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Blocks 30, 31 & 32 (Peas & Carrots, Pie Cherries & Pinwheels) - Farm Girl Vintage Quilt & Featherweight Shop Sew Along
Farm Girl Vintage Sew Along
This was a very exciting Farm Girl Vintage post! First, be sure to visit our Retreat Flashback blog post from June 2019, when we were in McCall, Idaho for an entire week of Featherweights and Lori Holt Farm Girl Vintage! I know -- it was hard to believe myself, but it's true... Ruthie, Wendy, and I, along with nearly 50 other quilters and their Featherweights, were all sewing blocks under the tutelage of Lori Holt herself! We even received a few sneak peek blocks for her Farm Girl Vintage 2 book coming out in a few months. It was one of the best events we've had! Anyway, back to this month's block series... We are sewing block 30, 31 & 32: Peas & Carrots, Pie Cherries and Pinwheels. The piecing application for this month was pretty straight forward, but I do have a few tips for you to achieve more accuracy.
1. Go slow
2. Square up as you go
So, for this month, I'll be walking you through some of this and showing you how my blocks turned out using these simple tips. It was a lot of fun and rewarding!
Psssst! If you're just joining us and want to get in on the fun with a darling and perfect collage of farm girl fabric, then check out the Farm Girl Vintage Quilt Kit. (There are just a couple left!) You'll have all the lovely fabrics you need to make this quilt from start to finish. You can get the book here, too!
Open your book to page 53 for this month, grab more fabric scraps, get it prepared and cut, and let's enjoy some more Featherweight sewing! Complete your blocks following along with the pattern, paying attention to a several tips in the photos below. Make sure to press your block seams open (when you can), being careful to be as exact with your cutting and alignments as possible.
Straight out of the gate, let's go slow. And, as they say, slow and steady wins the race, right? Next, square up each unit -- exactly as the pattern directs. Yes, squaring up is important when your block is completed so you can sew your quilt more easily, but squaring up with each section will make your actual block size finish more squarely as well! You would not believe how much easier my block came together when I followed the pattern directions for each unit size and final measurement.
I really, really like the Itty Bitty Eights ruler for squaring up small pieces. The reason is because there are no solid lines and I can see the exact piece edges through the dashed lines of the ruler. Squaring up was then easy peasy!
I like to lay out my pieces as I progress. It helps to see if my pieces are measuring and sewing accurately and gets me excited about seeing it all put together.
I love how this one came together... the colors, the prints, even the points... and the final size measuring exactly 6 1/2 inches was very satisfying. It took me a bit more time (being mindful of that 'going slow' part), yet in the end, I think it was well worth it!
Cherries have always been something I gravitate to, so when I turned the page and saw that we get to sew the Pie Cherries block this month, there was a little flutter in my heart of anticipation and excitement about picking out the fabrics. Emmett, Idaho is known for it's annual cherry festival and when Christian was really small we would go cherry picking there in their U-Pick orchards for 50 cents a pound. Bing cherries are my favorite, but my mom likes Royal Ann or even Rainier cherries. My grandmother used to can all kinds, so they are a memory for me as far back as I can remember.
Again, sewing this block I decided to go as slow as I could, making sure to square up each and every unit section. Follow along below to see how I progressed through the block.
You wouldn't think that 1/16th of an inch would make that much of a difference on that lower edge. And, if you're used to sewing apparel, that is a pretty easy allowance to absorb into a garment seam. Not so with quilt-piecing, however! Every thread width counts for accuracy! While it felt like I was just shaving off a hair sometimes, I did it anyway as I finished a unit, making sure it was according to the measurement in the pattern.
When sewing corners or half-square triangles (aka: HSTs) You can either draw a line and sew corner to corner on the line, or you can skip that step and use the Creative Grids Corner Clipper ruler. It sure saves a lot of time for me, and when I have to go slow anyway, every time saver helps! Just be sure to measure twice, cut once, and cut along the correct edge.
Click here for instructions on how to set your Featherweight Accurate Seam guide in the proper place. Then, attach the original presser foot, align the fabric pieces against the edge of the guide, and enjoy quarter inch seams that match perfectly!
Pinwheels are just fun all the way around. Whether they're the ones you receive at a carnival, buy at the dollar store for a 4th of July gathering or sew them into blocks in a quilt, they're always just HAPPY! Picking out fabrics was easy because I just used Lori's guide to color and block placement by following the example in the book.
What about you!? What colors have you put together this month for your Farm Girl Vintage blocks? Let us know and feel free to post pictures in the comments below. Or join us on the Facebook group to share and enjoy more Featherweight Fellowship online!
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