I've always wanted to make a Farmer's Wife Quilt. I think it is one of the rites of passage for a quilter - like upgrading to proper quilting thread, or discovering that you have more quilting rulers than is strictly necessary. Farmer's Wife Quilt? You've arrived. 

I fell in love with Lori Holt's Farm Girl Vintage 2 when she released it in 2015, but at that stage I had a tiny baby, another one on the way, and absolutely zero sewing time. I would look at it wistfully on instagram and blogs, watching everyone make their beautiful Farm Girl Vintage quilts while I sterilised baby bottles, changed nappies and packed moving boxes. 

Fast forward six years later (!) and the babies are both a little bit bigger and quite self sufficient. There are no more nappies. The bottle steriliser is gone and there is space for a sewing machine (or two). And I'm ready. I'm ready for slow stitching, fabric gathering, block measuring, and quilting. I'm ready for 50 pieced and quilted blocks, and to indulge in a Farmer's Wife Quilt with a difference. This isn't the old-fashioned quilt of yesteryear. Although those too are beautiful, the cheerful blocks and bright colours of the Farm Girl Vintage quilt are just more - me. 

There are two Farm Girl Vintage books (creatively named Farm Girl Vintage and Farm Girl Vintage 2!). In the sampler pattern (on the front cover of the Farm Girl Vintage 2 book above) there are 20 12-inch blocks and 30 6-inch blocks, and I chose blocks from both books based on what I'd have in my farm if I were lucky enough to live on one! It was really slow going, especially when trying to fit blocks within the tiny moments I've managed to carve out in the early mornings or late afternoons. But it is so worth it. 

I quilted each block differently, and I really like the way that it makes the blocks pop out. I left some small areas unquilted - like the yellow stripes on the bee's body, or the cat face, or the heart in the middle of the beehive. I like that they're puffy and dimensional. 
I really love these yarn skeins! It's the "Grandma's Crochet" block. In my case, it's definitely Mama's Crochet, I don't think either of my grandmothers are known for their crochet.This is the "Evening Star" block. This was my first quilt block for the whole quilt, and I absolutely love these fabrics and the design. We have spent many, many nights under the desert sky watching the stars come out and swirl across the sky in a way that is totally unique to the Abu Dhabi terrain. The beauty of wild camping, which we've been fortunate enough to do for the past year or so, is that you're all alone in the great outdoors and there are no lights to obscure the sky and no other people around to interfere with the quiet of the great outdoors. It's really very magical!

It may have been a bit ambitious to make a one-year-old baby a quilt for her birthday, but she was delighted. She unwrapped it, picked it up, and hugged it with her tiny baby arms. She now points at the squares, and tries to find funny shapes. Clever girl.


I started making this quilt months ago (okay, actually maybe a year ago. Or longer.). I cut up some of my favourite fabrics in 2 inch squares, and then added to the stash every time I had a fabric scrap. I then pieced the squares together one-by-one as the stash grew... LONGEST and most drawn-out method of making a postage stamp quilt ever. The sensible thing to do would have been to piece strips of fabric and cut them out from there, but then I couldn't use up my hoarded scraps. Ah well.


I quilted around each square with straight lines, and then quilted a grid around the whole quilt, going round and round in a tight square with lines about 1cm apart. Such neat quilting... so unlike me. Really love the grid effect, it makes the fabric go all crinkly when it folds up, like an old, much-loved quilt. I think it helps that I used two layers of wadding to make it a bit thicker than usual.

I'm so happy with this quilt, I put so much love and work into it; even pulling out seams when squares didn't line up (!) and carefully lining everything up so there were no identical squares side-by-side. I can't believe I finished it (A) in time and (B) at all. #happy.

An excellent friend of mine has the cutest little boy who is very nearly about to turn one. When he was born, I promised his mum a handmade gift of her choice - something special, I promised - and she asked me to make a sport-themed playmat. It has only taken me 8 months, but it's finally finished. 

I hadn't forgotten about the Animal Alphabet Quilt. I was just taking a little break while I finished up the Amy Butler Weekender Travel Bag. You know, to keep things interesting. Also, this quilt is a lot of work. Sometimes you just need to put it away for a bit.


I pieced the back using three animal fabrics - turquoise zebras, lime green cows and blue-green chickens. As you do. I laugh every time I see those chickens. Each one is decorated with a pattern (floral, gingham, dots) and there are flowers and teapots in between them.

Oh it was so nice having a bank holiday this week. I'm still quite sick (ah the joys of pregnancy, they say) so I had a rather lazy weekend on the couch, in bed, in the sun. And then, all of a sudden-ly, it started to rain.


It's still lovely and bright outside, but the rain is glip-glopping on the pavement outside the windows and everything inside becomes hazy and snug and warm. It's quilt weather.

F is for fairy lights

Unicorns, and sparkly purple fabrics. Lots of late-night tracing, cutting, ironing and more cutting. Making good progress on the remaining animals - only four more sets to go. Then I need to assemble them, measure out the backing, and iron them on. Then lots and lots of free motion quilting. No pressure.

X is for X-Ray Fish

That's my sewing table, and it is absolutely covered from end to end with bits and pieces of colourful fabric. You never know when you might need a bit of yellow for Yaks, or a touch of orange for Vultures. Choosing fabrics is half the fun.

It's hard work not doing anything creative. My fingers twitch with memories of knitting, and all I want to do is get spinning to whip up some new yarn in a thousand different jewel tones I've imagined since I started feeling ill. Still, it's not that bad. I've done a bit of planning, organising, thinking.

And, best of all, I remembered about this quilt which has been "in progress" for about two years. It has been hiding away, tucked in between the pages of a notebook on my bookshelf. It is the "Animal Alphabet" quilt from Don'tLookNow.


It's a smallish quilt with lots and lots of applique shapes in a hundred different fabrics/colours. I bought the pattern at the quilt market two years ago, and have been slowly making my way through the various shapes ever since then.


I have chickens, all cut out and stuck in the book, waiting to be appliqued on to the quilt front. I also have alligators, elephants, fish, jellyfish, newts, monkeys, and sharks. The unicorns are missing their Us, and the yaks are more-or-less traced but not cut out yet.