Chart 3: Cutting HSTs, Swirl Pressing and Betty, Block #14 in the Farmer's Wife 1930s Sew-along

Cut Half-Square Triangles Right Sides Together

This method will save time and increase accuracy.

The half-square right angle triangle is probably the most frequently used piece in patchwork. Learn to cut the triangle pairs at the same time by putting the fabrics that are to be sewn together right sides together before cutting strips on the lengthwise grain. Here is a short video on Why I cut Strips on the Lengthwise Grain.



Then cut the triangles. Never forget to nip off the corners. Do not separate the triangles, they are ready to chain piece. Sew an accurate 1/4-inch seam. Press toward the dark- most frequently.

If you haven't watched our short video Introduction to Set A, Video 2 Cutting Tips, we really recommend it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2Tf8ImWYYg

I'd like to reiterate something I said in the video -- start with smaller pieces of fabric,  the size of a piece of computer paper is good, but no bigger than a fat quarter. Then, if you are using a fat quarter, don’t be afraid to cut a strip the full 18-inch length. Just use what you need and put any leftover strip in your basket of fabrics because the same widths are used repeatedly and that strip will be pre-cut.

Quarter-inch or 6mm Seam Allowances

All of our templates and tools include a 1/4-inch (6mm) seam allowance. That means, for your blocks to finish at 6-inch (6-1/2 inches including seam allowance), you must sew an accurate 1/4-inch seam. The smaller the pieces, the more important that is. A 1/16 inch error on two sides of a 1-inch square makes a big difference, but on a 4-inch square that discrepancy would hardly be noticed.

Some people say that making these 6-inch blocks is great for perfecting a 1/4-inch seam allowance! We have a short video on our website with a quick seam allowance tip:
http://www.frommarti.com/vid_check_seams.shtml

Or you can read a short article here (there's a PDF you can download, too!):
http://www.frommarti.com/quarter.shtml

Another way to make a seam guide is using sticky notes and our Deluxe Corner Trimmer #8217. In the photos below, I used red wool thread in the machine so you can see it. It looks like the corner trimmer is floating! It's not; there is a clear table insert around my machine. Remove the sewing machine foot and put the needle into the hole in the template.

Tear off a stack of 8-12 sticky notes (keep them together) and align your ruler on the sticky side at about 3/4-inch. Trim off the excess and discard the loose papers. Align the sticky stack with the trimmer template and stick it to your sewing machine.

Remove the template and begin sewing perfect 1/4-inch seam allowances!

We Love Swirl Pressing

Well, actually we love a well-pressed block and we reject any inference that it is a mental problem for someone to take pleasure in a well-pressed quilt block! LOL That said, one of our favorite pressing tricks is swirl pressing, detailed in this block.

In the right hand column of the conversion chart, you will also see some extra notes about pressing. “Press to the dark” is just the first rule most people learn in patchwork pressing.

The reason we are showing both the front and backs of the blocks is so you can see the pressing. Betty has wonderful swirl pressing examples in the units with the smaller triangles:

And it also has a perfect example of a block that just doesn’t have a “perfect” way to press every seam! You can see where we “twisted” the center seam just beyond the bulky center area to prevent piling up seam allowances and creating a bumpy, bulky spot in the quilt.

P.S. I use steam all the time - the more the better! But remember, I am very grainline conscious, which means I rarely have a stretchy edge, which can be disastrous with steam.

And Here's Betty! 

This is my Betty block, front and back to show you how we pressed. Click the photo for a larger view):

Click to download your next PDF: 

From Marti Michell Conversion Chart #3

for Block 14, Betty

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; RRP $28.99. 
Click here to purchase.

Chart 1: Ready, Set, Sew! Becky and Bonnie in the Farmer's Wife 1930s Sew Along

I am so excited about being a part of the Sew Along with Gnome Angel and all of you! I’ve looked at Facebook pages and heard the buzz, I can’t wait to see your blocks and quilts as we sew along. Here’s a link to the blog post I wrote about the templates and tools that are used the most to make this quilt plus other tools that come in handy.

http://frommartimichell.blogspot.com/2015/08/2015-16-farmers-wife-1930s-sampler.html

Click to download your first PDF template conversion chart:

 From Marti Michell Template Conversion Chart #1

For Block 12, Becky, and Block 16, Bonnie

If you have any trouble locating this PDF on your computer after downloading, copy and paste the following into a search window: 01_Block_12_Becky_Block16_Bonnie.pdf

Also, note that, because we are a US company, our documents are US letter size (8.5 x 11 inches). This might cause a conflict with your computer printer if your default paper size is A4; if you have printing problems, check the paper size settings on your printer.

We had a "two in one sitting" day with Becky and Bonnie. As you can see, we're not piecing the blocks in numerical order. We've organized them by the things they have in common, and we'll be sprinkling in a few surprises along the way, too! I'm making my blocks in reds, blacks, grays and whites.

This is my Becky block, front and back:

    


And this is my Bonnie block, front and back:

    

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

A Little Bit About Us

In case you don't "know" me or aren't familiar with the From Marti Michell product line, my husband Richard and I work together. We are often called “pioneers” in the current quilt revival because we were involved in the quilt industry before some of you were born!

If you were quilting back in "the early days" you may remember our first company, Yours Truly, Inc., and your first quilt may have even been our Woman's Day Log Cabin quilt, dubbed the World's Quickest Quilt! (People still ask us about that quilt, so we included the pattern in my Log Cabin ABCs book.)

I’m happy to say I have never lost my enthusiasm for or love of quilts and quilting. If I were to describe my “area of expertise”, I would say I thrive on teaching beginning and intermediate quilters skills and techniques that they will use forever! Since 1995, we have focused on developing From Marti Michell Perfect Patchwork Templates and specialty rulers for rotary cutting. It excites me to develop tools that make accuracy easy and help people make quilts they can show with pride. (I think Mr. Reifschneider, my high school geometry teacher would be pleased.) I’ve written (and sold) lots of books and patterns and designed fabric and kits along the way. I’m honored to have received several industry awards, but the best reward is meeting and working with quilters around the world. I’m fortunate to have been invited to teach in all 50 states and 25 other countries.

All of this would not be possible without help and we have a great staff. Patti Bachelder, our graphic designer, is also deeply involved in the blog posts for the Sew Along. Patti is a long-time quilter and before coming to work for us, she was a quilt magazine editor. Harriett Fox is my studio associate and helps with sewing, writing and testing. Helga Kemp is our customer service supervisor. We are located in Atlanta, GA, USA.

Please join me in a big round of applause for Gnome Angel for getting this all organized! And Laurie Hird for writing the book!

Now, let’s have some fun!

 

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 2: Aunt in the Farmer's Wife 1930s Sew-along

Here is my Aunt block

This is the front and back, so you can see the pressing. Click the photo for a larger view.

Click to download your next PDF:

From Marti Michell Conversion Chart #2

for Block 8, Aunt

Most of the blocks for the next 8 blog posts will use Template Set A. I hope you will be amazed at the versatility of patchwork designs you can make with just those 7 shapes.

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

A Few Notes About the From Marti Michell Perfect Patchwork Template Conversion Charts:

1. When we use color in the how-to diagrams, we are using the colors of the blocks in the book, not the colors in the blocks we made and photographed.


2. Our blocks may have a different number of fabrics or slight changes to eliminate seams, make them more template-friendly, etc. But we let you know if we have made a modification. Even though we are all following the same book and I love the idea of making the same quilt with people all around the world at the same time, we are also all making our own quilts.


3. Our templates include grainline arrows. For cutting the block pieces, the arrows should be placed on straight grain most of the time. We have written directly below the conversion chart at the top of the page if there are any pieces to be cut with a grainline override.


4. Please note the reference in the upper righthand corner of each PDF (FMM 2, for example). That is the numerical order of the block conversions, in case you want to file them that way.

BONUS! Square Within a Square Quilt Pattern

We love making Square Within a Square units. We think you will, too, when you cut the pieces with the engineered corners on our templates, so we are including a free scrap-friendly quilt pattern that is a fabulous example of using Square Within a Square units. You'll be surprised when the stars pop out after the last rows are added! Click here to download the complete three-page pattern. Enjoy! And scroll down for 2 more sizes of Square Within a Square that you can make with Set A!

Two More Sizes of Square Within a Square to Make 

with Set A

The Ramblin' Stars bonus quilt is made with 8-inch blocks and Set A. Because there are 3 complementary sizes of squares and triangles in Set A, you can also make 3-inch and 6-inch Square Within a Square units. You dan download the 3-page pattern here: Click here to download the 3-page pattern.

That's a built-in bonus! Go Set A! (Did you know the same square and triangle partners are available in 3 other sizes in Set B?)

P.S. We received a very nice comment from Cyndi at the same time we were updating some of the type in this article -- now her comment won't publish, so I've copy/pasted it below.

Thanks for the bonus! I've been working on a Rambling Stars with scraps and old denim and sharing my progress at Marti and Me Club meetings at Stitchin' Tree Quilts in Woodbine, Iowa. THANK YOU so much for taking part in this sew along, Marti! I wouldn't even attempt a Farmer's Wife Quilt without your template, now that I've been working with them for just over a year. You rock, Marti!!

Thank you, Cyndi, for taking the time to write such a nice note!

Wow! The Farmer's Wife 1930s Sew-along goes live on Monday, September 28, at 7:30am AEST -- that's Australian Eastern Standard Time -- when Gnome Angel, Angie, posts a "Welcome to the Sew-along" informative greeting on her blog. Because of the difference in time zones, many of us  will see her post on Sunday. 

Angie will be posting block tutorials on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:30am AEST, and most of us will see these on Monday or Wednesday evening.

We will be posting links to download PDF Template Conversion Charts to coincide with Angie's tutorial being published, so you will have access to them both at the same time. We made a test file, and if you have a notebook to keep your Farmer's Wife 1930s materials in, you can use it for the cover.

Which means, your first From Marti Michell Template Conversion Chart will be available on Monday at 5:30pm EDT -- Eastern Daylight Time! We're in Atlanta, which is in the Eastern US time zone (Eastern Standard Time), but  we're still on Daylight Saving Time, hence "EDT"!  (Whew! If you're interested in converting time from one time zone to another, use this link: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html)

See you on Monday!  :)

Note for future visitors

You can join the sew-along any time!  The PDFs will remain available here in my blog archive for the duration of the Sew-along.  Details about the Sew-along are here on Angie's blog - http://gnomeangel.com/announcing-the-farmers-wife-1930s-sampler-quilt-sew-along/

Following the Farmer's Wife 1930s Sew-along Blogs

Guest Post by Patti  :)  

A few weeks ago, Angie posted introductions of the Farmer's Wife 1930s Sew-along bloggers on her Gnome Angel blog. Every week, beginning Sept. 28, a different blogger will write about the method(s) she used to make 2 of the blocks in the book The Farmer's Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt by Laurie Aaron Hird. There are 30 bloggers taking turns from week to week... Angie will be posting weekly tutorials and a Sunday "link party" for sharing photos... Fat Quarter Shop's blog will feature a monthly overview...  and every week, we'll be posting links here on Marti's blog for you to download PDF template conversion charts, so you can make your block using Perfect Patchwork Templates. And if you're late getting to the party, it's okay, the PDFs will still be here. 

That's 3 blogs to follow each week, promising lots of fun and helpful tips, encouragement and sharing, plus a 4th that will change from week to week. You'll want to follow them all so you can read at your convenience. If you're not used to "following," there are a few different ways you can do it. I'm not an expert! I'll give you some options and tell you how I do it. :)

It's not hard! We'll use Marti's blog as an example. The photos below don't do anything; they're just screenshots.  (If you want more info about the Farmer's Wife 1930s Sew-along, details are here on Angie's blog. And if you want to meet the bloggers, that info is on Angie's blog here - http://gnomeangel.com/introducing-the-farmers-wife-1930s-sew-along-bloggers/

Bookmarks
You could bookmark Marti's blog and the others. Use the "manage bookmarks" tool in your browser's menu bar to make a "Farmer's Wife" folder to keep all the links in one place. You could even move the folder to your toolbar so it's a visible reminder to go to the blogs to see what's new. If you decide to follow this way, make sure you're on the front page of the blog before you bookmark it, so your link won't take you to the same article each time you click the link. (The easiest way to get to the front page of a blog is to click on the artwork at the top of that page. You'll notice the address in your browser bar will get shorter, too.)

Emails
Most blogs have options to "follow by email" or "subscribe" to receive updates. If you choose to follow Marti by email, each time we post a new article, you will automatically receive an email version of it.  And if you make a new mailbox and create a filter, you can have all Marti's blog emails show up in a  specified mailbox. You could organize all the Farmer's Wife blogs you follow this way in one mailbox. If you follow by email, you don't have to subscribe.

Subscribe 

NOTE:  If you've never used a blog reader, print this page so you can refer to the following info as you set up your blog reader and learn how to subscribe.

If you subscribe, you don't have to follow by email. (Which to choose is a personal preference; I like to subscribe to keep my email lean.) Blog readers or news feeds are special web pages that notify subscribers when something new has been posted -- The new post automatically goes into your blog reader so you can read a preview of what's new the next time you log in. So you can get an idea of everything that's new in all the blogs you follow in one handy place -- unlike bookmarks, which you have to remember to check and, depending on how you set the bookmark up, you may not see some previous articles.

Blog readers are free, although you can pay for additional services (that you don't need if, like me, you're not a power user). Using a blog reader is like bookmarking but is more efficient; it corrals all your favorite blogs in your own personal online "reading room," with options for organizing them into "collections" or folders. That way you can keep all your favorite quilting, decorating, etc. blogs in one place. Depending on your preferences, a bit of artwork and a teaser will show up for unread blog posts; that may be a title or the first sentence or the first paragraph. This page of teasers is like looking at a table of contents and picking an article to read first. When an image or title catches your attention, you can click on it and go to the blog to read the entire article.

If you haven't used a blog reader and you want to follow this way, first you need to pick a blog reader and set up an account. Do a little online research, and ask friends what blog readers they use. A lot of people like Bloglovin. I started using Feedly after Bloglines went defunct, so the example below is about Feedly, but they all work about the same way. I use it on my computer and it may be a bit different on mobile devices.

Go to the site of your chosen blog reader and make an account there. Once you have your account set up, then you're ready to subscribe to your favorite blogs.

To subscribe to Marti's blog, log into your chosen blog reader (it just saves time to already have it open). Then, back on Marti's blog page, look on this page at the right near the top, where it says "Subscribe". Click that and choose "Posts".

In Feedly, doing that offers 3 choices -- Netvibes, My Yahoo and Atom. They are all news feeders. On some blogs, you will see "RSS"; it depends on what browser you use.

If you're in Feedly, select Atom and then on the next page, "subscribe to this feed using (select feedly)" and "subscribe now."

It should work similarly in other blog readers. Now it will go to your Feedly and you'll see the name of Marti's blog with a green "+feedly" button after it.

Click on that button and a vertical bar will roll out on the left side of the page. It will roll in and out as you roll over it -- to make it static, click on "Pin". (Some of my folders are shown below "All".)

Scroll down to the bottom and click "Add." You are now following Marti's blog! It will show up in "Uncategorized" at the bottom of your feed column.

See "+Add Content" in the image above? You can paste a url there, too, and add blogs that way, too. You'll see a neat little box that has an "Add" button where the image below says "Added." Click "Add" and select a checkbox to add it to one of your folders.

To make a folder, go down to the bottom of the column and click "Organize."  The last thing you should see on the new page is "New Collection."  You can rename it FW Bloggers and drag Marti's blog name from "Uncategorized" to your new FW Bloggers folder.

 

When you click out of "Organize" your FW Bloggers folder will show Marti's blog along with any others you've added.

When you have folders set up for your link collections, you can use "Add Content" and select the check-box for the folder you want to put my blog in and then go down to the bottom and click "Add" to save a step. (Since all the Farmer's Wife bloggers are already in my reader, I found another blog and added it to my general "Quilting" folder so I could take a screenshot.)

While you're on a roll, visit a few more of the blogs Angie listed and add them -- http://gnomeangel.com/introducing-the-farmers-wife-1930s-sew-along-bloggers/

I added them all to my Feedly at the same time. It took about 10 minutes to copy, click on "add content", paste, and click "Add."  Once they're in there, all you have to do is to remember to open your blog reader each week!

To log out, go all the way to the bottom of the vertical rollout bar and look for "logout" in tiny type.
I hope I didn't miss a step. Marti's blog was already in my Feedly, so I unsubscribed and re-subscribed to get screenshots, but it may have remembered and taken a shortcut! I think Feedly is pretty well covered, though. :)

It's a big worldwide web and there are probably other news feeders and new ways to keep up with all the cool stuff that bloggers write about. If you have any questions, ask your friends! Seriously, they may have a quicker, better answer for you, but I'd be happy to help you if I can. :) Also, there are loads of videos on how different blogs work and an online search should come back with a good answer if you get stuck.  I had to Google "how do I log out of Feedly" the first time I used it!

Feel free to comment below about how you follow your favorite blogs!  

Introducing Template Set A for the Farmer's Wife 1930s Quilt Along

We'd like to introduce you to Perfect Patchwork Template Set A, which we'll be using at the beginning of the Farmer's Wife 1930s Sew-along. 

Set A celebrated a big birthday this year -- we started selling this set 20 years ago!  Twenty years and still cutting!

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!

 

Farmer's Wife 1930s Template Conversions and Sew Along

We're excited to announce that we will soon be sharing free template conversion charts for the 1930s Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt!  We've been sharing our PDF conversion charts for the original book for several years now and we're gratified by how many people have asked us to do the same for the new book. We're thrilled that you want to use our templates to cut this new group of blocks! (You can still get the PDFs for the original book by using the "join our list" button on our website.)

It's a little different this time, and we think you will love it!  We've partnered with Angie at Gnome Angel, Fat Quarter Shop and a band of bloggers for a year-long sew along that starts September 28, 2015. Angie and the bloggers will be posting about the blocks as they make them, Fat Quarter Shop will be offering fabric kits and if you don't already have the Perfect Patchwork Templates Sets used to cut the blocks, you can buy them in our online store or Fat Quarter Shop's.

All the details are on Angie's blog. Head on over there to meet Angie! And join her Facebook group to share the fun all along the way!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/FarmersWife1930sSamplerQuilt/

http://gnomeangel.com/announcing-the-farmers-wife-1930s-sampler-quilt-sew-along/

Making a Georgetown Star Quilt-As-You-Go Block

This is a block I showed in Lesson 7 on my Craftsy Quilt-As-You-Go class and described as similar to Ohio Star in the way that you would pre-piece sections of the block so that you could use Quilt-As-You-Go techniques from the center square out.

If you are not familiar with my Piece by Piece Quilt-As-You-Go Craftsy Class, or with Craftsy, please use  link to view info about the class and check our great price.

Georgetown Star is a 20-inch (50.8cm) finished block, so 12 blocks and several borders would be nice for a queen size quilt or 16 blocks plus big borders for a King size quilt.

Making One Block

All of the pieces can be cut with From Marti Michell Perfect Patchwork Template Set T, Product #8203, but if you also own Set Q, Product # 8212, you will also want to use Set Q where listed. 

The engineered corners on our templates make positioning sections for Quilt-as-You-Piece so much easier. (We do also have a Corner Trimmer for 45°angle corners, Product #8064, or a Deluxe Corner Trimmer, Product # 8217, that can be used to cut engineered corners on nearly any corner of ruler-cut pieces. In addition, if you are making enough blocks for a quilt, either of our large Diagonal Set Triangle Rulers would make cutting accurate large corner triangles easier. (We suggest #8968.) We are also giving ruler-cutting sizes for the pieces.

Cut the number of pieces needed:

Pre-piece the following units:

Center the largest square on the batting and backing. Add the B triangles Quilt-As-You-Go, 2 opposite sides first and then remaining 2 sides as shown in Ohio Star in the Craftsy class in Lesson 7.

(The green and brown block I showed was smaller so I had actually pre-pieced the center square and first 4 triangles on that block, but I do not recommend it on this size block.)

As all of the pre-pieced units are triangles, continue adding them to the block as shown.

(You can download a full size pattern piece F - the framing piece - from our website http://www.frommarti.com/georgetown.shtml.) Make a decision about how you intend too prepare the batting in the seamline areas before adding the strips and corner triangles. I would fold back the backing and trim the batting as shown in Lesson 6, minute 5, and fuse the batting to the backing. It won’t hurt to trim out a small square of batting where all of the strip seams will meet on the center side similar to the small squares cut out of corners in Lesson 5, minute 2.

Fabric Estimates for 12 Blocks

2 - 2 1/2 yards background fabric (white)

2 - 2 1/2 yards of fabric for corner triangles and center square

3/4 yards each purple and turquoise fabrics

5/8 yards each of contrasting fabrics for bands

Use assorted backing squares or 4 3/4 yards for matching backings and finishing strips.

Kudos to Uintah High School's Quilting Program!

Renee Steele is one of our favorite quilting teachers. She has taught Designer Sewing/Quilting at Uintah High School in Vernal, Utah, for the past 20 years. She shared photos of some of her students Pineapple quilts with us and we asked her to share her story with you. We know you'll agree that these are great quilts!

When I first started teaching at the high school, the Clothing Construction class enrollment was dwindling fast, so I went out on a limb and offered quilting. I as a teacher had much to learn. There are over 200 students, boys and girls, that participate and excel in the quilting class each year.

200 students per year x 20 years of teaching = 4000 potential quilters!

In the beginning the quilts students created were very simple; 10-inch blocks, enveloped, and tied. Today my students do very difficult piecing, appliqué, trapunto, and amazing machine quilting and binding.

We use only home sewing machines to do the quilting. This way every student can machine quilt every day instead of one student tying up the one quilting machine until their project is finished. My theory is teach them how to use a basic home machine that they can afford to purchase now and they can always upgrade if they desire to.

The love of quilting is “sewed, pieced and quilted” in the hearts, minds, creativity and abilities, whether students pursue quilting in the present or later in life. The love, skills and knowledge are there just waiting to burst with individual creativity!

I will always be grateful to Marti Michell for being so generous with me and my students. Through quilting, and the use of Marti’s tools and expertise, many teenagers have walked away with a sense of accomplishment, self worth, a new talent and ability to provide revenue for their families should there ever be a need.

Marti's templates, instructions, videos, and love of teaching/sharing, have made a tremendous impact on myself and my students throughout numerous projects they've completed over the years, and I appreciate all the hard work Marti’s team does to make the piecing process so easy and carefree.

Thanks, Renee, for the kind words about our work but you deserve all the credit, our part was easy! Your creativity and love of quilting is what fires up your teenage students, and we're grateful to you for "passing on the needle" to so many of them.