A Proper Reveal - Cotton Ridge Farm

Late last month I put the last borders on Cotton Ridge Farm. Hooray!! Then I pressed it and tried to get as many ravelings off as I could. Had to get it all spruce for its photo op!

Any photograph I've taken of this quilt looks like a black and gold quilt. In fact, it is mostly navy and cheddar. It just doesn't show up correctly with any lighting I manage. No biggie, because it still looks good! 

This quilt has been in the planning stages for a long time. Perhaps over 10 years ago, I collected a little stash of navy and yellow fabrics. The yellows go from bright yellow to butternut squash to cheddar. I then waited on the inspiration pattern to come along to move me into creating mode.

 

After a few years, I saw some Pam Buda patterns, and that's when ideas began forming. I originally thought I'd make Grist Mill. But the pattern I borrowed was Cotton Ridge Farm, so I just went with it. (I still want to make Grist Mill.) I sifted through the little fabric collection, narrowing down my options. I am very pleased with the results; just moody enough to give off autumn vibes.

It finished almost to the exact size the pattern indicated - 66" x 74". I have it laid out here on a queen bed. Once I figure out what to use as a backing, I can get her on the long arm! 

A couple of thoughts I had while making this quilt. I was not a fan of her instructions to make larger HSTs than necessary, and then trimming them all to size. However, I did follow those instructions, and I love the result! I cannot think of any quilt I've ever made with this many HSTs and so many precisely matching points. I've never had such great results. There's a lesson here, right? Trimming makes a world of difference in accuracy.

I'm prepping some projects for a 4-day retreat next week. I will share the ongoing activities as I can. For about 3+ days, I'm gonna' have my grandma hat on - Reagan is coming to stay!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

Cotton Ridge Farm Progress

Before y'all start thinking I've dropped off the face of the earth, I figure I'd better check in here and do a quick progress report. 

Last time I checked in, I had just begun piecing the blocks for Cotton Ridge Farm, a Pam Buda/Heartspun Quilts pattern. That was almost a full three weeks ago, for goodness' sake.

Even though I haven't been posting to the blog, I have been steadily making these blocks - 30 in all. The name of this block is Colorado Beauty, and it is a fun one to make. A bit fussy with many points to match and trimming required, but all of mine turned out beautifully. It's a joy to make fussy blocks when they turn out as nicely as these have.

Many factors have played into my slow progress on making these blocks. Instead of using the chain-piecing strategy, I made each block individually. I was very diligent about trimming when instructed and I pinned intersections to insure accuracy. I pressed often, too. All these steps definitely slow a quilter's progress, but my results have made me glad to have taken this approach.

I should give credit to Pam Buda's instructions, too. I questioned, at first, her need for making the HSTs so large and then having to trim down to 2.5 inches. However, every single one of my block were spot on with matching up intersections and points. Hats off to well-written instructions! 

The unfinished block measures 6.5 inches. I used 3 different dark blue fabrics and 6 different light/neutral fabrics. One of the neutral fabrics will also be used for the setting blocks and setting triangles.

 I opted to use the stronger of the two yellow prints for the setting blocks. It just seemed a more striking quilt than the more subtle one. In the photo below, I have the two yellow prints laid out on the bed with the blocks placed on top. Tell me which one you would have chosen.

Yesterday, I sewed all the rows together with the triangles on all the ends. My next step involves the final 9 seams to put this center portion together. The pattern says this part should measure 43"x51.5" - I will let you know if mine achieves that.

You see what awaits me, don't you? A gazillion sawtooth triangles - not just one border of them, but two!

I have some triangle paper I will use for these. No sense making it harder than it is, right?

Here's another look at where I currently stand on this quilt. I attempted to arrange the blocks so that the lightest centers are evenly spaced around the quilt. 

Two other factors have kept my sewing to bare minimum: illness - both DH and myself and flooding. 

We have spent most of the month dealing with congestion and coughs! Both of us hauled ourselves to urgent care; DH actually went twice. Mine turned out to be allergy driven, and I have had good results with the meds I was prescribed. DH just cannot seem to shake his cough; so he doctors on.

Because we have had so much rain in our area, we have been dealing with a flooded basement. In 32 years of living here, this is the first time we've ever had this issue. We haven't fully finished with all the cleanup and removal of wet items. It is not a finished basement, so fortunately no major losses for us, but we must get it dried out. At most, we had about 3" of water throughout.

Hope to share more quilting news soon!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne 

Cotton Ridge Farm

Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz bemoans the fact that he has only straw instead of a brain. Well, I don't believe I've any straw in my head, but my brain certainly does fail me at times.

For ages, I've had plans to make a quilt designed by Pam Buda/Heartspun Quilts. 

For ages, the pattern has been pinned to my design wall. 

For ages, I have been erroneously referring to Grist Mill, when in fact, it's called Cotton Ridge Farm.

It wasn't until I reviewed my goals list for this year that I realized my mistake. I have been thinking the pattern I borrowed was called Grist Mill, another Pam Buda pattern. Both quilts have very similar vibes, and are made with similar lines of fabrics. I wrote about my goals in January and did not have the pattern with me, since we were in Florida. 

Enter Scarecrow Brain. 

I thought I was right. I really did. But, no. I grabbed the wrong image from the internet to use. Click here to see the post with my goals.

If you clicked the Heartspun link, you can definitely see that the two quilts look similar. I may go ahead and order Grist Mill just to have it and yes, to even MAKE IT!! I believe I am going to have plenty of my selected fabrics left over, so it seems like a good idea.

Enough on my (lack of) brain activity. I got over my error faster than it has taken me to write all this up. *grin*

I am happy as a clam to be piecing Cotton Ridge Farm blocks out of these fabrics. I had a few more fabrics selected (seen in that link above), but limiting the variety works for the pieced blocks.

Three dark fabrics will suffice, and I've got plenty of each one, so I am not concerned about saving enough for the sawtooth borders.

For the background fabrics in the pieced blocks, I have added variety. The pattern requires 30 blocks, and I will sprinkle all these into the mix. One of those yellows will also be the setting blocks; I will decide which one later.

Stitching these blocks in all the variety of combinations has kept me quite entertained at the sewing machine in the last week. Making 2 or 3 or 4 blocks a day, I've already finished over half the blocks. 

Soon, I will share. 

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne