Joining the Blocks

 The farmer's wife quilt top is finally finished and today i have lots of pictures of it to show you.............

 ..........after trying various ways of photographing it i ended up putting it on the wall of my sewing room.....i am used to taking pictures of small things close up so this was quite a challenge :)..........i am thrilled with the effect of the quilt now that it has all been pieced together with the sashing and the little cornerstones......

..........i tried lots of different plain shades against the blocks until i found the one that i felt worked the best, this very pale pink picked up the colours in the blocks and contrasted just enough with the white fabric i'd used a lot in the blocks...........the fabrics in the quilt are some of my most favourite ones from lecien and pam kitty morning and cath kidston, plus some dotty and stripy ones which i always love to include in patchwork projects too.................

..........i'd like to say a big thank you to the author of this inspiring book, laurie aaron hird........it has captured so many crafters' imaginations and the great thing is that everyone has their own interpretation of the theme and each person's quilt is special to them.........

 .........i made the blocks gradually until i had the right number to make the small quilt..........it was a pleasant slow project alongside the work projects i had going on at the time, many of which had to be kept secret....

 ..............lots of shots of the different blocks on different angles......they have a mosaic like feel........

 ..........after i'd taken (dozens) of photos of the quilt top i took the backing (white with red polka dots) and the batting (wadding) and made the quilt sandwich using curved basting pins which is the method i find works best for me, as you can keep adjusting the pins as you work,  and smoothing out the area to be quilted so it is nice and flat.....i learnt this technique from my two sisters who went to a quilt class run by a canadian lady living in the uk :)...............

...........and now the quilting has begun..........lots of cosy stitching to occupy my autumn (and winter) evenings...........and as we are talking about patchwork today i thought i'd show you this exciting sneaky peek of my new book to be published in the spring time ...................

 ..........this is the top secret thing i have been mentioning occasionally over the past year and a half.....it was very hard to make a project i was excited about and then put it away ready for the book photoshoot  instead of sharing it here :)..........there are twenty five such projects in this book, and i look forward to sharing the making of them next year when the book comes out.........it is published by david and charles, and i will add all the details here nearer the time.............

                                      .......but for now it's back to my farmer's wife quilting......

....thank you  so much for the kind wishes for charlie's birthday, he had a very happy time and his halloween party was a great success, enjoyed by all the little witchlets and wizards...............sending you all warm wishes for a happy november.........back soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx