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Blocks 27, 28 & 29 (Old Red Barn, Out to Pasture & Patchwork Pumpkin) - Farm Girl Vintage Quilt & Featherweight Shop Sew Along
Farm Girl Vintage Sew Along
I have been waiting to sew this barn for quite a long time - in fact, since 2015, when the Farm Girl Vintage book first came out and when I saw all the blocks displayed in a Spokane quilt shop. The barn block they had hanging on a cute little line was made with this darling red fabric, but sadly the shop didn't have any left. The store clerk was so sweet, though... she went digging in the shop's scraps to give me all she had left -- just enough to make this block! Thus, I've been saving the scraps all this time so I could recreate this little red barn. So, it is my pleasure that we get to open up today's Farm Girl Vintage Sew Along with the Old Red Barn quilt block, followed by Out to Pasture and Patchwork Pumpkin.
Psssst! If you're just joining us and want to get in on the fun with a darling and perfect collage of farm girl fabric, then check out the Farm Girl Vintage Quilt Kit. (There are just a couple left!) You'll have all the lovely fabrics you need to make this quilt from start to finish. You can get the book here, too!
Open your book to page 48, grab more fabric scraps, get it prepared and cut, and let's enjoy some more Featherweight sewing! Complete your blocks following along with the pattern, paying attention to a several tips in the photos below. Make sure to press your block seams open (when you can), being careful to be as exact with your cutting and alignments as possible.
You'll end up with a few extra pieces when cutting for the barn door, but just set them aside and save them for future use.
You can either draw a line and sew corner to corner on the line, or you can skip that step and use the Creative Grids Corner Clipper ruler. It sure saves a lot of time! Just be sure to measure twice, cut once so you cut along the correct edge.
Click here for instructions on how to set your Featherweight Accurate Seam guide in the proper place. Then, attach the original presser foot, align the fabric pieces against the edge of the guide, and enjoy quarter inch seams that match perfectly!
I like to lay out my pieces as I progress. It helps to see if my pieces are measuring and sewing accurately and gets me excited about seeing it all put together.
Pressing seams open for these teeny tiny seams helps with accuracy as well.
This month I was intrigued by the center 9-patch and decided in fabric selection to make it look more like a vintage tablecloth.
SPOILER & HINT: This block does have some level of difficulty in construction. You may opt to skip this block and duplicate another one in the book. For those who want to just dive in, learn something new and give it a try, follow the photo steps below to tackle the inset seam.
I then pin on both sides of the seam to help with proper seam alignment. These extremely thin glass-head pins are very helpful and one of my favorite notions.
It is difficult to see in this photo, but there were a few edges that needed ever-so-slightly trimmed to square the block accurately. I wanted to be best prepared for the tricky seam alignment coming up soon.
Following the book instructions, I marked where to begin the seam when sewing the first strip (shown above). Don't forget to backstitch for a secure locking stitch!
Then I just continued on around the block, sewing the other strips as normal...
Laying the last strip on top, you can see that something looks like it will be difficult to piece together, right? Well, remember we marked a dot at that initial seam? That will come in handy when you fold that piece out of the way.
Fold down the first outer strip as illustrated in the photo above and unfold the 9-patch seam at the top corner. Then pin your last strip perfectly in place aligning fabric edges.
Keeping your first strip folded down and out of the way, sew the seam, stitching all the way to the edge. You can see the pieces sewn in the seam below (with the first strip folded down).
Next, fold over the first strip and finish stitching the very last seam until you meet the stitching point / line where you first began (shown below).
Press and voila! Your block will be beautifully constructed!
This block was a blast for gathering the various fabric prints! Ruthie was my inspiration because she sewed her block first, going through all the orange fabric stash to find a different print for each and every square. Because I enjoyed all the different orange prints for my block, too, I then took our orange pile of fabric to our staff sew along, so the gals there could cut what they needed also. It was so much fun to share! So, if you don't have enough orange fabric prints, get together with your local Featherweight Fellowship and see what you can come up with. It only takes a little scrap for each square, so you might be surprised how many different prints you can gather!
What about you!? What colors have you put together this month for your Farm Girl Vintage blocks? Let us know and feel free to post pictures in the comments below. Or join us on the Facebook group to share and enjoy more Featherweight Fellowship online!
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