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.

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.