The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt and the books that go with it provide an exciting glimpse into farm life during the 1920s!

Hello and Happy Monday. Welcome to my stop on the Farmer's Wife 1930s Quilt Along hosted by Kerry at Verykerryberry. Today I am sharing the block "Ann". I picked this block to share because my mom's name is Ann and she was a farm girl. She spent summers on her grandparent's farm when she was a girl in the late 40's/early 50's. She often talks about how idyllic those summers were. Her grandfather was a baker and her grandmother was a homemaker. My mother fondly remembers spending time with them tending the animals and the garden. I joined the First Farmer's Wife quilt along a few years back, and used templates for my blocks. It was honestly difficult to get accurate blocks - the pieces are small and so are the blocks - just 6". In the new book, the author, Laurie Aaron Hird has included paper piecing patterns! I'm thrilled and will be paper piecing all of my blocks. I find this the easiest method to get sharp and accurate seams. My favorite supplies for paper piecing are: *Translucent Vellum from Office Depot. It is slight see through so you can see the fabric through the paper which makes it perfect for fussy cutting. It is also OK to use with a dry iron and doesn't shrink or curl. *Add a Quarter Ruler - the ruler has a 1/4" lip which makes adding a 1/4" seam allowance around your sections very easy. *Fabric Glue Stick - I use it to attach the paper pattern to small pieces of fabric. It comes off easily and is water soluble. It is also helpful to position the pattern on fabric for perfect fussy cut motifs. *Fine Pins - I like Clover Brand Flower Head Pins Fine - .45 mm * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * If you are new to paper piecing, I have a tutorial and free pattern [HERE] I also have lots of tips for paper piecing [HERE] * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * HERE ARE A FEW TIPS FOR PUTTING THE BLOCK TOGETHER: ***I prefer to cut the seam allowances off the pattern sections. I find it is easier to sew the sections together without the added bulk of the pattern seam allowance. ***Be sure to change your stitch length to 16 - 18 stitches per inch when stitching the sections together. 1] I wanted all my points to be centered on the plaid, so I started by using a bit of fabric glue to position the D1 portion on the fabric. The wrong side of the pattern will be facing the wrong side of the fabric. 2] Fold back on the stitching line between D1 and D2. Use your ruler and rotary cutter to add a 1/4" seam allowance. 3] Cut Section D2 at least 1/2" larger that the section. Place section D1 to D2 the right sides together. Stitch on the line between D1 and D2. Start stitching on the inside of the pattern, Back tack, and continue stitching to the end of the stitching line continuing beyond the pattern. Fold the fabric back and press with a dry iron. Add section D3 as #3 above. 4] When adding section D4 I wanted to fussy cut the motifs. I turned the pattern over so the right side of the fabric is facing me. I then positioned the pattern where I wanted the motifs to be. Trace around the pattern piece with a 1/4" seam allowance to get a perfectly planned piece of fabric for D4. Add D4 and D5. 5] When stitching sections L and E to D, I first pinned the corners using fine Clover pins. Change you stitch length to 10 - 12 stitches per inch and stitch the seam back tacking at the ends. Follow step #1 - 5 for the remaining three sections. 6] Putting the sections together - My method to match seams ***easy, peasy**** When I first started paper piecing, I swear I spent more time ripping out seams than I did sewing! Here are my tips for getting your seams to match perfectly. I find this works best if you cut off the seam allowances from your pattern. Pin the seams that you want to match. Baste stitch just where the seams meet, not the entire length of the seam. Flip over, open the seam and double check that the seams match. If they don't - no biggie! Just remove the basting stitches and re-sew! Once you are happy with the seam matching, stitch the seam with a 10 - 12 stitch length making sure to back tack at each end. Press the seam open. I hope these tips are helpful! Please don't forget the use the has tag #fw1930sqal is you are sharing your blocks on Instagram and/or Twitter. Happy Stitching!!! xo Charise

I have so far completed around 54 blocks of the Farmer’s wife quilt sampler. More information about how I am making this quilt. View all the blocks I have done so far. Jackknife Kitchen Woodbox Lin…

Farmer’s Wife 1920’s Sampler Quilt Block 1 is Attic Windows. I’ve taken inspiration from one of my favourite china patterns; Spode’s...

Participating in the Farmer's Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt sew along with GnomeAngel. Here's my version of the Bonnie quilt block.

Starting The Farmers Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt by Laurie Aaron Hird.

The Farmer’s Wife Sampler Quilts are iconic bucket list quilts in the quilting community. They’re a great introduction to traditional...

Heute bin ich Gast-Bloggerin beim Farmer’s Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt Along und ich zeige Euch, wie Block Nr. 2, auch Aimee genannt, hergestellt wird! Ursprünglich wollt ich meine liebgewonnenen und extrem hilfreichen From Marti Michell Templates verwenden, doch um den Block genauso wie im Buch zu machen, eignet sich die Foundation Paper Piecing Methode am...

The Farmer’s Wife 1920’s Sampler Quilt Sew-along is celebrating block 39, Friendship, today. I love how this block turned out...

Block 18 of the Farmer’s Wife 1930’s Sampler Quilt is Carol. I really love this pattern – so much so that...

Admins have been working behind the scenes trying to make this Section 6 more palatable to everyone. It is such a large section with 21 blocks! We don't want anyone to be overwhelmed with the amount of work in this section. You, of course, can take the information from the TOC and work through at your own pace, but we have decided to break it down into three more manageable sections. So take your time and enoy! Tutorials for each section will be released over the next three months as follows: Section 6 Left...9 blocks.... June 1. Nurses Cross ... 8in Pinwheel with 1 border ... 6in Bordered Square-in-a-Square Hourglass ... 5in Court House Step ... 4in and make five (5) Square-in-a-Square ... 3in Section 6 Center....5 block.... July 6 Pinwheel no border ... 4in Court House Steps ... 4in Square-in-a-Square ... 4in Hourglass with border .... Square-in-a-Square ... 3in Section 6 Right.....7 blocks.... August 3 Indian Hatchet ... 6in Pinwheel with 1 border ... 6in Courthouse Steps with 3 borders ... 5in Bordered Square-in-a-Square ... 5in Square-in-a-Square ... 3in and Two (2) Square-in-a-Square ... 4in

Sometimes plans definitely do not go according to plan! I had hoped to be waaaayyyy further down the track with my Farmers’ Wife 1930’s blocks by the time I posted this tutorial but I haven’t manage

The Farmer’s Wife 1920’s Sampler Quilt Sew-along is celebrating block 8, Bouquet, today. This block is all about the angles....

Join The Farmer's Wife 1930's Sample Quilt Sew-along and learn to make the blocks in Laurie Aaron Hird's book.

Malvina is Block 55 of Farmer’s Wife 1930’s Sampler Quilt and the first real block that I’ve just bombed. In...

Welcome back to the Farmer’s Wife 1930’s Sampler Quilt Sew-along! We’re kicking off 2016 with Block 47 Joy, which seems...

Make Flying Geese the No Waste Way In the previous block, Belle, we added some seams, but in this block we definitely recommend reducing the number of seams. By replacing eight A-6 triangles with four A-4 triangles, we can make classic Flying Geese units and eliminate the extra bulk created where seam allowances would meet. Most of the Flying Geese Units in this quilt will be made with size-specific templates as in this block. (Please read the information following the link to the conversion chart about our Multi-size Flying Geese Ruler.) My personal grainline goals for any quilt are: Straight grain on the outside of the sub-units whenever possible Straight grain on the outside of the block whenever possible Definitely straight grain on the outside edges of the quilt Why? To prevent rippled edges and stretching. Straight grain can be either lengthwise or crosswise. Obviously, you can't have lengthwise grain on all 4 sides. Having said all that -- Design overrides grain! The only reason I can think of where you "need" a bias edges on the outside of a unit or a block, is when you want to make a statement with a directional fabric such as a stripe. The A-4 triangles in the Coral block will be cut with the hypotenuse (long side) on the lengthwise grain, which is parallel to the selvage, for the firmest edges. Measure the strip width "the Marti Way" using square template A-5. Here's my Coral Block Click the link to download the Template Conversion Chart for this block: From Marti Michell Template Conversion Chart #6 for Block #24, Coral In addition to our template conversion PDF download, you will want to read Gnome Angel's tutorials for these blocks. Speaking of Making Flying Geese Units We make a specialty Flying Geese Ruler with which you can use to cut both the small and large triangles needed for five popular finished Flying Geese sizes, from 2-1/2 x 5 inches to 4-1/2 x 9 inches. This ruler will also cut the triangles needed for the zig-zag layout Laurie has selected for this quilt, starting on page 260 in the book. Cut strips the perfect width, then use the same ruler to cut the small triangles… …and the large triangles! Making Flying Geese units couldn't be easier or more accurate. For smaller sizes of Flying Geese units, we recommend using the size-specific templates, as in this block. In fact, if you own our book, More Bang for the Buck, you will see on page 29 a chart with 26 additional sizes of Flying Geese, cut with right triangle templates in various Perfect Patchwork Template Sets.

The Fatquarter Shop and Gnome Angel have teamed with Marti Michell to kick off this year long sew along. They have asked a group of bloggers to join in on the fun and I am happy to be included in this group of talented quilter/bloggers. Over the course of a year, each blogger will be making blocks and showing a tutorial on their blog. We are using the book "The Farmer's Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt" by Laurie Aaron Hird. The back of the book reads: " In the 1930s, The Farmer's Wife offered inspiration and positivity in the "Letters from Our Farm Women" column. Each month, the magazine published letters from readers that offered support and encouragement to each other in an economically challenging time for our country. The Farmer's Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt shares ninety-nine of these letters from The Farmer's Wife magazine published during the 1930's, and a traditional quilt block inspired by each one." The blocks can be made in a variety of ways. The book includes a CD with templates, paper-piecing patterns and rotary cutting instructions. In addition, Marti Michell has developed a set of templates that can be used to create the blocks as well. She has a list of the templates you need on her blog. I am using my Singer Feather Weight Sewing Machine from that era to complete the quilt because I feel that much closer to the women who originally wrote the letters and stitched quilts of their own. It was fun deciding what fabric to use. My choice is "Line Dried" by Mama's Cottons for Connecting Threads. I love the vintage feel to this collection and it's just so pretty! Here are some important links compiled by Sedef of Down Grapevine Lane (no point in reinventing the wheel, thank you Sedef!): Official Sew-Along Page: here Facebook Group: Search FarmersWife1930sSamplerQuilt FAQ's: You can find answers to common questions here The list of bloggers can be found here Book: The Farmer's Wife 1930's Sampler Quilt: Inspiring Letters from Farm Women of the Great Depression and 99 quilt blocks That Honor Them by Laurie Aaron Hird for Fons & Porter/F+W, here From Marti Michell Perfect Patchwork Templates: Find information about the templates and a list of templates that you can use to make the blocks here If you put any of your blocks on Instagram, please use the hashtag #FQS1930FarmersWife so we can see your progress and you can get inspired by other quilters. I will be back tomorrow to show you my first four blocks. t

Hello happy people! Today I'm excited to share with you my finished Farmer's Wife Quilt! It's been away for a while...being hand quilted by a group of ladies in Provo, UT that use their proceeds to buy supplies for patients at the State Hospital. It was gone for about 8 months. I got it back mid November-ish and finished binding it over the holidays! It really meant a lot to me to have this hand quilted. I wanted it to have that antique feel and because I know myself and know that realistically I would never actually do it I decided to hire these ladies! I'm so happy that the money went to a good cause and the money was well worth it (a fraction of the cost of what it would be to have it custom, machine quilted - it was $200 for those of you dying to know :). They quilted in the ditch around each piece and they even quilted the dashed lines on my border fabric - which initially they said they wouldn't be able to do. I was thrilled when I picked it up and realized I wouldn't have to do any more quilting myself! Whew! Big sigh of relief :) Some people have asked how much fabric they would need to make something like this and that's really hard to answer since it's so scrappy. I just started off with a dozen or so fat quarters and then added more when I needed some variety. Scraps are perfect for this project since you only need a little bit for each block. Below are some rough numbers for everything besides the blocks - since I did do my sashing a little different than the Farmer's Wife book instructed. Finished Quilt Size: 79" x 100" Finished Block Size: 6" Number of Blocks: 83 Fabric Requirements (I've included a little extra in the yardage to allow for shrinkage and squaring up. WOF = width of fabric). Number of Sashing Strips: 192 total (You will need 2 yards of 42" wide fabric. Cut 6 1/2" x WOF strips, subcut into 2" x 6 1 /2" rectangles). Sashing Squares: 110 total I did white with a red print for the 82 center squares and solid white for the 28 outside edge squares (the white outside edge squares are eventually trimmed off - creating triangles - before sewing on the inner border fabric). (You will need 1/3 yard of white with red print fabric and 1/4 yard of solid white). Inner Border: 8 strips (You will need 1/2 yard. Cut 2" x WOF strips). Outer Border: 8 strips (You will need 1 3/4 yards. Cut 6 1/2" x WOF strips). Binding: 9 strips (You will need 3/4 yard. Cut 2 1/2" x WOF strips). Backing: 7 1/2 yards (cut into 3 pieces, 42" x 90" each) I hope that answers some questions for those of you just getting started! Here's a few more pictures of mine... My backing is just a vintage-y red and cream print. I love it. And although you may not see me using too much red for the next little while, this is one of my greatest finished quilts. I hope my grandmother (Gigi) will be proud :) Happy quilting! ~ Amber PS. You can click on the Farmer's Wife label on my sidebar for more posts related to this topic.

As impatient as I felt, this week came pretty quickly. Here are my first three blocks. I’ll be adding a couple extra blocks per week (in the future) so I have enough for the King size. I’ll get the e

お久しぶりです。。。 The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt をつないでいます。 思えば、これを始めたのは去年の8月でした。 サンプラーを縫うのは楽しくて、スイスイ進んだのですが、このあとは全く進まず、お恥ずかしい限りです。。。 やりかけばかり増やしてももったいないので、何とか仕上げたいよね～！！ とりあえず、新しいブロブにお引越ししたことだし、111枚のサンプラーをおさらいしてみましょう。 こんなにたくさん。。。 年内にはトップを仕上げて、冬になったらキルティング、と目標は高く掲げてがんばりましょう！！！ 　　　　　 あくまで目標です。。。 (^^A

The following is a list of all the block tutorials for Farmer’s Wife 1930’s Sampler Quilt Sew-along. Click a link to see the tutorial. Tutorials are listed in numerical and alphabetical order as per the book: Addie – Click here for tutorial Aimee – Click here for tutorial Alice – Click here for tutorial Ann...

The Farmer’s Wife 1920’s Sampler Quilt Sew-along is celebrating block 3, Basket, today. This one has given a few people...

The Farmer’s Wife 1920’s Sampler Quilt Sew-along is celebrating block 3, Basket, today. This one has given a few people...

And that’s week 2, done and dusted! Betty and Caroline are this week’s blocks, and my first official blog post for the sew along was posted this week – how to make the Betty block with normal HSTs! Caroline Oooh, definitely one of most favourite blocks… because it’s my favourite colour of fabric to use! […]

Welcome to my stop on the blog hop! Angie Wilson, the Gnome Angel blogger, organized a terrific blog hop so you could use your From Marti Michell templates to make some great new little quilts designed by a dozen of the bloggers who have been posting block tutorials for the Farmer's Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt Sew Along. The quilts are all so cute and colorful! There's a contest, too, with a great From Marti Michell prize pack! On Friday, November 18, the other bloggers (listed below) and I will post a link on our blogs. To enter the contest, make a quilt using one of our patterns and submit a photo of your quilt via this linky. Alternatively you can submit your photo to the specific album in the Farmer’s Wife 1930’s Sampler Quilt Facebook Group or you can post it on Instagram with the hashtag #MartiMichellMiniQuiltmania and tag Angie (@gnomeangel) and me (@MartiMichell) in the photo. A secret panel of judges will chose their favorite entries, which will go in the running to win the prize pack. Entries can be submitted from Friday, November 18, 2016, to Friday, November 25, at 6:30 am EST (6:30 EST, 7:30 am AEST) and winners will be announced on Wednesday, November 30, at 6:30 am EST (7:30 am AEST). The judges' decision will be final. My Design is Called Bear's Paw in a Beehive Challenged with making a mini quilt using From Marti Michell Perfect Patchwork Templates Sets A, B, D, N or S, I decided I wanted to use some of the pieces from Set D that were not used very often or at all in the Farmer’s Wife 1930s Sampler Sew Along. For inspiration, I went to Volume 2 of the Encyclopedia of Patchwork Blocks (Product #8343). It has a collection of dozens of blocks that incorporate the shapes in Sets A and C or B and D. In no time, I had selected “Spy Glass” on page 31 as a starting point. It is a variation of a block called “North Dakota.” In its standard coloration, North Dakota appears as four stars. Color it differently and we got “Spy Glass.” (Click on the image for a larger view.) I asked Patti, who does all of our terrific graphics, to pull out a block with the light circle... make four #22 triangles in the center and then divide them horizontally... add a narrow border and then “Bear’s Paw” corners. It looked like this: After some fabric trials, I zeroed in on the fabric group I wanted to use: Bee Creative by Deb Strain for Moda Fabrics. Then laying out fabric samples made it easy to make some changes. I wanted: • All of the #23 background triangles to be the same color, • To eliminate the small B13 triangles on the light colored #24 kite shapes • To follow our own tip and substitute #22 for two #23 small triangles in several places. Because the Bee Creative fabrics shared the gray, black and white colors, it was easy to substitute the gold accent for purple and create a new visual: And Bear's Paw in a Beehive was born! The quilt is 22 inches (55.9 cm) square. The instructions are in PDF form, just like our Farmer's Wife 1930s Sewing Along PDFs. Keep reading for some great tips and then download the instructions, along with a photo of my quilt, using the link at the end of this article. Tips for Easy Sewing, Efficient and Accuracy 1. When sewing the corner units (steps 1 and 2 in the downloadable instructions), pay attention to the orientation of the long skinny template D-23 triangles to be sure you are sewing the correct edges together. Press toward the triangle each time. (Click on the image for a larger view.) 2. For the side sections (steps 3 and 4 in the instructions), the templates' engineered corners help make matching pieces for stitching easy peasy. The corners for the two most common arrangements fit perfectly: This less common arrangement of two #23 triangles aligns partially: For Bear's Paw in a Beehive, I used a brand new cutting trick to make the side sections (step 4). After all these years of using these templates, they still surprise me! After joining the first gray #23 triangles to a #24 kite, I pressed toward #23. Then I placed the D-23 template on the sewn unit as shown below and nipped the corner. This quick little trick allows for perfect alignment in the next step! I then aligned the edges of the kite with the appropriate side of the black D-22 triangle as shown here, with the black triangle on the bottom. Chain piece 4 units, press toward #23 and then add the gray and white mirror-image units to the opposite sides of the black triangles. Download Instructions for Bear's Paw in a Beehive Use this link to download a 2-page PDF to make this wallhanging. You may want to refer back to this blog post when you begin sewing. Thanks for hopping by! Come back again on November 25 for news about the contest winner! And be sure to visit all the blogs to collect all the free patterns for fun quilts to make using your From Marti Michell templates! August 12, 2016 Angie Wilson http://www.gnomeangel.com August 19, 2016 Tonya Grant http://thecraftymummy.com August 26, 2016 Lucy Brennan http://www.charmaboutyou.com September 2, 2016 Kirsty http://www.bonjourquilts.com September 9, 2016 Catherine Demack http://catandvee.blogspot.com September 16, 2016 Nathalie http://ouvragesdenat.com September 23, 2016 Alyce Blyth http://www.blossomheartquilts.com September 30, 2016 Peta Peace http://shequiltsalot.com October 7, 2016 Lisa http://www.sweetlittlepretties.com October 14, 2016 Rachel M http://woodenspoonquilts.blogspot.com.au October 21, 2016 Raylee Bielenberg http://www.sunflowerquilting.com.au/sunflower-quilting-blog/ October 28, 2016 Lisa Johnson http://intheboondocks.blogspot.com.au You are here: http://frommartimichell.blogspot.com/

This week we're sewing the Dolly block for the Farmer's Wife Sew-Along with Gnome Angel, Fat Quarter Shop and ...

This method is used in my Farmer's Wife Quilt Revival pattern classes. The 'No Waste' Flying Geese method is a great technique, making ease out of many Farmer's Wife Sampler quilt blocks. To learn more about my pattern classes for the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt, (using very few templates!) click HERE for more information To make 'No Waste' Flying Geese: Cut a square the finished length measurement of the desired flying geese unit and add to this, 1-1/4" (1.25) Cut 4 squares the finished height measurement of desired flying geese and add 7/8" (.875) Example: To make 1-1/2" x 3" finished flying geese units, cut 1 square 4-1/4". Next cut (4) 2-3/8" squares Stitch them together as shown below Mark a diagonal line corner to corner on the smaller squares and place right sides together with the bigger square, like this: Stitch a 1/4" on either side of the drawn line Cut apart on the drawn line. creating 2 of these units press seams towards small triangles place a small square right sides together with both units from above like this: stitch 1/4" on either side of the drawn line cut apart on the drawn line Yields 4 Flying Geese units Math Chart for a handful of common Flying Geese sizes Of course, you can stick to the traditional method for Flying Geese using corner triangles, but the 'no waste' method is great!

The Jen Kingwell Gypsy Wife Sew-along kicks off next week (August 3) and I thought it would be a good...

I feel like this post should alternatively be called OMG, I finished this freaking beast, let's have a party! Better yet, a fiesta. (Beca...

In September 2016 I finished the top of the Farmer’s Wife 1930’s quilt! Today I was finally able to make a photo of the quilted and finished quilt, with the help of Mr DC’s long arms. Meanwhile the…

The Farmer’s Wife 1920’s Sampler Quilt Sew-along is celebrating block 8, Bouquet, today. This block is all about the angles....

The Farmer’s Wife 1920’s Sampler Quilt Sew-along is celebrating block 12, Broken Sugar Bowl, today. This block looks complicated, but...

Hello there! I'm back with another tutorial for the Farmer's Wife 1930's Quiltalong. Today I'm sharing my rotary cutting tricks for Block 69 - Mrs Keller. At first glance Mrs Keller looked like a relatively simple block to make, its just a few half square triangles, easy corner triangles and a nine patch right?

On this page you will find every block I have made from Laurie Hird’s Farmer’s Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt book. If you click on a photo it will take you through to the blog post for that block where you will find my journal notes and any tips for making the block. Block 1 - Addie Block 2 - Aimee Block 3 - Alice Block 4 - Ann Block 5 - Anne Block 6 - April Block 7 - Augusta Block 8 - Aunt Block 9 - Autumn Block 10 - Ava Block 11 - Bea Block 12 - Becky Block 13 - Belle Block 14 - Betty Block 15 - Blossom Block 16 - Bonnie Block 17 - Bride Block 18 - Carol Block 19 - Carolina Block 20 - Caroline Block 21 - Carrie Block 22 - Cat Block 23 - Charlotte Block 24 - Coral Block 25 - Crystal Block 26 - Daffodil Block 27 - Dinah Block 28 - Dolly Block 29 - Doris Block 30 - Em Block 31 - Eva Block 32 - Fanny Block 33 - Farmer's Wife Block 34 - Fern Block 35 - Flora Block 36 - Geneva Block 37 - Georgia Block 38 - Golda Block 39 - Grandma Block 40 - Grandmother Block 41 - Granny Block 42 - Heather Block 43 - Hope Block 44 - Iris Block 45 - Jenny Block 46 - Jewel Block 47 - Joy Block 48 - Judy Block 49 - Katherine Block 50 - Lady Block 51 - Lily Block 52 - Lola Block 53 - Lucy Block 54 - Magnolia Block 55 - Malvina Block 56 - Marcella Block 57 - Margaret Block 58 - Martha Block 59 - Mary Block 60 - Mary Gray Block 61 - May Block 62 - Milly Block 63 - Mollie Block 64 - Monette Block 65 - Mother Block 66 - Mrs. Anderson Block 67 - Mrs. Brown Block 68 - Mrs. Fay Block 69 - Mrs. Keller 70 - Mrs Lloyd. Block 71 - Mrs. Morgan Block 72 - Mrs. Smith Block 73 - Mrs. Taft Block 74 - Mrs. Thomas Block 75 - Nan Block 76 - Nancy Block 77 - Nellie Block 78 - Old Maid Block 79 - Patience Block 80 - Patricia Block 81 - Peony Block 82 - Pharlemia Block 83 - Poppy Block 84 - Posy Block 85 - Primrose Block 86 - Priscilla Block 87 - Prudence Block 88 - Rosemary Block 89 - Ruby Block 90 - Sara Block 91 - Sarah Block 92 - Sonnie Block 93 - Starlight Block 94 - Susannah Block 95 - Sylvia Block 96 - Tirzah Block 97 - Tracy Block 98 - Viola Block 99 - Widow

Sometimes I can be a bit on the quiet side... but I really didn't mean to post these photos earlier today with absolutely no words to go with them! In fact, I didn't mean to post these photos at all! Don't know what happened there, but I started getting comments in my "inbox" about them so I thought I'd better address the situation :) I had taken these photos yesterday per a request from my sister wanting to do a post on "collections" over at her lovely blog, Serenade for Solitude (post coming soon???) Anyways, let me tell you about my little quilt collection... When I first got married I spied a picture in a magazine of a beautiful armoire full of gorgeous quilts. The picture spoke to me and I decided that one day I was going to have one of my own. After expressing this desire to my sweet hubby he told me that when I had enough quilts to fill one ~ he would buy me one. So, one day (many years later) I decided that, in fact, I did have enough quilts to fill an armoire. I was out shopping with my mom when I spied a cute one and was reminded of that promise he had made me. So I went home and reminded him about it (in my sweetest voice ever). I shopped around a little bit more and found this one that would fit perfectly in the little nook in my entry. He bought it for me as a gift for Valentines Day a few years ago (from a store that is no longer in business for those of you askin' - sorry). Up until yesterday, I had about twice as many quilts in it as you see in there now. But, I decided less is more. In each of these quilts there is about 2 or 3 smaller quilts stuffed inside them. I like that you can see more of each quilt now. And for some reason, I think it makes more of a statement this way. AND, I don't have to be as embarrassed about the number of quilts I own because people don't see all of them now! And between you and me, there is another big stack of them in my sewing room closet :) But, I love them. I use them. I need them (for work purposes). I do give some away but I don't think anyone can appreciate them as much as the people in this house. Although I could probably fill another armoire at any given moment ~ I am thankful for the one I have and for the quilts we own to give us warmth. I'm thankful for a wonderful husband who is supportive of my hobby and little business. I'm thankful to be able to express myself creatively through color and pattern and I'm thankful to all of you who let me share my passion with you! Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday ~ full of family and friends (which are life's GREATEST blessings)! ~ Amber

I haven't blogged in quite some time... I think life just got very busy between family and work. The loss of several people... family and f...

The Farmer’s Wife 1920’s Sew-Along kicks off on August 24 2018 and to help you get ready I’m sharing with...

After the trauma that was Belle it’s nice to get back to something I’m remotely comfortable with, triangles. Today’s block...

My next Farm'er Wife 1930s block is the lovely Caroline - it looks tricky but I loved creating it! Find all about the Sew Along and read my tips too.

Time to assemble Section 9. Here are all the blocks laid out. Referring to the diagram on page ____ cut your strips and lay them out beside the blocks. I then assemble strip sets Sew the strips sets to the SquareNsquare blocks as shown I don't think I've ever discussed this before, but here is the back to show you how I've been pressing the strips in one direction... except around blocks. A little snip of the seam allow me to flip it in the opposite direction. Sew the strip set to the side of the SquareNsquare blocks. There is a partial seam to allow addition of strips below and the bordered pinwheel block. Add the strip set below the SquareNsquare block Sew the Bordered Pinwheel to the stripset You can now close the partial seam to the bottom of the bordered pinwheel block Add the Hope for Hartford block below the Bordered Pinwheel Close the partial seam beside the Hope from Hartford Block. Sew on the Old Maid Puzzle Block and add the final long strip to complete this section.

Almost four weeks went by since my last blog post. I didn’t spent those weeks idle. In fact, I have been really busy with all sorts of stuff, which I hope to show in another blog post. Taking part …

Hello and welcome to my first tutorial as a Guest Blogger for the Farmer's Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt Sew-along! I'm Cat and I share this space with my great friend Vee - we design and print fabric, totes and t-shirts. Thanks so much to Angie for hosting this awesome, ever-growing Sew-along; Fat Quarter Shop for its sponsorship; and Marti Michell and her team for their wonderful templates, conversion charts and support of all of us Farmer's Wife-rs. My tutorial today is for sewing Addie as a squared foundation paper-pieced (FPP) block. I've also sewn an on-point Addie, using Marti Michell's templates, and will share a hot tip with you about getting your fabric-placement correct when using the templates. As a FPP-disclosure - I've got quite a bit of FPP experience - I've sewn plenty of fabulous FPP designs, most often by Kristy from Quiet Play (who has a great FPP tutorial here) and Penny and Kerry from Sew-Ichigo (who have a great FPP tutorial here - they also have two great little tutorials for FPP y-seams, if you click through to their 'tutorials and tips' tab, you'll find them - you never know, there could be more y-seams in our Farmer's Wife future!). Cass also shared two fabulous FPP tutorials here and here. Addie is a great starter-block for FPP - each section is small, there are no tricky seams, and matching all the seams to join the sections together is a pretty straight-forward process. OK, here we go - there are lots of photos, so you might like to pop to the kitchen and make a cup of tea to keep you company while you scroll. Step 1 - choose your fabrics! I've tried to stay true to the three-fabrics-only placement that Laurie has used in the book, but cheated a little, since I have an ongoing fussy-cutting obsession and couldn't pass up the chance to include something a little fun in the centre. So - the centre blue Aunty Cookie is supposed to 'match' the blue sketch fabric. Step 2 - print off the FPP template for Addie from the CD, making sure that your printer is set to 100% (or whatever your printer's version of 100% is). Cut out each lettered-section - A, B, C etc - allowing yourself a little wriggle-room beyond the outer dotted-line. The solid line is your sewing-line, and the dotted-line is your seam-allowance. Step 3 - colour in each section, according to which fabric is going where. It also helps to colour-in the block-assembly diagram that appears at the top of your printed templates - that's always my first colouring-in step, but I am unable to share that diagram with you here due to copyright. Be sure that your coloured-in block-assembly diagram matches your coloured-in sections, so there are no unwelcome surprises once you've finished piecing. Step 4 - using your Sewline glue pen (or your trusty glue-stick from your stationery supplies), make a quick swish of glue on the unprinted side of the paper behind the number 1 on each section (A1, B1, C1, etc) and place the paper, printed-side facing up, onto the wrong-side of your chosen fabric. If you are using directional fabric, or a fussy-cut for this step, now would be the time to hold the paper up to the light to check that your placement is correct. Make sure your fabric extends beyond the seam-allowance (dotted-line) along the edges, and at least 1/4" past any internal sew-lines. Step 5 - pin your second (H2 in this photo) piece in place. Make sure your fabrics are right-sides together and that your second piece extends at least 1/4 inch beyond your sew-line. And note that your second piece of fabric extends away from the numbered section that it's intended to cover. Step 6 - once it's pinned in place, flip your second (H2) piece down, to make sure it will cover the relevant section AND the seam allowance. Step 7 - pile up all your glued and pinned sections and take them to the sewing machine, so you can do a spot of chain-piecing. Step 8 - turn your machine on and reduce your stitch-length to whatever is recommended for FPP on your machine. I have a Bernina and always sew FPP patterns with a 1.5 stitch length. Step 9 - place your first section under your machine-foot, and drop the needle right into the starting point of your sew-line. Start sewing slowly, back-stitching at the start and finish of your sew-line. I use Bernina foot number 37 (the 1/4" foot) for FPP, as I like to see the needle as it sews along the sew-line, and exactly where the needle is as you come to the end of the sew-line. Step 10 - here's your finished sew-line, with back-stitching at the start and finish. For all the internal sew-lines in a FPP pattern, I never stitch into the seam-allowance - others do, but my preference is to back-stitch at the start and finish of each sew-line and never sew beyond it into the seam allowance. Step 11 - fold your paper on the sew-line, giving it a little crease so it's ready to trim the seam-allowance. In FPP, when you trim your seam-allowance, you always fold the bigger number down onto the smaller number - so in this photo, H2 is folding down onto H1. Step 12 - with your paper folded down as described in Step 11, line your ruler up with the 1/4" line on the folded-edge of the paper, and trim your seam allowance to 1/4". Make sure that all your just-sewn-fabrics are out of the way, and that no rogue pieces have flipped over - you don't want to be trimming them away with your seam-allowance, that's no fun. Step 13A - with the fabric-side of your pieced section facing up, carefully flip over your second (H2) piece and iron it flat. You may prefer to use a seam-roller at this point, rather than be back and forth to the iron - I certainly do this when I'm in a class - but at home, I prefer to move between cutting mat, iron and machine between each FPP chain-piecing session. In the photo, you'll see that I've flipped and ironed-flat the blue H2 piece. Step 13B - once you have finished a section (i.e. once you have sewn all the numbers in order), you are ready to trim it. Be sure to line your ruler up so that you are trimming 1/4" from the solid external sew-lines of your section - this should exactly match up with the dotted-line anyway, but I always double-check and am guided by my ruler rather than just cutting on the dotted-line. Step 14 - once you have finished, ironed and trimmed all your sections, you are ready join them together. I always lay out my block with the papers facing up, so it matches the block-assembly diagram. It looks a little like a jigsaw puzzle. It's best to then follow the piecing guide next to the block-assembly diagram - join A to B etc. I always use pins to make sure I am matching the sections accurately - in this example, the red pins go straight through the corners of the external sew-line on B to join the external sew line on A. Use as many pins as you need (and take a quick look now at Step 14A for an extra tip in doing this). As it's not really possible to sew with pins sticking out everywhere, once I've matched the sew-lines between the sections as best I can, I secure the pieces with clips, ready to chain-piece. Step 14A - I've added this photo in to show you tick-marks for joining sections, since adding tick-marks to your pattern pieces is a really helpful way of ensuring you are joining your sections accurately. Wherever you have internal sew-lines that must meet up, just draw a little red (or any colour!) line on the sections you are about to join - you then have a little reminder to add a pin to that sew-line when you are pinning your sections together. As I've added this photo after I finished taking my tutorial photos, please note that it's for a different block, that I've chosen to randomly sew, not for Addie - so just ignore the fabric and pattern-piece you can see - you only need to focus on the pins and tick-mark :-) Step 15 - as you join sections together, tear away the seam-allowance papers before ironing your seams. I tend to iron my FPP section-seams open, but let's not open that particular can of worms - you can iron your seams in whatever way makes you happy and works best for you and the pattern. Step 16 - see, open! This photo shows you two sections joined together, trimmed, and the seam ironed open. It would have been nice if I'd trimmed those threads for you, as they're looking a little messy! Keep working through all your sections, following the joining-order specified by Laurie, until you are finished. Here's my finished block from the back, showing that I do indeed iron my seams open AND to the side, depending on what I think works best for each seam. I tend to iron my seams open quite a lot, as I do love a nice, flat block. Whatever works best for you and your block is perfect. And here she is again, all finished and telling you how clever you are for finishing your FPP Addie! I did promise you my second Addie, which I sewed on-point using the wonderful Marti Michell templates. She's cute, right? I love the 'Good Intentions' girl in the middle and thought I was being quietly hilarious by pairing her with Heather Ross fish, since fish don't have hair! I wanted to share my hot tip for fabric-placement using Marti's templates for Addie, so you don't do as I did. In the book, Addie's centre-square fabric is the same as the outer-star point fabric. So my intention was to match Good Intention Girl's hair (in the centre square) with the Bonnie + Camille scallops (on the outer-star points). But, hmmm, someone wasn't concentrating and didn't lay out their block before sewing everything together. So - if you are using the templates to piece your Addie, be sure to piece your outside star point fabric so they are on the bottom left and bottom right of your background triangle, not (as I have done in the photos below) on the inner left and right of the background triangle. These next few photos are an example of what not to do if you are following the fabric-placement diagram in the book. See? - you don't want your outer-star points on the inside - you want them on the outside. When you've finished your template-sewn Addie side units, you want your inside star points where my B+C scallops are below - it's at this point you can work out whether you've made a fabric-placement mistake or not - of course, I did not realise this at the time! For a wonderful Addie tutorial using Marti Michell's templates AND which shows how to get your fabric-placement correct, click through to Angie's post from yesterday. Well we've reached the end, and I just have one more photo to share with you - thank goodness, since your cup of tea must be finished or getting cold by now! Here are my two Addie's together - it's pretty amazing how different they look, isn't it. All the information you need for the Sew-along can be found on Angie's blog, which I think of as 'home base' for us all. And here is the book that you need, should you like to join in with us: The Farmer's Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt: Inspiring Letters from Farm Women of the Great Depression and 99 Quilt Blocks that Honour Them by Laurie Aaron Hird for Fons & Porter/F+W; RRP $28.99 - click here to purchase. As I mentioned already, the Sew-along is sponsored by Fat Quarter Shop - click through to go shopping and don't forget to use the code FQSFarmers for a 10% discount off your purchase before 30 November. And one last reminder, Marti Michell's templates, blog posts and conversion charts have been just wonderful in this sew-along - I am only new to using Marti's templates but I am a total convert. Happy sewing! I am looking forward to seeing all your Addie's - be sure to link up to Angie's blog on Sunday, or share your photos to the Addie album in the Facebook group. There are two more block tutorials to come this week, so be sure to check out Angie's blog tomorrow and Kirsty's blog on Friday. Thank you for stopping by, I hope you have found my tutorial and photos helpful to your Addie-sewing. xoxo cat

i have no new blocks to share just yet, so i am sharing a copy of megan's beautiful work as she assembles section 1 of the gypsy wife quilt. by the way, she has written a brilliant tutorial on assembling the block sections with partial seams. it's got me thinking they aren't so bad after all! now, just because i finished it and also because there are busy friends out there who are working ahead of the quilt along schedule, i'm sharing the spreadsheet i made for the blocks, broken down by section and month of the quilt along. there is no pressure to work ahead! everyone should feel like they can work at their own pace, whatever that is. click images to enlarge again, why do they come out different sizes?! you can download a pdf copy of the block chart here. or, if you are viewing it on your cell phone, you can click on the chart to enlarge the image, and then take a screen shot, which you can then zoom in on. it might be handier for some people to have a copy on their phone. if you are confused about the "block id" column, that was for personal use. when i was working my way thru the book the first time around, i found it helpful to give each block an id tag, which i marked in the instructions and in the assembly charts for cross-referencing purposes. you can just ignore it. i've seen several section 1's already assembled on instagram at the hashtag #GypsyWifeQuiltSection1 (and even some section 2's!) it's pretty exciting to see so many of them coming together. now that my sewing room renovations are complete, as of yesterday, i can assembly my own section 1 this weekend. we can do this, friends! as always, you can follow along with everyone over on instagram at #GypsyWifeQuiltAlong2016.

Can you believe that 2018 is just around the corner? No, me either. I’ve been leisurely pottering around at home...