Hello! Thanks so much for stopping by for my day on the Farmer’s Wife Quilt Along sponsored by Angie of Gnome Angel, Fat Quarter Shop, and Marti Michell!
I’m happy to share my thoughts on making Block 54, Magnolia. I have to say, this block is one of my favorites so far; it ended up being super easy and fun, and I love my fabric choices!
I’m very behind in my block making, but while working on this block I made a
plan to get caught up! I actually went through the book and made a little list of blocks that will be easy to make. I plan to make 2 or 3 at a time at least once a week so I can get to progressing a little more quickly on this project!
Now…for the details on how I made my block. When working on the Farmer’s Wife Blocks I always check the rotary cutting list first. You can download this list from the CD that is included with the book. Even if the blocks have pieces that require templates and/or paper piecing, every piece that can be rotary cut is included on the list with cutting measurements.
Magnolia actually has a majority of the pieces that can be rotary cut, so the first thing I did was cut all of those pieces. I also cut rectangles to be used for the four Half Rectangle Triangle portions of the block.
There are several ways you can make the Half Rectangle Triangles: use paper piecing, use the templates from the book, or use the Marti Michell templates (go here to get Marti’s PDF for her template version). (I made oversized Half Rectangle Triangles and trimmed them down).
I starched all of my pieces before beginning…that really seems to help me achieve accurate piecing with these smaller blocks. I spray the starch on the wrong side of the fabric, then flip over to the right side to do the pressing.
I also flipped open the seam on the small four patch unit. This helps the four patch to lay flat and also helps the unit stay true to size.
After piecing the upper corner unit and making the half rectangle triangles, all that is left is to sew the pieces into rows (I told you this was an easy block).
Then sew the rows together to make the block. I pressed all of the seams between pieces away from the half rectangle triangle units.
I sure do love this block. All of the fabrics are from Denyse Schmidt’s recent collection, Stonington. Since I’m using all DS fabrics for this quilt I figured I might as well get some of the new pieces included!
I love seeing the blocks all together. I just have 16, but will hopefully have more soon!
This was my fourth tutorial for this quilt along…you can find the other block tutorials I’ve shared below:
(Compulsory Inclusion Info for this quilt along)
Are you quilting along with this one? Do share if you have any tips for keeping up!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Hildy says
Love your block it's perfect:-)
Linda Caraway says
Hi there. I just ordered the book for the quilt along. There was a nice surprise too – the book discounted!
It may be awhile before I set out on that quilting journey, but will have it when I'm ready. You sight is so refreshing and I appreciate your efforts and those of the women who have contributed their part.
Blessings!