gypsy wife, section one

section one, under construction

it's time to get started!  this month, we are beginning at the beginning - section one. i've included a photo of the graphic with my markings this month so you can see how i've gone about identify pieces.

section 1 - click to enlarge

section one components

blocks (measurements given here are unfinished; book identifies them by finished size)

6.5" hourglass block, dbl bordered (uses 3.5" hr gl to start, pg21), pg 21*
5.5" puss in corner block, pg 13
4.5" pinwheel, pg 19
5.5" square in square, bordered (uses 3.5"sq in sq to start) ; pg 22 for sq-in-sq instructions, pg 23 for adding border
3.5 " square in square, pg 22

* the 6.5" hourglass block with double border is not clearly identified in the original booklet. the errata pg on ms. kingwell's blog notes that the instructions for it appear at the top of the right hand column of page 21.

i completed all the blocks for this section in my previous attempt at this quilt. my thoughts on section one's blocks at the time i made them can be found here.

the 6.5" hourglass block starts with with a 3.5" hourglass block, and becomes a 6.5" block when borders are added.

strips (all are 1.5" wide, except dark grey strips, which are 1" wide)

these are given by number, left to right in the following format: 

id number: measurement of each piece, bottom to top (T total length needed for the entire strip in all sections)

38: 6.5" (T 31.5")

39: 1.5" (T 23")
40: 1.5" (T 23")
41: 1.5" (T 25.5")
42: 1.5" (T 25.5")
43: 1.5"  (T 29")
44: 2.5", 5.5" (T 38.5")
45: 2.5", 5.5" (T 35")
46: 2.5", 5.5" (T 35")
H: 2.5", 5.5" (T 43.5")
I: 2.5", 5.5" (T 43.5")
47: 2.5", 5.5" (T 43")
48: 12.5" (T 41")
49: 12.5" (T 41")
50: 6.5", 3.5" (T 44.5") optional: 4.5", 2.5", 3.5" (T 45") see notes below
51: 2.5", 3.5" (T 43")
52: 2.5", 3.5" (T 44")
53: 8.5" (51.5")
54: 8.5" (51.5")
55: 12.5" (T 55.5") - this is optional if you don't want to encounter a partial seam to attach this strip to section one after you make section two. see notes below


there is a partial seam between strips 50 and 51. you could avoid this by converting the 6.5" strip into one 4.5" strip and one 2.5" strip. i realize these two numbers don't equal 6.5", but you have to factor in the additional seam allowance by adding 1/4" for each side of the cut, which is 1/2" total. (and i hope i've done that correctly!)

strip 55 runs alongside the right side of sections one and two, requiring a partial seam, also. this could be avoided by using a 7.5" and 12.5" strip to piece it together.

other things to note

the instructions in the pattern give the finished measurements for each block. this means what it will measure once it's been sewn into the quilt. if you want to know the unfinished measurement, which is what i use most often in these posts because i want to know how big the block is supposed to be before i attach it to anything, add .5" (1/2 inch) for the seam allowance that hasn't been taken in since the block isn't sewn into place yet. briefly: finished measure + .5" = unfinished size

i've previously shared thoughts on optional cutting tools that are helpful for this project here.

what the pattern calls "square in a square blocks" are also commonly called "economy blocks." i've previously written about making them by the pattern here. and there's a tutorial for a different method than our pattern uses, here.

some thoughts on pinwheel blocks are here.

some of the 1" wide strips are paired together (B&C, F&G, H&I). yes, when sewn these do equal the same as the 1.5" wide strips. so technically you could just use a 1.5" strip in place of these. however, it gives added interest and variety to the quilt to vary the width occasionally as the pattern does.

seeing how my section two blocks look under section one as i select strips

work ahead options

section six (june) has several square in square blocks that will fall below section one in the same strips. because june is a large month, it might be helpful to make a few of those sq-in-sq blocks now, especially since you can see what strips they will be in. there is 1 - 3.5" and 1 - 4.5" sq-in-sq blocks in section six which lie in the same strips used in this section. specifically, strips 38-40 and 39-42.

if you really just want to keep moving, get busy with section two!

Section two - March

Blocks

9.5” Pershing pg 6

7.5” courthouse steps pg20

6.5” sq in sq (4.5”), bordered pg 22.23

2 – 3.5” sq in sq pg 22

8.5” old maid puzzle pg 17

Strips

H – 8.5”

I – 8.5”

47 – 8.5”

53 – 7.5”

54 – 7.5”

55 – 19.5” (optional 7.5” if piecing it with section one's portion rather than using partial seam)

if you have any questions, please ask in the comments. if you are a no-reply blogger, please email me directly instead.


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