I had every intention of attending QuiltCon this year.

I reserved a room, and registered for the event. That was back in June when registration opened, which is planning quite a bit ahead for a late February event. Since then I’ve decided that attending QuiltCon is probably not the best use of my quilting event budget. I go to quilting events to get to interact with other quilters. I’m not even sure that any of my guild members are attending. I can certainly fend for myself and have a good time, but I get more from local retreats with my Guild members than sitting through lectures and walking through displays alone. I also get a lot from the yearly retreat I attend in Lancaster with friends I met at the first Slow Stitching Movement Retreat with Mark Lipinski. Plus I’m not really a modern quilter.

So I’ve cancelled my hotel reservation, and I’ve decided to bite the bullet and take the $172.00 loss on my All Access pass to lectures that I purchased when I registered for QuiltCon.

The thing that really clinched the decision for me is that my husband has been willing to start a Whole Foods Plant Based No Oil eating regimen with me. This is the first time he has been willing to do this, and I did not feel right about leaving him to fend for himself so early in the journey. I’ll be figuring out how I can accommodate him when I go to my Lancaster retreat in April though. Nothing will keep me from that.

I had every hope of finishing the last yellow block in time for this week’s post. However, it remains unfinished.

The good news is that I have four blocks to show this week.

#61 Northern Lights.

Kona solids used are Daffodil, Sunflower, and Citrus.

This block was designed to be made with two colors. I threw in one extra color. However, Daffodil and Sunflower are very close to each other in value, hue, and intensity, so it almost looks like to colors after all.

It is not one of my favorite blocks, but I think it will work well with the others.

#84 Spool

Kona solids used are Duckling and Sunny. These are the two darkest and most intense colors in my Yellow palette.

This block was borrowed from the central area because I wanted nothing to do with #59 Night and Day.

I like the simplicity of this block.

#85 Square Dance

Kona solids used are Citrus, Acid Lime, and Chartreuse.

This is the first of the yellow/green blocks.

#34 Flock (revisited)

Kona solids used are Acid Lime, Duckling, and Kiwi.

This is the second of the yellow/green blocks.

I had previously made this block with a mix of yellow and orange fabrics to use higher up in the Yellow area. I did not like those choices, however, and I have repurposed the paper pieces here.

I’ve got one more block to complete for this Yellow area and then I will start to assemble.

After a very prolific Last week I am back to my more usual production level of three blocks this week.

#60 Noon and Light

Kona solids used are Lemon, Mac and Cheese along with Duckling.

I’m hoping that the Duckling will pop in the final quilt layout. Duckling is the color that is being used as an accent sashing color in the upper right corner of the quilt in a similar way that Rich Red was used in the upper left corner.

#49 Honeycomb

Kona solids used are Mac and Cheese along with School Bus, which is one of my favorite colors for this quilt.

I was not sure I wanted to do this block. There were so many tiny triangles. I found this block challenging because it was very difficult to get the tails working together.

The first quarter was hit or miss as I ended up redoing the gluing to get things to work properly. I finally realized that it mattered which side I started gluing from depending on which way the triangle was facing.

I came to the conclusion that edges needed to be glued in the following order. I had to glue the edges in a counterclockwise direction with the hypotenuse being the second side glued.

If I did them in this order the tails would nest properly.

It was a great deal of work, but I learned a valuable lesson, and I think the block turned out well.

#75 Rosebud

Kona solids used are Bright Idea and Duckling.

This block uses the two brightest yellows that I have in my Yellow pallet. I have ordered a few more yellows, and, even though I am nearly done with my Yellow blocks, those fabrics might prove useful in providing variety for sashing.

It is my goal to have all Yellow section blocks completed by next Friday. The last two blocks will involve some yellow/green colors.

This week I have an unprecedented seven blocks to share. Yes! Seven blocks!

#46 Hill and Valley

Kona solids used are Mac and Cheese along with School Bus.

This block is destined for a place in one of the first two rows of the Yellow section.

#37 Flower Pot (revisited)

Kona solids used are Mac and Cheese, Orange, Nectarine, and Tangerine.

This block is making a second appearance in this quilt top. It originally was used in its rightful position in the Violet section. I’m going to be using it to replace #35, which is a basket block. I don’t do Basket blocks. I’m fine with flower pot blocks, but not Basket blocks. No rounded handles for me, thank you very much.

This block was much easier to make the second time around. I really learned a lot about the need to pay attention to the direction of tails the first time I made this block. It is important to pull back the first end of the first edge to tuck under the last end of the last edge to keep tails properly oriented on those odd shapes pieces.

The Tangerine is dark for this section, but it will be facing the Orange area, so it will be fine.

#74 Ribbons

Kona solids used are Bright Idea, Daffodil, and Mustard.

I was not sure about this block until it finally came together. I did not think the ribbon colors were going to contrast enough, but they contrast just enough. I also was afraid that the background would be too bright, but I love it.

#73 Rainbow Flowers

Kona solids used are Lemon, Daffodil, Bright Idea, and Duckling.

This is a very easy block, and it was a pleasure to make.

#47 Homemaker

Kona solids used are Bright Idea, Duckling, and Papaya.

I was not sure I wanted to make this one given the Y seams involved and the unusual shapes. I used what I learned from the Flower Pot blocks and paid close attention to my tails.

Look at those points and corners, will ya?

#108 Windmill

Kona solids used are Papaya, School Bus, and Orange.

This block was plucked from the ninth set of blocks. I was looking for an easy block to replace the Flock block, which I had already decided to reject. I love this block.

#45 Grape Basket

Kona solids used are Mac and Cheese, Nectarine, and Orange.

That’s it for this week. I am well on my way with the Yellow section.

Earlier today I ordered 24 half yards from the Fat Quarter Shop, mostly blues and greens. They should be here in six days. I will show them off soon.

Recently I’ve been making reference to the Violet area and the Yellow area without going into detail about my construction methods. Those methods have changed considerably since I first started to assemble blocks.

Initially I was completing diagonal rows of blocks in sequence beginning in the upper left corner and joining each row as the blocks were completed. It was my plan to continue in that manner across the body of the quilt. However, after completing row five I realized that I was going to have to address a plan for color and value choices in the central area of the quilt if I moved on to the next row. I was not yet ready to do that, and I wanted to keep my options open.

Above you see the upper left section of the quilt completed with relatively bold colors. I knew for a fact that I wanted to do the same with the remaining blocks along the perimeter of the quilt. Therefore, it was necessary to divide the quilt in such a way as to leave the central area for the end.

I came up with the following divisions.

The idea is to finish the outer sections first and then work on the central section.

The Lower left is what I am referring to as the Violet area.

Above you see the Violet area butted up against the upper left area.

I’ve been constructing the Violet area row by row in the same manner as I worked on the upper left. I have taken a break from this area, however, because I want to order some more blue fabrics to work on the last two rows of this area.

The upper right is what I am referring to as the Yellow area. This is the area on which I am currently working.

I’ve been taking a different approach to this area. Rather than working row by row I am making many blocks and will begin to arrange them when I feel that I have enough blocks for the first two rows. Above you see a variety of blocks for both the orange/yellow rows and also the yellow rows. Some of these blocks will be formally introduced tomorrow on Farmer’s Wife Friday.

The lower right area is as large as the area in the upper left area. That was quite quite a bit to handle at once, so I may end up dividing the lower right into two smaller areas such as these:

I would call this the Blue area.

I would call this the Green area.

Going back to the upper left area… if I were to do it over again I would be likely to divide that area into two areas as well…

I would call this the red area,

and I would call this the Orange area.

So for future Farmer’s Wife quilts my plan would be as such with seven areas.

As promised I have three blocks to share with you today. They are the beginning of the Yellow section.

Unlike the upper left section and the Violet section I am planning to create a number of blocks before I begin assembly of this section. The reason for this is that the edge of the Orange area that will be butting up against this section is relatively dark in value, and I want to be sure that I make a smooth transition. The first block I made for this section turned out to be relatively low in value, so I thought it best to not rush forward with assembling the first row of the section right away.

#33 Farmer’s Puzzle.

Kona solids used are Mac and Cheese, School Bus, and Orange.

This is the first block of the Yellow section. This block was designed to be a two color block, but I increased it to three colors by adding a bit of darker value using Orange to create the crossing lines down the middle of the block in both directions. I am not sure if the Orange adds to or detracts from The Swastika appearance of this block, but I believe that in the mix of blocks it is unlikely to stand out as a Nazi symbol. At least I hope it won’t.

The Orange was chosen to help with the transition from the darker value Orange area of the Upper Right section.

#36 Flower Garden Path

Kona solids used are Papaya, Nectarine, and Torch.

This block is darker in value than the previous block. It is likely to be included in the row butting up against the Upper Right section, while Farmer’s Puzzle is likely to be demoted to the second line of this section. Both the first and second lines utilize both Orange and Yellow fabrics.

If I had this block to do over I would likely switch the Nectarine and Torch fabrics bringing greater emphasis to the diagonal lines.

#34 Flock

Kona solids used are Lemon, School Bus, and Tangerine.

This is a very confused flock. In the original block the birds are all flying in the same direction. I changed things up a bit by flipping half of the birds about so some fly in one direction while the others fly in the opposite direction.

This block is high on contrast. If I were to do it over again I would put School Bus in the Lemon position and bring Orange in to fill the School Bus spot.

This is all the more reason to postpone assembly. I can always recreate any blocks that just don’t seem to fit after I have the full set of Yellow blocks created. Well, actually, I should be arranging and assembling after I have the nine block completed for the two rows utilizing Orange and Yellow. I can’t use Orange in the last three rows of the section.

As a reminder here is what the upper left section looks like.

My goal for next week is to have at least three more blocks completed for the first two rows of the Yellow section. The three orange blocks along the edge of the last row comprise the area against which the first row of the Yellow section will be placed. This area is pictured below along with the three blocks completed this week.

The photo above might make my concerns about contrast and color wash transition a little more clear. Rest assured it will be handled in the end.

This isn’t just about the Violet area. It is also about how I am organizing The Farmer’s Wife project, and where I will be headed in the near future with the project.

Here is what the Violet area looks like so far from the front. These blocks have been joined without removing any of the interior paper pieces. This set of blocks is getting heavy as a result. It is time to start removing papers. As a matter of interest I decided to time this procedure. Removing papers except those on the edge took me two hour and fourteen minutes.

This is what the Violet section looks like from the back without removing any papers.

It is time to talk a little bit about how I am staying organized. Spending about $250.00 for paper pieces for the full quilt is a big investment, and I intend to use these papers again rather than discard them. Therefore, organization is key.

Above you will see that each block has a baggie to hold the paper pieces associated with it. I create an index card with the name and number of each block to put in the bags. I separate the papers for each block as much as necessary, then place them into their bags. Once construction of a block begins I put the names of the fabrics being used on the index card. This makes it easy to refer to the card when posting to the Facebook group and doing my weekly block blog posts. I don’t want to have to be dragging out all of my fabrics to find a color name. As papers are removed from blocks they are placed back into the bags. Most blocks will have papers removed in stages as the blocks get sewn into the rows of a section. I have two quart size bags for each color area. One holds bags for blocks that have papers entirely removed. The other holds bags for blocks with papers partially removed. A gallon size bag holds these two smaller bags as well as finished blocks that have yet to be joined into rows.

The bag is labeled with a line drawing of the blocks included.

Here you can see a couple blocks that have not yet been added to a row. There are two more rows that need to be completed in the Violet section. These rows contain the colors of both Violet and Blue.

The block in the upper left belongs in one of these Violet/blue rows, yet it contains no blue. The Purple color in that block is actually quite a bit toward the blue side. The block in the lower right includes quite a bright blue and a dark blue that leans toward violet.

At the present time I have decided that I am not entirely happy with my selection of blue fabrics for these remaining two rows. Therefore, I am going to switch to working on my Yellow section and place an order for a few more Kona solid blues. Once they arrive I will complete my Violet section.

Another way I have been organizing, aside from using bags, is to create a box to hold the bags and also the work in process for each section. This allows me to set aside a large piece without fear that it will have things placed on top of it, and develop folds as a result. This method of storing sections in boxes uses bit of space, but I have the space available to me.

Here is the box with the Violet section in progress and the bag in view at the back of the box. More views follow.

Here we see the labeling of the box and the view of the contents through the handle is just cute.

Tomorrow is Farmer’s Wife Friday, and I will have at least three yellow blocks to show.