Farmer's Wife Blocks... a tutorial (The Contrary Wife)

There’s an old saying

it’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind

and I fully intend to make use of that liberty for this post.

If you read my last post “Hobbies on the Homestead”, I invited you to follow along with me on Fridays for the Farmer’s Wife Quilt by offering a few tutorials for some of the blocks from the book I mentioned in the post. My hope is I can help you get started on your way to making your own quilt; an heirloom to pass down through the generations from one loved one to another.

If you are interested in making the blocks for a quilt or other project, you will need to have access to the book in order to get the pattern templates. The book does show how to do the blocks, but I find beginners may need a little more hand holding if one has never made “classic” blocks before, thus I offer up this tutorial. After writing that post, I was subsequently invited to #needleworkmonday by @muscara and @needleworkmonday, and I have decided to present the tutorials on Mondays instead of Fridays in order to offer up a contribution to their initiative. No harm done because you will have access to the post any time that is convenient for you to participate. Win-win-win, how awesome is that?

Well, let’s get on with it, shall we?

I have created several blocks and have tried to label them as easy, moderate, or difficult from the perspective of a beginner. I’ll also try to give you some tips along the way. I personally use a sewing machine to sew my blocks, but if you don’t have a sewing machine, you can still participate by using hand sewing as was done before machines were invented. Whichever method you chose, I know you'll have a blast. The first block we shall work on is #21 Contrary Wife. Level of difficulty: Easy. This block requires only two pattern pieces, numbers 1 and 3, along with three color ways of fabric. Using your three fabric choices, cut out your pattern. Four triangles in one colour, four triangles in a contrasting colour, and five squares in your third alternate fabric. Note how I "fussy cut" my fabric to ensure a flower within each small square, not necessary, just a design choice. After cutting your fabric, sew two different colours of the triangle pieces together to make your squares. You will end up with four squares consisting of two triangles joined together and five squares of your third colour choice. See Image 1. Trim off the “dog ears” which are the little extra bits you see poking out of the triange/squares. The result as shown in image 2 compared to image 1. Lay the sewn pieces and other squares out as shown in image 2.

Next sew each row together. Starting at the top, join the top left square to the middle square, then sew the other side of the middle square to the top right square, competing one row. Do the same for the next two rows, until you have completed all three rows. See image 3.

Once you have three rows, you can now sew the rows together to form one larger square. Sew the top row to the middle row, then sew the middle row to the bottom row. See image 4 showing the reverse side. Square up your block as best you can, which should end up being 6.5 x 6.5 inches (the resulting 6 inch block is after you sew your completed blocks together to create a quilt). Your block is done. Aren’t you happy?

Tips:

Never iron, always press. Ironing stretches the fabric and causes distortion.

In quilting, seams are usually pressed to one side or the other, usually with lighter fabrics being pressed to the darker side so it does not show through the other side. I personally do not always follow this rule, especially when resulting blocks have many pieces causing too much thickness. Sometimes it is trial and error. As a rule for myself, I usually press open as often as possible unless the fabric obviously shows through on a lighter fabric. It is probably stronger to press to one side, however, I prefer my squares to lay more uniformly flat and I do not feel it is compromised once the quilt is quilted, however, you may choose the other. Each block is different, and you may have no choice in which way you have to press the seams. Use your best judgement and preference.

Dig in your recycling bin and cut your template out of a sturdy piece of plastic or cardboard because you will use the pattern many times and it will last longer than just paper. Use clear plastic if you intend to “fussy cut” any pieces.

Well, that's it for the first block. If you have any questions, pop it in the comments. Have fun!

_{Full Disclosure: I originally offered up these tutorials on my now defunct blog which was located at acherishedlife.blogspot.com. I present them here for you fully updated and with much more detail than before.}

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