Gypsy Wife {section one}

Gosh, I can't believe its the end of the month already! I hope those of you who are sewing along with Hydeeann and I have enjoyed making section one. Here is my first version:

I had it up on the wall for a few days and I started to think it was looking a bit too blue/grey, so I swapped out a couple of the strips.

It's such a small portion of the quilt, I probably didn't need to fuss, but that, apparently is my forte!

Hydeeann has set up a link party over on her blog - see the instructions below. See you on March 1 :-)

Gypsy Wife section 1 {partial seams}

Hello fellow Gypsy Wife troops!
Today I have for you the partial seam edition...

There is a partial seam in section one, and if you haven't done a partial seam before that might sound daunting. But trust me, there is no tricky technical sewing here, just a particular order in which to sew your seams that might not be immediately apparent.

I took lots of photos as a sewed this part together so you can follow along if you need to.
I am only working on part of section 1 here (5 strips in from the left inclusive). I began by laying out the pieces using the pattern diagram as a guide.

Then I stitched the pieces together that I could see went together logically enough. Now you are ready to sew your partial seam joining the long and short strips together to where I have my finger. You are going to sew this seam down from the top about 1.5" (not all the way to the bottom, hence the 'partial seam').

I pinned the strips where I wanted to stop. 

When you turn it the right way up, it looks like this and you are ready to sew it to the square in square block above.

Next, attach that pair of 8.5" strips that go on the right hand side of the block. Are you getting a sense of the logic? Fun, right? Attach that pinwheel to the bottom of those four strips now.

Now, flip the whole thing over. You're going to finish that seam that is open on the left.

That yellow pin at the top is where my previous unfinished seam ended. Start from there and sew to the bottom. This is your last seam in this part of the block.

Give it a good press and admire your handiwork!

Gypsy Wife Quilt-along 2016

It's happening!! The great Gypsy Wife adventure begins today!!

Hydeeann and I have decided to keep all the technical details over on her blog so that you don't have to work between two blogs trying to figure out what is where. At the beginning of each month we will both write a post about the section we will be working on for each month, and we will take turns at posting some little tutorials for the more complex blocks. Remember that Hydeeann is in the US, so is essentially a day behind some of us. Don't be getting impatient and thinking she has forgotten to post if you are fortunate enough to be antipodean :-)

Section 1 is a nice easy section to begin. You should find it easy enough to complete the section within a month, but don't worry if you can't. Work at your own pace so that you enjoy the process.

My number #1 tip for this quilt is to take the time to work out what is an accurate 1/4" seam using your machine. There are lots of little pieces in this pattern and you want them to go together without tearing your hair out along the way!

My second major tip which is related to the first, is to make the iron your best friend. I love pressing so I press a lot as I sew anyway but if this is not your usual practice, try to press regularly as you make the parts of this quilt. It will help with accuracy and mean you end up with a nice flat quilt top.

Tip #3 is don't worry too much about the colours/fabrics in each individual block. Try to get a bit of a balance of colours in each section, but remember that there are a LOT of blocks and once they are all together they will play with one another joyfully I promise.

Square in square blocks
There are a lot of these is this quilt. They are fun and pretty quick to make. Because they often connect sets of strips you want them to be accurate. I took some photos of the square in square block I posted at the top as I was making it.

The instructions are in the booklet on p.22. This will be a 4" finished/4.5" unfinished block.

Take the time to draw those lines on the corner squares, line the squares up with the edges of the centre square, and do your best to sew exactly on the line.

Trim as per the instructions, then I suggest pressing the seams open, this is especially helpful for the smaller sq in sq blocks.

Repeat the process with the opposite corners.

You can see that my finished block is just running off slightly in one corner. I'm not too worried about it, it might just need another press.

Happy sewing everyone :-)