March 26th, 2014

Gypsy Wife March + Fussy Cut Swap

by Julie Hirt

Here are my March blocks for the Gypsy Wife Quilt Along.

I’m forcing myself to work strictly from my scraps (I need a reason to keep them), so it’s pretty hodgepodge.

Gypsy Wife March

A little rant…  If I’m going to be honest, I have to say this quilt pattern is kicking my ass.   The block sizes are for ‘finished’ blocks, which I could care less about.  I really need to know the size the blocks should be when I’m making them.  After it’s all put together, I don’t really care what size they are (finished).  The pattern seems to jump all around and I just can’t follow it very well. Hmph.

That being said, I think it’s totally worth doing because the end result looks insanely awesome.  I’m sure other people can follow this pattern perfectly; my brain just doesn’t mesh with this one.  I will say, it’s definitely making me think.

pershing

The Pershing block may be my favorite so far.  It was really fun picking out the fabrics.

 

Fussy Cut!  I love this swap.  It’s hosted with Amanda at What the Bobbin and I believe it will be an ongoing monthly swap with different themes.

fussy fox (2)

The theme was woodland. I may have missed the mark a little but fox live in the woods!  Probably not *these* fancy fox, but still.

fussy fox (3)

I think they look dapper.

fussy fox (1)

 

I’m also participating in a really fun Birthday Bash Swap with Stephanie at Quarter Incher.  I’m the first recipient and it’s freaking FANTASTIC!  I’m blown away by the generosity. I’ll have a separate post with all of those goodies.

Let’s see, what else…

  • Just finished up a small project for Moda Bakeshop and have another to work on. I think they’ll be published in April.
  • My design wall is –blank–.  Woot!  Which quilt to make next? I have a few ideas.
  • I need to make the April Birthday Girl her present.
  • Need to quilt a top I made last year, that I’m just not feeling.
  • Oh!  I still need to make my Scrappy Trip blocks for my hive. Yikes
  • A wall flag thing for my brother…

The list goes on but I’ll stop there.

So what are you working on?  Did you anything fun for Spring Break?

 

happystitching

 

 

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12 Comments to “Gypsy Wife March + Fussy Cut Swap”

  1. Thanks for the honest rant about the pattern, I have been back and forth about trying it with all the errata that went out in it, now that they’ve reprinted it I might try again. I like seeing people talk about pros AND cons of patterns, so thank you! Your blocks are adorable too :)

  2. In quilting blocks are always given in finished size so that you can plan the dimensions of the quilt. Also, all unfinished blocks are 1/2″ bigger than the finished size to you just have to add to find out the unfinished size. example: 8″ finished would be 81/2″ unfinished and 61/2″ finished would be 7″ unfinished. Hope that helps.

    • Hi Rachel – Thanks. I understand the 1/2″ addition. Just frustrating when there are sizes for blocks within blocks (on different pages) and I’m not 100% sure what those interior size blocks really are. Luckily I’m in a QAL and it helps a LOT!

  3. The more I see the gypsy wife along posts the more I want to make one! Your scrappy one is going to amazing. I love those little foxes, especially that guy in the glasses!

  4. Talk to craktpot (on IG) about the Gypsy Wife… she is teaching it and made a long list of corrections…

  5. Your blocks are all looking so awesome!! Love the scrappyness. As for the pattern, i’m with ya! I mean really how hard would it have been to add in the sizes for all the little bits before the finished block. Like after attaching these four triangles your block should be such and such, then go ahead and attach the next four triangles or whatever! That way you could square up as you go more effectively. It’s definitely not just you that’s having problems, it just doesn’t seem to be a well executed pattern. Not that it’s stopped me from planning my next gypsy wife!!

  6. Oh how I love the foxes! They are too cute for words. :)

  7. I’m having the same problems with the pattern. I love it and that it makes me “think” because I do like a challenge, but it gets really frustrating when I’m trying to sew for fun and end up having no idea what I’m doing. I wish the pattern would be more specific about the sizes — if I’m making HST for pinwheels, I’d like to know what size my HST should be so I can make sure they’re trimmed to the right size!! And I too don’t care about the finished size for the whole block; especially since the blocks aren’t put together in a traditional way and it’s not like I’m going to be measuring them along with all the strips… blah

  8. I feel your frustration with the finished/unfinished! I went through my pattern and wrote the unfinished size next to each block so I would not forget when trimming it at the end.
    Though I am treating this like a puzzle and enjoying the mental challenge of trying to figure out the blocks and I think it is helping me understand quilting better – if that makes sense! This quilt is going to look awesome at the end!

  9. I love your foxes…perfect fussy cut!

  10. Oh dear those little fox guys made my day! What an adorable, fun quilt they are making!!!

  11. For the Gypsy Wife Pattern, totally agree about the pattern. I think that is the general feeling. Its great to see the discussions on flickr that way I can figure out what to do with mine.

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