March 21, 2016

Chart 43: Emma, our version of Em, Block #30 in the Farmer's Wife 1930s Sew Along


The block we call Emma looks just like Em, except we have eliminated a dozen unnecessary seams by making 8 Flying Geese units and 4 rectangles to replace 16 half-square triangles and 8 squares. Plus we used strip techniques to make the checkerboard units instead of cutting tiny individual squares.

You may have forgotten, I wrote in a previous post that my Mom was an Iowa farm wife in the 1930s.  So, when I decided that I would substitute a very template-friendly block for Aimee that was only barely template-friendly, I named the new block Alta, after my Mom. I also decided that whenever I offered an optional template-friendly block, it would be named in memory of a 1930s Iowa farm wife who was either my mother’s friend or one of my friends' mothers. Emma was both.

Emma’s son Clarence was a classmate of mine for 12 years. Even though our small graduating class of 26 has spread from coast-to-coast, we have kept in touch. It was fun to find out at a class reunion about 10 years ago that Emma’s granddaughters and Clarence’s daughters, Susan and Julie, are two of the partners who own Ladybug’s Quilts in Manteca, CA, about 60 miles south of Sacramento. Don’t miss it if you are in the area and make sure you tell them “Marti sent you!”

Photos courtesy of Ladybug's Quilts

Emma’s Signature Quilt

It was especially fun that, just as we were starting the Farmer’s Wife quilt-along, Emma’s family members discovered a signature quilt from the 1930s which included Emma’s embroidered name. They shared a snapshot of the quilt and her name block.


This quilt has the earmarks of a good fundraising signature quilt. It was common for people to contribute money to have their signature included in the quilt. Usually that also gave those people an opportunity to win the quilt when it was completed, and it looks like Emma won.


You can make your own 6-inch signature block or blocks. If you and several friends are cheering each other on as you make the Farmer’s Wife quilt -- it might be fun to put their signature blocks on the back of the quilt.

Use triangle template A-2 for the triangle corners. Cut 3 strips a scant 2 inches wide by 4-3/4 inches long for the signature area. True up the signature square with template C-15 (a 4-3/4 inch  square) if you own Set C or use My Favorite 6-1/2 inch Squaring Up Ruler. Don’t forget to press freezer paper to the back of the signature area to stabilize it for signing.

Join triangles to opposite sides of the 3-strip square, press toward the center and then add the remaining triangles to the remaining opposite sides.


My Emma Block


Click on the image for a larger view. Click the link below to download the Chart for cutting and making Emma:

In addition to our template conversion PDF download, you will want to read Gnome Angel's tutorials for these blocks.


Thanks for reading this to the end! Leave a comment below to enter our giveaway and you could be one of 3 random commenters to win a set of our new multi-size Starry Path Templates for 6-, 9-, and 12-inch blocks. The 6-inch size would be perfect as an extra block in your Farmer's Wife quilt. We'll do a random pick on March 28, 2016.


P.S. Jinny Beyer's Quilters Album of Patchwork Patterns credits the Starry Path block design to Alice Brooks Design, Chicago Tribune, 1936.





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.

29 comments:

  1. Hi Marti! I love the idea of a signature quilt. I also love that Emma's granddaughters own a quilt shop. The legacy continues...

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    1. Hi Merry Karma! Yes, the legacy continues. Quilting makes the world a smaller place, for sure. :)

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  2. I just recently found this blog and I'm loving the blocks! I hope I can find the ones you have already done!I have had the book for a long time but would never have attempted the blocks without these tutorials! Thanks so much!!

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    1. You're welcome! :) The 42 previous block conversion charts are listed in the blog archive on the right. Have fun making your blocks!

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  3. Thanks so much for taking the time to do the conversion charts. I probably wouldn't have attempted to make this quilt without them.

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  4. Using these templates for making the Farmer's Wife 1930's Sampler Quilt blocks have been a lifesaver! I love using them, blocks have been turning out to size each time. Thanks.

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  5. Thank you for such nice comments! It's gratifying to know that you find the conversion charts so helpful. And thanks for being a template user! We love them and we love it when other quilters do, too! <3

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  6. Thanks so much! I am enjoying making all the Farmer's Wife 1930's blocks and reading the stories. The templates are invaluable! I love the Starry Path blocks, so I sure hope I'm the winner!

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  7. I am working on a signature quilt from our church's 100th birthday celebration, so this rings bells with me. I am going to be doing a goblet block, with the signature squares as the cup part. I am thinking templates would help keep everything true to size. Thank you for a chance to win.

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  8. I have used your templates for many years and I am so glad you are providing directions for these blocks. I have also joined the list to receive the directions for the first Farmer's Wife blocks and hope to make them in the future, too.

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  9. Such an interesting and informative real life story of Emma; It's a small world. Love your templates and conversion charts. I plan on making the 1920's quilt after the 1930's is finished using your conversion charts that you have graciously given to all interested parties of the 1920's quilt. Thank you so very much, you most certainly have made the making of the blocks so much easier.

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  10. I always enjoy seeing how your blocks have turned out and of course, seeing the back for aid in pressing. I am not making the blocks yet but am saving the files for when I am ready! I have most of your template sets and see this as a prefect opportunity to put them to good use. THX for the giveaway opportunity too.

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  11. I too love this conversion charts. Thank you so much for making these blocks so fun to make!!!! I love your templates!!!

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  12. Thanks a million, wonderful to find people like yourself, I live in Mexico City and quilting has been a tradition in my family since great great grandmother which lived in Ohio. So it has been great to go from simple squares to this wonderful adventure of learning so much. Thank You So Much ! Sally Bravo

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  13. Thank you very much, I have admired your work, and how you have made it easy for people like me, I live in Mexico City so it has been wonderful to be able to understand some of my roots on my greatgrandmothers side up to my moms thank you agin for sharing so much!

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  14. Sure would be nice if your conversion chart was available to download. No Preview Available must mean no conversion chart available. please fix the link. Thank you
    Sue

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    1. I'm sorry you're having trouble with the download. "No preview available" means just that, there is no preview available, but you can still download the PDF to your computer. The message also has a "Download" button that is just a link, and clicking on "Download" will put the PDF in your "Downloads" folder, which is on your computer. You may have to do a search to find that folder. If you still can't get the PDF to download, write to Patti through the "Contact" link on our website and she will be happy to send it to you.

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  15. I would love to win the templates for Starry Path. I have loved that block since I first started quilting many, many years ago. I love your template sets. They make piecing many blocks easy that would be difficult otherwise.

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  16. Thank you for all the extra info and conversion charts! I don't think I would have been able to make the blocks witout them!!! Iand i just love that you also show the wrong side of the block, it has been sooo helpful!

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  17. I enjoyed reading about the history of the signature quilt. Who can tell all the stories hidden in the stitches of a quilt?

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  18. Just found this quilt along. Since I have the book, I will try to find the rest of the blogs and join in. Looks like fun.

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  19. I was never much of a template user until the Farmer's Wife quilt-along, but am finding them very helpful making these blocks. I also appreciate your tips to eliminate unnecessary seams!

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    1. Thanks, Betty! I'm glad you're enjoying the sew along and the templates! I hope your templates will become your go-to tools for other projects, too. They're great for cutting pieces for larger block designs -- including many of the same block designs! For example, if you need a 3-in. finished square for a 12-inch four patch block, you have that size square in Set A, along with its matching half and quarter-square triangles. If you need a quarter-square triangle with a 4-inch finished hypotenuse, you have that triangle in Set B, along with its matching square and half-square triangle. Etc. And you can use the same kind of tricks for eliminating unnecessary seams in bigger blocks, too.

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  20. Thanks so much for the opportunity to win! MM templates are the best!

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  21. I have always loved the idea of signature quilts. I have my great aunts wedding quilt blocks of signatures! Would love to win!

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  22. Love your templates for my Farmers Wife blocks. The tips for eliminating seams is great!

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  23. I've been learning so much more about quilting ever since I began the Farmer's Wife Quilt. Also enjoying the templates, which are a easy to use.

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  24. UPDATE -- The contest is now closed. Thanks to all who entered!

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