed at how many of my favorite bloggers have been participating and how lovely the blocks are with current fabrics. Today I jumped in. I am so inspired by the letters in the book (link here) and the blocks are just beautiful. And, being that we are the proud owners of some Walnut trees, I suppose I AM actually a farmer's wife - why not make the quilt?

This is Block # 1 - Attic Windows. I am using mostly blue & aqua colors - lots of scraps and a few new favorites, too.

The book is written around letters from women in the 1920's, answering the question "Do You Want Your Daughter to Marry a Farmer?" Just after prohibition and women earning the right to vote, the essays from farmer's wives are like a time capsule, but also very current somehow. Mothers are mothers, no matter the era, I suppose. The letters are fascinating and the blocks they inspired are lovely. I've never made a sampler quilt, but I love the scrappy and colorful look of them.

I hope to sew lots of these blocks in the upcoming days and weeks, in between reading the letters - and I'll post as I go. If you'd like to see what the fuss is all about, check out the Farmer's Wife Quilt-a-Long on Flickr - there are some beautiful quilts being inspired by this book.

Gallery Wall with a Tiny Quilt

I almost forgot to post this little guy! It might be a stretch to call it a finished quilt since it’s so little, but I haven’t felt well, so a finish is a finish! This is made from some of my Farmer’s Wife quilt blocks, as an addition to a gallery wall in our hallway. It felt like it needed a quilt.  : ) 

 And here’s my version of the famous gallery walls I see on Pinterest. On the top is my first ever art quilt (in the frame).

A Tour of My Sewing Room & Office

I am so grateful that the house we built has a designated space, just for me. I've spent the last six years sewing at our dining room table. It's so nice to have my own room and be able to close the door to keep my children out of my projects and sharp sewing tools. 

I've been promising pictures for a while, so here we go... welcome to my sewing room & office!

To the right of the door is my computer and desk. This is where I run my portrait photography business and where I am blogging from right now! The top shelf holds supplies for packaging my photo DVDs and some antique cameras I've collected. The bottom shelf has some decorative items and more office supplies. 

On the wall next to the computer desk is my large hutch. This baby holds a lot! I have photo boxes with current sewing projects, rulers, supplies, and lots of goodies in this cabinet. Hanging above it is my Vintage Neighborhood quilt. 

On top of the hutch is my favorite red "rotary" phone and lots of little jars with misc. sewing supplies - safety pins, binding clips, ric-rac, lace, and embroidery thread. I got the aqua doilies on clearance at Michael's for 25¢!

This vintage-looking trio of baskets is actually from Hobby Lobby. It's currently holding new fabric that I haven't put away, and current projects - Farmer's Wife blocks and the quilt my daughter is making.

The view from my sewing machine...... 

This is to the left of the window - it's my original Singer sewing machine that I made my first many quilts on. On top is my rainbow button collection. 

... and the button collection that started it all. 

This little cabinet holds odds and ends - more office supplies and a lot of my camera equipment. On the wall above it is a collage of about 30 of the quilts I've made. Since I give most of them away, it's nice to have something I can look at and remember some of my favorites and who they've gone to. In the small frames next to it are some of my favorite vintage sheet prints. 

And on top of that cabinet are a couple of antique jars - one holding fabric selvedges and one holding clothes pins (which I use for everything under the sun!). The little frame says "A day comes when you say 'love' and you mean 'for life.' May 24, 2003." This was the favor from our wedding. 

And perhaps the best part of my sewing room & office? My giant walk-in closet. It's 7.5 x 6.5 feet and it's quickly becoming my happy place. We bought two Expedit shelves from Ikea to organize all of my treasures. 

This little red cart is one of my favorite things. I'm currently using it as a library cart for some of my favorite craft books. I love it. 

On the large shelf is all kinds of stuff - photo equipment, office supplies, books, computer equipment, cards, yarn, old magazines, binders with patterns in them, current misc. projects, and lots and lots and lots of old photos. The top shelf are more boxes that need to be unpacked - more old photos, yearbooks, and some holiday decor. One of the best things about this giant closet is it means very few of my things remain in the garage. I always hated seeing my yearbooks or other sentimental items out there in the heat and cold and moisture. 

I have a lot of knitting to do!

These boxes are all empty - waiting to hold some of those old photos. I want to go through and sort them by year so they won't be so haphazard. I, of course, have our family photos in albums out in the living room. These boxes are either old photos or duplicate copies of what are in the albums. Even so, it annoys me that they are so out of order.

The other side of the closet has a smaller Expedit shelf. This is my "fabric vault." The green bins on the top shelf hold quilt batting and pillow forms and gift wrap. The plastic drawer on the left side hold scrap fabrics, sorted by color. The backet on the right holds vintage linen scraps. 

Next to the green bins is my childhood baby - William. I adore this cabbage patch kid and keep him up high and out of reach of the kids. Some things mommy just isn't ready to share!

The fabric shelves are sorted by age - vintage linens and newer fabrics. Then sorted by color. Fat quarters are folded in front and larger pieces are stacked behind them. When I am pulling for a project, I sit on the floor in there and count my blessings - I am so lucky to have my own space!

Farmer's Wife :: Block #2

This block is called Autumn Tints, although with the fabrics I chose, it's not very "Autumny." Still pretty, though! :)

Farmer's Wife :: Block 4 & 5

Two more blocks complete! I am loving this book and these blocks. I wish I had more time to work on them. I skipped block 3 (Basket) because I just didn't care much for it. I may come back and do it later, but for now, I'm going to just do the blocks I like. I don't think I will make the 111 blocks required for a queen sized quilt, I'll probably aim for a large lap-sized quilt (50 blocks), which gives me some freedom to customize what blocks to make and what to skip.

Anyway, this is block 4, "Basket Weave" and it reminded me so much of the first quilts I ever made (see here and here). I love these blues and aquas!

And block 5, "Bat Wing" using one of my favorite green florals.

More to share soon, I hope!

Farmer's Wife :: Block 7

"Birds in the Air"

Whew! This was a very difficult block for me! 36 tiny little triangles + 4 larger triangles. I did not enjoy sewing this and it's far from perfect. And I'm quite upset that the points of the triangles will be chopped off once I sew it with the other blocks. :( Oh well... hopefully the next blocks will go better (or I'll at least be able to figure out why this one did not!).