Welcome to our Gypsy Queen Quilt Along – our very first Cora’s Quilts Mystery project!  We’ll be sewing together from August 2015 – November 2015, with a new set of directions posted here on our blog every Friday.  Our last post will be right after Thanksgiving, so you will be able to finish your quilt in time for the holidays.  Our quilt finishes at 67″ x 67″ lap-sized quilt, but we’ve also included instructions for a 98″ x 98″ queen-size as well.

Each Friday, we’ll share photos of our blocks plus a downloadable .pdf pattern sheet with the week’s instructions.  You will need a {free} copy of Adobe Reader to open the file.  During the QAL, you can access previous posts from our Quilt Along Home Page, or contact us here to request to receive links to the weekly posts by email.

---

For those of you just joining us, our cutting instructions for the entire quilt were posted last week.  I’ve designed this mystery project in a way that gives us a finished block {or building block} each week, so you might get glimpses here and there of design elements, but you won’t get the “big picture” until our last post.   The first few weeks are going to be the heaviest, as far as construction goes – don’t worry if you fall a little bit behind … things will lighten up as we go along.

Each week, the pattern will give instructions for assembling a single unit.  At the bottom of each page, you’ll find the total number of {the same} units you’ll need to make for either the lap-size or queen-size quilts.

So, without further ado, here is our first block:

Tada!!!  I’m calling this the “Half-Square-Triangle” or HST block.  As mentioned before, the pattern uses a very basic, “two-triangle” construction method.  You’re welcome to use any method you’d prefer – just make sure that each individual HST unit is 2 ½” unfinished (2″ finished).

Please click the button below to download the assembly instructions.

 

The key to a good-looking block is to get those center seams to align nicely.  We want that central diagonal line to be nice and crisp, giving the illusion of a single line.  See you next week for block #3!

 

---

A Few Announcements:

1. Is it too Late to Join?  

   Absolutely not!  You can catch up at any time, but remember: the free instructions will only be available through December.  After that, a pattern written in the traditional, non-mysterious format will be available for purchase in our pattern shop.

2. Please Share Your Progress Photos!

   1. On Instagram: Follow us @CorasQuilts and use #GypsyQueenMysteryQuilt and #CorasQuilts to share your photos.
   2. On Flickr:  Share your photos in our Gypsy Queen Mystery Quilt Group and please use the tags “Gypsy Queen Mystery Quilt” and “Coras Quilts”.
   3. In Our Facebook Community