Yes, I know this is the third post today. I’m on a roll. As long as I am reporting progress I may as well show the addition of the final row to the Upper Left area.

Row five is now in place. This row was completed nearly a month ago at my sewing retreat, but only recently got added to the upper left section.

The lower step is a bit wet and it is kind of hard to see the blocks along the top, so I am posting a different perspective.

I will not be adding rows to this piece. Rather I will be working in sections which I will then join to create the final quilt top.

I have added the third row to the Violet section.

The first row of this section is actually violet/red. The second and third rows are just supposed to be violet, though some of the colors wander in the direction of red or blue. However, I think that helps to create a more interesting color wash. Notice the seemingly out of place Rich Red square in the sashing area. I can get away with that because it is adjacent to Cerise sashing strips, which are also a slightly out of place that far into the Violet area.

Here are all of the blocks in the Violet section.

I am halfway done with this section.

This week I completed three blocks.

#53 Jackknife

Kona solids used are Dahlia, Dark Violet, and Tulip.

This block originally called for only two colors. I added one more color to the mix and I am very happy with the result.

#64 Peace and Plenty

Kona solids used are Copen, Morning Glory, Berry, and Storm.

This block originally called for two colors. In this case I added two additional colors for a total of four colors. This worked out very well to accent the center of the block.

This is the first block I have made for the violet/blue area. The lighter blue really pops. The darkest color is blue, even though it might be mistaken for violet, and the central violet looks nearly red when juxtaposed with the blues. It is so interesting what happens to the perception of colors when you place them near each other.

#63 Ozark Maple Leaf

Kona solids used are Heliotrope and Purple.

This is a case where trying to add extra colors failed miserably. I tried to do this with four colors. I got as far as sewing together one quarter of the block and could tell that I was going to hate it. Here is proof.

Yuck… just yuck.

I cannibalized the papers and moved on to make the block as designed. It will be sashed with Tulip which is lighter than Purple and darker than Heliotrope. I think it will work well.

So how is my progress on this quilt? I’m supposed to be done with 26 blocks. I have finished 36 blocks so far, albeit the last few out of sequence, but that does not matter. I am essentially five weeks ahead. Every week I finish more than two blocks I pull further ahead. At the rate I am going I should finish well before schedule, especially since I am piecing my blocks into sections as I go.

Speaking of assembly into sections… This is something I have posted about on the Facebook group for this sew along, but I do not think I have addressed it here yet. That deserves a post of its own, which should be coming soon. Stay tuned.

This week I have completed three blocks.

#50 Honey’s Choice

Kona solids used are Dahlia, Eggplant, and Purple

I really enjoy using the Purple here. It is very dark in value and I like the contrast it creates in this block. It is also quite blue helping with the transition to the next row. This block only called for two colors, but I decided to add Purple for a third color.

I’m planning to sash this block with Eggplant, which should create an interesting effect as the Eggplant triangles melt into the sashing.

#51 Hovering Birds

Kona solids used are Dahlia and Heliotrope.

The use of two colors close in value has created a relatively low contrast block. I’m planning to move this block a little closer to the center of the quilt, and will likely switch the location with #53 Jackknife two blocks down the row.

#52 Hovering Hawks

Kona solids used are Lupine and Purple.

Purple makes an appearance again in this row of blocks. This block is much higher in contrast than Hovering Birds. The dark fabric is darker and the light fabric is lighter.

You may notice that this block is configured differently than the one in the book. I created the first two quarters of the block, and then accidentally rotated one of the quarters when I joined them. Rather than ripping out my mistake I decided to replicate the mistake in the remaining half. I’m happy enough with the result.

I had considered adding a third color to this block for the longest two pieces and the triangles facing them. That would have been interesting indeed.

I have one more block to make before I can join these blocks as a row to the Violet section.

I have selected the sashing and cornerstones for the first two rows of the Violet section. In the photo above those rows appear assembled next to the final row of the upper left section of the quilt.

I am generally pleased with the way these rows have turned out, but there is one thing that I would do over if it were not such an onerous task. The #27 Darting Birds block is composed of Cerise and Berry. The block is within the 2nd column of the quilt which means that it falls in an area that is flanked by the sashing colors of the four blocks adjacent to it in the 1st and 3rd columns. In the case of this block that space is flanked on two sides by blocks surrounded by the color Cerise. This was part of my unifying sashing plan, and I have no intention of changing that.

When I came up with my sashing scheme I committed myself to those Cerise sashing pieces. It would have been easy enough to avoid the use of Cerise in the block that would fall between them in the 2nd column, but I was not thinking of that when I chose colors for it. I was only thinking of how the colors would play with the nearby blocks themselves.

Previously I had deliberately surrounded a block with sashing the same color as some of the pieces that touched the border. See #7 Birds in the Air above with Rich Red triangles melting into a Rich Red sashing. I think the difference in my perception may be that this block was in an odd numbered column, so the sashing was the same on all four sides, not just two.

What I’ve learned here is that my commitment to specific sashing colors carries a responsibility to consider how those choices should effect the selection of colors for the construction of blocks adjacent to those sashing pieces.

If I had it to do over I would have selected a color other than Cerise to be the lighter portion of the #27 block. I had many options at my disposal as I had more Violet colors than any other group. I would have even redone the block if I had thought about this before sashing pieces were joined on both sides of the block in the row.

In retrospect though, the result is not as disturbing as I thought it would be, and I am going to resist my urge toward perfectionism, and thus avoid adding to the pile of reject blocks for this quilt which will some day become embellishment for a fine skirt, or perhaps a modern alternate grid quilt.

This week I finished two blocks.

#38 Four Winds

Kona solids used are Dahlia, Heliotrope, Tulip, and Purple.

This block contains 64 pieces and takes a heck of a long time to put together. I really like the way this one turned out.

#26 Cut Glass Dish

Kona solids used are Gumdrop, Cerise, and Eggplant.

Originally I had planned to use Rich Red for the squares in this block, but it just was not feeling right.

It is interesting how the perception of color changes depending on surrounding colors. With so much purple around it Cerise looks almost red, and Rich Red looks almost orange.

I think the red would have been a little too jarring.

One thing I changed in this block was the directions of the triangles. In the book it shows the dark triangles facing in one direction. In my version they point toward the squares. I think it is an improvement.

I’ve started to put the first two rows of the Violet area together. Above you see the layout without sashing or corner stones. Choosing sashing colors is an art. I labored over the selection to frame #26 Cut Glass. I actually created four sets of strips and auditioned them before deciding which color would work best with the Tulip and Cerise that I was already committed to for neighboring blocks. I threw in one Rich Red cornerstone to punch things up.

I’m nearly finished sewing these blocks together, but will save the reveal for another post.

Row five still needs connecting, but that will wait a bit as I immerse myself in violet, my favorite color.

I have two blocks finished this week.

#37 Flower Pot

Kona solids used are Lupine, Dahlia, Dark Violet, and Tulip.

This was a hard block to do. I had some difficulty with the basting of the pieces of the flowers. Then I realized that in order to get my tails going in the right direction that I needed to lift the end of the first edge in order to insert the end of my last edge. Then my tails were all facing in the same direction. You don’t need to do that with 90 degree triangles, but these odd shaped pieces require it.

Another thing about this block that had me concerned was that I had to ease quite a bit of length on the seams joining the central flower pieces. Something must have gotten off kilter earlier in the construction. I made the ease work. Then it looked as if I was going to have too much bulk in the seam joining the top half of the flower pot to the bottom half. However, it eased up just fine with the bottom half. I was sweating it though. I’ve really gotten good at this easing.

#27 Darting Birds

Kona solids used are Cerise and Berry.

There are 52 pieces in this block. She would have benefited from my having a darker spool of violet thread. That’s for sure. I could have waited and ordered another spool, but I really wanted to move on and I chose to accept the fact that there would be stitches showing. They show much more in the sunlight than they will on the finished quilt. I’m human. It’s okay.

In addition to my finished blocks I got really far along on another block which I am holding off on finishing. I’ve pressed the nine units which make up the block. Below you will see them arranged as designed with all of the light triangles pointing in the same direction.

Below you will see the triangles pointing in two different directions. I’m waiting to decide how I am going to finish this one off.

A note on Process:

I think it is a good idea to assemble the blocks in units when possible and press those units before assembly.

I’m doing that with this block.

I’ve got one quarter done. This is the famous 64 piece block.

I did not press smaller units on #27 Darting Birds. This is what the back looked like before pressing.

And an angled shot for dimensionality.

It is hard to press those central tails. Of course you start from the outside flattening as you go, but it is still hard.

You can really see the nesting tails on the middle bottom edge here.

The blocks you have seen for this week are from the Violet area of the quilt. I’ll be finishing up different color segments and joining them. I’ve got all of my blocks for the Violet section in a bag with labels attached.

I am hoping to have at least three blocks done for next week, and maybe even the first two rows of the Violet section joined.

When I was at the retreat last weekend I took a photo of the last half of row five. That photo suffered from too strong a light, so I took a photo of both halves of row five in my usual staging area. Here they are.

I just happened to be wearing the right socks. That’s one bright second half of row five anyway.

I spent last weekend at the Central Jersey Modern Quilt Guild Retreat at the Hyatt House in Branchburg, New Jersey. This is my fourth year at this retreat and my fifth year with the guild.

I prepared for this retreat by finishing most of the blocks necessary for the fifth row of my Farmer’s Wife Quilt. I also organized papers for my violet area incase I had a chance to do more blocks after finishing with the fifth row. My new Eversewn Sparrow 20 sewing machine got packed up so I could use her if my shoulders tensed up from too much hand work. I brought my reds, oranges, yellows, and violets with me in bins. I knew I would not need the greens or blues. I was prepared.

I fell short of completing #22 Corn & Beans before leaving the house. So my first order of business was to complete that block and document her. I did not have access to my usual staging area, my front porch, so I used the concrete stoop leading to the outdoor entrance right next to our work room. I kind of like the color and texture of this staging area.

After that I placed my blocks, sashing, and corner stones out, and took photos of the upcoming assembly. Well actually I did some assembly first as you can see from the first photo.

By the time I took these photos mid day light was streaming through semi closed blinds, clearly visible in the last photo.

I labored long and hard on the first five blocks of the fifth row. They were completed by the end of the first day. I rested and at the beginning of the second day I documented my work. This is starting to sound biblical.

On the second day I assembled the last four blocks of the fifth row. I managed to finish that work, and document it, in mid day glaring light. I should have waited until later in the day to take this photo, but I have learned something here. Even the concrete suffers from the strong light. You get the idea though.

Edit: I took this photo a few days after getting home.

It shows off the second half of the row better.

My initial plan was to join the two halves of row five and join the row to the body of the quilt. Remember her?

However, after nearly two days of easing sashing I decided I needed a change of pace so I moved my Sparrow front and center, opened the documentation, hooked her up and got to work getting to know her. It was our first time together.

She had been sitting in the upper left corner of my work area while I did hand stitching for nearly two days.

When I first came into the room on Friday morning I was asked if I was going to be doing all hand sewing this time, or if I had brought a machine. I exclaimed excitedly, “Wait until you see what I brought with me!” I explained about how she weighs 13.5 pounds and that I bought her to lug on the train to Lancaster to my Lambertville Ladies retreats. She made a hit with the group when they saw how cute and light she is. And I showed off the extra feet I bought to go with her.

Threading was easy. She came with a full yellow bobbin. So I could get right to work. Doing the straight stitch was easy. I had trouble figuring out how to access the additional stitches, but I finally stumbled upon how to set them up. I considered assembling a small quilt sandwich and trying out the quilting feet, but decided to leave that for another day.

Here you can see some of the stitches I tried out.

I’m happy I bought her.

After playing with my new sewing buddy I decided to cut and baste fabric for a new block. I chose #37 Flower Pot. Basting this block turned out to be a bit of a challenge. In order for tails to work out properly on the flower pieces I found it necessary to pull up the corner of the first edge on each piece in order to place the corner of the last edge beneath it. It is really necessary to do that.

I started sewing #37 the evening of the second day, (getting biblical again) and finished her in the morning of the third day. she will get a formal introduction during the next Farmer’s Wife Friday, but she makes an appearance here.

Next, with hours to go, I moved on to #38 Four Winds. It took forever to cut the pieces for this block. There are 64 pieces in this block and they are all either one inch squares or one inch triangles. I glue basted about half of them and then could not resist sewing together the lower right corner. I’m halfway done with this onerous block.

I did not press this block before photographing her. She reminded me of a little crab walking across the sand casting a big shadow because her tails where sticking out the back like legs.

All in all it was a retreat with wonderful ladies creating wonderful projects and talking about everything under the sun.

One topic on which I could offer no input was their common love of Outlander. That will be different next year. I have subscribed to STARZ via Hulu, and will be a part of the conversation next time.

I finished three blocks this week.

#39 Friendship

Kona solids used are Cerise, Dark Violet, and Eggplant.

I made this blocks to take the place of #17 in row five. I felt like I needed a darker block so close to the edge of the quilt. As a reminder #17 had a very light value background. It is pictured below.

Continuing on with row five we have

#18 Century of Progress

Kona solids used are Watermelon, Heliotrope, Rich Red, and Eggplant.

This block called for a different arrangement of values, which I did not like very much, so I made it a little more symmetrical. This block has very high contrast and will definitely pop.

#22 Corn and Beans

Kona solids used are Salmon, Orangeade, and Coral.

You may notice that this block is not pictured in my usual staging area. I am attending a three day quilt retreat with my local quilt guild this weekend, and I struggled to complete this block before I left, but failed. So I had to find a place to take the picture at the retreat when I finished it. I settled on the cement stairway outside the retreat workroom.

#22 was the last block necessary to complete row five. I’m working on putting it together now.

My Sparrow is with me. I have not even test driven her yet. That may happen after row five is assembled.