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.

 

Chart 5: Elimnating Set-in Seams and Belle, 1930s Farmer's Wife Sew-along

Cutting Trick

Where is this template?

One of my favorite things to do with the templates is to show people how to cut a shape that looks like a shape for which they know they don’t have an exact size template. Your From Marti Michell templates know a lot of tricks! The Belle block features the first “cut-away” cutting trick of this quilt, in step 1 of the template conversion sheet.

Modification to Eliminate Set-in Seams

If you followed the first Farmer’s Wife conversions, you know I love to eliminate unnecessary seams.  I always say, “If you can eliminate a seam, it is one less piece to cut, one less seam to sew, one less seam to press and” a class member usually breaks in at this point to say, “one less place to mess up!” And, of course any seam you can eliminate makes a quilt easier to quilt.

So, it is a surprise when I choose to add a couple of seams. I chose to divide the #13C squares in the book into four A-4 triangles and make 3 straight rows in the block rather than deal with several set-in corners.

 

Note:  If you want to make your block in rows like I did, choose a print that won't be disrupted by the seam across the center of the "square" where the large light triangles meet. You'll see in the photo of my block (scroll down a bit) that I used a tone-on-tone print with a small scale pattern.

Fussy Cutting? If you want to fussy cut the #13C squares but you still don’t want set-in seams… can do! Divide all of the #13A squares on opposite corners of the block, make 4 big quarter-square triangle units, and join them into a 6-inch block.

Flying Geese Units

If you are modifying as we did, this will be the first block in this quilt with Flying Geese units. However, the next two blocks also have Flying Geese units. I hope you will be pleased with how easy exact-size pieces are to sew with our engineered corners. We call our Flying Geese the “no-waste, no gimmick” method of making Flying Geese. You just cut the three triangles and sew them together.

Are you familiar with this popular method for making Flying Geese? Using this method means cutting and discarding almost twice as much fabric as needed for each Flying Geese unit! It’s cheaper, and easier, to cut and sew three triangles rather than throw away four!

My Belle Block

Click the photo to see a larger version. Clink below to download the next template conversion chart:

From Marti Michell Template Conversion Chart #5

for Block #13, Belle

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

I hope you're having fun making your blocks with From Marti Michell Perfect Patchwork Templates! Come back again soon!

Chart 4: Selecting Fabrics and Caroline in the Farmer's Wife 1930s Sew-along

Selecting Fabrics

Experience, they say, is the best teacher so, in this article I would like to share some things I’ve learned about fabric selection for sampler quilts.

First, something I learned about fabric selection when making the 1920’s Farmer’s Wife Sampler Quilt. Assorted fabrics or a “scrappy look” goes hand in hand with making 100 different blocks. You may have decided to use the 50 fabrics Angie curated for Fat Quarter Shop, Civil War prints, only blues and white, batiks or an assortment of ‘30s reproduction fabrics. However, looking at the comments and pictures in the sew-along's Facebook group, many of you have 50 fabrics or more that you plan to use. And that's great!

Even though I am very experienced at making both sampler and scrap quilts, I have most often made 12- to 20-inch or larger blocks and selected from 20 to 25 fabrics. When I started to make 100 six-inch blocks for the original Farmer's Wife sampler quilt, I began to feel I would need more fabrics, so I pulled every tray and basket that had any possible fabric I could use from my shelves! My cutting table looked like this when I started the first blocks on the 1920s quilt.

After all, how could I make the best decision if I didn’t have every possible fabric to choose from?! Then I started pulling from these fabrics to start making my blocks.

I made 10 blocks this way, using 3 or 4 different fabrics on each block. It got messier and messier on my cutting table.

But then, as I was putting away 3 or 4 fabrics when I was done with them, I got smarter and thought, why not sort out 12-15 fabrics that might go together and have them ready to make the next 6 or 8 blocks?

And that's what I suggest you do. From the big group of fabrics you've selected, put about a dozen  into a cute little basket so they are handy.

Then it is easy to select and cut fabric for 1 or 2 blocks at a time. After making a few blocks, change the mix with a different group of 12 or 15 prints, or just refresh the basket with a few new fabrics that will play well with the others. I took out a few blues and transitioned greens into my yellows.

As long as they still fit into the basket, you can pick fabrics for a few blocks quickly and easily! But if they don't fit into the basket, you've got too many fabrics!

My Caroline Block and Your Next Conversion Chart

Click to download the next PDF:

From Marti Michell Template Conversion Chart #4

For Block 20, Caroline

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

Use Templates to Confirm Sizes of Pieced Units

Another thing I want to mention about making six-inch blocks like this one is that templates can be used to confirm accurate sizes on pieced sub-units. For example:

Two A6 triangles joined to make a square should be exactly the same size as the A5 square:

And 4 of those units pieced squares sewn together to make the pinwheel should be the exact size of the A1 square.

Likewise, 2 A4 triangles sewn together on their legs should be the same size as an A2 triangle and two of those sewn together should be the size on an A 1 square.

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 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.