Thanks for coming back to the Little House Sampler Quilt Sew Along! Block #7 of 9 represents book #7, Little Town on the Prairie. The long hard winter was finally over, and the people of DeSmet were interested in getting out and began social life again. They held church socials, dances and "literaries." The Ingalls family had moved from town to their homestead claim, the garden was growing and, after spending the winter together in tight quarters, the entire family enjoyed the extra space the homestead offered, as well as the opportunity the get outdoors.
Pa had planted corn, but the gophers were plucking the new shoots as quickly as they grew. They were a nuisance, as were mice in the house. The family needed a cat. Pa brought home a very small grey kitten and what a mouser it was! There was quite the "cat-and-mouse" fight that occurred and the very reason I selected the Kit in the Corner as the block to represent Little Town on the Prairie.
This block is originally from the Pieces of the Santa Fe Trail sew along. It was a 12" block with a 9-patch layout. Reducing the block by 50% meant that the "kitten" pieces would be just 1" square finished. I opted to use two-thirds of the block (a 4-patch) to make the 6" finished block.
Let's take a look at the math. Each 1/4 unit needs to be 3" finished. Two of the quarters are not pieced, so the units need to be 3" (finished) plus 1/2" for the seams... making the cutting dimension 3-1/2" square. You'll need two of them.
The remaining two units are pieced. Using the 4-patch grid again, which will finish at 3" square you can calculate that 1/2 of 3 is 1.5", add your 1/2 seam allowance... 1-1/2" + 1/2" = 2". You need two of these. There is no need for an unnecessary seam in the unit, so the final piece of the unit will be 2" wide by 3-1/2" long.
Hopefully, this all made sense. :) Whether it made sense or not, head over to Payhip to get the free pattern.
Laura, aged 15 in this story, is quickly becoming a young lady. She accepts a job as a shirt maker for a woman in town. The shop owner purchased a treadle sewing machine for the making of the shirts. Laura was to be doing only the hand sewing and earn 25 cents a day, plus dinner.
Laura quickly did the math and, thinking that what she earned could help to send Mary to blind school sooner, accepted the job. In two hours, together, they finished four shirts. Laura basted the collars and cuffs in place and Mrs. White then sewed them. Laura was very efficient at making buttonholes... "She so hated making buttonholes that she had learned how to do them quickly and get it over with."
This brings me to question you...
What is your least favorite step of quilting?
Do you procrastinate and put it off?
Or do you like to "get it over with", like Laura?
Leave a comment... I'd love to hear from you!
Keep Piecing,
Melva
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