Guest Blogger: Sunni from Love Affair with My Brother - The Jolly Jabber Quilting Blog

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Guest Blogger: Sunni from Love Affair with My Brother

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Hi! I’m Sunni from Love Affair with my Brother. No! I’m not immoral. I just have a close relationship with my sewing machine, a Brother!
I am so inspired by Laurie Aaron Hird, the author of the book, The Farmer’s Wife Sampler Quilt. I adore making the little 6″ finished blocks but I heard from a lot of my readers that the blocks were intimidating and they would make them “someday” which is how the idea of “Farmer’s Wife in Your Life” began.
You can have so much fun making these little blocks and you don’t have to make all 111! “Farmer’s Wife in Your Life” is a blog series that will focus on using between one to nine Farmer’s Wife blocks in everyday sewing projects. I invited a few blogging buddies to be my designers, and here are a few sneak previews of their creations!
Schedule of Events
Week 1
March 6 – Craizee Corners & Sunni is guest-posting on Jolly Jabber (Hello!)
March 7 – Lilypad Quilting
March 9 – Clover & Violet
Week 2
March 12 – Mommy for Reals
March 13 – A Colorful Life
March 14 – It’s Sew Kiki
March 15 – Lilypad Quilting
March 16 – Why Not Sew? Quilts
Week 3
March 20 – Echinops & Aster
March 21 – Life’s Rich Pattern
March 22 – Ellison Lane Quilts
March 24-31: Link up your projects at Love Affair with my Brother (link a blog post or Flickr picture).
To enter, you can make ANY project (not just the ones from the designers) and use ANY block design that finishes at 6″. Use between 1-9 blocks to make a sweet project that is inspired by The Farmer’s Wife.
Judges
1. Laurie Aaron Hird!!! The author of the book has agreed to act as judge supreme, with the help of her daughters.
2. Michele Foster of Quilting Gallery is bringing her talent and expertise.
3. And me! Sunni of Love Affair. I’m no expert, of course, but I’ll be picking a favorite, too!


Fat Quarter Shop is sponsoring a FQ Bundle of the gorgeous Poetica by Pat Bravo for Art Gallery Fabrics.
Tutorial
For even more fun, I’m showing off a little tutorial for my checkbook cover!
The checkbook. It gets no love.
Even though the majority of us still have them, they aren’t often used. My poor checkbook is thrown deep into the abyss of my purse and only dug out for school lunch fees and HOA dues.
For that reason, I am constantly losing my checkbook!

No more! I made a beautiful, BRIGHT cover for it and I’m sure to never lose it again.

For this cover, I used Kona Cotton Solids Buttercup, Tangerine, and Tarragon and made the #7 block, Birds in the Air which is on page 134 of the Farmer’s Wife book. I added a 1.5″ border around the block to make the block finish at 7″ x 7″.

Other Supplies:
  • 8.5″ square – backing fabric
  • 8.5″ square – fusible webbing
  • 8.5″ x 5.5″ – pocket fabric*
  • 2.75″ x 8.5″ – stabilizer (or 2 if you make a second pocket)
  • About .75″ square stabilizer for snap
  • bias tape or (3) 1.75″ x 2″ pen loop fabric
  • snaps

*I don’t use a registry, so I didn’t add a second pocket. If you would like a top pocket to hold your registry, make (2) 5.5″ x 8.5″ rectangles of fabric.

I made bias tape, but you could use store bought bias tape.

To make the bias tape you will need (3) 1.75″ x 2″ pieces.
For 2 pieces, fold both ends in 1/4″, and seam each edge 1/8″ in to secure.
Next, fold each of the unseamed sides in so the edges touch in the middle, press, and then fold the piece in half hot dog style & press.
These will act as your pen loops finishing at about 1/2″ x 1.5″.

For the 3rd piece, you only need to finish 1 end. The other will be caught in the seam of the checkbook for the snap.

Before attaching the pen loops iron the fusible webbing on the backside of the backing fabric.
For the loops, I vertically positioned the first bias tape piece a little to the left of the center on the backing fabric. I double stitched one end, squished the opposite end in a little to form a bridge and then double stitched again. Repeat this a few inches to the right of the first loop to make the second pen loop.

For the 3rd piece of bias tape, I used the Snap Setter to add a pearl snap. I love my Snap Setter tool!
To mark the placement of your bottom snap, lay your top snap piece (the pearl snap on the bias tape) alongside the center of your block, lining up the raw edges at the bottom.
Add a small square of stabilizer on the back of the block for the snap bottom. Attach your snap.

Prepare your pocket, by lining up the 2.75″ x 8.5″ stabilizer piece along one side of the 5.5″ x 8.5″ pocket fabric piece.  Iron the stabilizer to the fabric, fold the non-stabilized side over the stabilized half and press again.

To Assemble:
Place your pocket at the bottom of your backing fabric and pin or baste. Place your pearl snap piece of bias tape at the center bottom, lining up raw edges. Pin or baste in place. Stack your backing fabric and Farmer’s Wife block with right sides together, making sure the snap pieces are at opposite ends. Sew around the perimeter, leaving a hole on one side to turn through. You can use my Turning Trick to make it easier.
Turn and topstitch.

Now, if I could only find my checkbook!

Come see me on Love Affair with my Brother for links and other prizes!

7 comments

  1. Excellent post Sunni. This is going to be so much to see what everyone comes up with. Thanks for inviting me to be a judge. I'm happy to see that Laurie will be one too. Fantastic!

  6. Great tutorial, Sunni! I love your pen holder, and the snap, too! Pretty block in those colors…thanks for sharing, and I'm so happy to be part of the fun!