2019 Gypsy Wife QAL - My tip for accurate cutting

First, I want to show off my baby.... 1921 Singer model 66 treadle.  I do most of my home sewing on her.  She is a real workhorse, easy to maintain and a pleasure to use.

For those that have trouble with rulers slipping.... 

I went to my local CVS and bought the store brand version of clear Nexcare Tape.  I put it on the back of my rulers and I feel it helps keep the rulers from slipping.  You can also purchase dots and other sticky stuff made especially for quilters... but this is my go to  product.

 

Now for cuttting...   

I am using some scraps and I'll show you how to make accurate half square triangles.   These blocks may or may not be in the quilt we are making.. I don't have the pattern yet.  BUT the techniques I show you here can be used for all of your cutting.

Lay two fabrics right sides together and trim the edges straight.

  

We are going to make Half Square Triangles that will finish at 2 inches in your quilt. There's a "rule" about adding 7/8 to the size of the finished size you want.  So we will cut our square to 2 - 7/8.  This method will make two HSTs that measure 2.5in... but when sewn into our quilt will finish at 2in... the extra 1/2 in is the seam allowance.  (yes, you can just go to 3in and trim a bit more off if you want a little extra leeway in your cutting and don't want to mess with 7/8 marks that may or may not be on your ruler.)

 
Can you see that tiny vertical mark just before the 3in line?  That's 7/8 and it's ON the fabric.  If it were next to the fabric or off beside the fabric you would be loosing those few threads of fabric from your square. It doesn't seem like much, or worth the trouble, but if you are making a quilt with lots of pieces ... as we are with Gypsy Wife...  Every block would be  that )( much smaller... you could be loosing 1/4 in .. 1/2 in.. or even more by the end of the quilt.   It all adds up. 

I blew this picture up to extra large ... Look by the "tips" of the blue tape... they are pointing to that 7/8 in mark.  All my lines are ON the fabric.

Next we will take our ruler and draw a line diagonally across the square.

Then take your ruler, placing the 1/4 ruler line ON the line you just drew, draw a second line on either side of that first one.... so you will have 3 lines.

   

Now we go over to our sewing machine and stitch on the inside of the two outer lines(yes my stitching isn't perfect, but it is close enough to work)

    

Cut on the center line and you will have sewn triangles.

Here we finger press them open and you can see they are just marginally larger than the 2.5in unfinished square we need.

Now we "sliver trim" the excess fabric, turn the square and "sliver trim" the other side.

  

Repeat with the other block and Voila!  Two perfectly measured Half Square Triangles!

2019 Gypsy Wife Quilt Along

I haven't blogged in quite some time... I think life just got very busy between family and work.  The loss of several people... family and friends... that I was close too just took all my energy away.

But now, I am back.  

While browsing around facebook recently I discovered an exciting new group to follow along as we piece an amazing quilt together.  I jumped all in and even volunteered to be a moderator!... what was I thinking!   :)

The pattern is The Gypsy Wife by Jen Kingwell of Amitie.com.au 

This looks like an amazing challenge for me to occupy my "downtime" between church and family and work and will feed my creative soul.

Join us on facebook at Gypsy Wife quilt along 2019 (sorry, when I figure out how to put the link here I will... for now just search for us on facebook)

UPDATE:   here is the link to our facebook page ....  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1020630088120710/


Everyone must purchase their own copy of the pattern... which can be found by doing a google search.  There are several sites and shops that you can purchase from (ie Etsy, Ebay, Amazon, and various online quilt shops).

No measurements or sizes will be posted... you must have your own pattern so as not to break copyright laws.

This will be a guided quilt-along.... that means beginning February 2, 2019 (and the first Saturday of each subsequent month) we will announce which blocks or section of the quilt we will be working on. Throughout the month we will post hints and tips to help you with challenges along the way (such as accurate cutting and sewing partial seams).

The quilt has been broken down into sections like so:

We are working out the details of how exactly we will do this... but just like eating an elephant, it will be one bite at a time!

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So to get this started and be ready to begin sewing on Feb 2 here is a list of fabric requirements.   You can start gathering your fabric while waiting for your pattern to arrive.

Several months ago I found a collection of 99 fat quarters for sale on a website that I can no longer remember the name of.  I fell in love with this collection and purchased it with no particular project in mind.  I think it will be perfect for this project.

I think I have decided to use neutrals for a background rather than a variety of colors, so I may need to dig through my stash for a few more fat quarters.  But this will be enough to get me started.

A search of Pintrest will show you a variety of backgrounds and colors that others have made to help you decide on your own color theme.

Here is a blank coloring sheet that I believe you can print off and practice coloring your own way.