A blog about using From Marti Michell templates and making Farmer's Wife 1930s Sew Along blocks
This will be the only sale on Farmer's Wife Classes this year! So don't miss out! Learn to make all the blocks from the 1920's Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt book using modern methods! Need more information about the classes? I have a recent blog post explaining the details! Happy Farming! ~karen
Participating in the Farmer's Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt sew along with GnomeAngel. Here's my version of the Bonnie quilt block.
Join The Farmer's Wife 1930's Sample Quilt Sew-along and learn to make the blocks in Laurie Aaron Hird's book.
Starting The Farmers Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt by Laurie Aaron Hird.
Welcome to the first weekly post in the year long project of the Farmer's Wife 1930s Quilt Along. The very first block is 'Addie' (p.160, letter p.82). Wynn from Zakka Art is posting about this block. She's a hand piecing expert and is always drawn to the prettiest fabric combinations so I can't wait to see how she puts this block together. I found this quite a straightforward block to piece although I did resort to glue basting to get the seams points to meet up. Here's the second block, 'Aimee' p.161, letter p.20: I foundation pieced this block. This is how I set out my materials at the beginning of a block. I print out the foundation pattern and keep the schema section to write notes on. I crease all the seam lines with a hera marker (see this post for equipment ideas); this makes it easier to flip each part of the blocks section around as the fabric is added. Then, I cut out the sections, leaving seam allowances intact and not trimming the corners. You can download a free guide to foundation paper piecing here. I am quite precise when I foundation paper piece. I don't like adding huge chunks of fabric to each tiny section. Instead I pre-cut the fabric that I am adding. I allow around ⅜" to ½" around the seam lines for each piece so that the piece of fabric is always bigger than needed. If you want to use the same method, my cutting suggestions are below. You may want to cut bigger, it's personal preference and technique that is determining the size I choose. I have not specified which fabric you will be cutting from, it depends on how many colours you use, it may also help to add a little colour pencil so you know which colour each piece will be: Foundation Paper Piecing Fabric Cutting A1, B1, A3, B3: Cut (4) 2" x 3 ¼" A2, A4, B2, B4: Cut (4) 2 ½" 1/2" x 2 ¾" E1,E6, F1, F6: Cut (1) 3" square- cut along diagonals to make quarter-square triangles. C2, D2, E3, F3: Cut (4) 1 ½" x 4 ¼" C3, C4, D3, D4, E2, E5, F2, F5: Cut (4) 2 ½" squares and cut each in half diagonally C1, D1, E4, F4: Cut 2 (3 ½" squares and cut each in half diagonally E1, E6, F1, F6; Cut (2) 3" squares and cut each in half diagonally These shapes are all rectangles, squares or right angled triangles. To get the fabric into a shape with the correct angle to match the diagonal that it is being joined to, I either trace a quick freezer paper template ( see here for explanation of this method), or I lie the fabric under the paper pattern pieces, flip the paper back and use my Add-a-quarter ruler to cut one sides t, making the seam allowance a little bigger. This method works well with solids as there is no right side, you do need to take more care with prints. I've just repeated the same process here on the rectangle that will become B3. I am trimming it on the right side, the piece can then flip over and the trimmed side will be sewn on to piece B2. This method keeps the grain lines straight and if done carefully can allow you to play a little with directional print, as with this floral Penny's Doll'shouse print. Here's the same procedure for piece F3. I am trimming the diagonal on the right, then flipping the fabric over so the trimmed piece will fit the same angle that joins onto piece F2. The seam points are a little tricky on these blocks. I tear the paper off and mark the seam allowances at key meeting points so I know where to pin. Glue basting with Elmer's School glue is very helpful. The order of piecing on the paper patterns is not always what I would choose- in foundation piecing sometimes you need to piece in a particular order, other times it's down to personal preference but it all works. I add my first piece using a swipe of Sewline glue to hold it in place, trim the next edge with the add-a-quarter ruler and add the next piece. I hope those tips help. Any questions, please comment and I'll answer below. The letter for the Aimee block (p.20) is about books. Saving pennies to buy books and the pleasure of escaping to a make-believe world. I rarely read fiction, although my degree is in English Literanture and I used to love reading. These days I lean towards audio books and they tend to be either funny memoir- I love David Sedaris' writing, or factual, I'm currently starting Jon Ronson's So You've Been Publicly Shamed on audible. I have a Kate Atkinson's paperback, Life After Life sitting ready to read and inspired by Bookworm of Wisonsin, I think I'll get started on it this week. Feel free to share your current reading matter in the comments. Don't forget to use #fw1930sqal on Instagram and the Flickr group if you like to share there. You can also copy and paste links to any blog posts you do on these blocks in the comments and I'd love to visit and take a look. I'll be introducing this post on Periscope with a short broadcast around 2pm GMT today and it'll be available for 24 hours to replay before it disappears! Link will be in my twitter feed @verykb Don't forget to visit Wynn's post on block 1, Addie. Back next Monday with Charise and blocks 3 and 4.
Woo hoo! We have completed over one-quarter of the 99 blocks for the Farmer’s Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt! The Autumn block is like a tiny little medallion quilt. You make the center of the block first and work out. Check the sizes as you go along. The irregular 9-patch center should be the exact size of B-10. After you add the corner triangles, confirm the new square is correct size with B-8. Using the templates to cut the exact size and shape needed is great! Using the templates to true-up sub-units as you sew along is a bonus. My Autumn Block Click on the image for a larger view. Click the link to download the Template Conversion Chart for Autumn: From Marti Michell Template Conversion Chart #24 for Autumn, Block #9 In addition to our template conversion PDF download, you will want to read Gnome Angel's tutorials for these blocks. We’re Taking a Break If you are thinking about or planning to do our 8-1/2 inch mystery quilt blocks and haven’t started yet, now is the time. Look at my November 2 post (Chart 11) for the first four blocks and on November 11 (Chart 14) for Nancy -- here she is at 6 inches for the Farmer's Wife 1930s quilt and 8-1/2 inches for our mystery quilt. The small block makes 8-1/2 inches look huge, doesn't it?! Click on the photo to see a larger view. Just for good measure, here are two more 8-1/2 inch blocks for the mystery quilt. How many more there will be is still a mystery. For the 8-1/2 inch Ava block, cut the * squares the same way you did for the 6-inch Ava block, substituting template B-14 for D-29. (See Chart #19.)
What are my favourite blocks? This is a difficult choice because I like many of the blocks in this quilt. I like them for various reasons such as the block design, the fabrics I used or the colour …
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...
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.
At last, the Farmer’s Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt sew along (try saying that 10 times fast!) begins! There has been so much excitement and chatter in the Facebook group, it’s so nice to officially start things off. Although I must admit, I’ve been secretly sewing a few random blocks from the book over the past […]
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...
Carolina must hold the record for the number of different shapes in one quilt block. It is very unusual to find 60-degree equilateral triangles (19H), Spike triangles (19D), right triangles (19C), a square (19B), rectangles (19A), kites (19G), and a couple of mirror image irregular triangles (19E and 19F) that I can’t identify, all in one block! Have you read the letter on page 74 associated with the Carolina block? It is so-so-so true! "Things weren't what they used to be." Isn’t it interesting how that message can be applied so easily to the quilt world, too? So, while Carolina is more template-friendly than it looks, it is also quite easy to cut the non-template friendly pieces using the paper patterns and small rulers. Interestingly, we have a brand new 60-degree corner trimmer that is an equilateral triangle complete with our engineered corners. It also has markings for cutting triangles that will have 1-1/2 inch finished edges just like the eight #19H triangles needed for this block. If you have one of our new corner trimmers, you could use it to cut the 19H triangles. The corner trimmer is also a great One-derful One Patch template. It's perfect for cutting 1- to 3-inch 60-degree triangles in 1/2-inch increments, and for eliminating dog ears on ruler-cut equilateral triangles, too. I’m not suggesting that you buy the 60° Corner Trimmer to make this one block, but if you keep a From Marti Michell Wish List (and we hope you do!), you might want to list the 60° Corner Trimmer, Product #8298, $5 USD. We used Spike from the Multi Size Peaky & Spike template set to cut 19D. Don't forget to trim the corners at the bottom of Spike. My Carolina Block Click on the image for a larger view. Click the link below to download the Chart for cutting and making Carolina: From Marti Michell Chart #69 Visit these other Farmer's Wife Sew Along blogs, too, for sewing tutorials and other info about the Carolina block: http://gnomeangel.com http://sweetlittlepretties.com/ The Farmer’s Wife 1930s 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.
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
The Farmer’s Wife Sampler Quilts are iconic bucket list quilts in the quilting community. They’re a great introduction to traditional...
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/
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 Jen Kingwell Gypsy Wife Sew-along kicks off next week (August 3) and I thought it would be a good...
Can you believe that 2018 is just around the corner? No, me either. I’ve been leisurely pottering around at home...
I seriously considered ditching the templates and working out the math for each block as I go along. I love math, and I know that my work is more accurate when I rotary cut my pieces. But I wanted to keep in the spirit of this project, so I'm using the templates from the book. I hand pieced and quilted my first quilt using templates, so this process isn't new to me. This time around, I am using my rotary cutter to cut around the templates and I'm machine piecing my blocks. I thought I'd share the process that I use, first I will go through how I prep my templates: Supplies: Thin Cardboard (i.e. cereal boxes) Spray Adhesive Templates* Rotary Cutter - it's best to use a separate blade for paper Ruler *A member of the FWQAL flickr group graciously combined all of the book templates onto 15 pages. I used these templates printed at 100% and they are measuring up great! If you need help finding the template document in flickr, let me know. This is not meant to be a substitute for purchasing the book, however. :) Start by spraying one side of the cardboard with the spray adhesive (I think the templates stick best to the unprinted side of the cardboard). I did this outside. Some people spray the templates and stick them down. I hate getting the adhesive on my fingers, b/c it is tough to get off. So I spray the cardboard! Take the cardboard inside and lay your templates out. I don't like to lay any of my templates over the folds in the cardboard. As you lay each piece down, smooth it over with your finger. If there are bumps or wrinkles, you can pull the piece back up and try again. I find it pretty easy to smooth out the bumps without pulling the pieces back up, though. Wait a few minutes before cutting the templates with your rotary cutter, that will minimize the adhesive that sticks to your ruler. (Adversely, it's best to stick your templates down immediately. Typically spray adhesive is permanent only right after it's sprayed.) When I cut my templates, I line up the solid SEWING line on each template with the 1/4" line on my ruler. That ensures that I have an accurate seam allowance, regardless of the dashed/cutting lines. (See the red arrows below pointing to the solid SEWING lines.) In the pic below, you can see where my ruler is with respect to the dashed/cutting line. Trim all sides of the template the same way. To trim the funky corners like you see on the triangles, I just eyeballed it. You can use a ruler, though. This is how the edges of my templates looked after trimming. Continue until you have a stack of pretty templates! (I cut all of the templates for my first 8 blocks to get me caught up with the group, and in the future I'm planning on cutting my templates as I need them each week.) Now that the templates are ready, I will go through how I cut my pieces using the templates and a rotary cutter and ruler. Supplies: Templates Masking Tape Rotary Cutter and Mat - switch out your "paper" blade at this point Ruler Fabric For reference, I chose the Big Dipper block for this tutorial. It only requires one template! To start, make a loop with masking tape and stick the loop to the back of the template. Now stick the template onto the fabric. I cut 4 layers at a time here. Line your ruler up along one edge of the template. I line up the solid SEWING line on the template with the 1/4" mark on my ruler. And trim! Repeat on all remaining sides (don't trim those funky corners yet!). Now to trim the corners, I don't use a ruler. I just set my rotary cutter on the edge of the corner and press down. I try not to roll my cutter around a lot, because I want a small, clean cut. Here's my triangle with 1 part of the corner trimmed. Repeat with the little bit that is remaining. Line up the rotary cutter, and press down. Ta-Da! Repeat until all of your pieces are cut, and piece as desired! You may need to use a fresh piece of masking tape after a few templates. If the template isn't staying put on the fabric, use fresh tape. You don't want the templates moving around! I've seen a few blog posts now where people are questioning the funky corners on the pieces. Fussy Cut explains it really well in this post, scroll down for the picture and explanation. They really do improve accuracy in piecing! Up next, my first few blocks!
The Farmer’s Wife 1920’s Sampler Quilt Sew-along is celebrating block 3, Basket, today. This one has given a few people pause because it involves appliqué. Appliqué’s not that big a deal. Seriously. I
Can you believe that 2018 is just around the corner? No, me either. I’ve been leisurely pottering around at home...
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
At last, the Farmer’s Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt sew along (try saying that 10 times fast!) begins! There has been so much excitement and chatter in the Facebook group, it’s so nice to officially start things off. Although I must admit, I’ve been secretly sewing a few random blocks from the book over the past […]
The Farmer’s Wife 1920’s Sampler Quilt Sew-along is celebrating block 8, Bouquet, today. This block is all about the angles....
Have you ever heard of the Farmer's Wife Quilt-Along? Awhile back it was all over some of my favorite blogs, so I requested the book from the library. I was fascinated reading it. The background on it: In 1918 World War I ended; 1920 saw women with the right to vote; during these changing times: Society was also beginning to see a change in young women's behavior, exemplified by the 'flapper'; and all were not pleased. In 1922, The Pittsburgh Observer noted, "a change for the worse during the past year in feminine dress, dancing, manners, and general moral standards," and warned against any ' "failure to realize the serious consequences in immodesty in girl's dress." City people believed the farm woman to be a drudge and slave - that she was miserable and would be anxious to leave, if given the chance for a new live. However, The Farmer's Wife (popular women's magazine with approx 750,000 subscribers), believed this to be far from the truth. So the editors of the magazine asked their readers a question: "If you had a daughter of marriageable age, would you, in light of your own experience, want her to marry a farmer?" The editors asked participants to "consider this question in all its angles. Talk it over with your husband, your children and your friends. Consider not only the financial side of the question but the moral and physical viewpoint and the things that make for real happiness. You wish the best things in the world for your children. Would your daughter as a farmer's wife be better off - all things considered - then she would be in the city or town?" The magazine offered cash prizes for the best 68 answers submitted. By the end of the contest... the editors were overwhelmed with the response from over seven thousand readers. When the opinions were tallied, it was found that the editors were correct: 94% of farm wives stated that they would, indeed, want their daughters to marry a farmer. (excerpts from The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt, by Laurie Aaron Hird) The rest of the book contains the many letters submitted by these farmers wives, as well as the 111 quilt blocks they inspired. You really should read these letters. They are fabulous. So many of these ladies re-affirming what is really important in life. I found it amazing that women (even back then) felt the pull from the world, and the need to try to keep the important things...important. These small 6" blocks are so fun to make! I was inspired by Camille's beautiful Farmer's Wife Quilt, and followed her method, which was quite helpful. It's so fun to pick through small scraps, and make these. Here's my first 6 blocks. Block 1- Attic Windows Block 2 - Autumn Tints Block 3 - Single Wedding Star (actually block 80) Block 4 - Basket Weave Block 5 - Bat Wing Block 6 - Big Dipper So... 6 down, and only 105 more to make!
Ella Blue is an Australian Fabric House established in 2013 and is proudly sharing Australian designers with the world. Find out more about Ella Blue here.
I seriously considered ditching the templates and working out the math for each block as I go along. I love math, and I know that my work is more accurate when I rotary cut my pieces. But I wanted to keep in the spirit of this project, so I'm using the templates from the book. I hand pieced and quilted my first quilt using templates, so this process isn't new to me. This time around, I am using my rotary cutter to cut around the templates and I'm machine piecing my blocks. I thought I'd share the process that I use, first I will go through how I prep my templates: Supplies: Thin Cardboard (i.e. cereal boxes) Spray Adhesive Templates* Rotary Cutter - it's best to use a separate blade for paper Ruler *A member of the FWQAL flickr group graciously combined all of the book templates onto 15 pages. I used these templates printed at 100% and they are measuring up great! If you need help finding the template document in flickr, let me know. This is not meant to be a substitute for purchasing the book, however. :) Start by spraying one side of the cardboard with the spray adhesive (I think the templates stick best to the unprinted side of the cardboard). I did this outside. Some people spray the templates and stick them down. I hate getting the adhesive on my fingers, b/c it is tough to get off. So I spray the cardboard! Take the cardboard inside and lay your templates out. I don't like to lay any of my templates over the folds in the cardboard. As you lay each piece down, smooth it over with your finger. If there are bumps or wrinkles, you can pull the piece back up and try again. I find it pretty easy to smooth out the bumps without pulling the pieces back up, though. Wait a few minutes before cutting the templates with your rotary cutter, that will minimize the adhesive that sticks to your ruler. (Adversely, it's best to stick your templates down immediately. Typically spray adhesive is permanent only right after it's sprayed.) When I cut my templates, I line up the solid SEWING line on each template with the 1/4" line on my ruler. That ensures that I have an accurate seam allowance, regardless of the dashed/cutting lines. (See the red arrows below pointing to the solid SEWING lines.) In the pic below, you can see where my ruler is with respect to the dashed/cutting line. Trim all sides of the template the same way. To trim the funky corners like you see on the triangles, I just eyeballed it. You can use a ruler, though. This is how the edges of my templates looked after trimming. Continue until you have a stack of pretty templates! (I cut all of the templates for my first 8 blocks to get me caught up with the group, and in the future I'm planning on cutting my templates as I need them each week.) Now that the templates are ready, I will go through how I cut my pieces using the templates and a rotary cutter and ruler. Supplies: Templates Masking Tape Rotary Cutter and Mat - switch out your "paper" blade at this point Ruler Fabric For reference, I chose the Big Dipper block for this tutorial. It only requires one template! To start, make a loop with masking tape and stick the loop to the back of the template. Now stick the template onto the fabric. I cut 4 layers at a time here. Line your ruler up along one edge of the template. I line up the solid SEWING line on the template with the 1/4" mark on my ruler. And trim! Repeat on all remaining sides (don't trim those funky corners yet!). Now to trim the corners, I don't use a ruler. I just set my rotary cutter on the edge of the corner and press down. I try not to roll my cutter around a lot, because I want a small, clean cut. Here's my triangle with 1 part of the corner trimmed. Repeat with the little bit that is remaining. Line up the rotary cutter, and press down. Ta-Da! Repeat until all of your pieces are cut, and piece as desired! You may need to use a fresh piece of masking tape after a few templates. If the template isn't staying put on the fabric, use fresh tape. You don't want the templates moving around! I've seen a few blog posts now where people are questioning the funky corners on the pieces. Fussy Cut explains it really well in this post, scroll down for the picture and explanation. They really do improve accuracy in piecing! Up next, my first few blocks!
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!
Can you believe that 2018 is just around the corner? No, me either. I’ve been leisurely pottering around at home...
Can you believe that 2018 is just around the corner? No, me either. I’ve been leisurely pottering around at home...
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 …
Today marks the final post featuring my marathon project called, The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt! I'm so in love with this quilt and happier with the final product than I've probably ever been with an
More Farmers Wife Quilts Sandi Ray began a series of classes at The Pine Needle Quilt Shop making the Farmers Wife Quilt. When she passed away, Maggie Hayes took over the series. "The Farmers Wife Sampler Quilt" by Laurie Aaron Hird features 111 different 6" blocks. Though the blocks are all the same, each quilt has a different personality and feel based on color choices. These quilts took about a year to make. Some are still in progress. This quilt was quite an undertaking for each of these women and we couldn't be more pleased with how beautiful they all are. Carol Cooper Cathie Gleeson Charel Walker Charlotte Winters Ellen Starr Karen Bondarowicz Karon Reese Peggy Friedl-Yee Sue Arndt
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
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 Sew-Along kicks off on August 24 2018 and to help you get ready I’m sharing with...
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...
Are you having problems working out which fabrics to use for your Farmer's Wife 1930's Sampler Quilt, let me take the guess work out of it for you.
This week it's blocks 43 and 44. Jo Avery is back as a guest blogger for Hope (block 43 p.202, letter p.128), read all about it here! This is my version - keep a look out for the partial seam, it's not too tricky if you pencil the seam allowance on the reverse of the central square. Fabric credits: Kona Peony Windham Playdate Diamond Flower Yellow Windham Tiger Lily Butterflies in Brown by Heather Ross Block 44, Iris (p.203, letter p.50) is one of several rather pictorial floral blocks (like Daffodil) which I am not drawn to as much as the more symmetrical and geometric blocks: Fabric credits: Riley Blake Fabulous and Fancy-Breath in Yellow Kona Violet Kona Petunia Darlene Zimmerman Grandma's Garden Bouquet in Country {Please note: For all fabric credits I have linked to my sponsors on items bought through them and elsewhere for anything that has come from other shops.} The easiest way for me to piece blocks like these with lots of different shapes is to use freezer paper templates. I was asked an interesting question by Rebecca about grainline in a comment on a Farmer's Wife post . Even though the paper acts as a stabiliser in foundation paper piecing, I still try to maintain a consistent grainline where possible in a block. It can't aways be done and sometimes bias edges end up on the outer edges- I usually sew a border ⅛" from the outer edge to prevent bias edges stretching. I print the block diagram for the templates and add piece letters/numbers and grainline arrows. I'm not totally rigid about grainline. If I only have a little scrap of fabric, I'll fit the pieces however I can and if I'm fussy cutting, I'll sacrifice grainline for an image but generally I'll try and keep with the straight grain- lengthwise or crossways. For this design, because many of the pieces are repeated in a mirror image, I often cut two pieces using one freezer paper template. To do this, I fold the fabric wrong sides together, press the freezer paper piece on to the right side and cut out through two layers with a ⅜" seam allowance added around the edges (or ½" if you want more wriggle room creating two pieces that mirror each other. Top tips for this block Pre-cut all pieces using the freezer paper template method. Use a water based glue stick. I use Sewline, to stick the first piece of each section Chain piece- for any repeated sections There is a lot of bulk on the section seam where the stem reaches the base of the flower. I sewed this seam in two runs working from the centre and folding seam allowances out of the way so they are floating and can move around. It's still a little lumpy but I think that's unavoidable with so much going on at that point! I pressed the joining seam open between ACE and BD and the base of the flower sits over this. Remember you can: Hashtag #fw1930sqal on Instagram and add photos to the Flickr group if you like to share there. For individual blocks, you can use #hopeblock and #irisblock on Instagram, Fat Quarter Shop and Angie are using these hash tags, #fw43hope, #fw44iris. I'm using both hashtag systems. You can also copy and paste links to any blog posts you do on these blocks in the comments and I'd love to visit and take a look. I'm taking a break from Periscope. I have covered so many techniques in the Persicope broadcast and I feel I am in danger of repeating myself, plus I have a change in my usual routine that means I can't always do the same time as easily so I'm going to leave it for a while. You can find links to posts that cover all the main techniques used to piece these blocks here and that includes using freezer paper templates, English Paper Piecing, hand piecing plus more! Thank you to all of you who have joined me there- it's been fun trying out a new social media and meeting you all! See you next Monday with guest blogger Jo from Life in Lists returning for her third post!
cheery fabric in my dark (blinds closed) sewing room Summer here is depressing. There, I said it. Any chocolate I buy is completely melted by the time I leave the Target parking lot, Sonic ice doesn't stand a chance, and...
Hello and Happy Sunday. I hope you are enjoying your weekend. I spent a good amount of mine cleaning & organizing my sewing area and organizing my fabric. I hope to have a de-stash this week. I'm a
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