Finally--putting blocks together

Sorry for the myriad delays. Life gets in the way sometimes.
Putting blocks together is one of the easiest parts of a quilt as long as you had some semblance of accuracy. In general, if you put your blocks in a pile and they are all about the same size, you're good. If there are some noticeable differences, you should probably square them up. To square up your blocks, you pick the least common denominator (if your blocks are supposed to be 10" but you have one that's 9.25", you'll be trimming them all down to 9.25"). Then, fold the block in half and half again, so your block is a quarter of the size. Then divide your trim size by two (so we'll go with 4 5/8") and line up the folded edges of your block with that line on your ruler going both directions and trim. That way, you trim an equal amount from around the edges so theoretically the block is still centered correctly. You can also try to find a square ruler in the appropriate size, but there are only so many square rulers on the market.

Sorry I don't have pictures. I've never squared my blocks up, for better or worse. It's something I'm aware how to do, just in case I ever need to, but I avoid because I'm lazy and not that anal.

Onward then, to the laying out and sewing!

My pattern was on-point, which means that the squares' points are oriented towards the top and sides, rather than the corners. Regular setting is when you put each block side to side and then one row directly on top of the other. The principles are the same, but on point is a little more complicated because everything is on the diagonal and you have setting triangles (which your pattern will instruct you on cutting).

The first step is to lay your blocks out how you want them to be. Some quilts are a bunch of the same blocks, in which case you can skip this step. My blocks were all the same construction, but different fabric, so I put them on my design wall to decide the layout. Below is my layout (once it's all sewn together :)
So, once I'm happy with my blocks' positions, then I start sewing. For regular setting, line up your blocks just like you would have your block components and sew, locking seams where you can. For on point, I had to sew setting triangles to my first "row" which is really just a single block in the upper left. When sewing a triangle to a square, you want to line up the right angle side of the triangle, but again, lay it out to make sure your triangle is pointed the right way.
See how there's a flap of triangle hanging down? That's okay, extra is good. Too small is sad. Unless the pattern is wrong, you should have at least a little hangover (the only good hangover). On the above block, I sewed along the right hand side.

I like to complete a row and sew it to the next row, but you can complete all your rows and then connect them, whatever works. So here are my first two rows (note that I'm holding my camera at a 45 degree angle)
When I go to sew these together, again I have all sorts of triangle flaps hanging out, so it's a little confusing to line up (those of you with straight set are lucky, you can just sew the buggers together). The best way to be accurate is to line up the block seams and let whatever triangle business is hanging over hang over.
I make sure and press my block seams in opposite directions as I construct each row so I can line them up and lock as shown above. Then I get this:
And a close up of the triangle business on the corners.
You just keep plugging away until the whole quilt is constructed. There are a couple tips for managing so much fabric that I recommend. The first is to make sure you keep everything you can in your lap or off to the side on your sewing table, mainly because the weight can really pull if you let it drop all the way to the floor. You'll want to help your feed dogs out a little more than you would with smaller chunks.
I also really hold the pieces together a lot more when I sew blocks and rows together. If you're inclined, you might want to pin at this stage. I prefer to just adjust as I go.
You can kind of see how the majority of the fabric is piled off to my left, I'm firmly holding the seam together and sewing in short bursts so I can rearrange easily. Put your needle down into the fabric before you readjust and it will hold everything in place.


The other thing I do as I sew things together is adjust for minor errors in measurement. Sometimes you'll have a little piece that isn't even, and rather than trimming everything up, I line up to sew over it and regain accuracy by ignoring it. In the example below, the one piece of the block stuck out, so I maintained my quarter inch on the other block and ignored the pink piece sticking out.
So there you have it. Sewing the blocks together really is easy. If you have anything that's directional or needs to be oriented a certain way, I definitely recommend sewing two things together, putting them back on your design wall (floor, bed, whatever ;) to make sure everything is still oriented correctly. Even I, the queen of chaining, rarely chain blocks together for fear of getting all mucked up with my orientation or positioning.
On Friday, I'll show you borders, but next week I'm on vacation, so I won't be posting, but I'll be back the last week of July to commence the quilting and binding, the final stages of our quilt!
Happy quilting!