Retro Tetro Quilt Along Week 7

I’m soooo glad my warning about last week’s block saved many of you from spending too much quality time with your seam rippers! Don’t put the ripper away just yet!

Retro Tetro Quilt Along

Dates: September 15 through November 23
Duration: 10 weeks
Quilt Sizes: Mini, Crib, Throw, or Twin

How to Quilt Along

Share your progress on Instagram using #retrotetroqal. That’s where you’ll find the weekly photo prompts, livestreams, and more! Sign up here to be eligible for prizes, and get the weekly emails with tips for the coming week’s fun.

Join the Retro Tetro Quilt Along

Schedule

Week 1: Pick your fabrics, get your pattern, plan your coloring sheet
Week 2: Cut, label, and organize your pieces
Week 3: Make Large HSTs
Week 4: Make Block 2 (12 blocks)
Week 5: Make Small HSTs
Week 6: Make Block 3 (10 blocks)
Week 7: Make Blocks 4 (8 blocks)
Week 8: Make Block 5 (8 blocks)
Week 9: Sew blocks and strips into columns
Week 10: Finish quilt top

Step 1: Get organized

We’re hanging out on page 11 of the pattern this week.

We’re going to find the smallest squares that we cut lo these many weeks ago and put aside in a bag marked “Block 4”. (Hopefully it’s not one of those things where you put it somewhere safe, where you won’t lose it, only it’s so safe that you can’t find it again!) You’ll also need some small HSTs.

This block is much less tricky than last week‘s, and yet, if you’re tired, or distracted by a really great scene from The Good Place, it’s really easy to get the pieces assembled wrong.

Once again, I call on my fave trick: lay your pieces right on top of the pattern, exactly the way they are in the diagram!

Step 2: Attach a square to each HST

Grab 2 small HSTs with colors A and B (that’s the first 2 columns in the table). Put them on the pattern beside a square of each.

Attach a square to each HST.

Press seam allowances toward the square.

Step 3: Nest seams and join the two halves

Step 4: Spin your seam allowances

That seam that you just stitched? The horizontal one? It secured the vertical seams. Gently pull apart the stitches of the 2 tiny bits of seam in the middle there to reveal the right sides of the fabric where all those seam allowances meet.

Wanna see it in action? Watch the video in my Instagram highlights

Step 5: Press

Press the seam allowances. The original 2 vertical seam allowances will stay the way they are, and the new horizontal seam allowance will spin in the same direction around the center of the block.

Step 6: Label your blocks

You should have 8 arrows. Check the Coloring Page to see which way is up. Label them and file them away with your finished blocks from the previous weeks. (BTW, yes, that’s a typo. The S should be a G. You’ll know it when you see it.)

Step 7: Share!

Remember to share your progress on Instagram using #retrotetroqal.

Step 8: Work ahead (Optional)

If that was too easy for you, or you want to start working ahead, you can start putting blocks together into columns. Double check the assembly diagram! But any sections that don’t require a Block 5 are good candidates. Don’t do the background strips yet.

Giveaway!!

This week’s prize is a $30 gift card to Birdie and Dot Fabrics!

Welcome to Birdie and Dot Fabrics! We are Alison and Leslie, twin sisters who have a passion for fabric – fabric makes us happy. We are an online quilt shop based out of Edmonton. Since going live, we have been blown away by the support and encouragement we have received from the Canadian quilting and sewing community.

Being quilters ourselves, we want to bring in fabric that inspires us! Each bolt is chosen based on fabrics we love, and fabrics we love to work with! We love modern, bright colors and bold patterns. You can always be sure we have the latest fabrics by your favorite designers – Heather Ross, Ruby Star Society, Tula Pink, Alison Glass and Libs Elliott (just to name a few)! We also carry a wide variety notions and tools – including the full line of Tula Pink Hardware. Take a look at our shop! Hopefully, you will find something you just have to have!

Head over to today’s Instagram post for the details! Best of luck!

We’re getting close to the point where you might be thinking about how you’ll finish your quilt. If you’re not up for quilting it yourself, we have a great offer for you from some fantastic quilters from the Longarm League! You can get free batting for your Retro Tetro quilt! Tops must be received by January 31, 2021 to qualify for the discount. For more details, visit https://www.longarmleague.com/retro-tetro-qal

Don’t forget to check out all our amazing sponsors!

Join the Retro Tetro Quilt Along

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