Farmer's Wife 1930s Quilt Finished

Over a year in the making, a quilt-along and piles of pretty 1930s prints and at last there is a completed Farmer's Wife 1930s quilt.  I made a twin size using 84 of the 99 quilt blocks.  You can find all the blocks in the quilt-along posts here.  Finished size, including border 78" x 95".  The quilting was beautifully sewn by Trudi Wood of Quilting Prolifically.  It's the first time I've used a long arm service and it was a worthwhile investment.   A quilt this size is too much for me to handle on a machine.

I followed the layout plans in the book.  I did need most of the white Kona cotton background for the setting triangles - they took forever to cut and sew to the blocks.  I used the Marti Mitchell Flying Geese ruler which has a line that matches both triangle templates and I also cut my fabric tips down the grain of the fabric, parallel to the selvedges to avoid exposed bias edges.  When it came to pressing the blocks and triangles once they were joined together into long strips, I went for a little folded twist between each block. 

The quilt is backed with a unused vintage cotton sheet which is quite stiff so it gives the quilt extra weight.  The large bright florals contrast and compliment the ditsy colourful prints on the front.

The border is one of my favourite prints from the Heather Ross Tiger Lily prints by Windham fabrics.  I used many of the Tiger Lily prints in this quilt and yellow was a key colour.  The binding is machine sewn for practicality- this is my daughter's quilt so it may well travel with her as she goes on to Uni in a year or so.  I use Rita Hodge's method for binding.  The coral diagonal gingham is by Bonnie and Camille, Vintage Picnic check coral pink.  

I am incredibly proud of this quilt.  Each block was a little composition in colour and a lesson in technique and the quilt-along itself was such a pleasure with the help of all the other block tutorial bloggers and those taking part.  Many happy memories and now it's covering my daughter's bed and some of the floor.  I've offered to buy her a larger bed but she wants to keep the floor space so it sets amply over a single size.  I can't stop looking at it when I'm in her room!