WINTERTIME MAGIC ROW BY ROW SEW ALONG: WEEK #5 CHECKERBOARDS & FINISHING

Can you believe it? It’s the FINAL WEEK in our WINTERTIME MAGIC ROW BY ROW SEW ALONG!

In case you missed out on joining us through the last few weeks of the WINTERTIME MAGIC ROW BY ROW sew along, we will have the weekly pattern sheets available for another week or two so you have time to grab em in case you found us late.

You can find them all here in THE SHOP so you can sew along at your own pace!

You can always come back here to the blog to read the weekly sew along posts for inspiration whenever you want as well.

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WEEK FIVE: CHECKERBOARD SASHING & FINISHING

This week, we will be working on our little checkerboard sashings, putting our blocks into our rows and quilt assembly and finishing. This will be a bit different depending on which version you are making.

As you can see, we are working on the LAP THROW VERSION so we have several rows of hearts and trees and we chose the mixed “FEATURE ROW” of holly and bows for our center row.

And then we have LOTS OF LITTLE CHECKERBOARDS! Did I mention we have lots of checkerboards to make??

If you are making the MINI or the RUNNER, you won’t have that many to make. But if you are working on the LAP THROW like we are… you do have quite a few so just take them one set at a time and intersperse them in between the more fun sewing… like setting your blocks into rows!

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MINI QUILT VERSION [TABLE TOPPER or WALL HANGING]

This is a fun little topper that you will want to bring out and hang for anywhere between the Christmas and Valentine’s season in years to come. Depending on what colors you have chosen, it can definitely lean toward several different seasons for sure!

***CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE MINI QUILT PDF FINISHING INSTRUCTIONS!***

Choose your favorite layout: MIXED, ALL HOLLY, or ALL BOWS depending on which ones you love the most. And if you have changed your mind throughout the process… no worries, its just a few blocks so feel free to change them up -OR- make 2 quilts!

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RUNNER VERSION

This is a great “in between” version for all of our lovely blocks. I think it would be equally lovely on a table or the back of a chair or couch or as a bed runner!

***CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE RUNNER PDF FINISHING INSTRUCTIONS!***

Choose your favorite layout: MIXED, ALL HOLLY, or ALL BOWS.

I really feel like each one of these has a slightly different flavor… don’t you think? And if you took out the green and replaced it with more tones of reds and pinks then you would have an altogether different version than any of these!

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LAP QUILT

This is the version we are making here in the Fig Tree sewing studio and we have chosen the MIXED VERSION shown right here below and in the pictures at the beginning of the post.

I wanted to try my hand at both the bows and the holly and for sure wanted the final version to feel like my “inspiration sweater” as much as possible since that was the whole reason for making this quilt!

We chose a soft tan/grey fabric for our checkerboards and then lots of lots of little ivory low volume fabrics for a bit of extra sparkle to the quilt.

***CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE LAP QUILT PDF FINISHING INSTRUCTIONS!***

Choose your favorite layout: MIXED, ALL HOLLY, or ALL BOWS.

If you are wanting to go a bit more toward a certain holiday, these both tend in one direction or another, don’t you think?

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ALTERNATE BLUE COLORWAY

You may remember at the beginning of the sew along, I shared a blog post all about color hints (you can view that post HERE). An alternate colorway I thought would be particularly beautiful would be all tones of blue on an ivory background.

I have mocked up the mini quilt, runner, and lap quilt in this blue colorway below to show you how that might look!

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One of our Fig Tree ladies, Lacey [@laceypoirier], decided on making a second project after hearing about this blue version and here are a few of her ‘in progress’ photos to share! Isn’t it lovely?!

Lacey used all blue fabrics from our newly released fabric collection, ROSIE, alongside a white-on-white EYELET background and a few low volume creams from her stash for added sparkle.

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TIPS/HINTS/SUGGESTIONS

• Don’t be intimidated by the amount of checkerboard sashing – especially if you are creating the lap quilt size. I promise you they are totally worth it and add to the “sweater” feel that inspired this whole sew along to begin with. Just take them one row at a time. If you really feel like giving up on those… you could possibly eliminate the top and bottom sets and just make the overall length a bit shorter.
• One of the best ways to manage your checkerboards is to add the sashing to the top/bottom of each checkerboard set as we show in the pattern directions. “Making” your checkerboards match the cut sashing, is a good way to make sure they are all the length you need them to be.
• Some of you are avid pinners, and others are not [I might fall in that latter category for sure]. However, for row by row quilts, I do feel it’s important to pin your rows together as you start assembly. Depending on your seam allowances and finished block sizes, you may notice one row that is slightly smaller (or larger) than the next. Using pins will help you ease your rows together for a nice finish.
• Another hint is to sew them together in alternating directions so that all your rows are not “pulling slightly” in the same direction.
• If you find that some of your checkerboard rows don’t match the math they should be… feel free to add a set or subtract a set if you need to. Its a lot of seems so you might be a bit short or a bit long. No one but you will ever notice they are not the same!

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FIG TREE FRIENDS PROGRESS

Be sure to join our FIG TREE QUILTS FRIENDS FACEBOOK GROUP for lots of member inspiration.

I have loved seeing everyone’s version of the BEAUTIFUL BOW block from last week. Although it was indeed a bit fiddly and on the small side, it seems to be a growing favorite between our members! Check out a few here:

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THANK YOU

Thank you so much for joining us in this wonderful WINTERTIME MAGIC SEW ALONG. We hope you loved the bit of mystery and ALL the fun!

As soon as my quilt comes back from quilting I will take a lot of pictures and add a final FINISH POST here for you all to see!

Happy Sewing,

-Joanna