Springtime at Farmhouse Quilts

Hello friends!

It has been a while, hasn't it?

I have to share a true story: A few weeks ago, I received an email from someone who follows my blog,  and she was concerned that her name might have been removed from my mailing list because she hadn't received any new blog notifications....I let her know that indeed her name was still on my list, but I simply had not written anything new in a long while... ***hangs head in shame***. So here I am with a brand new post!

I have been busy these past few months, not only with quilting, but also starting another new facebook group, and ofcourse family and home activities.

In addition to my Farmhouse Quilts and Friends facebook group ( click here to join!), I felt that facebook needed another group, this one dedicated to people learning and using the Accuquilt cutting system. Initially I thought it would be a small group, basically consisting of a few of  my Farmhouse members, but the group grew ( very rapidly, I might add!) into a big group that has more members than Farmhouse Quilts! Which tells me that there is a need for it :). The name of my group is Made With Accuquilt~ A Friendly Support Group, and if you would like to check it out you can do so by clicking this link ( click).

As you can imagine, finding interesting posts to share in both groups keeps me plenty busy, but I have found time to make ( or at least get started on) some fun new projects:

I joined a BOM making the Longwood Garden quilt by Emily Taylor. Every month I will receive a package with a pattern and fabric, and at the end of 10 months I should have a beautiful collage quilt. 

( photo via Collagequilter.com)

So far I have completed the tulip block and I am up to date ( Ha!),but I know the next block has shipped out so it will be exciting to find out what it is. I sincerely hope that the swan and peacock will be left until later, when I hopefully will feel much more confident about fabric choices and placement!

In just a few days I am hoping to receive the kit to start the Quilted Scarecrow by Lori Holt.

( image via Fat Quarter Shop)

 Isn't he the sweetest scarecrow you ever saw? I was lucky enough to be invited to sew along with Fat Quarter Shop, so you will see my blocks appear, along with other bloggers', in social media posts soon. And I am so glad that this one will also be a SLOW sewalong so that I can take my time making each and every block! If you would like to find out more information about the pattern ( there is a cross-stitch pattern as well!) you can check out this link ( click). And be sure to follow me on Instagram to see updates on my progress as well~ you can find me here: https://www.instagram.com/farmhousequilts/.

As I mentioned, I started a facebook group dedicated to Accuquilt experiences, so I have been giving my machines a good work out while trying new blocks and making videos to share in my group. The more I use my machine and dies, the more I love them! They just make everything so easy-peasy, from the speed of cutting needed fabric, to the ease of putting blocks together. And it sure is nice to be in with a group of like-minded people :D. Here are just a few of the blocks and projects I have been working on:

 

I also won a prize from Accuquilt for sharing an Earth Day friendly project using their products and with that money I quickly ordered the Boxed Bag dies and the Rag Circle die ( no burning a hole in this pocket, I tell you! :D). This was the project I shared on their page: 

I used the Queen of Hearts die ( click here for more info) and made these sweet hearts from an old cutter quilt. I also added some stamped words ( stamped on twill tape that comes wrapped around Fat Quarter bundles), and some found buttons. I have used these to attach to giftbags, but you could also add a little bit of lavender and use them to freshen up closets and drawers.

Well, friends, that is all the news for now. I must get back outside and plant some more flowers, because we are having the most incredible summery weather at the moment, and I don't know how long that is going to last! I hope to see you in one or both of my groups, or come say hello on Instagram!

Until next time~happy creating!

Monique

Autumn

 Hello friends, 

We have been enjoying the most amazing Fall weather these past weeks! The temperatures have been so pleasant, although we did have a little bit of a cold snap with some EEK, SNOW! I happen to love snow so I was very excited but it didn't last long, and now we are back to sunshine and gloriously pleasant days.

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We took full advantage of the nice weather this weekend and hung up our Christmas lights ( hubby usually does these in freezing weather, so this was a nice change!), raked some leaves, and planted more Daffodil bulbs. It is my intention to plant more bulbs every year so that one Spring in the future we have a sea of yellow under our Maple trees. I would plant other bulbs as well~ I love Tulips and Grape Hyacinths~ but those bulbs always mysteriously disappear...somewhere some little critter is enjoying those bulbs, I know, but the Daffodils bulbs are safe!

Okay, enough of the glorious photos, right? How about some Show &Tell about what is going on in my quilt room?

I started a new project, using my Accuquilt die and a nice bundle of flannels from Northcott! This is the Northwoods medley die and I was glad for a chance to use it finally!

I drew up a simple quilt design on my graph paper and then set about cutting my blocks. I decided to make the blocks 5x5, 10x10, and 5x10, and then had fun appliqueing my moose, bear, and tree shapes to the various blocks, using fusible applique and a zigzag stitch in brown thread.

I do love the rich colors of the flannels and think they go perfectly with the theme! After appliqueing, I sewed my blocks together, making one small layout change so that I didn't have to sew a wonky piece ( Y-seams and I do NOT get along!) and now I am busy making some borders out of the leftover flannel so that this may become a nice-sized cuddle quilt. I will share the finished quilt at a later date!

While I had my Accuquilt cutter out, I decided to make a simple table runner by appliqueing some pumpkins, leaves, and acorns to a purchased table runner. This was such a quick and simple project, but I like how it turned out! This used the Fall Medley die, which has all kinds of versatile shapes! 

And finally, I have to share another project that I have been working on: One of my favorite blocks is the Churndash, and the color that is overtaking my stash is BLUE, so I thought it would be a great time to make a blue and white Churndash quilt! Again, I used my Accuquilt die for my blocks ( I was on a mission to use those dies!), but rather than making 9 Churndashes, added an embroidered block in the center. 

You can find the Churndash die here ( click) and the embroidery came from this book here. By the way, if you like sweet little projects that feature some embroidery you need to check this out...it is filled with cute patterns!

Now I think it needs some sashing, so you will have to check back again and see which way I tweaked this project!

Finally I will leave you with some pics of our newest addition, a mini Rex that we "rescued" from a farm store. He did not seem to be doing very well, but now that he is in our home, with 2 other bunny companions, plus lots of good food, toys, treats, and care, he is perking up nicely! We now have a mini Rex, a triple Lionhead, and a mini Lop, and they all have their very own quirks and personalities!

Can you guess which one is which, based on these pics? Ha!

I hope you are all having an amazing Fall season ( or Spring, of course, if you are south of the Equator!)!

Until next time~ happy creating!

Monique

Hello, remember me?

 Hello friends, 

Ooooh, my goodness, it has been a while since my last post, hasn't it? I really don't know where the time goes! Making has been in full swing in my quilt room so today I thought I would share some photos of the projects that are currently keeping me out of trouble!

First of all I want to share a photo of my Fall quilt that I made for the QAYG tutorial ( to read that post go here:https://myfarmhousequilts.blogspot.com/2021/10/quilt-as-you-go-another-tutorial.html ). I finished it soon after that blog post and it is gracing the ladder next to our fireplace in the family room, where it looks just so cozy and perfect! 

I also finished the sewalong quilt ( for part 1 of that sewalong click here) :

I also made some Hexie Flower coasters and will share a tutorial about these soon ( so easy and what a fun gift!): 

And then I was inspired to start a little Snowman quilt....I am actually thinking of writing this one up and selling the pattern, something which I have not done before but would like to give a go! 

And finally, I bought this pattern on Etsy because I loved the design so much, but so far am not happy with my color choices. So this one is going to require some tweaking on my part to bring me joy....

So there you have it! Of course, with Christmas only 8 weeks away I am now going into fulltime Christmas gift-making mode! And I am going to start pulling out my decorations soon too, to get me totally in the Christmas spirit! 

Please share with me what you are working on these days. I would love to know! 

And before I forget, a request for everyone who sewed along with our last sewalong ( the Flower Market pattern by Amanda Niederhauser): We did a Show & Tell in the FB group so we could see all the different versions of the quilts and I want to share a blog post about them as well. So if you sewed along but are not in the Facebook group and would like to have your quilt "featured" in an upcoming blog post, please email me a photo of your quilt( top) at farmhousequiltsinlancaster@gmail.com and I will make sure to include it ( I will not provide any names so your privacy is secure!). Thank you!

Until next time~happy creating!

Monique

Get comfy....

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Hello friends, 

I have sooooo many new things to share with you this week! In fact, I might just have to split this blog post into 2 so it doesn't end up being super long....

First of all, for those of you sewing along with the WINTERBERIES quilt, how are your blocks coming along? I promised you a slow sewalong but I also don't want you all sitting around waiting impatiently for the next set of instructions ;). I have been getting those ready and they should be coming out this coming week! And the best way to make sure you catch all the instructions when they come out is to sign up to follow my blog via email ( see box in the sidebar on the right-hand side). Want a little sneak peek at the next set of blocks? 

I have to admit that I have gotten a little sidetracked by some other projects this past week...

I found a sweet mini charm pack hiding in one of my drawers and decided, on  a whim, to sew it together into something. No plan, just start. And this is the result: 

In addition to the mini charm pack, I also used some linen and wordy fabric from my stash. And then I chose to big stitch hand quilt the scalloped edge as well as the sashing with some blue perle cotton. This quilt was begging for the addition of some buttons, so I auditioned a few options....

...but ended up using the wooden buttons you see in the first photo. Now it just needs the binding sewn on and it will be ready for use. I might just have to make another one of these little quilts, because I happened to find another little mini charm pack the other day....hahahaha! By the way, I couldn't find this particular mini charm  pack online anywhere, but I can tell you that buying mini charm packs here is by far the best deal! ( click!)

Some ladies in my facebook group have been sharing various Lori Holt ( of Bee in My Bonnet) blocks and it made me dig out one of my unfinished quilts.  

This one is called Bee Happy and it truly brought me joy to work on each and every one of these blocks! But then, all of a Lori's patterns bring me joy because they are always made with happy fabrics :). This quilt was made with simple piecing and templates ( click)  and I am hoping to get this one all quilted and bound by next week and then I can finally display it. I made my quilt entirely out of scraps and stash and followed Lori's tutorial on her blog ( where it is still available). 

I have so much more to share, everything from new amazing books, to templates, to kits, but they will have to wait until next week! I do want to finish this post with some eye candy....

I visited my favorite re-use store this week and, although my intention was to be very good and only buy one thing, I failed miserably and came home with all kinds of goodies :). I have decided that I have very eclectic taste in fabric! 

This fabric with the hearts and thimbles had to come home, don't you think? And that diamond fabric would be a cute border on a happy little quilt...or maybe a pillowcase?

These sweet little angels had to come with me. They remind me of the Root Children in this book.

This fabric is so pretty and it reminds me of Minick and Simpson designs.

Some little florals are always nice to own!

I wasn't sure about this fabric at first, but I think the top piece would be gorgeous in a collage quilt, and the bottom is a bit Nordic looking and I love Nordic fabric.

I can never resist those pretty trims or buttons....

I have to admit that I barely looked inside this book...the outside cover is eye candy~just look at all those yummy colors!

And finally, a 30's jelly roll and a book featuring quilts with those fabrics, plus some variegated perle cotton that would look pretty amazing on a project made with these. Honestly, can you blame me for going a little crazy? Of course not!

All kinds of goodies to make all sorts of wonderful projects with! But first, WINTERBERRIES!

Until next time~happy creating!

Monique

Some finished projects, and some new ones....of course!

 Hello friends,  (please click the title of this post to view it in your browser)

Did you know that there are just a mere few weeks left to go until Christmas?? This year has gone both  incredibly SLOWLY and incredibly fast. Are you finding that too?

When my husband pointed out last Wednesday that there was just a month left until Christmas I have to admit that I panicked just a bit ;). But then I got my Christmas presents for mailing out the door and on its merry way and that brought some relief. Now I just need to worry about my own little family and , seeing as we already started shopping for them, it shouldn't take too long to finish up ( although with 4 birthdays in December and January, as well as Christmas, it is not always easy to come up with brilliant gift ideas!)

As part of my Christmas gifting I had to finish this lap quilt: 

The pattern for this came from Fat Quarter Shop and I shared the link a few weeks back. I added the various pets to ( hopefully) make it an extra special gift!

I also finished my bags with those bee embroideries that I had finished way back when: 

I bought a stamp set and a special ink pad and embroidered these with my favorite Sulky threads. They turned out very sweet I think and I hope that the recipients enjoy both the bag and its contents ;). 

After finishing these projects I gave myself permission to start some new ones! I am very excited about this kit that goes with a collage class that will be happening this weekend! I am very interested in collage quilting and am looking forward to learning the technique that this gal uses. 

And finally, I visited my favorite re-use shop this past week ( who am I kidding, I visit that shop pretty much weekly!) and picked up a bunch of goodies ( of course!), including this super sweet, vintage-looking embroidery kit. I just couldn't resist the sweet image and those vintage-looking colors! 

This one will keep me busy for years to come, I think ;).

As for other projects, I have a t-shirt quilt I want to make for our youngest boy for Christmas, but am waiting on my interfacing to arrive. And then I want to put together my 3rd Jelly Roll Twist quilt with the fabrics that I shared in this blog post. And I have an ornament to make and send this coming week because I decided at the last minute to hold an ornament swap in my Facebook group! Busy, busy, busy, but oh so much fun! I do so enjoy this time of year :)

I hope you are enjoying yourself, crafting, creating, and just enjoying the season.

Until next time~happy creating!

Monique