Chart 13: A New Block: Alta, and Aimee, Block #2 in the Farmer's Wife 1930s Sew Along

My Mother Was a Farmer's Wife

My parents, Alta and Coldren Glenn
on their wedding day

If it hadn’t been for the title, Farmer’s Wife Sampler Quilt, this quilting daughter of a farmer’s wife might not have even picked up Laurie Hird's first book in 2009. The book features a collection of letters, first published in "Farmers Wife" magazine in the 1920s in answer to a contest question, “Would you like your daughter to marry a farmer?” Quilt blocks for a sampler quilt, another weakness of mine, accompanied the compelling letters. It was fun to read the letters and try to guess how my Mom would have answered that question!

My sister Mary and I have inherited the small family farm in Iowa. It has been in our family since the early 1860s. We were raised on that farm in the same house my Dad was born and died in and, while we cherish the farm, we both married engineers! (See the big tree on the left? That was our Christmas tree when I was about 10 years old! The house was updated with picture windows when I was a kid, too.)

My Iowa farm home

Me, Mom and Dad, and my sister, Mary,
on our parents' 25th anniversary

After reading the letters, I looked more closely at the blocks and realized I could easily cut nearly all of them with our From Marti Michell Perfect Patchwork Templates. What a fun way to showcase the versatility of the templates as well as the accuracy with the small pieces for 6-inch finished blocks!

So, with the publisher’s permission, I provided the conversion information for the From Marti Michell templates that could replace the Farmer’s Wife paper patterns and added a few cutting and sewing tips that we commonly use with our templates.

A Multi-generational Quilt

To honor my Mom, I made all of the blocks for the first Farmer’s Wife Sampler using '30s reproduction fabrics. Our daughter, Stacy, sells her hand-dyed fabrics all over the world, but mostly in the United States and Japan (http://www.shadestextiles.co).  When she saw what I was doing, she gave me two perfect hand-dyed solids ('30s green and '30s blue) for the sashing strips. How cool is that for a multi-generational quilt? And how great are the blue and green sashings?!

I'm planning to machine quilt my Farmer's Wife quilt in two sections; until I do that, I'm using it as one of my samples in my machine quilting classes.

Fast Forward to June 2015

We learned Laurie Hird's new book, The Farmer’s Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt, had been published when we began receiving emails asking if we were going to convert these blocks for template cutting, like we did for the first book. Looking at the quilt photo, I could tell there were quite a few blocks that are not template friendly, so we answered that we probably would not be doing conversion charts but if that decision changed, we would write again to let them know.

Then, we received an email from Angie, whose blog is called GnomeAngel, about joining in on a sew-along with Fat Quarter Shop and 30 other bloggers. They would love to have me do the template conversions, and I shouldn’t worry about the non-template friendly blocks as she and/or other bloggers would talk about hand piecing, foundation-paper piecing, etc. Wow, it sounded like fun!

So, once again with the publisher’s blessing, we have begun converting close to 80 of the 99 blocks to template cutting! In addition, for every non-template friendly block in the book, I will be offering new template friendly 6-inch blocks as alternatives for anyone who prefers template cutting as much as I do. These additional blocks may also supply those of you who want to make a king-size quilt with the additional blocks needed.

To go along with the book theme, the alternate blocks will be named after my mother’s friends and my friend’s mothers who were Iowa farm wives in the 1930s. We added Mabel last week and Alta today. Watch for Helen, Emma, Gladys, Blanche, Lillian, Louise, Viola, Callista, Florence, Alice, Vera, Victoria and maybe Mrs. Tucker.

 

Alta and Coldren on their 50th Anniversary

My Alta Block

Click the link to download the 2-page Template Conversion Chart for Aimee and Alta:

From Marti Michell Template Conversion Chart #13
 

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

In Case You Missed the First Go-Round!

We divided the blocks in the first Farmers Wife Sampler Quilt book into 10 sets of 10 blocks, and we still regularly offer to email free the conversions for 10 blocks every 2 weeks. The next mailings start November 20, 2015. You can sign up on our website using the "join our email list" link.

Chart 12: Margaret Block #57, Milly #62, and our Mabel! in the Farmer's Wife 1930s Sew Along

The 2015 Houston International Quilt Market and Houston International Quilt Festival shows are over for another year. (We have never missed either one since the shows began!) Those 12 days in Houston are both exhausting and exciting. It was absolutely wonderful to meet and talk with so many Farmer’s Wife Sew-Along participants! Thank you so much for your enthusiasm and kind words! It was lots of fun meeting three of the Farmer's Wife Sew Along bloggers, too! (I am short, and these gals are tall! They're not standing on boxes, but maybe I should have! :)

Farmer's Wife guest bloggers Kerry Goulder (Kid Giddy),
me and Peta Peace (She Quilts Alot)

Chatting with Nedra Ridgeway (ellis & higgs)

Another Two-fer!

Now, time to get back to reality! Today is another two-block day. It is also an A-6 triangle day because all 32 pieces in each block are cut with the A-6 triangle template in Perfect Patchwork Template Set A. And, because there are so many seams meeting at one corner, we are going to talk just a little about pressing.

Margaret and Milly are both constructed with 16 half-square triangle pairs (HSTs). But, twist a few squares or add another color and the blocks look so different! Instead of arranging the squares into four rows and joining the rows, we chose to assemble them in four 3-1/2 inch quadrants with swirl-pressed centers. When 6 or more seams come together at one intersection, pressing becomes more complicated. There aren't rules for what's right or wrong, just personal choices.

To illustrate that, we actually stitched and pressed Margaret two different ways.  Do you remember the swirl pressing we did with Caroline (FMM Chart 4)? You will get more chances to practice swirl pressing with these blocks. Harriet, my studio associate, rarely misses a chance to swirl press! The seams in each quadrant of her block were swirl pressed clockwise, as viewed from the back in the center photo, below. Then the center seams were pressed counter-clockwise for a total of 5 swirl-pressed intersections.

On my Margaret block, above right, I pressed the final seam of each quadrant open and only swirl pressed the 8 seams that come together in the center of the block to make a pinwheel.

Both swirl pressing and pressing seams open can be used to reduce bulk where so many seams come together. Of course, when you cut with From Marti Michell templates, you have already eliminated so much excess fabric with the template's engineered corners.

Meet Milly's Neighbor, Mabel

In Milly, all of the triangles are arranged to make pinwheels with eight seams coming together in the center of every quadrant -- perfect for swirl pressing! If you look closely, you will see that, instead of Milly, I chose to make a small change so I could have 5 distinct pinwheels. We call the new block Mabel, after my long-time “neighbor to the West” when I was growing up on an Iowa farm. (More about the farm in my next post!)

Click the link to download the Template Conversion Chart for this block:

From Marti Michell Template Conversion Chart #12
 

for Blocks #57 Margaret and #62 Milly and the Mabel variation

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

Chart 11: The Patchwork Trio & Addie Block #1 in the Farmer's Wife 1930s Sew Along

Welcome to the 11th block in the Farmer's Wife 1930s Sew-along, Addie.

Introducing the Patchwork Trio

Patchwork blocks that can be drawn on an even grid, such as graph paper, are generally very From Marti Michell template-friendly. The most common shapes drawn on a grid are a square, half-square triangle and quarter square triangle. In our book, More Bang for the Buck!, we call these three shapes “the Patchwork Trio” because they are also the only shapes used in many blocks -- so many blocks!

Even though Set A has only seven acrylic pieces, it actually includes three sizes of the Patchwork Trio.

Square A-1 plus triangles A-2 and A-3 make up the “big Trio” pieces commonly used in 12 inch blocks.

Square A-5 plus triangles 6 and 7 make up the "littlest Trio" commonly used in 6 inch blocks.

What about square A-3? This size square is part of the set because it is the size square needed to make 3-inch finished size Square Within a Square blocks -- but when you combine square A-3 with triangles A-4 and A-6, you have the third combination of the Patchwork Trio.

So far in our sew-along, all of the blocks except Becky and Granny were designed on a 4 x 4 grid, and the smallest Patchwork Trio in Set A includes the pieces most frequently used in those blocks.

My Addie Block

Front and back. Click on the photo to see a larger image.

Click the link to download the Template Conversion Chart for this block:

From Marti Michell Template Conversion Chart #11

for Block #1, Addie
 

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

A Little Quilt History

Many traditional blocks are known by several names. I was curious to see if Addie had an "alias" so I spent a few minutes looking through a few of my favorite books that help identify quilt designs, like "the Brackman book." In 1973, quilt historian Barbara Brackman began indexing quilt patterns. She self-published a set of paperbacks that soon became the go-to identification books for a generation of quilters, and in 1993 these catalogs of over 4,000 designs were reprinted in one hefty volume by the American Quilters Society.

You might enjoy learning that, according to Brackman, Aunt Addie's Album was published in the periodical "Hearth & Home" published from 1885 into the 1930s by Vickery & Hill Co. in Augusta, Maine. Addie could be over 100 years old -- and she's still looking good!

We Heard You Want More Blocks!

Some of the quilters in the Facebook group for the Farmer's Wife 1930s Sew-along have mentioned that they want more than two blocks a week, so we are going to offer a Mystery Sampler Quilt with 8-1/2 inch  square blocks just for quilters who are using our conversion charts. I picked 8-1/2 inch blocks because we can make many 8-1/2 inch blocks with Set A, as well as other template sets that you'll be using to make the Farmer's Wife blocks.

Here are the first four template keys for 8-1/2 inch blocks. (Click on the diagram to see a larger version.) All of the pieces for Addie, except the center square, can be cut for both an 8-1/2 inch and a 12-inch block using Template Set A.

As time goes on we will add a few more 8-1/2 inch block conversions, but we encourage you to also do them on your own. Pick a different fabric style for an entirely different look, or use the same fabric selection for another quilt for the same room. We will give you both a wall hanging layout and a bed size as we get to the end of the sew-along.

A Little More Quilt History

While I was looking at the Brackman [book], I learned that Old Maid is also known by six other names in publications dating from the late 1800s through the 1930s, including the name I've always known it as, Double Z.

Jenny is similar to Spinning Jenny, a block designed by Jeffrey Gutcheon for the book he co-wrote with Beth Gutcheon in 1973, Patchwork Design Workbook (Alchemy Press, 1976). It was a follow-up to their 1973 book The Perfect Patchwork Primer). The design and the shapes are the same as Jenny's; the proportions are different. Beth and Jeff Gutcheon were trailblazers for "the current quilting revival" that began in the early '70s. There were very few books about quilting in the early '70s and most of them were old! Another of my "go to" block identification books is Jinny Beyer's Quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns (Breckling Press, 2009). In that book, I could see that Jenny has roots in Nancy Cabot's Spinning Jenny of the 1930s.

There was no Caroline in the Brackman -- but since I'd found 3 of the 4 blocks I picked for our Mystery Sampler Quilt, I was determined to try and find her! Back to Jinny Beyer's Quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns (Breckling Press, 2009) where she shows a block called Caroline's Choice. It has 2 Pinwheel units like Caroline, but large squares replace the Hourglass units. Caroline's Choice is also credited with 6 different names and publication dates, including a 1901 "Progressive Farmer" periodical and Nancy Cabot's regular Chicago Tribune column in 1936.

If you're intrigued by this little trip down quilt history lane, you might enjoy searching for the books I mentioned -- we get lost in them whenever we open them! They are so fun to explore.

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; RRP $28.99. 
Click here to purchase.

Chart 10: Parallelograms 101 and Jenny, Block #45 in the Farmer's Wife 1930s Sew Along

Parallelogram:  Any 4-sided shape with 2 pairs of opposite parallel and equal length sides. The opposite corners are also matching angles.

A parallelogram is not a square, but a square is a parallelogram. In addition, diamonds are parallelograms with 4 equal sides.

Right about here, you may be muttering that if you had known you were going to make a quilt, you would have paid attention in geometry class! I'd like to help you become more comfortable with parallelograms and other parts of quilt geometry.

One frequently used quilter's parallelogram is created by joining two 45-degree right angle triangles, or what quilters typically call half-square triangles (HSTs). They can be joined with the straight grain on the legs or on the hypotenuse, depending on the block design.

Jenny needs the straight grain on the hypotenuse. As you follow the conversion chart to make the Jenny block, you will learn to cut a parallelogram with a triangle template and eliminate the seam. You might ask, "If you can just sew 2 triangles together to make a parallelogram, why would you bother to cut a one-piece parallelogram?"

Because you want to…

• eliminate extra seams, which reduces bulk and work.
• protect the integrity of fabric designs. No one wants a seam in the middle of a stripe or other directional print, most large prints or fussy-cut designs.
• turn your patchwork skills up a notch! 

Jenny is the first block in the sew-along that includes parallelograms. However, before you finish this quilt, you will be quite familiar with parallelograms! Parallelograms are directional. Interestingly in this block, they all point the same way, to the upper right. Unless you are working with batiks, solids or hand dyes, once you cut a parallelogram, it cannot be turned to point in the other direction -- so all of Jenny's parallelograms are cut with the fabric right side up.

What if?

What if you forgot to cut with the fabrics right side up?

• If both strips were right side down, the design will just spin in the other direction. That's fine!
• If the strips were right or wrong sides together, you will get mirror image parallelograms and you will need to cut again. It is quite common in quilt blocks for pairs of parallelograms to be mirror image units, but in this block they are not. However, when we get to making blocks with mirror image parallelograms, you will already know how to do it!  :)
  
  

Introducing the Half-on / Half-off Cutting Trick

Our Jenny conversion chart illustrates placing the template half-on, half-off the end of the strip to begin cutting the first parallelogram for right-handed cutting. If you are left-handed, start at the right end of the strip and position the triangle template the same way, half-on, half-off. Starting this way is efficient; it means cutting each triangle from the strip will be easy and comfortable.

Our cutting techniques are aimed at keeping your cutting hand and rotary cutter properly positioned in relationship to the acrylic tools. That is, typically you will cut more accurately if your hand and rotary cutter are to the right of the acrylic tool if you are right-handed, and to the left of the acrylic tool if you are left-handed.

From Marti Michell templates can perform a lot of cutting tricks, including cutting a shape for which there is no template -- like a parallelogram -- and cutting it the size you need. Some of our methods may seem awkward at first because you are not accustomed to them, but as we sew along, I think you will recognize the benefits of cutting certain shapes with a cutting trick.

Meet Jenny!

Front and back. Click on the photo to see a larger image.

Click the link to download the Template Conversion Chart for this block:

From Marti Michell Template Conversion Chart #10
 

for Block #45, Jenny

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

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.

Chart 9: Mirror Image and Granny, Block #41 in the Farmer's Wife 1930s Sew-along

We Have Finished Four Weeks!

Can you believe we've finished our first four weeks of the Farmer's Wife 1930s Sew-along?! We've already made 10 blocks! It has been fun and inspiring to see all the different fabric combinations and techniques in the blogs, Facebook group, Instagram, etc. You've had quite a few different piecing experiences with Set A -- and it only gets better!

Heads up! 

Didn’t those four weeks go fast? All of the blocks that use templates in the next four weeks will also use Set A, but after that we are moving to Sets B and D and an occasional Set N piece. So, if you still need those sets, you won’t want to wait much longer.

Mirror Image Alert

When units are identical in form but reversed, they are called mirror image units.

On page 200 in the Farmer's Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt book, Granny is shown with 4 pairs of mirror image units. We have included cutting information for them in the template conversion chart.

However, we prefer a method that incorporates a cutting trick with template A-2 and a little appliqué. Making the block this way reduces the number of pieces to cut and sew from 16 pieces to 8 pieces! And, even better, it eliminates having to think about mirror images. Look for our method in the right hand column of the conversion chart.

The conversion charts for our next two blocks have opportunities to learn more about mirror image units.

"Meet My Granny"

Fronts and backs are shown. Click on the image for a larger view. Please read the following short discussion before downloading the conversion chart.

On the back of my block halves, you will see that "one of these things is not like the others" for illustration purposes. On the right side of the back of the block, we cut 2 red mirror image pieces and joined white triangles to them, then we sewed the 2 units together and pressed the seam allowances open.

On the gray side of that half of the block, we created the same visual effect using full triangles with small black appliquéd triangles. After they were joined together, we pressed the seam open. It's an improvement, but we knew we could cut one triangle to take the place of two.

The result of our method is shown on the left side of the back. We cut 2 large triangles and joined them. Then we cut and joined 2 contrasting 1-1/2 inch squares and appliquéd them in place. You can see the reduction in the number of seams and how much less bulk there will be if you choose to join the block halves.

Click the link below to download the Template Conversion Chart for Granny:

From Marti Michell Template Conversion Chart #9

for Block #41, Granny

End of Row Blocks

If you are using Laurie’s layout given in the book for your final quilt, there will be some end-of-row blocks that are half blocks, regardless of what size quilt you make. I made a short list of potential blocks that have a diagonal seam from corner to corner that I might use as half blocks. (I'll talk about them as we get to them.)

Since Granny is the first one I have decided for sure I will use at the end of a row, I have left it in two halves. Of course, if I change my mind about the layout, I can still sew the halves together.

Visit these other Farmer's Wife Sew Along blogs, too, for sewing tutorials and other info about the Granny block:

http://gnomeangel.com/granny-is-block-41-of-farmers-wife-1930s-sampler-quilt/

http://woodenspoonquilts.blogspot.com/2015/10/grannytutorialblock41.html

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. 


Chart 8: Piecing Tips and Katherine and Susannah blocks, Farmer's Wife 1930s Sew Along

Cutting Trick

This conversion chart features another “we don’t have that template” cutting trick. I admit to being easily amused, but I always think it is fun to discover a new template trick. Before this quilt is made, maybe some of you will come up with template tricks we don’t know. That would be so cool!

Strip Technique

When I need a lot of four patch units, I have a great way to make them with templates - faster than with strips!! However, when I only need a few simple 2-square units like this, I would not cut individual squares, but would use a strip technique, shown in the conversion chart PDF (below).

Piecing Tips

I can’t believe we got this far and I haven’t mentioned thread, needles and a single-hole throat plate — three of my favorite tips for accurate piecing. I also talked about these things in the Tip #4 Video for the Farmer's Wife Sew Along:

• Thread. I use Aurifil Mako 50wt/2ply. It is made from extra, extra long Egyptian cotton. So while it is fine, it is also strong. A fine thread makes a big difference in the ability to sew an accurate 1/4-inch seam allowance. I love it so much I might quit piecing if someone took away my Aurifil thread!
  
• Needles. Dull needles can push fabric slightly out of position and prevent nice smooth stitches. I don’t think I know anyone who actually changes needles often enough - especially if they insist on sewing over pins - which you can tell by my attitude, I don’t recommend.
• Single-hole Throat Plate. As a rule, the more expensive your machine, the more you need a single hole throat plate…UNLESS you happen to have one of the newer machines that has an automatic adjustment. 
  
  Let me start at the beginning. First, there were only single-hole throat plates. Then zig-zag stitching demanded an opening big enough to accommodate the moving needle. Next came decorative stitches, and then wider decorative stitches, and every “advancement” meant a wider opening or hole in the throat plate.
  
  The result is that the pressure of the needle -- especially dull needles -- pushes fabric down into the big wide hole and the resulting stitch is not as smooth or straight as desired. It doesn’t sound like much, but can prevent a really crisp seamline.

Introducing my Katherine Block…

…and her cousin Susannah!

Click on the link to download the Template Conversion Chart for both of these blocks:

From Marti Michell Template Conversion Chart #8

For Block #49 Katherine and Block #94 Susannah

In addition to our template conversion PDF download, you will want to read Gnome Angel's tutorials for these blocks.
Thanks for being part of the sew-along!  How do you like it so far?

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; RRP $28.99. 
Click here to purchase.

Chart 7: Cutting Efficiently and Old Maid Block, Farmer's Wife 1930s Sew Along

What fun! Here is a block where you sew the same size triangle 3 different ways.

Great Cutting Idea

Which would you rather do…cut 5 pieces or 20?

Look how much easier and quicker it is to cut 5 stacks of pieces from 4 strips of fabric and trim the corners of each stack than it is to cut 20 pieces and trim 60 corners from a single layer of fabric.

It's funny, but I always feel like a stack of four strips of fabric behaves better than just one strip, too. The catch is that you can only take advantage of these cutting techniques if you actually do it. Keep reading for some great tips!

This is My Old Maid Block

Click the photo for a bigger image.

Click the link to download the Template Conversion Chart:

From Marti Michell Template Conversion Chart #7

for Block #78, Old Maid

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

If you haven’t watched this short video Introduction to Set A, Video 2,  Cutting, please do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2Tf8ImWYYg

Top Tips to Improve Your Rotary Cutting Skills

I have had people in my classes who insist they can only cut one layer of fabric at a time. If you feel that way and don't like the feeling, here are some tips to improve your rotary cutting skills.

1. Learn to cut the “Marti Way”. We always cut strips this way, no matter what template set or From Marti Michell tool we're using. Set A is illustrated below.

• Generally you will want to cut with strips on the lengthwise grain, so that the longest straight dimension of a piece is on lengthwise grain—less raveling, less stretch, and firm, flat patchwork
• Measure with a second tool in the dominant hand. Cut against your standard ruler.
• To more easily cut the exact-size template shapes, place a small mat or rotating mat under the strips.
• If you don’t use our tools, at least sample the benefits with our corner trimmers.
• Download a PDF on cutting the Marti Way. 

2. Stack fabric advantageously. Fabrics for half-square triangles or any matching shapes that will immediately be sewn together along one edge should be placed right sides together.

3. Take advantage of cutting multiple layers. When cutting a quilt, for example, cut by the block, not the piece. If the pattern says you need 100 triangles, and you can see there are 4 triangles in each block, stack 4 strips and make 25 cuts to yield 100 triangles = one stack for each block.

4. Start each cut with the blade next to the acrylic and near the edge, pierce the fabric and pull the cutter back off the edge, then go forward.

5. Keep your blade perpendicular to the mat and touching the acrylic.

6. Determine your personal slip-proofing needs—but don’t overdo it. For slip resistance, we recommend the Ruler Betty strips (available on our website) or Omnigrip™.

7. After cutting strips, start sub-cuts from the end opposite your dominant hand. Don’t forget to put a rotating mat or small mat under the strips. Sometimes the tool will be half on, half off, the strip for the first cut.

Respect Your Rotary Cutter!

Rotary cutter blades are very sharp. Cut away from your body. Keep the guard closed when not in use. Keep rotary cutter(s) out of children’s reach. Understand different cutters. Some ergonomic cutters can only cut left or right-handed.

Change your blade frequently and properly. Make sure you only have one blade in your tool at a time, as blades in multi-packs often stick together!

Practice Makes Perfect

Of course, the #1 thing you have to do is practice! Practice on a couple of fat quarters. It would be better if you use two fabrics that contrast with each other and look okay together -- After all, this practice exercise may end up as a pillow for your cat!

1. Put the fabrics right sides together and trim off the selvages.

Then cut 2 strip sets on the lengthwise grain (parallel to the freshly trimmed edges) 18 inches long and as wide as square 1 in Set A (see the Marti Way strip cutting diagrams above). Stack the two strip sets.

2. Start cutting #2 triangles at left end if you are right handed or the right end if you are left-handed. Cut the first stack and nip off the dog ears. Do not separate the triangles.

Cut 8 stacks of 4 triangles, rotating the template on the strip to cut the next stack.

3. Chain piece pairs of triangles to make 16 3-1/2 inch half-square triangle (HST) units.

4. With the HSTs still chained together, press the seams in one direction (usually the darker fabric).  Here's a neat trick for perfectly pressed units:

5. Confirm the 3-1/2 inch size of your HSTs using template A-1.

If the pieced squares don't look so hot, do it again. If they look great, practice again with smaller triangles. Use triangle A-4 and measure the strips with square A-3.

Want to Try 8 Layers?

You don't need 2 full 18-inch strips to cut the squares.  After the first 6 stacks of 4 triangles, cut the remainder of the strip sets in half.

Stack them and you will have 8 layers.

As long as your rotary cutter blade is sharp, I think you will agree, there is very little difference between cutting 4 layers and 8!

When you're happy with your HST units, arrange them as desired and make a pillow top 4 units across by 4 down.

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; RRP $28.99. 
Click here to purchase.

Chart 6: Eliminating Seams and Coral, Farmer's Wife 1930s Sew Along

 

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.