Sew the Farmer’s Wife Quilts in a Year
The Farmer’s Wife Sampler Quilts are iconic bucket list quilts in the quilting community. They’re a great introduction to traditional blocks and sampler quilts and they’re the quilts that got me hooked on samplers. There’s 2 Farmer’s Wife Sampler Quilt Books:
This is referred to as the 1920’s Farmer’s Wife Quilt and it is the first in the series. There are 111 6″ x 6″ blocks to make in this book.
Purchase here: Amazon | Book Depository (Affiliate Links)
This is referred to as the 1930’s Farmer’s Wife Quilt and is the second book in the series. There are 99 blocks to make in this book.
Purchase here: Amazon | Fat Quarter Shop | The Quilting Company | Interweave (Affiliate Links)
Both books are written with a focus on hand piecing, this means there’s no cutting instructions in the book – it’s all templates. Don’t despair, Marti Michell has done conversion charts for both so you can use the Marti Michell Perfect Patchwork Templates and there’s also Foundation Paper Piece templates available for both versions. Read below to find out more.
Make the Quilts in a Year
These blocks are somewhat complicated and so you’ll find that they take a little more time to conquer then a Kinship: 100 Block Fusion Sampler Quilt block. Because of this I’ve spaced the sewing out over a full year. I’ve worked out a timetable for sewing blocks that will see you making blocks at a regular pace for the full year.
I’ve put together the calendar so that you can either sew one quilt, or sew both, it’s up to you. I’ve also not put block numbers/names on the calendar so you can pick your own adventure. I’ll be sharing the block prompts and tutorials in numerical order because this is the easiest way to do it from an administration point-of-view. However you’ll find that Marti Michell groups the blocks by the shapes used to make them from easiest to hardest.
Sew your own order. If you want to jump around that’s up to you, if you want to stick to my schedule that’s your call as well. The main thing is that you’re going to have to keep up a steady working pace all year to get the blocks made.
Free Downloadable Calendar
To help you keep things in line and on task I’ve made up a 2020 Printable Calendar so you can see how the year will look. To get the calendar click the button below.
Making the FW1920 Quilt
The following information will help you make the Farmer’s Wife 1920’s Sampler Quilt.
Getting Your Supplies Organised
The key to getting things sorted and off to a good start is to get your supplies in order. This blog post contains all the information you need to make the project. Click here to read more.
How to English Paper Piece
You can make this quilt using the english paper piecing packs from Paper Pieces. If you’d like to learn more about how to english paper pieces click here.
Tutorials
All the tutorials for the 111 Farmer’s Wife 1920’s Sampler Quilt blocks can be found by clicking here.
Making the FW1930 Quilt
The following information will help you make the Farmer’s Wife 1930’s Sampler Quilt.
Picking Fabrics
I wrote this blog post back in 2015 to help people pick fabrics for their Farmer’s Wife 1930’s Sampler Quilt. While the fabrics mentioned in the blog post may not be available any more the principles of choosing fabrics for this project haven’t changed. If you’re looking for help getting ready be sure to check it out. Click here to read more.
Tutorials
All the tutorials for the 99 Farmer’s Wife 1930’s Sampler Quilt blocks can be found by clicking here.
General Information
The following information will help you get organised regardless of which quilt(s) you’re making.
How to Store and Organise Your WIPs
If you’re working on a year long project you’ll need to have your tools, fabrics, patterns, book and blocks organised. Click here to read my tips and tricks on how to store and organise your works-in-progress.
Join the Facebook Group
There’s 2 facebook groups where you can hang out, get advice and share your blocks.
Read the FB Group rules by clicking here.
Subscribe to the Newsletter
If you want to get the weekly updates and links to the tutorials simply sign up to my email newsletter, Gnome Gnews, by clicking here. If you’re a subscriber you’ll be in the running for a monthly subscriber giveaway.
Share your blocks on Instagram
Use the hashtag #FarmersWifeInAYear2020 to connect with the community of people who’ll be making their blocks in 2020.