We have come to the end of the first month of the Farmer’s Wife QAL. In that time we have completed twelve blocks. I have displayed these blocks above on a dark background. I have a full bolt of Kona Hunter Green that I thought I would audition as a potential sashing color.

This week we had two blocks to make, #41 Granny, and #45 Jenny.

#41 Granny

Granny was made with the following Kona Solids: Pea Pod and O.D. Green.

Granny has the smallest pieces to date. They were challenging to baste because the fabric that was turned behind nearly met in the middle of the pieces because the pieces were so small. Granny would have been even more challenging if I had not chosen to do her with EPP. Those tiny squares are actually supposed to be two tiny triangles joined.

You can see that the basting stitches have been removed from the smaller shapes. This is possible to do because these shapes do not touch the outside of the block.

#45 Jenny

Jenny was made with the following Kona Solids: Raisin, Palm, and Limestone.

Here is the back of Jenny.

Working on Jenny prompted me to think a lot about value in my blocks. Raisin looks nearly black compared to the other violets. Limestone appears nearly white. Jenny has the highest contrast of any block so far. I really enjoy the subtle contrast in value between the Palm and the Raisin in the center of Jenny.

On the other hand, Granny has good contrast, but it is not extremely high contrast as with Jenny.

One thing I forgot to comment on last week was how I enjoyed using the 32 pound weight paper compared to 20 pound copy paper for making my paper pieces. I really like it and I will continue to use it. I think it allows me to obtain nice sharp corners without fear of distorting the shape. Heavier weight card stock would probably also be good, but then I might have some trouble piercing the paper with the needle.

The papers above were removed from the center of Granny.

The papers above were removed from the center of Jenny.

Although I prefer the photo at the beginning of this post for showing my progress for the month, I took the photograph above to share on Instagram because I needed a square format.

I am participating in the Link Up Party on Gnome Angel.