Block 84 of the Farmer’s Wife 1930’s Sampler Quilt is Posy, however we’re doing the Marti Michell alternative Ruth. It’s the holidays, this is not the time to be trying to wrangle foundation paper pieced y-seams. I’d rather spend that swearing time standing in queue in a department store swearing! *wink* Just kidding, I did my Christmas shopping a few weeks ago and now I’m enjoying being at home listening to others complain about Christmas shopping madness. But I digress. Today we’re doing Ruth and you can get the chart by clicking here.

I’ve got some good news for those of you looking for a break from the Farmer’s Wife 1930’s Sampler Quilt – tutorials will be on holiday from today and will be back on 3 January 2017. Which means we all get a much needed break from yelling at our machines. Now, on to the tutorial…

Tutorial: Block #84a “Ruth”

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 Perfect Patchwork Templates Set S.
• I used  Flatter by Soak in Yuzu 248ml as my starch.

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 by Laurie Aaron Hird – available from: Amazon | Pink Door Fabrics | Fat Quarter Shop | The Quilting Company | Interweave (Affiliate Links).  Measurements can be found in this book and it’s associated media.

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.

Please note:  Please read all instructions before starting the block.

1. Using the From Marti Michell Perfect Patchwork Templates Set S cut the required pieces as per the conversion chart. Please note you will need 1 x S99 square for the centre of the block. This may be missing from some charts. Diagram 1 shows the pieces cut and in their pairs for sewing. The top row is the pairs of S100 triangles still right-sides together from following the cutting instructions.

2. I chained pieced the units together to speed up the process. Join the pieces as per diagram 2. Stitch together the long sides of the S100 pairs, as above. Join the pairs of S100a on one leg, as above.

3. Press open the S100a pairs. Lay them out with the modified centre side units (S98a) as shown in diagram 3. This will help ensure you get the placement correct.

4. Join S100a pieces to the modified centre side units (S98a) as per diagram 4.

5. Press all pieces and lay them out as shown in diagram 5. Please note you will need 1 x S99 square for the centre of the block. This may be missing from some charts.

6. Join units together as per diagram 6 to make 4 square units.

7. Join units together as per diagram 7 to make three columns.8. Join columns to complete block. This is Ruth.

 

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!