It’s coming… the Farmer’s Wife 1920’s Sampler Quilt Sew-along
The Farmer’s Wife 1920’s Sampler Quilt Sew-along will be kicking off on Friday 24 August 2018. I’ve partnered with the amazing team at Paper Pieces to bring you a sew-along using the new way to English Paper Piece your way through the 111 blocks contained in The Farmer’s Wife 1920s Sampler Quilt: Letters from 1920s Farm Wives and the 111 Blocks They Inspired by Laurie Aaron Hird. Before you panic and think “But I don’t hand sew!”, you can also machine piece this quilt and still participate in the sew-along.
I will be using English Paper Piecing (EPP) as my method of construction and providing weekly tutorials on assembling the blocks using this method. If you’re not sure what that is click here to see my tutorial on how to sew using the English Paper Piecing method. You can use whatever method you like to make the blocks. Each week I’ll try and link to a number of alternative tutorials that show how to make the blocks to help those of you that don’t want to EPP the blocks.
I’ve collated all the information you need to help you decide if this is the sew-along for you below. If you still can’t find an answer below leave a comment or send me an email and I’ll get them answered.
FARMER’S WIFE 1920’S SAMPLER QUILT SEW-ALONG IN A NUTSELL:
Start Date: 24 August 2018
End Date: 25 October 2019
Hashtag: #FW1920EPPSAL
Where to Buy the Book: The Farmer’s Wife Sampler Quilt: Letters from 1920s Farm Wives and the 111 Blocks They Inspired by Laurie Aaron Hird – available from: Amazon | Book Depository (Affiliate Links)
Block Order: I will be covering the blocks in numerical order starting with Block 1 and ending with Block 111. However you can sew them in whatever order you like.
How Fast Will It Go?: I will be doing 2 blocks a week with a 1 week break over Thanksgiving (17/11/2018 – 26/11/2018) and a 4 week break over Christmas/New Year (08/12/2018 – 07/01/2019). It’s a strong pace as these blocks can be quite tricky at times, but there’s enough of a break in the middle to help you catch up if needed.
Block Tutorial Days: EPP tutorials for the blocks will be posted on Tuesday’s and Friday’s on my GnomeAngel.com (you are here). Reminders will also be posted in the Farmer’s Wife 1920’s Sampler Quilt Facebook Group and included in my weekly newsletter. (Click here to join.)
Facebook Group: Join the Farmer’s Wife 1920’s Sampler Quilt Facebook Group by clicking here.
English Paper Piecing the Quilt: If you want to find out all the details about the amazing English Paper Piecing product that Paper Pieces has developed for this quilt then click here. It’s a truly amazing way of making the quilt and keeping the pieces organised. I’ll be sharing more about it in the coming weeks to help you decide on the piecing method you’d like to use.
Colouring-in Sheet: The lovely folks at Paper Pieces have provide us with a handy colouring sheet to help plan your perfect Farmer’s Wife 1920’s Quilt. You can get it by clicking here.
FAQ’s: You can find answers to some of the questions that we’re being asked by clicking here.
Sponsors & Prizes: You can find the information about the sponsors and prizes by clicking here.
How to Enter to Win Prizes: You can find out all the information about how to enter to win prizes by clicking here.
Mailing List: If you’d like to stay up-to-date with the event details and find out more about other events, promotions, tutorials and much more on offer then sign up to Gnome Gnews, my weekly email newsletter. Click here to sign up.
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!
Hi, Just wondering is there is a blank coloring page for the farmers wife? All of this info sure helps. I have received my book and printed off the templates for the first block.
Love the look of this, what is the fabric range used? Hoping to use my stash but it may need to be supplemented!
Hi Heather! The fabric is Art Gallery’s Colour Masters series. I hope this helps you feed your stash. 😉
I love the idea of epp this beautiful quilt. Just wondering if there is any way available to make our own templates? Need to watch the $ in retirement.?
Hi Sandra,
You could totally make your own templates using template plastic or cardboard (cereal boxes work well for this). I’d recommend googling “how to make quilt block templates” as there’s a lot of tutorials out there to help with this.
If you have the Marti Michell templates you could use those as well (and Marti has previously provided conversion charts for these – see the event FAQs for a link).
Hope this helps! 🙂
I was thinking that the cheapest easiest way around this would be to scan print out each block on cardboard (I use construction cardboard from the $2 shops – some of it is slightly wide but just scissor a bit off the side prior to printing). Then cut carefully round the defined lines of the block and then you have the templates – add 3/8” round each template to cut fabric. Should work ok?
You can print out the templates (not the blocks) from the CD that comes with the book. You could print these on to the cardboard for the templates. So much easier than making the blocks into templates. 🙂
FYI, I have printed on white cardstock using my printer (regular not laser). Perhaps that would work for templates.
May I ask what is the most cost effective way to purchase all you need (besides fabric) for the Farmer’s Wife EPP? The different options seem confusing to me.
Oh that’s a great question Karen! I don’t know the answer, BUT I do know who will. Let me ask the team at Paper Pieces and get back to you!
Hi Karen – I’ve talked to the team at Paper Pieces and updated the FAQs to include the answer to this great question. You can find it by clicking here
Looks fun but I am super confused about which book. You are listing the title as 1920’s Farmers Wife but the link is only showing original book and the 1930’s one. I also googled and can’t find one with 1920 in the title. Help!
Hi Cindy – I’m sorry for the confusion, the book we’re using is the brown cover: The Farmer’s Wife Sampler Quilt: Letters from 1920s Farm Wives and the 111 Blocks They Inspired by Laurie Aaron Hird.
I’ve had a look at the links and I can’t find the one that’s only linking to the 1930’s (white cover). Both the where to purchase the book are showing the 1920’s (brown cover).
I’ve added a photo of the cover of the book to the blog post – let me know if this hasn’t helped clear things up and I’ll email you direct links.
I have had this book for ages and never got round to doing it .This is exactly what I need to get going. Not too fussed about EPP but love the idea of making quilt along with others and with your guidance. Is this ok?
Hi Carrie! Yep, it’s totally ok to use whatever construction method you would like to make the blocks. It’s all about making a quilt you love!