Farmer’s Wife Quilt Along Month 9 Instructions.

Templates for Month 9 are 13, 19, 22, 71 and 106.

This month we are turning all those lovely little blocks into a quilt top by adding the sashing strips and squares and the small, medium and large triangles. 

Before starting, starch and press each block and then DOUBLE CHECK THAT EACH BLOCK MEASURES 6 ½’’ SQUARE.  If it doesn’t, you may need to unpick a small section here and there and resew or trim it to fit. 

Starch the Floral Flower Sugar fabric as before and iron well before cutting.

Sashing Strips use template #106 and cut 144.

Using the White Small Spot fabric, fold with the selvedges together and cut the selvedge edge off then cut 6 ½’’ strips across the width of the fabric. Crosscut these into 6 ½’’ x 1 ½’’ strips.  You should get 28 #106 from each strip.

Sashing squares and Small triangles use template #19 and cut 60 and template #13 and cut 24.

Using the Pink or Aqua Small Spot fabric fold and remove selvedge as before then cut 2 x 1 ½’’ strips across the fabric.  Then cut 1 x 2’’ strip across the fabric.  Crosscut the 1 ½’’ strips into 1 ½’’ squares.  You should get 28 # 19 from each strip.  Then crosscut the 2’’ strip into 12 x 2’’ squares and crosscut these on the diagonal and trim into 24 # 13.  Use the rest of this strip to cut the remaining # 19s.

Large and Medium Setting Triangles use templates #71 and cut 20 and template #22 and cut 4.

Using the Floral Doily Dot fabric trim selvedge as before and cut 2 x 7’’ strips across the width of the fabric.  Crosscut the strips into 7’’ squares, you should get 6 x 7’’ squares from each strip.  Crosscut these on the diagonal and trim into 20 #71.  Then cut 2 x 5 ½’’ squares, crosscut these on the diagonal and trim to give you 4 x #22.  When pressing these triangles, be careful not to stretch the long edge, just lift the iron up and down without sideways motion.

 Arranging the Quilt Blocks.

Find a large flat surface, I use a spare double bed, or the floor but a design wall would be best, and start to lay out 61 blocks, on point, making six rows across by six rows down on the diagonal.  Save the other three blocks for the back.   Remember how we made two matching blocks in each week. Try to spread these around the quilt to balance the colour.  The Red is the most dominant colour so try to spread that evenly around the quilt too.  Walk away for a while, when you come back you will notice any blocks in the wrong place.  Repeat this a few times until you are happy with the layout then take a photo of it.  Any layout problems seem to show up better in a photo. You can arrange the sashing strips and squares in between as you go if you wish.  I just kept mine in a pile until I sewed the blocks together.

 

NOTE:   To make a design wall all you need is a piece of Quilt wadding larger than the quilt ( 2 .10 mts square) you can then use this for the quilt construction, some tape that won’t damage the wall surface underneath, like repositionable  double sided or washi tape and a wall to fit.  Test the tape in an inconspicuous place first.  Tape the wadding to the wall and you will find that the blocks stick to the wadding. 

If you can leave the quilt blocks in place while you sew them together cut up 22 small pieces of paper and number them Rows 1-11 and Blocks 1-11.  Starting in the top left corner, pin the Row numbers to the first block in each row and pin the block numbers to the row you are about to sew together.  This keeps the blocks in order and the correct orientation.

If you can’t leave the quilt in place, cut up 61 pieces of paper and number them for each Row and Block and pin the numbers in place to each block as Row 1, Row 2 Block 1, Row 2 Block 2, Row 2 Block 3 and Row 3 block 1 etc.  Store each row in a separate plastic cliplock or paper bag until you sew them together.

If you use the instructions in your Farmer’s Wife book for the quilt layout and construction, you’ll need to follow the King size layout which has the four # 22s in the corners because it is the only square layout, like ours, but only use six rows of blocks each side. 

Sewing the Quilt Top Together.

NOTE:   PRESS ALL SEAMS TOWARDS THE SASHING. Usually when using a lighter fabric for sashing the seams are pressed towards the blocks but with so many seams in these blocks they naturally lay flat and you would be fighting with them to sit neatly.

Block Row.
Starting with row 1, sew a # 106 strip to each side of the row 1 block and press the seams towards the sashing. 

Using the photo for the correct direction pin and sew a #71 large triangle to each side and press
seams towards the sashing.

Place this down and arrange one # 106 strip, two #13 small triangles, FACING THE RIGHT WAY and one #22  medium triangle in the correct place above the row 1 block.  Pin and sew the two #13 to #106 and press as before and sew this to the top, matching the seam joins.  Fold the block row in half and mark the centre top with a pin.  Fold the #22 in half and mark centre bottom with a pin.  Match pins and corners and sew together.  Repeat this when sewing the other three corners.

Sashing Row.

 

Sew one #19 to the end of one #106 and repeat, sew them together and sew one #13 to each end and press.   Sew this row to the lower edge of the first block row carefully matching the seam joins which should nest together in opposite directions and press towards the sashing.

Continue sewing the diagonal rows adding a sashing row to the lower edge of each block row.  Sew them together until you finish row four.

 

Sew row five as before but don’t join to row four yet.  

Sew row six THIS IS THE CENTRE ROW with a #22 triangle at each end.

Sew row seven together noting that the #71 large triangles are now angled the other way.   Sew these three rows together with the sashing rows and press.  Then join this section to row four and press.  This keeps the amount of fabric under the machine more manageable.

 

 

Continue sewing as before from rows eight to eleven, adding the sashing rows in between.  Complete the corner with the last #22 medium triangle and press.  Join this section to the rest of the quilt, press and you’re done.

 

We are so excited to see our beautiful little blocks come together in this lovely quilt top and can’t wait to have it on the wall!  Now we might have time to sit and read all those heartfelt letters in the book and dream about an ideal farming life!

 

Debby & Eve