Dublin Fancy Quilt Along: Week 5

Week 5 of our quilt along starts today! With this week we have a change of pace! I love pinwheels, but there’s no denying that they are the most time consuming part of this quilt along. So, now that we’re done with the chain blocks that have the pinwheels in them, we get to move on to the cube blocks! This means no more squaring half square triangles! I know the chain blocks have a lot of tiny pieces, but they go together quicker than you think. They are also MUCH faster than the chain blocks we made. So, bust out those jelly rolls quilters because this is the fun part!

For this week, we are going to make our strip units and assemble 7 of the chain blocks. If you haven’t got your pattern yet, you can order it here. You can view the quilt along schedule here. If you’re joining us late, you can still sign up as long as the quilt along is still going.

I’ve posted lots of videos on instagram to help with making this quilt. All of these are rare videos where you get to hear my voice/my thick southern accent instead of music while I explain various steps of making this quilt. I also did a blog post with tips on working with precuts. Here are all of those links:
Tips for Working with precuts
Pressing Tip for Strip Pieced Units
Cutting Your Strip Pieced Units – Part 1
Cutting Your Strip Pieced Units – Part 2
Matching up the Seams in Your Cube Blocks

Pressing

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. I am not a stickler for pressing. That’s not to say that I don’t think pressing is important. It is important if you want to have your seams match up nicely. If that’s not something you care about, this is perfectly fine too. Your quilt = your rules! When I say I’m not a sticker for pressing, I mean that I’m not going to tell you that you absolutely must press the way the pattern says or your quilt will turn out so ugly your eyes explode. So, I’m exaggerating a little bit there, but there are quilters and quilt police out there who are a lot more passionate in thinking their way is the one and only “right way”.

I instruct pressing to the sides and nesting the seams most of the time because that is what works best for me. The truth is, there’s no way to keep everyone happy with the pressing instructions. No matter how you instruct to press, there will be somebody out there who likes another method better. If that’s you, this is OK, and we can still be friends as long as you don’t try to go all quilt police on me. Confession: I always feel a little silly putting pressing instructions in patterns because I know that most people are probably going to ignore them and just do whatever they want to do anyway. I am guilty of this too. Instructing to press all of the seams open is a great way to get me to skip over that section of the pattern. It doesn’t mean I don’t like the pattern or that I think badly of the pattern writer. It just means that another method works better for me. I include pressing instructions for people who do want or need them, but you always having the option of using another method if you like it better. I did a post on some of the different pressing options with my Checker Cakes Quilt Along. You can read that HERE.

Check out the picture below of two cube blocks that I pressed differently. One has the seams pressed to the sides and nested with the cross-section seams nested as well. The other has the seams pressed to the sides and nested with the cross-section seams pressed open. In case you’re wondering… Yes, I left them pressed differently when I put the top together. No, it didn’t cause me any problems, and you can’t tell which block is pressed differently by looking at the finished quilt.

Get a custom label for your quilt!

I had some labels made for this pattern! If you want a custom Dublin Fancy label with your name on it, you can get one! I order all of my labels from Melanie at Souther Charm Quilts/Meander and Make. They are great labels. You can get order your Dublin Fancy Quilt label here. Just be sure to select “Dublin Fancy Label” to get the one that looks like the label pictured below. I’ll have pictures of the other labels from that listing soon! Full disclosure: that was an affiliate link meaning I earn commission, but it doesn’t affect the price you pay. Use the coupon code SNUGGLEBUGSTITCHING for 10% off.

Each Week on the Blog

I’ll link to all of the other weeks near the end of each post. I will add each post here as I have them. You can also find this on the Quilt Alongs Page.

Week 1 – Gather Fabrics and Cut Chain Block Pieces
Week 2 – Make 5 Chain Blocks
Week 3 – Make 5 Chain Blocks – Plus a new tip for half square triangles!
Week 4 – Make 5 Chain Blocks
Week 5 – You are currently at the Week 5 Post
Week 6 – Make 8 Cube Blocks
Week 7 – Assemble Quilt Tops

Prize for this Week

Our prize for this week is going to be a free PDF pattern. You can choose any of my patterns accept for this one.

To be eligible for prizes:

– You must be following me @snugglebugstitching on Instagram and post progress pictures for the week on Instagram by Tuesday at 5:00 PM Central Time. You must tag me @snugglebugstitching in your posts and use the #dublinfancyqal and #dublinfancyquilt. Please remember to post your progress pictures! I love seeing what you’re making!

-I will announce the winner on Instagram and tag the lucky quilt alonger so that they know they’ve won. The winner will have one week to contact me to claim the prize. Any unclaimed prizes will be forfeited.