April Come She Will

… When streams are ripe and swelled with rain.”

I’ve loved all the rain we’ve had here in San Diego County, so unusual and so appreciated.

New month, new goal to set. Instead of spending time considering my choices, I’m going back to the basket under my desk. It will decide for me. And next up, OTOTP (on top of the pile), is my Farmer’s Wife quilt top. Okay then.

I can’t even remember when I started this, it’s been that long ago. It was when I was enamored by Civil War reproduction fabrics and the color brown. In case you don’t know this one:

I learned how to piece on this project. Piecing a top is one thing, quilting it up is quite another. I want to DIY every step of my quilts, so having it sent out to a longarmer is not an option for me. Laurie Aaron Hird’s was custom quilted, but my Grandquilter on a frame isn’t up to that task. Using a pantograph just doesn’t fit with samplers. Hand quilting is mystifying. This quilt top has been waiting a very long time for me to figure out the right finish.

But now I know what to do. Let me tell you how.

My friend was over the other day, looking at my progress on my Bible Sampler quilt, which is another Laurie Aaron Hird quilt and the inspiration for this blog. The top is nearly done. I told her I was clueless as to how I would quilt it up once it was finished. She suggested I tie it.

Tie it. Yes, that’s perfect!

Tying my Farmer’s Wife Sampler quilt is perfectly appropriate too. I can treat this as a kind of a trial run. I haven’t tied a quilt before. I’m counting on YouTube to guide me. Hopefully I’ll work out the kinks on this one before tying my Bible Sampler quilt. Both have cornerstones in place just for that purpose. I’ve got embroidery floss and perle cotton to play with. Trying something new will be fun and exciting. I hope. The “something new” for last month’s challenge was Pounce chalk and fan templates. Let’s just say it was underwhelming. I’ll be donating back the Pounce blocks next time I volunteer at the thrift shop.

Here’s the link to see what goals our friends have set for April. https://www.elmstreetquilts.com/2023/04/Apr23OMG.html