August 5, 2015

Farmer's Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt | Tools Used


Welcome to the Farmer's Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt Sew Along. Details about the 2020 sew alongs for making both the 1920s and 1930s Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilts can be found on Gnome Angel's blog. Below you will find info about our tools that have been used by quilters for many years to make almost all of the blocks in both books. Maybe you already have some (or all!) of them in your toolbox. Click on a specific tool name to get more details about the tool and ordering info.

The Most Commonly Used Template Sets

Our tools are designed for use with a rotary cutting system. Start with a good rotary cutter (some people like to switch to the small 28mm size to cut small pieces) and a small cutting mat, 6 x 9-ish, or small rotating mat. In addition to a big mat, a small one makes nipping off the dog ears with the engineered corners on our templates easier and more accurate. (Eliminating the dog ears at this stage reduces bulk, makes sewing more accurate – triangles and squares automatically fit together – and units press better.) We did a quick little introductory video about From Marti Michell templates on our website -- http://www.frommarti.com/our_products.shtml

If you want to cut your blocks with our templates and you are making your Farmer's Wife 1930s Sampler Blocks in the order given in the book, you will want to have the most frequently used template sets on hand early on. They are Sets A, B, D and N. Additional tools that are very helpful are discussed in paragraphs below.

If you want to make your blocks in groups that used the same template set rather than in chronological order, start with Set A and add template sets as needed, according to the following discussion.

Set A - #8251
Set B - #8252
Set D - #8254

And Set N - #8956


Optional Starter Tools

#8064 - Corner Trimmer -- A corner trimmer isn’t necessary if you are cutting with the templates, as they all have engineered corners. But if you want to try ruler-cutting the squares and half-square triangles, the corner trimmer allows you to trim away dog ears and match the engineered corners for sewing.

  
#8217 - Deluxe Corner Trimmer -- Especially nice if you are planning on doing any hand-piecing, as this tool makes it easy to mark dots for “dot-to-dot” sewing and draw a 1/4 inch stitching line on rotary cut pieces.

#8973 - My Favorite 6-1/2 inch Squaring Up Ruler -- Every completed Farmer's Wife block should be 6-1/2 inches, including seam allowances. There are many other times you will use this ruler to square up sections as you go. It’s perfect for cutting 6-1/2 inch and smaller squares, too.

#8972 - My Favorite 3 x 18 inch Ruler -- If not this ruler, make sure that you have a “standard” ruler that is shorter than 24 inches and longer than 6-1/2 inches, as a ruler in that size range is much more convenient and accurate when working with smaller pieces of fabric.

Tools Used in the Next Group of Blocks That I Made


#8166 - Set S -- Specifically designed for cutting finished 6” blocks that are designed on a 5 x 5 grid. 6 inches divided by 5 plus 1/2 inch seam allowance equals what? That is why you will love Set S - no math required!

#8955 - Set M is Set S’s big sister -- for inch blocks designed on a 5 x 5 grid. It is used in several blocks in this quilt, but the 2 sets are companions in the rest of your quilting life and we do give a price break when you buy product # 8172 Sets S&M together.

#8037 - Log Cabin Ruler -- for cutting 1-1/2 and 3/4 inch finished strips. You may be surprised how we use this! ;)

#8289 - Multi-Size Peaky and Spike Triangle Set -- If you own Set C or Set D or the Sashing Star  Ruler you can probably use them - I’ll blog about how to adapt those pieces to these blocks when we get closer.    


Tools for the Remaining Blocks and Finishing

The rest of the blocks will be cut with all the previous sets, and some pieces can be cut with one of our other tools. You might also want to use them:

#8253 - Set C -- These are the companion pieces for Set A and they come in handy in several blocks if you already own it. While I recommend this set all the time, don’t buy it just for this quilt!

#8641 - The Small Kaleido-Ruler -- used to true-up some pieces and in several optional substitute blocks.

#8158 - Kite Ruler -- used in 2 or 3 blocks.

#8212 - Set Q -- used in 2 blocks.

#8255 - Set E -- used in 1 block

#8105 - The Small Diagonal Set (No-Flip) Triangle Ruler -- If you are using the quilt layout in the book, this ruler is perfect for cutting the setting triangles and corner triangles. As soon as you have decided your background fabric, you can start cutting and adding setting triangles to opposite sides of each block and be that much closer to getting your quilt done!

Our Product Line is Like a Family

And family parties are always more interesting when the aunts and uncles and cousins add to the fun! We've teamed up templates and companion books to help make Perfect Patchwork Templates your go-to tools for all the quilts you make! 

More Bang for the Buck book #8352 - Once you use From Marti Michell templates you will want to use them on more projects and get more bang for the bucks you’ve spent!  This book is full of info to help determine which templates are perfect for other quilt designs. And when you want to know how many pieces of a particular template size you can get from one strip of fabric, this book can tell you -- for any of our template sets that include a square or right triangle. We included a section on how to figure yardage for a quilt, too.

Encyclopedia of Patchwork Blocks, Volumes 1, 2, 3 and 4 - Even though part of the fun of a sew along is making the same blocks at the same time with quilting friends all around the world, there may be blocks you don’t want to make. After all, it is your quilt and you can personalize it with substitutions if you want! Or you might want to make a second, bigger quilt with different sampler blocks. If you run short of ideas for that, these books feature dozens of 6-inch blocks you can make with the template sets you already have. And when you have completed your Farmer’s Wife quilt, they are a great source of inspiration for new quilts.
Volume 1 #8342 Set A or B
Volume 2 #8343 Sets A and C or B and D
Volume 3 #8345 Set E (Eight Pointed Stars)
Volume 4 #8346 Sets L and M - 12 inch Set M blocks are easily translated into 6 inch Set S blocks.

Why Most of the Template Sets Have Letter Names

If you are new to From Marti Michell Perfect Patchwork Templates, you may not realize that our template sets multi-task. Each set includes 7 to 11 size-specific acrylic shapes that fit together many different ways to make square (or hexagonal) blocks. Because they were planned around the concept of popular finished block sizes, designs and a grid system, the template sets are very versatile. The same acrylic template might be used as the smallest piece in one block and the largest in another.

So, if we named template sets with block names like 12-inch Evening Star, 12-inch Clay’s Choice, 12-inch Rambler, etc. we would have made dozens of sets and they would all have many of the same pieces! Hence, they are named in alphabetical order in the order in which they were introduced, starting in 1995 with Sets A, B, C, D, and E. We quickly realized that we would run out of letters, so we started naming new templates sets for specific designs they are used to cut, such as Drunkard’s Path, Winding Ways and Dresden Plate. We most recent template set we named was Set T in 2011 – 16 years after Set A -- so far, so good!
 

44 comments:

  1. Can someone tell me where to order these templates? I cannot locate a source that has all the sets

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    1. Hi Sue,

      We'd be happy to hear from you. From Marti Michell is my company and you can order from our website, http://www.frommarti.com We are a small company and we manufacture an entire line of acrylic tools to use with a rotary cutter to cut patchwork shapes from strips. There is a lot of general information on our site about cutting and sewing, plus grid papers and other info you can download for free and print, too. :)

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  2. Is there any chance that you might group the required template sets as a bundle?
    I find it mind numbing to search for all of the sets and rulers

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    2. Hi Marie,

      A bundle is a good idea, but we're a very small company (6 employees) so we only have specials a few times a year, usually at the times of the big shows like Quilt Festival and AQS. And we have only raised our prices about 3 times since 1995 because we want our products to be as affordable as possible. :) Check with Fat Quarter Shop; they are the quilt shop partner for the sew along and they have periodic specials, too.

      If you would like notifications about our future sales, please join our newsletter email list through our website, http://www.frommarti.com

      Thanks for doing the sew along with us! :)

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  3. Thanks Marti! I was not thinking of a bundle sale per se...just a place or page where it would be easy to order all of the necessary sets from.... I am a big fan of your templates!

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    1. Yes! Thank you. It would be nice if there was a bundle all templates included. Not marked down but compiled. It's a daunting list. I like a one click into my basket idea!

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    2. We don't have all the tools bundled, but we did collect them all on one page in our store. :) http://www.frommarti.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=FMM&Category_Code=FWT

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  4. I was so excited about this QAL because I have had the book for some time, but just figured out that my book is the 1920 version, not the 1930's! Bummer! have you a conversion chart for the 1920's version? I own sets A, C, and L already

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    1. Hi Lynda! Coincidentally, we had started a new mailing list for people who wanted the conversion charts for the original Farmer's Wife and had it scheduled to begin in Sept. when we were invited to join the 1930s quilt along -- so the answer is yes, you can still get those charts :) by going to our website and using the "join our email list" to sign up. Those charts have template tips for making 10 blocks per PDF and they are sent out every 2 weeks. There is a blog post in the archives about the first Farmer's Wife quilt... I think it's in the January 2013 list. It will have more details about that quilt and those PDFs. :) Thank you for being a template user!

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  5. I received my templates yesterday from your company, and I'm very happy with them. I have all the recommended sets now, and I've already made a block. Thank you for the complimentary corner cutter template, it was so nice of you to include that. I really love your templates, I have many other sets likes the Dresdens. I collect your templates.

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    1. Hi Becca! We're glad you like the templates. :) We love them for all kinds of patchwork projects but especially for small pieces in small blocks. I hope you enjoy making your Farmer's Wife quilt as much as we are here!

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  6. I ordered a lot of your templates when I joined Patchwork Party in 2009. Are the templates used in that quilt the same ones for the 1930 quilt?

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    2. The spring '09 Patchwork Party used Template Sets B & D, which can also be also used to cut some of the blocks in the Farmer's Wife 1930s quilt. The winter '09 Patchwork Party used Template Sets A and C. Sets A, B, D, N and S are the most frequently used sets for the Farmer's Wife 1930s blocks. So if you have those sets or most of them, you're in good shape for the sew along! :)

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  7. I ordered a lot of your templates when I joined the Patchwork Party 2009, are these some of the same ones for the 1930 quilt?

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    1. Yes. Sets A & C were used for the Fall Patchwork Party 2009 and Sets B &D were used for the Spring 2009 Party.

      Many of the same templates are used in the Farmer's Wife blocks that were also used in block of the month and other quilt programs that were offered online or in shops in the past. Our templates are basic shapes in common sizes and they are very versatile; for example, Sets A and B, plus other sets with common shapes, feature combinations of square, half-square triangle and quarter-square triangles in 3 sizes, so you can make all kinds of block designs with them in several sizes.

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  8. If I have the original book will I be ok for the new sew along?
    Jane

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    1. Hi Jane. The blocks in Laurie Aaron Hird's new Farmer's Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt book are all different blocks from those in her first book. So you will need the book to follow the sew along.

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  9. Well, now is the time for me to get with the program and use all of the Marti rulers I have acquired over the years! Love them. I also belong to the Marti and Me club with Stitchin Tree and am having a great time working with this program! The Farmers Wife project is coming at a wonderful time for me as I am ready now to start the quilt and it will be fun to work along with others!!!

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    1. Glad to know you are using -- and loving! -- your FMM tools! We love it when people use them for more than the project they originally bought them for and they have become the go-to tools. :) <3

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  10. I don't understand what you mean by "cutting on a grid" ie 5x5. Is the template smaller and you have to move it around the grid? Or needing conversion charts.

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    2. All quilt blocks are designed on a grid. Nine patches are 3 by 3's (3 units across and 3 down), four patches are 4 x 4's (4 across and 4 down), etc. The templates aren't moved around on a grid for cutting. Strips are cut first, then the template is moved along the strip as each shape is cut from the strip. The conversion charts are our "template conversion charts" and they cross-reference the paper templates in the Farmer's Wife books to the acrylic templates that are the same size. You don't need our templates to make the Farmer's Wife quilts; they just make cutting easier because they're acrylic templates and sewing is more accurate because of the templates' engineered corners for perfect matching.

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  11. How do we keep the templates from slipping? Do we leave the paper on the back of the templates or remove it?

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    1. Hi Debbie - Yes, remove the paper from the templates. I don't use anything on the templates to prevent slippage but because this questions comes up now and then, we tested the Steady Betty Ruler Strips and liked them so much, we now sell them in our web store. You might try a small piece or two on your templates to see how you like it. :)

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  12. Hi Marti,
    I would like to add the set in triangles as I go but am a little confused. The book says the blocks are 6 in finished. So I am using your 6 in marker on the triangle template. Does that mean they are six inches when sewn together in the finished quilt? My blocks now measure 61/2 inches and I checked the inch gage on the template paper and that was correct. thanks

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    1. Hi Leslie - It's great that you have already picked your finishing fabric so you can add the triangles to the blocks as you make them. If you are using one of our Diagonal Set Triangle Rulers, yes, you would cut setting triangles (not corner triangles) using the guideline for 6-inch finished blocks for the interior of the Farmer's Wife quilt. Then down the road, when the quilt top is almost finished and you want to cut the corner triangles, you'd use the 6-inch guideline for those, too. Thanks for asking!

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    2. but the blocks as they are without the triangles added are 61/2 correct?
      thanks

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    3. Yes, the Farmer's Wife blocks are 6-1/2 inches unfinished, 6 inches finished. :)

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    4. I love love love the triangle ruler

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  13. Where and how much can we by the converstion chart to use your templates?

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    1. Hi Audie, The conversion charts are not for sale. They are free downloads. Just follow my blog and download them as they are posted. :) More info about the Farmer's Wife 1930s Sew-along is here - http://gnomeangel.com/announcing-the-farmers-wife-1930s-sampler-quilt-sew-along/

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  14. I am going to reveal my template ignorance. 😞 What is a conversion chart and why is it necessary? Sorry...

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    1. Hi Betsy - The template conversion charts are helpful if you are using our Perfect Patchwork acrylic templates to cut the pieces for tge Farmer's Wife blocks. Many of the same shapes and sizes needed for those blocks are in our template sets, which have been on the market for 20 years, so many quilters have used them to make the first Farmer's Wife quilt. Using the templates is just one way you can cut the blocks; they're not necessary, but their special engineered corners make squares and triangles match perfectly, making it easy to sew the small pieces for these blocks more accurately. Thanks for asking -- I'm sure you're not the only person wondering about the conversion charts. :)

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  15. The latest email from Angie lists a link from you for a "quilt as you go". For some reason I keep getting an error message or link not available. Is there a page on your website I can cess directly? Thanks

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  16. Hi Leslie -- Angie must have meant my Craftsy "Piece as you go" class. Info is on our website. If you're interested in signing up for the class, use the link on my website to save $20. :)

    http://www.frommarti.com/Martis_Craftsy.shtml

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  17. Where is conversion chart for Farmers Wife # 1-4. Carol

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    1. Hi Carol,

      We are doing the blocks in logical order for making them with From Marti Michell templates. We started with Set A because those were the easiest blocks to make and we've been proceeding with blocks that have smaller pieces, or pieces for which there is no template but they can be cut with a template trick, etc.

      The template conversion charts (with chart number, block name and block number in the book) that we've published so far can be found in the blog archive. When you can't find a particular block on our blog, put the name of the block into the "search" function. If nothing comes back, then the block hasn't come up in the Sew Along schedule yet.

      You asked about the first 4 blocks in particular. Addie is our Chart 11. We didn't make Aimee; we called our alternate block Alta and it's on Chart 13. The blog post on 11/13/15 talks about Richy Lainson, Jr.'s Aimee block which he made with templates. Alice will be released the first week of September and Ann is scheduled near the end of the Sew Along (in March).

      😊

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