Monday, October 22, 2012

Farmer's Daughter Quilt Before Borders


This is my Farmer's Daughter Quilt before borders are added.  The borders will also be black and probably about 3" wide, so they will not radically change the look of the quilt.  Before borders, my quilt is 108" wide by 117" long - so it is difficult to know how to photograph it! 

The 140 blocks range in size from 6" to 12".  After completing all the blocks, I first put two or three blocks together to create 58 rectangles 18" in length.  For example, two 9" blocks together are 18" in length.  Two 6" blocks with a 12" block above (or below) equal 18" in length.  A 10" block joined to an 8" block plus 2" filler strip equal 18" in length.  Finally, three 6" blocks equal 18" in length.

I wanted each block to be featured, so I decided on a stained glass effect.  I sewed a 3/4" horizontal black sashing between the blocks so that each of these 58 rectangles ended up being 18-3/4" long.  They were of different widths, though.  I ended up with:

1 - 14" wide rectangle
22 - 12" wide rectangles
18 - 10" wide rectangles
9 - 9" wide rectangles
3 - 8-1/2" wide rectangles
3 - 8" wide rectangles
1 - 7-1/2" wide rectangles
1 - 6" wide rectangle


I decided to have six rows of 18-3/4" long blocks.  I drew a chart on typing paper and began to distribute the blocks evenly among the rows.  After playing with it, each row was either 108.25" wide or 108.5" wide - only 1/4" difference.  A miracle! 

After laying it out on paper, I worked with one row at a time and laid out the real blocks.  For example, one row called for 6 - 12" blocks, 2 - 10" blocks, and 1 - 9" block.  I arranged them the way I wanted and sewed the same 3/4" black sashing in between the blocks.  I began with the middle rows first because I knew those would show up the most on my king-sized bed.  


I will take another photo when the outside borders are on! 

You might also enjoy reading my previous blog post:
http://www.starwoodquilter.blogspot.com/2012/10/farmers-daughter-quilt-backing.html

42 comments:

  1. WOW that's fabulous - I love the way you have used different sized blocks. :)

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  2. Your quilt looks stunning, after seeing all the different sized blocks you have been making I have wondered how you were going to put them all together, it's kind of like a jigsaw, a really big one :) I'm looking forward to seeing it completely finished, hopefully you can find somewhere to photograph it.

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  3. beautiful! can't wait to see it finished - please post on stashbusters when you have a photo of it all done!

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  4. That is fantastic! I can't believe how much your system is like what I would have done ... but since I am so bad with numbers, I can see trying to cram in one block of the wrong size.

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  5. It is truly stunning! Be very proud
    Stella in Ottawa

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  6. Part of the enjoyment with a project like this is the challenge of putting it together as in a mathematical sequence. You have to love math to love quilting! It is a fantastic piece! Absolutely stunning! I am a bit saddened to see your project come to a finish. I hope you will find a new saga for us to follow.

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  7. Your quilt is awesome!! So happy to see it all together. This is a wonderful way to preserve a little bit of family life/history. Thank you for taking us all on the journey with you.

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  8. Great job Susan! Kinda of sad to see the project coming to an end but know you must be estatic! LOL!

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  9. That's a huge quilt! Congratulations on the almost-finish. Dare we ask what you'll make next?

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  10. What a beautiful quilt! You did an amazing job making the various sizes of blocks work perfectly together. Thanks for sharing your journey.

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  11. Fabulous quilt! Thanks for sharing the journey and the stories!

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  12. This turned out beautiful. I had wondered as you progressed how you were going to make them all fit together. What a wonderful job!

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  13. Your quilt is just beautiful! You are so fortunate (and smart) that the rows came out matching so well! This will truly be a family heirloom.

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  14. My goodness....that is absolutely STUNNING! Great idea to use black sashing; it really does highlight each block so none of them get "lost." I didn't realize your blocks were all different sizes as you have been making them...I really love the look of different sized blocks like this. It adds so much interest (and makes putting it all together quite the exercise in patience!) Your grandmother must be absolutely beaming from above...this is a treasure!

    Shannon in Joshua tree

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  15. Gorgeous! You do your family proud!

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  16. It was always fun to read the posts for each block. The end product with all the blocks together is wonderful! Thanks for sharing your progress and your grandmother's diary.

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  17. ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!!!

    You had the same issues with your layout as I did with "Planned Chaos". It was a crazy quilt where the layout was all over the place. At the end it was only 1/2" off.

    Congratulations on finishing it!

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  18. Absolutely breathtaking! I enjoyed reading along with your history; the quilt top is just gorgeous! Congratulations-can't wait to see it complete.

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  19. congratulations! It looks beautiful

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  20. WOW! can't say much more. Your quilt really is wonderful.

    Daphne

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  21. Wow, your quilt is so beautiful!! I love how you have different blocks to match your grandmother's diary. Congratulations!! A work of beauty to enjoy for ever more. Susan (Pretoria, South Africa)

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  22. so stunning...such a nice story to go with the quilt...you have done a wonderful job

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  23. Outstanding! Your quilt is stunning.

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  24. Lovely quilt creatively made.
    Thank you for sharing.

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  25. Congratulations!! You have had an amazing journey making your beautiful quilt and posting your Grandmother's diary. You have done an exquisite job and you have designed an incredible piece of art! Thank you for being so encouraging to the rest of us who are trying to find our way down the FWQ road.

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  26. Wow. What a wonderful setting for these blocks. Great explanation of your setting process.

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  27. Congrats! An amazing quilt; a wonderful tribute to your Grandmother. Well done!

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  28. Great quilt. Can't wait to see what you do for borders.

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  29. GORGEOUS QUILT! A wonderful tribute to your grandmother. She was surely an amacing person.

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  30. I love this eye-catching, colorful, beautiful quilt!

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  31. Your quilt is so amazing! Love,love, love the black sashing. Different sized blocks would make me go a bit nutty I'm afraid.

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  32. I love the fact that you made it so much more interesting by using various sized blocks. Great job!

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  33. Wow! fantastic quilt! the black sashing was a great idea

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  34. This is the most beautiful layout I have seen with all of the different Farmer's Daughter blocks. Your idea of the black sashing is perfect!
    Thanks for sharing.
    Freemotion by the River Linky Party Tuesday

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  35. That is gorgeous!! Another one to add to my forever-growing list of "want to do's"!

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  36. Love your quilt!! you will have to post a pic when it is on the bed finished!!

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  37. Amazing, I personaly know how much work went into your quilt...you did a fabulous job.

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