Gypsy Wife: Hope from Hartford + January wrap-up
This post is part of the 2019 Gypsy Wife Quilt-Along! See all posts.
If you’re sewing-along to make Jen Kingwell’s Gypsy Wife quilt, this week’s assignment is our first block with partial seams. Don’t let that scare you!
Hope from Hartford is a clever little block made up of half-quarter-square-triangle blocks, spinning around a tiny square center. It’s worth the trouble.
Before we talk about block construction, let’s address a potential confusion with the pattern. My quilt-along co-host @ScrappyViolet points out that the pattern key has an error. Both the white triangles and dotted rectangles are “K” fabric pieces; whereas, the white center square is an “L” fabric piece. That should help!
Have you wondered about the difference between partial seams and y-seams? Partial seems are way easier. Y-seams do not meet at right angles, hence they are y-shaped. Partial seams are straight seams that need to be sewn in a particular order for easy assembly. Whereas y-seams take time to master, partial seams are as easy to sew as a simple straight seam. With them it’s just a matter of timing.
To sew Hope from Hartford, start by making the half-quarter-square-triangle units. I used a transparent paper as a template to fussy cut my “J” triangle pieces. It was a little, well… fussy, but I like how it turned out.
Next sew the rectangular fabric “K” pieces to your triangle units. I haven’t done that yet in the image below, so you’ll have to use your imagination.
Now to sew a partial seam, join the center square piece to a triangle unit. However do not sew the entire side of the white square to the triangle unit. See the pink highlighted area above? Sew along that area, stopping and starting with a backstitch to secure your stitch line. Press seams. Note that the center square and one side of the triangle unit will have aligned raw edges.
After sewing the partial seam, you’ll be able to sew the rest of the block with regular, complete seams. Work your way clockwise around the block, joining units. When you get back to the original partial seam, complete it with a simple straight seam. No fuss, no muss!
By the way, I made a last minute change to my block before assembling pieces. Can you spot the difference between these two pics?
I re-cut the darker green print so that the dots are running on the bias. I think it adds more of a playful movement to the block. This time all of my fabrics are Anna Maria Horner, from these collections: Good Folks, True Colors and Fibs + Fables.
With just a few days left in January, it’s time to put the finishing touches on your January quilt-along blocks and enter to win our January Prize, sponsored by Quilt Sandwich Fabrics!
Don’t forget to tag your final January block photo with #Jan2019Gypsies so you’ll be in the draw. The winner must have completed all four January blocks - Colour Wheel, Pershing, From the Heart and Hope from Hartford - by midnight January 31st, as well as following on Instagram: @StitchedinColor, @ScrappyViolet and @QuiltSandwichFabrics.
