Thursday, September 25, 2014

Agri-Spouse Friday - Week 9

Welcome back to Agri-Spouse Friday!

Last week we did up two blocks that were HSTs, HSTs and more HSTs in that both blocks were made entirely of HSTs. With that we will go right into the pictures.

First is Suzanne's Broken Dishes:



And Marian's Broken Dishes:




Then we have Suzanne's Peace and Plenty:




And Marian's Peace and Plenty:




Beautiful Ladies! Mom...you out there??

I originally had us doing three blocks this week but I mucked up the third block by doing it in two colours instead of three and as a result it ended up looking just like another block rather than looking like its own block so I will redo it and post it then.

So with that, this week's TWO blocks!


We will start with Block #102 - Whirlpool..

Cut eight yellow 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" squares.
Cut eight blue 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" squares.













Place one 2 1/2" yellow square RST with one 2 1/2" blue square. Pin on the diagonal. Draw a line diagonally on the wrong side of the lighter fabric. Sew a seam 1/4" from the line you have just drawn and then sew a 1/4" seam on the other side of the line you drew. Then place your ruler along the line you drew and slice the two HSTs apart Set the seam and press to one side. Repeat the process with the remaining seven yellow/blue 2 1/2" squares to make all of the squares into HSTs. Trim your HSTs to 1 1/2" square. You should now have sixteen yellow/blue HSTs that measure 1 1/2" square.












Arrange all of your HSTs the way they are supposed to look.












We will number the patches like we did the nine patches except that this time they will number 1 - 16. Flip 1 RST onto 2 and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat for set 3/4 then 5/6 then 7/8 then 9/10 then 11/12 then 13/14 and lastly 15/16. Make sure that you press the seams to the sides in such a way that where the seams meet, they end up going opposite ways so that they will nest neatly.




Now flip the 1/2 set RST onto the 5/6, set, nesting the seam neatly and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Flip the 3/4 set RST onto the 7/8 set, nesting the seams neatly and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Flip the 9/10 set RST onto the 13/14 set, nesting the seams neatly and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Flip the 11/12 set RST onto the 15/16 set, nesting the seams neatly and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side.

Flip one four patch RST onto the four patch beside it, sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Then flip the other four patch RST onto the other four patch and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side.

Lastly, flip the two pieces RST onto each other, sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side and the first block is finished!




Our second block will be Block #62 - Old Windmill.

Cut eight pink 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" squares.
Cut four dark purple 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" squares.
Cut two light purple 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" squares.
Cut two green 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" squares.










Place one 2 1/2" pink square RST with one 2 1/2" blue square. Pin on the diagonal. Draw a line diagonally on the wrong side of the lighter fabric. Sew a seam 1/4" from the line you have just drawn and then sew a 1/4" seam on the other side of the line you drew. Then place your ruler along the line you drew and slice the two HSTs apart Set the seam and press to one side. Repeat the process with the remaining squares matching a pink square with each of the other coloured 2 1/2" squares to make all of the squares into HSTs. Trim your HSTs to 1 1/2" square. You should now have sixteen half pink and half another colour 1 1/2" square HSTs.


Arrange all of your HSTs the way they are supposed to look.












We will number the patches like we did the nine patches except that this time they will number 1 - 16. Flip 1 RST onto 2 and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat for set 3/4 then 5/6 then 7/8 then 9/10 then 11/12 then 13/14 and lastly 15/16. Make sure that you press the seams to the sides in such a way that where the seams meet, they end up going opposite ways so that they will nest neatly.





Now flip the 1/2 set RST onto the 5/6, set, nesting the seam neatly and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Flip the 3/4 set RST onto the 7/8 set, nesting the seams neatly and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Flip the 9/10 set RST onto the 13/14 set, nesting the seams neatly and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Flip the 11/12 set RST onto the 15/16 set, nesting the seams neatly and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side.

Flip one four patch RST onto the four patch beside it, sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Then flip the other four patch RST onto the other four patch and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side.

Lastly, flip the two pieces RST onto each other, sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side and the first block is finished!





That's it for this week then. 

I've been spending a lot of time trying to figure out EQ7 and blogger has made some changes too. As a result of both of these I feel like I have had a week of technical difficulties. In reality it is just learning new software and working with the changes of something I have been working with for a while. I used to be pretty good at the computer stuff before I had kids. I actually helped my husband get started with a lot of the software that he is now better at than I am but I haven't done this much in quite a while.

I'm sure I will get better at the software with time and more practice but it is frustrating in the short term. I got most this quilt onto EQ7, including colouring the blocks with scans of the actual fabric I would be using. I did this over a few days and thought that I had saved it to the sketchbook. I don't know what happened but I lost most of the colouring. I had filled in about seventy-five percent of the blocks and although I KNOW that I hit save to sketchbook, only three of the blocks are still left coloured. ARGGGH! 

Hopefully better news next week.

Tara

Friday, September 19, 2014

Agri-Spouse Friday - Week 8

Welcome back to Agri-Spouse Friday!

We had a better week this week. To start, there was no snow, just a nice week of nice fall weather. The longer the snow holds off the better in my opinion.

Brianna had a full week. She lost her second top front tooth so now she is a gap mouthed little girl with a bit of a lisp. So cute! She also had her first sparring class. Her partner was also sparring for the first time so it was a little confused. Neither of them really knew what was going on so it was quite amusing. With alot of attention from the black belt they eventually kind of got it together. I know that it will get better with time but it is good for a laugh in the mean time.








That's our girl kicking the the little boy.

Rhylee has been working hard in the competitive team too. He's enjoying grade five as well and is looking forward to going to a friend's birthday party on Sunday.

We had a mess dinner to go to. We didn't bring our good camera but we got a shot with the phone camera. Not the best but at least we got a shot.




He looks great in his tux. He always looks good but the army tux? Lovely! 

The other wonderful thing this lovely man did was to buy me Electric Quilt 7! I have been playing with it the last couple of days. I am enjoying figuring it out. I can see so many quilts in my head and now it will be easier to get them really planned. I even figured out how to scan the fabric that I am using for my Farmer's Wife quilt. I have drawn most of the blocks into the computer and need to figure out how to drop the fabric in. I'll get there! I love that man. Even when I get a bit frustrated with him I still love him so much. I can't imagine my life without my wonderful and supportive husband. My husband and my two children are the best!

So, on to the photos from last week's post.

First up is Marian's Railroad:




And Suzanne's Railroad:




Then we have Marian's Waterwheel:





And Suzanne's Waterwheel:




Loving it!

This week we are doing Half Square Triangles and Half Square Triangles and more Half Square Triangles!

We will start with Block #11 - Broken Dishes.

Cut eight brown 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" squares.
Cut eights blue 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" squares.














Place one 2 1/2" brown square RST with one 2 1/2" blue square. Pin on the diagonal. Draw a line diagonally on the wrong side of the lighter fabric. Sew a seam 1/4" from the line you have just drawn and then sew a 1/4" seam on the other side of the line you drew. Then place your ruler along the line you drew and slice the two HSTs apart Set the seam and press to one side. Repeat the process with the remaining seven brown/blue 2 1/2" squares to make all of the squares into HSTs. Trim your HSTs to 1 1/2" square. You should now have sixteen brown/blue HSTs that measure 1 1/2".













Arrange all of your HSTs the way they are supposed to look.











We will number the patches like we did the nine patches except that this time they will number 1 - 16. Flip 1 RST onto 2 and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat for set 3/4 then 5/6 then 7/8 then 9/10 then 11/12 then 13/14 and lastly 15/16. Make sure that you press the seams to the sides in such a way that where the seams meet, they end up going opposite ways so that they will nest neatly.





Now flip the 1/2 set RST onto the 5/6, set, nesting the seam neatly and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Flip the 3/4 set RST onto the 7/8 set, nesting the seams neatly and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Flip the 9/10 set RST onto the 13/14 set, nesting the seams neatly and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Flip the 11/12 set RST onto the 15/16 set, nesting the seams neatly and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side.

Flip one four patch RST onto the four patch beside it, sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Then flip the other four patch RST onto the other four patch and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side.








Lastly, flip the two pieces RST onto each other, sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side and the first block is finished!




Next we will make Block #64 - Peace and Plenty.

Cut eight black 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" squares.
Cut eights pink 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" squares.












Place one 2 1/2" black square RST with one 2 1/2" pink square. Pin on the diagonal. Draw a line diagonally on the wrong side of the lighter fabric. Sew a seam 1/4" from the line you have just drawn and then sew a 1/4" seam on the other side of the line you drew. Then place your ruler along the line you drew and slice the two HSTs apart Set the seam and press to one side. Repeat the process with the remaining seven black/pink 2 1/2" squares to make all of the squares into HSTs. Trim your HSTs to 1 1/2" square. You should now have sixteen black/pink HSTs that measure 1 1/2".


Arrange all of your HSTs the way they are supposed to look.












We will number the patches like we did the nine patches except that this time they will number 1 - 16. Flip 1 RST onto 2 and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Repeat for set 3/4 then 5/6 then 7/8 then 9/10 then 11/12 then 13/14 and lastly 15/16. Make sure that you press the seams to the sides in such a way that where the seams meet, they end up going opposite ways so that they will nest neatly.




Now flip the 1/2 set RST onto the 5/6, set, nesting the seam neatly and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Flip the 3/4 set RST onto the 7/8 set, nesting the seams neatly and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Flip the 9/10 set RST onto the 13/14 set, nesting the seams neatly and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Flip the 11/12 set RST onto the 15/16 set, nesting the seams neatly and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side.

Flip one four patch RST onto the four patch beside it, sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side. Then flip the other four patch RST onto the other four patch and sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side.









Lastly, flip the two pieces RST onto each other, sew a 1/4" seam, set the seam and press to one side and the second block is finished!




The process for the first and second block is the same it is just the colours and organization that is difference. There were Half Square Triangles, Half Square Triangles and more Half Square Triangles. We should all have those HSTs down pat by now!

Looking forward to next week! Hopefully Mom is working on this...

Tara.

Friday, September 12, 2014

Agri-Spouse Friday - Week 7

Have you ever had one of those weeks? This was one of those weeks for me. When you live in Alberta you learn to accept snow whenever it comes. I have lived in Alberta since 1985 and have had snow on the ground during every month of the year. Twice actually. Yes, I have seen snow on the ground in June, July and August. Twice. During different years certainly but it has happened. For all of that, I love Alberta and wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

So, yes, we had snow this week. We didn't get quite as much snow as places in Alberta further south of here but we had snow. Panorama posted this shot:




This was how much snow they received earlier this week. We didn't get that much here thank goodness.

Brianna received her half-yellow belt in Tae Kwon Do on Tuesday. She has passed out of Little Dragons now and is into the bigger kids children class officially. That does mean that I now have to buy her sparring gear since they do full on sparring once they get to half-yellow. I just can't imagine anyone kicking and whomping on our little girl, pads or not.

Rhylee has decided to join the competitive team at Tae Kwon Do. I wasn't sure how he would do. They have two rules. No whining and no quitting. I didn't expect Rhylee to finish the tryout class and make the team with those rules but he did! He also managed to complete the classes on Tuesday and Thursday. He was pushed hard and still wants to keep going. I think it will be good for him to keep it up but I didn't think he would do it. Yay him!

The real problem though was a certain Farmer's Wife Alonger's two boys. The two of them are lucky to have survived the week. Now, I'm not saying who these two boys are but I will say that it may particularly be the "Mighty Eskimo". Because of those two boys, I ended up having to drive downtown FOUR times this week. GAH! Today I had to drive downtown to get a bowtie. We are going to a Mess Dinner tomorrow night for the "Battle of Panjiway". I'll be honest, I don't even know where Panjiway is but we are going to a dinner to commemorate it. 

As with other Mess Dinners, he will wear his fancy Military Tux and I wear a lovely red gown. Hopefully this time we will get someone to take a picture of the two of us together. With that said, we checked on his mess kit the other day and realized that somehow we had misplaced his bowtie. How does that happen? How do you lose a bowtie that doesn't even untie?

With that said, here are the photos from the blocks last week.

Marian's Broken Sugar Bowl:



Suzanne's Broken Sugar Bowl:



Marian's Prairie Queen:




And Suzanne's Prairie Queen:





And now for this week's blocks. This week's blocks are very similar to last week's blocks. Again, I am going to use my colours just for descriptive purposes.

We'll start this week with Block #72 - Railroad.

Cut two black squares 3" x 3".
Cut two green squares 3" x 3".
Cut ten black squares 1 1/2" by 1 1/2".
Cut ten green squares 1 1/2" by 1 1/2".













Place one 3" green square RST with one 3" black square. Pin on the diagonal. Draw a line diagonally on the wrong side of the lighter fabric. Sew a seam 1/4" from the line you have just drawn and then sew a 1/4" seam on the other side of the line you drew. Then place your ruler along the line you drew and slice the two HSTs apart Set the seam and press to one side. Place the other 3" green square RST with he remaining black 3" square and repeat the HST process. Trim your HSTs to 2 1/2" square. You should now have four green/black HSTs that measure 2 1/2".













Place one 1 1/2" green square RST with one 1 1/2" black square and sew a 1/4" seam. Set the seam and press toward the darker fabric. Repeat for the other nine 1 1/2" square sets. Take one green/black square set and place it RST with another green/black square set so that the opposite colours are together and the seams nest neatly and sew a 1/4" seam. Repeat for the other green/black square sets until you have five green/black four patch sets. Organize your pieces RSU the way you want them to look.


Flip square 2 RST onto square 3 and sew a 1/4" seam. Set the seam and press toward square 3. Flip square 5 RST onto square 6 and sew a 1/4" seam. Set the seam and press toward square 5. Flip square 8 RST onto square 9 and sew a 1/4" seam. Set the seam and press toward square 9. Flip square 1 RST onto square 4 and sew a 1/4" seam. Set the seam and press toward square 4.




Now flip square 7 RST onto square 4 and sew a 1/4" seam. Set the seam and press toward square 4. Flip the 2/3 set RST onto the 5/6 set, nest the seams neatly and sew a 1/4" seam. Set the seam and press toward the 2/3 set. Flip the 8/9 set RST onto the 5/6 set, nest the seams neatly and sew a 1/4" seam. Set the seam and press toward the 8/9 set. Flip the 1/4/7 set RST on the 2/5/8 piece, nest the seams neatly and sew a 1/4" seam. Set the seam and press to one side and the first block is finished.


Next we'll do Block #98 - Waterwheel.


Cut one brown square 3" by 3".
Cut one pink square 3" by 3".
Cut two blue square 3" by 3".
Cut eight blue squares 1 1/2" by 1 1/2".
Cut four orange squares 1 1/2" by 1 1/2".
Cut four pink squares 1 1/2" by 1 1/2".
Cut four brown squares 1 1/2" by 1 1/2".








Place one 3" blue square RST with one 3" pink square. Pin on the diagonal. Draw a line diagonally on the wrong side of the lighter fabric. Sew a seam 1/4" from the line you have just drawn and then sew a 1/4" seam on the other side of the line you drew. Then place your ruler along the line you drew and slice the two HSTs apart Set the seam and press to one side. Place the other 3" blue square RST with the remaining brown 3" square and repeat the HST process. Trim your HSTs to 2 1/2" square. You should now have four green/black HSTs that measure 2 1/2".













Place one 1 1/2" blue square RST with one 1 1/2" orange square and sew a 1/4" seam. Set the seam and press toward the darker fabric. Repeat to make two pink/brown sets. Then repeat for the rest of the 1 1/2" squares, matching a blue square with another colour. Organize the sets RSU in the correct order. Take one square set and place it RST with another square set so that the the seams nest neatly and sew a 1/4" seam. Repeat for the other square sets until you have five four patch sets. Organize your pieces RSU the way you want them to look.



Flip square 2 RST onto square 3 and sew a 1/4" seam. Set the seam and press toward square 3. Flip square 5 RST onto square 6 and sew a 1/4" seam. Set the seam and press toward square 5. Flip square 8 RST onto square 9 and sew a 1/4" seam. Set the seam and press toward square 9. Flip square 1 RST onto square 4 and sew a 1/4" seam. Set the seam and press toward square 4.





Now flip square 7 RST onto square 4 and sew a 1/4" seam. Set the seam and press toward square 4. Flip the 2/3 set RST onto the 5/6 set, nest the seams neatly and sew a 1/4" seam. Set the seam and press toward the 2/3 set. Flip the 8/9 set RST onto the 5/6 set, nest the seams neatly and sew a 1/4" seam. Set the seam and press toward the 8/9 set. Flip the 1/4/7 set RST on the 2/5/8 piece, nest the seams neatly and sew a 1/4" seam. Set the seam and press to one side and the second block is finished.







This week's blocks weren't very different from last week's blocks so I would think that there shouldn't be any problems if you managed to complete last week's block. Suzanne and Marian finished theirs and I think Mom should be getting going with her blocks soon. 

I am looking forward to getting a better handle on our schedules and getting a bit more done in my sewing room. I did manage to get a bit of sewing room organizing done this week but I did not actually get any sewing done. With a bit of luck I will get some sewing done next week.

See you next week!

Tara