Farmer's Wife Block No. 6, Big Dipper

I snuck off to my studio yesterday for just long enough to make ONE little 6" quilt block.  It has been a hectic week, so I am calling this a win!

Farmer's Wife Block No. 6, Big Dipper

This is another of those 6" sampler blocks that I've been working on intermittently.  Some of the blocks, like this one, are from the original 1920's Farmer's Wife Sampler book by Laurie Aaron Hird, some are from her 1930's sequel book, and then I started just making other random 6" blocks to mix in.  In the midst of my other really slow-going projects, it just feels like a treat to pick out ONE block design, select fabric for that one block, cut it up and sew it back together again, and then stick it in the box with the others.

Traditional Piecing on my Vintage Featherweight Machine

Many of my sampler blocks have been paper pieced, but this one was a pretty straightforward candidate for rotary cutting and traditional machine piecing.  I used my 1935 Singer Featherweight with the original multipurpose presser foot and vintage Singer Cloth Guide screwed to the bed, shown above.  I have tried just about every aftermarket generic 1/4" foot out there, and this is still my favorite way to achieve accurate piecing on this machine.  The original foot is a solid fit with NO wiggle and NO play, precisely aligned with the narrow feed dogs on this straight stitch machine.  Once I have the seam guide positioned where the raw edge of my fabric needs to hit for that 1/4" seam, it stays firmly in place where I've planted it, despite the machine's vibrations.  And I just leave the cloth guide installed on this machine, so every time I take it down, it's ready to go for perfect piecing.

Spiraled Center Seam

I opted to pop the seam allowance CAREFULLY at the intersection of each QST (Quarter Square Triangle) unit so I could spiral my seam allowances around the block, reducing bulk, and I did that at the very center of the block as well, once I had joined all four QST units together.

The Newest Block, About to Join My Other 6" Sampler Blocks in the Project Box

As you can see, my fabric choices are quite different from the ones shown in the book.  That's part of the fun for me, Supreme Fabric Nerd that I am -- I like those bright colors, wild prints, and picking things that turn a block that bores me into a block that makes me happy.  I used one 2 1/2" jelly roll strip of the black and purple Kaffe Fassett print to cut the 8 QSTs for this block, and then selected the pink striated batik and similar-looking blue tonal print to draw out the accent colors in the KF print.  

Not the Most Exciting Block, But It Will Play Nicely With the Others!

Meanwhile, I started in on two other ginormous pineapple log cabin blocks, bought a few more Accuquilt GO! dies for other projects, FINALLY scheduled my longarm training with my dealer, and have been brainstorming about how to quilt my class sample project in a way that will be achievable for beginner students, but not too boring...  Hopefully now that I have a plan, I may be able to get that done over the weekend.  

Today I'm linking up with:

·       Whoop Whoop Fridays at www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com

·       Off the Wall Friday at Creations: http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/ 

·       Finished Or Not Friday at http://busyhandsquilts.blogspot.com/

Happy Stitching, everyone!

What Happens In Florida Doesn't Stay In Florida: Fabric Shopping, Slow Stitching, and a Splash in the Pool... Oh, and Open Heart Surgery.

Well, hello there, blogosphere!  I've been in Naples, Florida all last week visiting my in-laws and just got home in time for Maundy Thursday church services.  While in Florida, my darling husband offered to take me to the local quilt shop, Flash Sew and Quilt.  And once we got there, and I started picking out fabric, he was SURPRISED.  Isn't that funny?  What did he THINK I was going to do at the quilt shop -- just pet the fabrics and then leave empty-handed?!  Silly man.

Fat Quarters, Layer Cakes, Charm Packs, and Kona Solids Skinny Strips

The assorted green and blue fat quarters are for my remaining six pineapple log cabin blocks, because I'm bored with the fabrics I've used on the other blocks.  Plus I want as much variety as possible so no two blocks in that quilt are identical, and it would be great if I could lay out my blocks so no patches of the same fabric end up adjacent to one another.

Work In Progress: Pineapple Log Cabin Blocks on My Design Wall

The purple and hot pink Kaffe Fassett fat quarters will be for clam shells and for my 6" sampler blocks.  The Moda dotted layer cake is going to mix in with some of those other big, bright prints in my Farmer's Wife blocks. 

Another WIP: 6" Sampler Blocks, Farmer's Wife and Others

The white charm squares and the charm pack with the cat food novelty print are for my clam shell quilt, too -- either that or for a tumbler quilt yet to be started -- because 5" charm squares are the perfect size to cut with my clam shell and tumbler Accuquilt GO! dies.

Cutting Out Clam Shells With My GO! Baby Die Cutter

I know I will have lots of leftover blue and green 1 1/2" strips left over once all of those pineapple blocks are complete.  The roll of brightly colored Kona Solids 1 1/2" strips will be mixed in with these leftover blue and green strips for some other project yet to be devised.

Current 1 1/2" Pineapple Strips, Leftovers Will Mix with Kona Solid Strips

After cramming all of these textile goodies into my suitcase, I was able to spend some time relaxing with some slow stitching -- my Frankenwhiggish Rose needle turned applique project:

Slow Stitching in Florida: Needle Turned Applique

I'm working on appliqueing the stacked petals that I assembled off-block to the remaining 8 applique blocks for this project.  I'm having some difficulty lining the pieces up properly when I pin them in place, however, as you can see in the above photo where the bottom petal doesn't touch the adjacent stems like the other petals do.  It's hard for me to tell where the stitching line is in relation to the stems when the seam allowance is still sticking out, covering up the stems!  Ah, well -- antique applique quilts aren't perfect, and this one won't be, either.  Going forward, I'm trying to feel for the bump of the stem and line up the petals that way.  We'll see if that works better.  After all, the whole purpose of this project is LEARNING new applique techniques.  

Here's my husband and son, splashing around in my father-in-law's pool a few days ago:

Bernie and Anders in the Pool

Hard to believe that Bernie is having open heart surgery this coming Wednesday.  Just within the past few weeks he was diagnosed with mitral valve regurgitation caused by a congenital heart defect that has degenerated over time, going unnoticed all these years (during which Mister Tough Guy rarely set foot in a doctor's office -- he has maybe been to the doctor twice in the last 20 years).  Until it got so bad that his heart was enlarged and only pumping blood with 40% efficiency, was short of breath, having chest pains... And finally this 6'8," presumably healthy and very active 48-year-old man was told that he was at risk for congestive heart failure or stroke and needed open heart surgery ASAP.  Very bizarre and surreal; we keep thinking this is a weird dream and we'll wake up tomorrow and laugh about it. 

Bernie's Case Is Severe, Like the One on the Right

Again, Bernie's In the Severe Category

This is the best article I've found that explains about the prolapsed valve regurgitation thing, a condition which my family has (not so)fondly nicknamed "Vomit Heart": Mitral Valve Prolapse Regurgitation. 

Bernie's surgeon is 90% confident that he can repair this defective valve (rather than replacing it outright) and he is also going to do a surgical maze procedure where he will create scar tissue to disrupt the wacky off-beat electrical pulses that have been making his heartbeat go haywire (Atrial Fibrillation, see cool animation here).  That's why he's going in through the breastbone rather than one of the less-invasive side-access surgeries they can do for valve replacement or for bypass surgery.  He wants to be sure he has access to completely fix the whole heart so Bernie won't need to go back for a surgical encore.  So we're hoping for a full and complete recovery after surgery.  Wish us luck, please!  Warm and fuzzy thoughts and PRAYERS are greatly appreciated.

On My Mind

So this Easter, while I'm singing "Jesus Christ Is Risen Today," I'll also have little earworms in my brain looping "Change of Heart" by Cyndi Lauper...

...and "Tell Your Heart to Beat Again" by Danny Gokey:

Happy Easter, Happy Passover, Happy Weekend to All!

I'm linking up with Slow Stitching Sunday, Design Wall Monday, Monday Making, and Moving It Forward. 

6" Sampler Blocks: Not-Quite-Peaceful Hours

6" Sampler Block, Not-Quite-Peaceful Hours

Good morning, and Happy Tuesday!  My schedule is nutso these days, but I managed to finish this little sampler block last night that I'd been working on in odd 15-minute increments over the past week.  I'm calling this block Not-Quite-Peaceful Hours because I mistook it for the Farmer's Wife Peaceful Hours block when I was looking for that block in the EQ7 block library so I could preview fabric combinations. 

EQ7 Block Mockup

This is one of my favorite ways to use the EQ7 software, for virtual auditions of color, pattern and value before cutting into my real fabric.  Although you CAN scan and import all of your actual fabric into EQ7 for this purpose, I usually just find something similar that's already in the fabric stash library, as I did in the mockup above.

Peaceful and Not-Quite-Peaceful, Side by Side

As you can see, the blocks are very similar, but I think they are different enough that they can both go in the same sampler quilt.  I won't be setting them side by side in the final quilt layout.  The version on the right was a lot easier to piece because there were no angled/inset seams like there are in the Peaceful Hours block on the left.

I like the contrast in my Not-Quite-Peaceful block.  I also like that I combined fabrics that "don't go together": a Kaffe Fassett print in the center, the blue batik, solid white, and the thirties reproduction print with the off-white background that I used on the corners. 

That's all for today.  Busy, busy, busy...  I'm linking up with:

·       Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times www.patchworktimes.com

·       Main Crush Monday at Cooking Up Quilts http://www.cookingupquilts.com/

·       Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt http://lovelaughquilt.blogspot.com/

·       WIPs on Wednesday at Esther's Quilt Blog: http://estheraliu.blogspot.com

·       Moving it Forward at Em’s Scrap Bag: http://emsscrapbag.blogspot.com.au/

Farmer's Wife Block 65, "Peaceful Hours"

6" Farmer's Wife Block 65, Peaceful Hours

Happy Wednesday!  I did something yesterday that I have not done in years...  I stayed up past midnight because I was in a good groove in the sewing room and didn't want to stop until I finished this 6" sampler block.  This is Block 65 from the original Farmer's Wife sampler quilt book, and it's called Peaceful Hours.  It took me about 3-4 "peaceful hours" to cut and sew this block from start to finish, foundation paper pieced.  I am very, VERY happy with how this block turned out technically, as far as seams matching up where they are supposed to. 

I am not so sure I love how busy this block is, though, with all these crazy fabrics.  At first I was just going to use the large floral print, the tiny blue and white floral, and the solid orange.  However, I dislike having unnecessary seams in my blocks (seams between two patches of the same fabric that only exist to simplify piecing).  I thought I had found a similar enough block in my EQ7 block library (it even has the same name, "Peaceful Hours"):

Peaceful Hours block from EQ7 Library

See how there are no seams dividing the triangles going around the center of the EQ7 Peaceful Hours block?  I added seams in the software to turn the corner squares into HST units and printed out my new foundation patterns and templates for a 6" finished block: 

Block Key and Templates for Modified EQ7 Peaceful Hours Block

And, just for kicks, here's what the block looked like colored with totally different fabrics in EQ7 software:

Modified EQ7 Peaceful Hours Block

But then, just as I was about to cut into my fabric and make a start, I realized that the block in my Farmer's Wife book was different -- the EQ7 block had a different grid proportion (the center square didn't finish 3" for a 6" block) and it had different angles on the star points:

See? Dark Blue Triangles have Different Angles

The version of this block in EQ7 looks like a sawtooth star variation.  And after studying both blocks, I preferred the one in the book because those tricky angles give the block an interesting vintage vibe.  I just didn't like those seams slicing through the gray triangles.

Rather than go back and redraw the block all over again in EQ7, I decided to use two shades of orange in my bisected triangles so the seams would have a functional design purpose.  And I found a few small scraps of this lighter speckled orange fabric in my scrap bins:

The Plan

You can see how I've scribbled on the foundation patterns with colored pencil so I know which fabric goes where, and I've also drawn little arrows to check that the piecing order will result in nesting seam allowances for those tiny triangles around the center of the block (had to change the piecing order for a few segments in order to make that happen).  But alas -- when I cut up the speckled orange scraps, I forgot about the larger corner triangles when I was deciding how wide of a strip to cut, and then I found myself without a large enough scrap to cut them from.  I dug through my scrap bins again, hoping to find another scrap of the same fabric, but no dice.  Boo, hiss!  I found another scrap in a very similar color, but with little orange swirly lines on it instead of dots, and decided to use that for all four corner HSTs because I thought it might be weird to have that fabric just on two patches.  (I regret that now and wish I had continued alternating the two shades of orange so that two of my corner HSTs would have been the dark orange).

Foundation Piecing Completed, Ready to Remove Papers for Traditional Piecing

That's what the block looked like once all of the foundation segments had been paper pieced and trimmed.  I have been starching my foundation segments once the paper piecing is complete, so they are nice and crisp and the fabric doesn't shift around when I'm trimming the units down with my rotary cutter and acrylic ruler.  It is much easier for me to cut and piece accurately when my fabric is stiff and crisp, almost paper-like.

Piecing these segments together went so smoothly.  I sewed the entire block on my 9 mm Bernina 750QE with the straight stitch plate and foot 97D, using Mettler 50/3 cotton thread, a size 90/14 Quilting needle, and piecing straight stitch #1326 shortened to 1.5 stitch length.  I screw the guide into the machine bed, pushed flush up against the presser foot, once my foundation papers are removed and I'm piecing the sections together.  As long as I have trimmed my segments so the cut edge is exactly 1/4" from the seam line, and I've starched my units so they lay flat against the guide rather than bending or curling up the seam guide, things tend to come out looking pretty good.

So I've nested important seam intersections, and I'm using my own tried-and-true "personal recipe" for precision piecing.  I'm also pinning those important seam junctions, especially in instances where I was not able to have opposing seam allowances.  I place my pins with the heads to the left and the tips pointing right, not extending past the raw edge of the fabric, so the pins don't interfere with my seam guide.  In this block, I decided to press some of the seam allowances open to reduce bulk:

Rear View, Showing Pressing Path

I still have my stitch length set to the shorter 1.5 from paper piecing, and that helps to ensure a tight seam even where I've pressed the seams open.

So here it is, up on the design wall with my other 6" sampler blocks.  Maybe it will be fine mixed in with all the others in the finished quilt:

Assorted Sampler Blocks on the Design Wall

Really, there's just not enough contrast between the lighter orange fabric and the light blue ditsy floral fabric for my taste.  Bummer!  Meanwhile, I do still have the foundation papers and templates printed out and ready to go for the EQ7 version of the block.  In a totally different color scheme like this one, with the different angles in those outer triangles and no seams dividing the inner triangles, it really is a completely different block, don't you think? 

Should I make this one, too?

Maybe I'll make this version, too.  I love making these little blocks!  I'm linking up with:

•    Let’s Bee Social at http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.ca/
•     Midweek Makers at http://quiltfabrication.blogspot.com/
•    WOW WIP on Wednesday at www.estheraliu.blogspot.com

Taking It Easy: Farmer's Wife Block 39, "Friendship" and That Skirt Again

Well, that Prudence block was a bruiser, so I decided to take it easy yesterday.  I flipped through my Farmer's Wife book looking for a block that would come together quickly and painlessly, and came up with Block 39, "Friendship."

Farmer's Wife Block 39, Friendship

The most difficult part was picking out the fabrics.  So now my collection of 6" sampler blocks looks like this:

6" Sampler Blocks as of 8/8/16

But I'm not making another block today.  It's Monday and I do have some work to get done and then, instead of starting a new quilt block, I'm resolving to clean up enough work space to finally cut out that skirt.  You know, the one I barely started in June of 2015.  Ugh.  Procrastination, anyone?!!

The Fabric: Pretty Potent Echinachea in Preppy, Cotton Voile by Anna Maria Horner for Westminster Fabrics

The Pattern: New Look 6708 (OOP)

After spending about $78 on the pattern, fabric, lining, interfacing, thread, and notions, and fretting about the waistband yoke thingy that was weirdly shaped (or else I'M weirdly shaped!), I ran out of steam AFTER redrafting the waistband to fit me in muslin, but BEFORE cutting out the skirt from the real fabric.  I set the project aside almost exactly a year ago, the week before Anders' 12th birthday (he turns 13 this Saturday) and then got caught up with back-to-school, and then it was Fall and this was a Summer skirt...

It is SO NICE to be able to come back to this blog and use the search feature and key word tags to refresh my memory about where I was with the skirt project and what my game plan was.  Before I had a blog I would have jotted down notes on scrap paper or Post-It notes, and they would be long gone by the time I came back to the project; I'd have to start all over from square one.

Ah, well -- I had planned for this to be a short and sweet post this morning.  Whatever.  I'm linking up with:

·       Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times www.patchworktimes.com

·       Main Crush Monday at Cooking Up Quilts http://www.cookingupquilts.com/

·       Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt http://lovelaughquilt.blogspot.com/

·       Moving it Forward at Em’s Scrap Bag: http://emsscrapbag.blogspot.com.au/

Happy Monday, everyone!

Farmer's Wife Block 58: My Mother Dreams of Dragons

Hello and happy Saturday!  We are all in high spirits at my house this morning because Son the Younger, a.k.a. Anders, is returning from Confirmation Camp this afternoon and we have all missed him.  Yay!  Even Lars tells me that he keeps walking into Anders' bedroom to tell him something, and then remembers that he isn't there.

I finished another 6" sampler block yesterday, Block 58 "Mother's Dream" from the Farmer's Wife book. 

Farmer's Wife Block 58, Mother's Dream

Isn't it CUTE?!  I think these simpler blocks with larger center squares are perfect for fussy-cutting random novelty prints that live in my stash, like this dragon print.  And so, apparently, MY mother dreams of dragons...  I am having so much fun with these little 6" blocks.

I also started another one of those huge 17 3/4" pineapple log cabin blocks yesterday, and I plan to finish that up within the next hour or two.  That will be block 24 of 36, if I'm not mistaken.

And yet, new projects keep bubbling up in dark corners of my mind.  These 6" blocks are so much fun that I'm thinking about starting a few of those 4" Dear Jane blocks.  I have seen so many Dear Jane quilts that I love, and what I love about them is the variety of intricate, tiny blocks and the unique scalloped triangle border.  This is my favorite Dear Jane quilt, pieced and appliqued by a quilter named Gwen and quilted by LAQ Judi Madsen:

Gwen's Gorgeous "Dear Jane" Quilt

Gwen's Quilt, Judi's Quilting, completed in 2011

What I do NOT like about making a Dear Jane quilt is that thousands of other quilters have made their own version of this quilt already, and I am not sure I have anything unique to add to that tradition.  I mean, I love everything about Gwen's DJ quilt, from the crisp white background fabric to the bright, splashy Kaffe Fassett prints (I have a lot of these exact same fabrics in my stash), right down to Judi's spectacular custom quilting.  I don't want to copy someone else's quilt, do I?  But my Farmer's Wife blocks aren't coming out looking the same as everyone else's, so maybe my Dear Jane would come out with its own personality, too.   I could always start making some blocks for fun and see where it goes.  It's not like I don't have enough fabric or anything...  Ahem!

Another project I'm tempted to begin is the Amish Baby Storm at Sea quilt that I designed in EQ7 back in 2014:

Amish Baby Storm at Sea, Coming Soon to a Studio Near Me

At the time, I was worried about whether my skill level was up to piecing these Storm at Sea blocks, so I opted to go with my other baby quilt design using 54-40 or Fight blocks instead.  But after paper piecing all these itty bitty 6" sampler blocks, I feel like the big Storm at Sea blocks will be a piece of cake.  I already have the fabric for this quilt, so why not, right?  It never hurts to have a baby quilt on hand, especially since it takes me longer to finish a baby quilt than it takes to actually gestate a baby from conception to delivery!

Anyway, I've got to go hop in the shower and get ready.  My mom is picking me up to take me to see the musical If/Then at the Belk this afternoon, and although matinees are more casual than evening performances I'm pretty sure that my nightgown won't pass for a sundress.  Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

I'm linking up with Esther's WIPs on Wednesday.  Which reminds me of even MORE projects on my Wanna Do list, like Hazel and Love Entwined...

My New Favorite Block: Farmer's Wife 14, Butterfly at the Crossroads, Modified

6" Farmer's Wife Block 14, Butterfly at the Crossroads, Modified

I started this block on Sunday evening and finished it up yesterday afternoon.  It's Block 14, Butterfly at the Crossroads, from the original Farmer's Wife sampler quilt book.  Except that in the book, this block is pieced with a lot of HSTs (half square triangles) instead of diamonds.  I eliminated those seams to reduce bulk, to display my print better with fewer seam interruptions, and to give me a chance to practice Y-seams.  Because of the way EQ7 divided the block up into foundation patterns that included the rectangular patches, I also got to practice partial seam construction as well.

This is my new favorite block now.  Until I make another one.  Here's my assortment of 6" sampler blocks so far:

Completed 6" Sampler Blocks

And now, back to work!  I'm linking up with Main Crush (Tuesday) at Cooking Up Quilts, Sew Cute Tuesday at Blossom Heart Quilts, and Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts. 

Farmer's Wife "Storm Signal," Farmer's Wife 1930s "Patricia," and Pineapple Log Cabin Progress

6" Quilt Blocks On the Design Wall

Good Monday morning!  I've been working hard on the design of a new business web site lately, which feels like trying to empty the Sahara Desert of its sand, one teaspoon at a time. After 8-10 hours of working on the web site, I reward myself with some time in the sewing room.  Because at least I have something to show for my labors with needle and thread!

My son Anders guilted me into finishing another block for my paper pieced pineapple log cabin quilt last week:

17 3/4" Pineapple Block, #23 of 36

Anders is scandalized that I keep starting new quilts without finishing the ones that are already in progress.  I do really like this one, but the blocks are kind of monotonous once you get the hang of them and although I cut up enough fabric strips to make TWO King-sized pineapple quilts, I'm getting bored with using the same fabrics over and over in these blocks.  I'm fighting the urge to go fabric shopping for more blues and greens.

EQ7 to Envision my Goal

I created the EQ7 mockup above after finishing the first of these blocks, so it has 36 blocks that are all identical, filled with a photograph of that first block.  My real blocks have more variety, as you can see from this shot of the last time I had a bunch of them up on my design wall:

Real Blocks on the Design Wall

So I'm now up to 23 blocks finished, 13 more to go.  Then I will find out just how difficult it is to remove the paper backing, which is a copy paper weight that is a lot thicker than the newsprint I use for other foundation paper piecing.  And then I have to figure out how to quilt this enormous beast before it can end up on my bed.

Meanwhile, I've been working on more 6" sampler blocks.  These are surprisingly addictive.  I have amassed a trove of bright, happy fabrics including thirties reproduction prints, solids and nearly-solids, Kaffe Fassett Collection prints, novelty prints, and other cheerful fabrics.  Some of my blocks are from the original Farmer's Wife sampler quilt book, others are from the 1930s Farmer's Wife sampler quilt book, and one is a vintage block that was originally published in the Kansas City Star newspaper in 1930.  I have modified some of the Farmer's Wife blocks to remove unnecessary seams, for a cleaner block with fewer bulky seam allowances and an opportunity to practice Y-seams.  And I plan to mix in blocks from other sources as well, like that Japanese patchwork book I bought back in 2012.

6" Sampler Blocks

After church yesterday, I spent most of my afternoon making Farmer's Wife Block #90 Storm Signal and FW1930s Block #80 Patricia.

Farmer's Wife Block 90 "Storm Signal"

Farmer's Wife 1930s Block 80 "Patricia"

Oh, and I discovered why my last few blocks finished at about 5 3/4" rather than 6".  I just am not sure how to fix it!  The 1930s Farmer's Wife book comes with a CD that contains both templates and foundation paper piecing patterns.  When I print out the foundation piecing patterns that came with the book, the little reference line at the bottom of the page is so close to an inch that I thought I was good -- but when I measure along the solid line on the pattern itself that represents the finished edge of the block, it only measures about 5 3/4"!

FPP Patterns from FW1930s Book Print Too Small!

I had printed out several blocks' worth of FPP patterns from the book, and they are ALL too small.  Interestingly, the reference line at the bottom is labeled to indicate that it should measure 1 inch or 2.5 centimeters, although 1 inch is actually equivalent to 2.54 centimeters.  On my printouts, that line measures a scant inch, so close that it's just the thickness of the lines on a cloth measuring tape, but it measures exactly 2.5 centimeters, definitely not 2.54 cm.  I am wondering now whether it's some weird Windows 10 printer setting that I haven't discovered that only affects certain types of files, or whether the foundation piecing patterns on the book CD are actually too small?  If I was making a quilt using only the blocks from that book, it wouldn't be a problem because all of the blocks would finish the same size.  But for the original Farmer's Wife blocks I'm either printing out my own foundation patterns from EQ7 software or using the foundation patterns that someone else created in EQ5 (an earlier version of the same software) and has posted to a Yahoo group.  Whether I'm printing the patterns after downloading them from the Internet or printing them directly from my own software program, they come out exactly 6", but when I print the patterns that came off the CD, they come out too small. 

6" Churn Dash Pattern from EQ7 Measures Exactly 6"

I can mark the too-small blocks that I've already completed and compensate for the size difference when I add sashing, but going forward I'll need to be more careful about checking the accuracy of my patterns so that my new blocks all measure 6".

If you're making the Farmer's Wife 1930s quilt using the foundation paper piecing patterns on the book CD, can you please double check and let me know whether your patterns are printing out the correct size?  I had a lot more print options on my old computer before I "upgraded" to Windows 10.  When I open these files from the CD and click print, I don't even see any option for printing at 100% versus scaling to fit, so I don't know if the files themselves are off or if Windows 10 is "helping me" by scaling the document to fit the page with a certain size margin or something.  I've checked the settings on the printer itself and it's set to 100%, and since it prints the correct size directly from EQ7 I don't think the problem is happening at the printer itself. 

Anyway, it's Monday morning so I've got to set this conundrum aside and get back to work.  Today's goal is to figure out what I did wrong in Dreamweaver to mess up the home page of my business web site.  I spent at least an hour trying to solve this problem before I threw in the towel for the day on Saturday, so wish me luck!  Meanwhile, I'm linking up with Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times, Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt, Design Board Monday at Bits 'n Bobs, Show and Tell Monday at Bambi's blog, and Moving It Forward at Em's Scrap Bag.