FW Progress Blocks 51 - 60 (Class 6)

To re-cut or rip and re-stitch, that is the question.  Be it easier to re-cut than to rip out a 1 1/2 inch HST and given the fact that I am at block 70 and have not yet reached the half way in my fabric allocation for this project, I thought it best to re-cut.

So let me back up a few days.  Class 6 of the Farmers Wife Revival project (link on the right) showed up before I was finished class 5, along with the end of school, the beginning of summer school and a whole bunch of other things, I found myself behind on my block construction.  My goal was, and still is, to keep up with the classes.  I know that if I fall behind, I will probably just put the project in a box and set it on the shelf for a later date, which will never come, and I don't want to do that.

I was able to find a weekend with nothing planned and finished class 5 and surprisingly, the cutting for class 6.  Class 6 introduces Traditional and No Waste Flying Geese.  I have to say, I was not thrilled at the aspect of making flying geese, never have been, but, after making these 10 blocks, I have no issues using them now.  I really don't have a preference as to which method either, but the no waste seam to be a slight bit easier and the results were a little more consistent.

Now brings me back to the first line of this blog, cut or rip.
I remade this block, why?  Well, because it was the first one that I had done with the no waste flying geese, and the geese turned out the wrong size.  The left one is the first attempt and the right one is the completed correct block, much easier to re-cut and rip as the blocks were different sizes!


 Then comes this block.  I had everything done, pressed, pictures taken and then as I was going through the book to put numbers on the blocks, I see the block on the left.  You say, whats wrong with that?  Its fine.  HA, that's where your wrong.  The block was supposed to be the one on the right.  I just turned the four pieces the wrong direction when sewing them together and I thought it was supposed to have the pinwheel in the center.  So in this case, it was much easier to re-cut than to rip, because I like the block on the left and I might just make a quilt using this one block with the pieces turned.  Sometimes mistakes are good!

I was watching the movie Amadeus while I was creating most of the blocks in lesson 6.  One of the lines in the movie happens when Mozart is composing an opera and the directors opinion was "There are too many notes" Really? Motzart says, "There are just enough, if there are too many, which ones would you have me remove?"  Good question. That is just what I was thinking about Block 87, too many pieces for a block that is only 6 1/2 inches, just enough and if you remove any, the block is not pleasing to the eye.. 49 pieces.

When I was looking through the instructions for this class, I was thinking that block 36 would be better off if it was paper pieced, because like the block 87, too may small piece and this one had a bias X in the middle of it, so I printed out the PP pattern from EQ and cut strips of fabric instead of the pieces indicated in the lesson and put them in the book.  Didn't give it another though till I went to put it together.  I don't think I will second guess the instructions again, needless to say, its wasn't pretty given the fact that there are so many seams and that the paper just adds one more layer.... I re-cut the fabric according to the instructions and had no issues putting it together to make the block.

Here are the finished blocks from Class 6

Happy Farming!