In my head I’ve been referring to this block as “Boom Boom Betty” and it’s block 14 from Farmer’s Wife 1930’s Sampler Quilt. Betty is going to teach you the importance of paying attention to your seams, and that’s not a bad thing. If Aunt didn’t do it, Betty’s going to get you thinking about what’s an acceptable tolerance level for you when it comes to “mistakes”. Now I’m a firm believer that there are no mistakes in quilting, there’s just opportunities for do overs.

I’m not going to tell you what’s an acceptable level for having your seams just off or for your blocks being just under, that’s up to you. For me, it’s all about the continual improvement, learning new tricks and having fun. (Want to see the first blocks I ever made? Click here to see them! Not a quarter inch seam in sight!) As you can see I’ve come a long way since those first blocks and I’ve got a long way to go yet. I’m not here to tell you what to do, I’m here to share with you what I do and encourage you to find your own voice.

Quilting is like skinning a cat, there’s a million ways to do it. (Apparently???? No cats were hurt in the making of this metaphor!) Over the course of this sew-along I’m going to share with you the techniques I use to make the blocks and Marti Michell and the accompanying block tutorial bloggers will share their techniques and it’s my hope that you’ll learn and develop a multitude of ways to approach your quilting journey.

You also have my word that I’m going to tell you when I unpick a seam, when I couldn’t get a seam to work and any tips or tricks I use to make the blocks. Together we’ll get through all 99 blocks and you’ll end up with a quilt you love and you’ll have lost any fears you may have had about trying something new. So let’s get to work on (Boom Boom) Betty!

Tutorial: Block #14 “Betty”

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 A.
• 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 on 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.

BLOCK CONSTRUCTION PDF

The Author and Publisher have made available a PDF file of the block rotary cutting instruction and construction details as provided for in the book to assist those that are waiting on their books to be delivered. You can download this block by clicking here.

The block PDF’s and the Marti Michell Conversion Charts are provided to your as a courtesy and are not for further distribution. Anyone found to be circulating these PDF’s via their own website, Facebook Group, Guild, social media, etc. will be removed from all emails, the Facebook Group and details will be passed on to the publisher. We take our responsibility to respecting copyright seriously and we will not endorse, support or tolerate breaching it. Thank you for your understanding.

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.

1. 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 173. You can also use the cutting instructions on the conversion chart. I have used the From Marti Michell Patchwork Templates Set A and accompanying conversion chart to cut all my pieces for this block.

2. Join 14c (dark blue) to 14C (light blue). Repeat to make Unit 1 and Unit 4 (as pictured), these are large Half Square Triangles (HST).

Tip: Once you have all your pieces cut out you could chain piece joining all the triangles to save time. If you’re unsure of what chain piecing is, click here for a tutorial on how to do it. However for the purpose of this tutorial I’m showing you how to make the 4 units of this block separately.

3. Join 14A (purple) to 14A (light blue). Chain piece this step to make 4 small Half Square Triangles (HST).

4. Join 14B (purple square) to one small HST. Repeat to make 4 (A, B, C, D). You can also chain piece this step.

Tip: Be careful with this step as you’ll need to make sure that your fabrics are in the correct position as per the block diagram on page 173 of your book.

5. Join A to B and C to D. Diagram 5a shows you what the backs of your units will look like if you’ve pressed your seams open.

Tip: You can either pin in the seam allowance (bottom left arrow in diagram 5) or beside the seam allowance (top right arrow in diagram 5). Pin to suit your sewing style.

6. Join 1 to 2 and 3 to 4.

7. Join the two halves together to complete your block. Step back and do a happy dance you’ve just made Betty!

Tip: I only pinned this in one place and then I manipulated the fabric to make it work. I also unpicked this final seam and redid it to make it meet, but as I said at the start its up to you on how much tolerance you’re happy with.

Thoughts on the Block

This is the first block I’ve made where I’m regretting my fabric placement. If I had to make this over I’d use the dark blue fabric in place of the light blue. I think this wold have made the middle of the block more pronounced and your eye wouldn’t be drawn to the sides so much. Lesson learned, on to the next block.

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*: Alyce @ Blossom Heart Quilts

*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)

Disclaimer: 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!