Here is another bonus block and tutorial! You may or may not want to make this for your quilt...it is up to you! The Traditional Setting will resume next month...then it is off to finish the Non-Traditional setting! We are not far from finishing!
On the night of April 17th, 1790, wrought with fever, Benjamin Franklin rested in his bed on Market Street. Recently he had been working on his autobiography and keeping up with a little letter writing. Life had been good to this hard working man! With his grandsons at his side, he quietly slipped into eternal peace. Franklin's funeral was the largest Philadelphia had ever seen...he is buried beside his wife in the northwest corner of Christ Church Cemetery...a few blocks from home.
To print a copy of Page 1, click here-->Download Tombstone Quilt -Bonus Block Benjamin Franklin Mystery Quilt page 1
To print a copy of Page 2, click here-->Download Tombstone Quilt -Bonus Block 3 Benjamin Franklin Mystery Quilt page 2
To print a copy of Page 3, click here-->Download Tombstone Quilt -Bonus Block 3 Benjamin Franklin Mystery Quilt page 3
To print a copy of Page 4, click here-->Download Tombstone Quilt-Bonus Block 3 Benjamin Franklin Mystery Quilt page 4
(We strongly advise downloading all four of these pages)
Tombstone Quilt block tutorial
Begin the block by sewing together the 4 Beige scrap 2 5/8-inch squares. Make a four patch unit for the center; press.
Cut the 7 1/2-inch Blue scrap twice on the diagonal to make 4 A triangles. A bit of starch helps keep the bias edges straight!
Next, cut the 2 Beige 4 1/2-inch squares in half twice on the diagonal, like the A piece. We layered ours...spritzed with starch...these are the B and C triangles.
Sew the triangles that you just cut together as shown. Press the seam to one side. These are the B/C units for the four corners.
To make the D/E units, draw a diagonal line on the back of all of the Beige scrap 3 1/4-inch squares...
Layer a prepared Beige D square on top of a Red scrap E 3 1/4-inch square. Sew 1/4-inch to the side of each line as shown. Cut on the drawn line...
Press the seams to one direction. Each 3 1/4-inch sewn square will make 2 D/E units. Repeat for a total of 8 D/E units. These units are a bit over-size! Trim each square to 2 5/8-inch square.
Before you lay out the block, sew together the D/E units so that they form a Flying Goose unit; press to one side...
then sew together the F/F units as shown. Press to one side as well.
Carefully lay out all of the units in the block.
Following the thick lines on the diagram on Page 2, start sewing the block together. There are only a few match points...sew the opposite corners and the strip down the center...pay close attention the the Flying Geese units and where the Red pieces go! Once you have all three pieces sew together....
Sew the block together. A light spray of starch and a good press and your Tombstone Quilt block is done! We will see you next month for more of the Traditional Setting!
Here is the same Tombstone Quilt block in the studio test pattern green and gold!
If you are missing a page, or need further copies of any of the instructions posted to date, click on the Benjamin Franklin Mystery Quilt button under DON'T MISS A STEP to find what you need. If you have a question, or need further assistance, please contact Erik HOMEMADE®.
In 1728, at age 22, Benjamin Franklin wrote his own epitaph, in honor of himself:
"The body of Benjamin Franklin, Printer
Like the cover of an old book
Its contents worn out
And stript of its lettering and gilding
Lies here, food for worms
Yet the work shall not be lost
For it will (as he believed) appear once more
In a new and more beautiful edition
Corrected and amended By the Author."