Summer sewalong part 4 ( the grand finale!)

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Hello again and welcome to part 4 of our summer sewalong...the final set of instructions!

I hope you have enjoyed sewing along! I loved making the blocks and had fun choosing the various fabrics to put in my quilt. Confession: I'm not done making all my blocks yet! I have made 36 blocks, which I think would make a nice size table runner for my big farmhouse table, or it could be a decent size lap quilt at this size, but I think I want to go a little BIGGER. And you'd think that I had plenty of time to make more blocks since my last post, except I needed to reorganize my quilt space and that has taken any spare time I have had( a blog post about that is forthcoming!)

Anyway, if you are ready to start sewing your blocks together I have a few hints and tips for you.

First of all, you will want to give all your blocks a good pressing. I don't know how or why this happens, but my blocks always seem to wrinkle and buckle up over time, even though they are laying undisturbed on a table. So a good press is number one on my to-do list.

Next you will want to lay out your blocks, making sure that you have your light and dark plusses placed alternately. I find it very useful to lay the blocks out and then step back, or stand on a chair, or take a photo with my phone or iPad so I can really have a good look. Sometimes getting someone else to look at your layout with fresh eyes is also helpful! 

Now this next part is my preference and you should certainly do what you prefer, but I will sew my blocks together with my long pieces in my plusses facing alternate directions: 

Do you see what I mean? Here is another set of blocks laid out in the same manner: 

You don't have to do it this way, I just prefer the look.

One other thing that I like to do when putting quilt blocks together is to sew them together in CHUNKS, rather than ROWS. When I sew in chunks, it means I starts by sewing my blocks 2 by 2 first and then 4 by 4. Why do I do it this way? Well, first of all, chunks are easier to handle than rows, in my opinion, AND if you want to quilt this quilt on your domestic machine it is way easier to quilt your chunks than the entire quilt.

If you need a refresher on how to use Quilt As You Go, you can go here: https://myfarmhousequilts.blogspot.com/p/using-this-method-will-change-way-you.html

Alright, that is all the advice I have for you. Please share pics of your quilts in the Facebook group ( you can find it by clicking here) or send me a photo by email (farmhousequiltsinlancaster@gmail.com)   because I am eager to see everyone's creations!

I hope you had fun with this sewalong, I certainly did ;)

Until next time~happy creating!

Monique