Ava is Block 10 of Farmer’s Wife 1930’s Sampler Quilt and it’s a nice change to not have to worry about cutting off the points of triangles on this one. I’ve gone for something a little more dramatic with this block. I don’t know why, I hadn’t planned to add black to the quilt but I just couldn’t shake the idea of using black in there some where. It’s going to be interesting to see how this all comes together in the end. It’s all about the journey, right!

Tutorial: Block #10 “Ava”

General Information

• I pressed my seams open.
• I used a Schmetz 70/10 needle.
• I used 50wt Aurifil #2600 (Dove) thread for piecing.
• I used the From Marti Michell Patchwork Templates Set B, From Marti Michell Patchwork Templates Set D and From Marti Michell Patchwork Templates Set N.
• I used Flatter by Soak in Yuzu 248ml as my starch.
• Fabrics shown in the tutorial are from the Gnome Angel Farmer’s Wife 1930’s Bundle from Fat Quarter Shop.

If you’d like to know “My Top 10 Beginners Patchworking Tools” you can find them by clicking here.

Measurements for the pieces needed to construct this block will not be provided in this tutorial. It is a pre-requiste of making this block that you have a copy of the book, The Farmer’s Wife 1930s Sampler Quilt: Inspiring Letters from Farm Women of the Great Depression and 99 Quilt Blocks That Honor Them. Measurements can be found in this book and it’s associated media.

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 – available from: Amazon | Pink Door Fabrics | Fat Quarter Shop | The Quilting Company | Interweave (Affiliate Links)

On Point Blocks

Please note I am not doing my blocks on-point. If you are fussy cutting your blocks please be mindful of your fabric placement so that the motif will sit correctly if you decide to put your blocks on-point.

Conversion Chart

You can find the From Marti Michell Patchwork Template Conversion Charts by clicking here.

Helpful Links & Videos

Marti Michell shows you how to cut using your ruler and templates:

For another video on this template set click here.

How to Make the Block

General advice:

• Tolerance Levels: you need to decide what is an acceptable tolerance level for “mistakes”. For example if your blocks are consistently 6¼” instead of 6.5″ are you ok with this. Or if your seams matching are less than an eight of an inch “off” are you ok with this. There’s no hard or fast rule and it’s different for everyone, so remember it’s your quilt so make your decision for you.
• Press your seams at each step. Click here for a great article on how to press your seams for patchwork.
• You can iron and starch your fabric prior to cutting. I also starch when pressing bulky seams.
• When pinning, pin away from you so that you don’t move your pieces when pinning.
• Where possible I chain piece all the pieces I can in one step. If you’re unsure of what chain piecing is, click here for a tutorial on how to do it. However, for the purpose of the tutorials I will step you through all the seams individually.

Please note: Use your rotary cutter and ruler to cut all pieces required for the block as per the instructions in the book. Cutting instructions can be found on the disc that came with the book. Block directions are located on page 169. You can also use the cutting instructions on the conversion chart. I have used the From Marti Michell Patchwork Templates Set B, From Marti Michell Patchwork Templates Set D and From Marti Michell Patchwork Templates Set N to cut the pieces required to make the block as shown in the book.1. Making 10B with the Marti Michell Templates: Cut your 10B fabric using the From Marti Michell Patchwork Templates Set B12. With the fabric right side up, centre From Marti Michell Patchwork Templates Set D28 on the square so that the D28 corners are aligned with the sides of B12 (as per Diagram 1). Cut away the two opposite corners, as per Diagram 1a.

2. Cut all pieces required and lay them out as per the block diagram.3. Join 10D to 10B as per diagram 3.

4. Join 10D to 10B as per diagram 4.5. Join 10D to 10E as per diagram 5. You can chain piece this step.6. Join 10D to 10E as per diagram 6. You can chain piece this step. This will complete all 9 squares that make up your block.

Tip: If you’re square/triangle triangle has shrunk a little in the construction, line up the right angle of the square with the right angle corner of the bigger triangle and join. 7. Join the first square to the middle square of each row (as per diagram 7). Join the last square to the first two squares (as per diagram 7a). You can chain piece this step.8. Join the bottom row to the middle row as per diagram 8.

9. Join the top row to the rest of the block. Shake it off, you’ve made Ava!

Accompanying Farmer’s Wife 1930’s Sampler Quilt Block Tutorial

When I hosted the 2015 Farmer’s Wife 1930’s Sampler Quilt Sew-Along I had some blogging friends jump in and make the blocks and share their thoughts, tips, tricks and alternative fabric choices with everyone. These tutorials provided a great way for participants to find some new bloggers to follow, learn more about the craft we all love and get some alternative ideas for fabrics and colours.

You can find this blocks accompanying tutorial here*: Sedef @ Down Grapevine Lane

*Please note: Where possible I will link to the accompanying tutorial, however given the time that has elapsed since the first event in some cases the tutorial may be missing. In this case I will link to the blogger directly so that you can check out their work.

Book Details

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 – available from: Amazon | Pink Door Fabrics | Fat Quarter Shop | The Quilting Company | Interweave (Affiliate Links)

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a very small commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link, in fact in some cases I can offer you a better price via an affiliate link. I will not recommend something that I do not use myself. These commissions help me keep being able to provide you with great content for free. Thank you, in advance for your support!