Week 5 of the Birch Gnomes Quilt Along has us sewing our gnome and tree blocks into rows!
Now that you’ve completed the 24 gnome blocks and 24 birch tree blocks you’ll be able to get started sewing them together to create your quilt top. We’ll start by just sewing and pressing the rows this week!
Honestly, it won’t take long to sew the rows together. So if you have a few more blocks to finish off, this week will allow time for you to get those done too!
Let’s talk about sharing our progress and projects! Post any questions or share pics of your progress on my Fb page! If you have a questions I’m sure others so too so let’s all chat about it in one spot on Fb!!
And…post pictures of your blocks on Instagram! Tag @lakegirlquilts with #birchgnomesqal to be eligible for prizes!!
I’m so excited to be pairing with Fabric Shack for this quilt along! They have donated some really cute Charm Packs for prizes and I’m donating digital quilt patterns! I’ll randomly choose winners at the end of the week!!
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Arrange Your Quilt Blocks Into Rows for Week 5 of the Birch Gnomes Quilt Along!
Now that you have the blocks sewn, pressed, and trimmed it’s time to sew them together into rows!
On your design wall or floor, lay out all of the blocks for each row. Arrange the blocks of each row according to the diagram shown here.
Move the little gnomes and trees around until you get the look you want for your quilt!
You can even veer from the diagram and arrange your blocks however you choose! There are no rules!!! I want you to feel as if you can make the pattern your own.
Sew the Rows Together for Week 5 of the Birch Gnomes Quilt Along!
Starting with ROW 1 pin the first and second blocks right sides together.
When sewing two gnome blocks together align the seams.
Place a pin where the seams nest, and place a few pins along the edge to hold the blocks in place. Stitch the blocks together using a 1/4” seam allowance, removing pins as you come to them.
Repeat until you have all of the blocks sewn to each other for each of ROWS 1 – 6. As I sew a row I lay it back down in order, or label it with a piece of paper pinned to the row so I don’t mess up the order of the rows.
Pressing the Seams of Each Row in the Correct Direction…
Each of the seams in ROWS 1, 3, and 5 get pressed to the right. Press the seams of ROWS 2, 4, and 6 to the left.
By using this rotating direction of pressed seams, you will have nicely nested seams and less bulk when you sew the ROWS to each other.
This method of pressing distributes the bulk, which will make you happy when machine quilting your project!
Bulky seams can lead to bumpy quilting patterns, broken thread, and overall unevenness of your quilt top.
Have fun sewing your rows together this week!! Next week, our final week of the QAL, has us completing the quilt top and getting a few tips on next steps to completion of your quilt.
Have a great week!!!
Share Your Progress!!
Follow lakegirlquilts on Instagram! Post a pic of your blocks and rows to Instagram! Mention @lakegirlquilts and use #birchgnomesqal to be eligible to win prizes for Week 2!
Follow the lakegirlquilts page on Facebook! We can all chat about the Birch Gnomes QAL there!! Folks can post questions and I’ll answer them for everyone. If you’re wondering about something it’s likely someone else is too!! As always, you can also email me a question if you’d prefer.
