Gypsy Wife: Assembly

We have reached strip cutting and assembly! Although it seems like we are nearing the end, this final part of the quilt is actually quite time consuming. (Sorry for the buzz kill attitude)
Initially I was going to do this in two posts, but even though it is a lot of work I don't think that I need to post two weeks of instructions. Once you get going it is straightforward.
There are a couple ways to tackle this section of the quilt, you can cut all the strips for the whole quilt all at once and than begin assembly, work through it in order of the sections or work your way across the quilt.
I decided to work my way across the quilt from right to left, its backwards from the way my brain usually works, but that is how the sections in the quilt go, it did mean working on several sections at one time, but I kept my blocks organized and it worked well for me, and that way I was able to get the same fabric running all the way from top to bottom and didn't need to worry about running out of it before I got to the remainder of the line several sections later.
For the most part whichever method of assembly you choose it is all about staying organized.

Before starting assembly I went through and made a chart. The chart lists the strip number, the length of the strip, and what section the strip goes in. That way it was easy to follow along where I was and which strips to cut next. Once that was done, I laid all my strip fabrics on the table and cut them into 1.5" strips. (When cutting the strips, if you plan to have the same fabric run top to bottom for each individual strip there are a few that need quite long cuts, specifically the ones in section 10 and a few in 6 and 7. I recommend cutting these first and setting them aside so that you don't run out of that fabric.) Than following my chart I would cut strips in sets of 10, as I found that an easy number to work with, and I had alphabitties through those numbers to label each set. I would grab blocks from the necessary bags, and sew them with the strips following the diagrams on pages 26-31. When a section was complete I would set it aside until I had all 10 done.
There are quite a few partial seams in the assembly, they are marked with little stars and arrows for which side to start sewing on. I only sewed about halfway down those strips, definitely not going all the way to a 1/4".  I had a few spots where I needed to do a partial seam and it doesn't have it listed in the pattern, but I forgot to write down which strips they were, most of them were in section 7.


When all the sections were complete, I put them together as pictured on page 32. For that I did section 1 to 2, added 3, put 4 on with a partial seam, than 5, number 6 next and than 7 (to the sides of 4 and 6) than finished up the partial seam from 4 and completed the right side of the quilt. Section 8 went on to number 9, 10 got added to this, and than I joined the left and right sides to finish the top!
I quilted my quilt with a simple meander a little tighter than I normally do and bound it in a blue stripe. My backing is an ivory cuddle, because I will not put anything but cuddle and fireside on the back of my quilts. 



For the reveal/show and share party I am thinking we get together in September, that gives everyone a few months to get their quilts finished up, and I know for a lot of people quilting in the summer is usually put on the back burner.


Thank you so much for quilting along with me. I had a blast, and I am so thrilled that I finally made this quilt after much procrastination. I hope you had fun as well.

If you have any questions during assembly or on any of the blocks that you need to make yet, please let me know, either on the Facebook Group page or through email.

I am willing to share the chart I made with you, but since it has all the measurements on it, I don't want to post it directly here. I just want to avoid copy-write issues by putting up on internet all the measurements needed for every strip. 
If you send me an email, I will send the document to you. If I haven't noticed any blocks from you, I may ask that you send me a picture of your book, just as proof of ownership, again a copy-write thing. 

My email is kayla@chickenfeedquilts.com

Kayla

Gypsy Wife: Section 8

We have reached Section 8 of our Quilt Along! This week we only have four blocks, so if you have fallen behind at all these next two weeks would be a great time to start catching up again.
This week we have tow focus blocks and two filler blocks, and you can see the whole section on page 30.

Focus Blocks
Pg 8: From The Heart -- make 1
Pg 11: Star Block -- make 1

Filler Blocks
Pg 22: Square in a Square -- 3" finished -- make 1
Pg 24: Square in a Square with Courthouse Steps -- 10.5" finished -- make 1

From the Heart, I love this block and have been looking forward to making it since I started my quilt. It is such a fun take on a heart block. I kept mine simple with two colors, just pink and white.
I did not cut my squares for the Hourglass sections on the diagonal twice as suggested but just once. (I did cut the squares the size listed in the pattern) I than sewed at a 1/4" like making a half square triangle, pressed the seam, and put the two resulting HST's right sides together with opposite colors together, cut on the diagonal across my previous seams and stitched again. This is how I do all my hourglass blocks, I find it easier than working with the small quarter triangles that I always manage to sew together wrong.
Other than that I followed the instructions for this block and it went together really nicely.

Star Block, I did the same thing in this block for the hourglass components as I did in the previous block, and the block went together pretty quickly.



Square in a Square, nothing new with this block, but there is only a few more to make so you can look forward to that.



Square in a Square with Courthouse Steps, this is the largest block in the quilt if I am not mistaken, and it is a square, some borders, corners and another round of borders. It is quick to cut and piece.
I pieced mine while putting together the other blocks, so that I could chain piece the blocks and not cut my thread every time I finished a single seam.

And now we only have two sections left to complete and than we can get to work cutting our strips and assembling our quilt top.
Kayla

Gypsy Wife: Section 7

It's time for another Gypsy Wife Section. This week we will be doing Section 7. This section is comprised of 7 filler blocks. The full section is pictured on page 29 of your pattern booklet.

Blocks
Pg 22: Square in a Square Blocks -- 3" Finished -- make 3 (1 will be used as the center for another block)
Pg 22: Square in a Square Blocks -- 4" Finished -- make 2
Pg 22-23: Square in a square with Pinwheel centers -- 5" finished -- make 1
Pg 23: Bordered Square in a Square Blocks -- 7" Finished -- make 1
Pg 23-24: Square in a Square with Courthouse Steps: 4" Finished -- make 1

Square in a Square Blocks: We have made several of these already and we need to make a few more for this weeks section, 5 in total, although one of them we will use as a center for another block.
When cutting for these blocks make sure all the squares are cut accurately, and when layering the squares to sew ensure that the raw edges are neatly lined up. If you are finding that your squares are shifting while sewing, it can help to put a pin through, or a dab of glue in the section that will be trimmed off. Be sure to sew corner to corner, and you can also fold it open before trimming to see if the new "corner" lines up with the previous raw edges, if not sew a little more to the outer edge.

Square in a Square with Pinwheel Center: The instructions for the pinwheel center can be found on page 19, be sure to follow the cutting directions for the 2.5" finished block.
If you are careful when trimming the squares from your 4" square in a square blocks, you can use those scraps to piece the Half Square Triangles needed for the pinwheel. (I did make my trimmings into HSTs but did not end up using them for this pinwheel, but added them to my collection of Half Square Triangles)
Once you have your pinwheel made, you can flip back to page 23 and follow the instructions on the bottom of that page and the top of page 24 to cut and add the borders and the extra corners. 

Bordered Square in a Square: We need the extra square in a square block here, and we will add 2 borders to make it a little larger. Add the borders to the top and bottom first than the sides, than repeat for the second border. If you find these blocks are coming out a little smaller than they should you can your outer border a half inch wider and than trim the block to the correct size. Or make your seam allowance a little smaller and see if that helps.

Square in a Square with Courthouse Steps: This block is fairly straightforward and we have it before in other sizes. I once again cut my outer squares a little larger than directed and trimmed the finished block to the correct size.

These are the final blocks for the right hand side of the quilt! I like to break my quilts up and celebrate small accomplishments, can you tell? I am getting anxious to finish my quilt, and I am glad that there are just 3 sections left, and than the strips, and final assembly.

How are your blocks coming? Are you caught up , falling behind, perhaps setting aside some time during the Easter break to sew?
Kayla

Gypsy Wife: Section 6 Part 1

Welcome to Section 6. This section is made up of a lot of blocks, 21 to be exact, but we are going to do them over 4 weeks instead of 2. This is to keep it fun and lower the pressure. So we will do 9 blocks this week and on April 2 I will post the second part. The whole section is pictured on page 28.

This week we will be making:
1x Indian Hatchet pg 12, 6" finished
1x Nurses Cross pg 14, 8" finished
1x Pinwheel Block pg 19, 4" finished
2x Bordered Pinwheel Block pg 19, 6" finished
1x Courthouse Steps Block pg 20, 5" finished
2x Courthouse Steps Block pg 20, 4" finished
1x Bordered Hourglass Block pg 21, 4" finished

Indian Hatchet: A straightforward main block, that finishes at 6". I chose 8 different fabrics for mine and used my simple folded corners ruler from Creative Grids to trim the diagonals rather than drawing a line and trimming afterwards.

Nurses Cross: This block has a lot of pieces, with several rounds and lots of triangles. I over cut some of them in order to have a little wiggle room. For the block construction your UU triangles are going to extend quite a ways past your rectangles, that's good they are supposed to, just stitch them down anyways and when you have the center complete you can trim it into a nice 4.5" square. For the next step, I cut the squares VV at 4" instead, than when they were stitched on, I pressed and trimmed the resulting block to 6.25" before continuing. I also cut the squares Aa at the full 2", and trimmed my final assembled block to 8.5" so that when it is in the quilt it will measure 8". Go slow with this one, stitch and press carefully and if you feel frustrated with it, walk away and come back to it later on, it really is a fun looking block when it is done.

On to the filler blocks for the section.

Pinwheel Blocks: We are going to actually make 3 pinwheel blocks that finish at 4", and than we will set one aside as finished and to the other two we will add a small border to make them a couple inches larger. Follow the instructions in the first column of page 19 for the full cutting and piecing instructions for all three.

Courthouse Steps: we are doing a total of 3 courthouse steps blocks in this section. 1 of them will have 3 rounds, the other 2 only 1 round. To cut and piece these we will follow the instructions for the last two blocks listed on page 20. I sewed all 3 at the same time so I could chain piece and not cut the thread each time, I just made sure I had my pieces nicely organized on my table beside me.
For the 5" finished block you will notice that round 2 is cut wider than 1 and 3, this is NOT a typo, so cut as the pattern says. if you are worried that your block is going to turn out to small, you can always cut the round 3 strips a little wider as well, and trim it to the correct size when it is all sewn.

Bordered Hourglass Block: If you set aside your extra hourglass block from section 1, you can use it now and just add the border and you are finished. Or you can choose to make a whole new block which is what I decided to do.

That's it for this part of the section.
Next time we have 12 square on square blocks to make, in a couple sizes,  and add some more borders to a couple as well.

I loved seeing everyone's section 5s. They all look so unbelievably different. As for the winner of the gift card that I mentioned last time, Congratulations go to Thelma Brown. If you missed her photos be sure to check them out under the photos tab. Her blocks are beautiful and are all done in various shades of blue with pops of yellow throughout!.
Thelma you can pick your $35 gift card up at the shop next time you stop in.

Kayla

Gypsy Wife: Section 5

This week we are working on Section 5. It is a good sized section consisting of 7 blocks. We will be making two main blocks and 5 filler blocks.
The whole section is pictured on page 27.
The Main blocks are:
 Crazy Anne page 10
 Half Square Triangle Block page 16

The Filler Blocks are:
Pinwheel Block page 19
3 Simple Square in a square blocks from page 22
Square in a square with courthouse steps page 24



Crazy Anne is a fun block using a block that some know as a Cat's Cradle and half rectangle blocks. If you wish to paper piece this block click here for a template.
For piecing I cut M, N, O, and P as well as U, V, W and X an 1/8" of an inch larger than suggested, the rest I cut the same as the pattern, than trimmed the block using my 4.5" ruler.
When cutting Z and AA on the diagonal be sure to cut them all on the same diagonal and all right sides up or your triangles will not fit together properly.







The Half Square Triangle Block is done the same as the one in Section 4. I played around with layouts before making a final decision on this block.









Pinwheel Block: We are making the 4" pinwheel and than adding the border as per instructions in the first column on page 19. I over sized my squares in order to trim, and used 8 squares for a scrappier look, though I stuck two colors.







Simple Square in a Square: we need to make one 3" finished and two 4" finished for this section. We have made several of these already so you should be getting good at them now. If yours are still coming out a bit wonky try starching your fabrics before sewing them, this will help decrease stretching.




Square in a Square with Courthouse Steps: there are instructions for two 7" finished blocks on page 24, and we need to make the first one for this section. I cut as per instructions and did not oversize this time.







As this section marks the half way point in our sections it would be great to have everyone all caught up. As some added incentive everyone who has a picture posted of all 5 sections will be entered into a draw to win a $35 gift card to Chicken Feed Quilts. It can be 5 pictures, one of each section individually, or 1 picture with all 5 sections showing, I just need to see that you have them all done. I will do the draw on March 19, which is also the day I will post the first half of the Section 6 blocks.

We will be doing Section 6 in two parts as it is made up of 21 blocks!

I can't wait to see all your pictures so make sure you post them to our Facebook Group.

Kayla

Gypsy Wife: Section 4

To close out February we will be working on Section 4. If you have fallen behind this is a great time to catch up, Section 4 is made up of only two blocks, so hopefully by March 5th you can be all caught up and ready to go on Section 5 which is a little larger again.
Section 4 is pictured on page 27 of your booklet, and the two blocks we are making comsist of one main and one filler block, they are the Half Square Triangle Block and a Courthouse Step Block, both rather straightforward.

Half Square Triangle Block pg 16
Courthouse Step Block pg 20

Half Square Triangles Block. I have made several quilt with the fabric collections that I am using and every time I have to do stitch and flip corners, or flying geese, I stitch the scraps into half square triangles(HSTs). I used some of those premade HSTs to make this block and so it went together really quickly. I do suggest cutting the squares at the full inch rather than the 7/8 measurement and that will give you a little extra trimming room for nice finished HSTs. Also if you like you could leave the squares whole rather than cutting them in half and make two at a time by drawing a diagonal line and stitching on each side of it. You could also make 32 HSTs total and use 16 for this block and 16 for the additional block that we need to make in Section 5.

Courthouse Step Block. We are making the block in the first column of page 20 which finishes at 8". Because I have a large majority of the Creative Grids Rulers and really like them, I chose to use my 8" Log Cabin Ruler for this block. It gave me a nice precise block, so if you have it feel free to break it out for this one. Whether you use the ruler or not, be sure to press carefully and not distort those seams.

That is it for this Section. Make sure you take a picture and post it to the group when you have finished. I can't wait to see them.

Kayla

Gypsy Wife: Section 3

Welcome to Section 3. The last section was quite labor intensive, but I hope it didn't scare you away. The finished blocks that were posted to our Facebook Group look great. I was also encouraged to see that those of you who weren't happy with a block were willing to put in the extra effort to try it again. This quilt is definitely a skill builder, and some blocks may test those seam allowances and pressing. If it makes you feel any better I have had to redo a couple blocks as well. I wasn't happy with my points on one, and I cut the borders the wrong size on another and didn't notice till after it was all pressed and trimmed.
Section 3 has a total of 4 blocks, 1 main and 3 fillers. You can see them all pictured together on page 27.
The main block is the very first one in the book, Color Wheel on page 5.
The 3 filler blocks are a bordered square on square, a square in a square with courthouse steps and a square in a square in a square block.

Color Wheel: If you kept the extra 3" triangles from last week, you could use them in this block, you will just need to cut an additional square from the original fabric to match. I chose to use new colors and added the extra triangles to my bag from last week.  Be sure to  stitch down the short side of the small triangles, I speak from experience here as I had to pick apart all four because I was not paying attention. Also be sure to layout your block before adding your large triangle to the two small ones. This block is very dependent on color layout and you want your fabrics in the correct places. It can help to take a picture once you have it laid out so you remember how the triangles fit on each block.


Bordered Square on Square: As in the last two sections we need to make another one of these blocks. We are going to make the 3" finished block from page 22, and add borders to bring it up to 5", the border measurements are listed at the top of the 2nd column on page 23.

Square in Square With Courthouse Steps: This block had me second guessing myself last night, because it came out about 2 inches to short, I was searching the internet to see if their was a pattern error, and measuring all my pieces to see if I cut something wrong. But nope, it turns out the instructions for this block start on page 23 but continue on to page 24, so now that you know that too it should be no issue for you. Just be sure to add your borders to your first square, than triangles than another border.

Square in a Square in a Square: This is last block in the book and the last one in this section. I chose to use my 8" Square in a Square Creative Grids Ruler for this one. I cut my Center, A1 and A2 squares according to the size listed on the ruler, and didn't worry about the B squares as they were not needed. If not using the ruler make another 3" square in a square block from page 22 and add the second set of triangles as listed on the bottom of the second column on page 24.

Section 4, which will be posted on February 19, is only two blocks, so if you are falling behind, have just joined or are waiting for your pattern yet, you should be able to get caught up again for Section 5.

Kayla

Gypsy Wife: Section 2

I loved seeing everyone"s first set of blocks. They are all so different but each set looks amazing.
This week we are moving onto to section 2.

The section is listed as a whole on page 26 of your books. It contains 6 blocks, 2 of them being focal ones and the remaining 4 are fillers.
We are going to make:
1 -- Pershing Block on page 6
1 -- Old Maid Puzzle on page 17
1 -- Courthouse Steps on page 20
2 -- Square on Square on page 22
1 -- Bordered Square on Square on page 23

Pershing Block, from all the research I've done for this quilt along, this is said to be the "hardest" block in the quilt, so it is nice to get id done an set aside. It has a lot of bias edges which can make keeping it square a little tricky. I actually ended up using my 6" Square on Square ruler from Creative Grids for the first section of this block. It is a trim tool, and each section of the block is made oversized, than trimmed to the correct size, the result is very nice points in each square.
If you would like to use the ruler cut the following
Fabric A: 1 square 2.5"
Fabric E: 2 squares 3" cut once on the diagonal
Fabric B: 2 squares 3.5" cut once on the diagonal
Fabric C: 2 Squares 4.5" cut once on the diagonal.
Cut the Fabric, D, F and the small E squares as listed in your pattern.
Follow the instructions on the ruler to add each section of triangles, starting with A2 as the center block, in the order listed in the book.
After adding the C triangles follow the pattern to finish the block.
Whether you follow the book or use the ruler be sure to set some time aside to focus just on this block and take your time to. I strongly suggest starching your fabrics before sewing, and be careful when pressing to not stretch and distort your blocks.
If it comes out smaller than it should you can always add a small border to make it the correct size.



Old Maid Puzzle, a little less intense than Pershing and fabric choice is a lot of fun for this one. You can go as scrappy as you like or plan it a little if you like. I rounded the 7/8" measurements up to the next full inch for a little trimming room.
The 6 darkest triangles are the ones that are the 3 squares cut on the diagonal of 1 fabric. The other 6 are the white triangles and small medium grey.

I put my 6 leftover triangles in a bag marked with the size, as this happens to be a popular size throughout the pattern.

Courthouse Steps, we need to make just 1 block, and it will be 7" finished (7.5" now before we get it into the quilt), all the cutting sizes are listed at the top of the second column on page 20. If you like fussy cutting, the center of this block is perfect for it.



Square on Square, we need to make two that both finish at 3", this is the same size as last weeks, so nothing new here.




Bordered Square on Square, we need to make 1 of these. It too goes together the same as last weeks, however we need to make it a little larger. We are going to make a 4" square on square following the directions on page 22, and than add borders to it following the instructions on page 23 to make a 6" finished block, which will measure 6.5" until it goes into the quilt.




That's it, after you have made these 6 blocks you can snap a quick photo, upload it to are Facebook Group and than you are ready to bag them and set aside until we assemble the quilt top. Onto section 3 in two weeks.

Kayla