I'm also confused -
1) Did you cut your 5-inch squares down to 3-inch squares,
2) and then sew the 3-inch squares into 9-patches (3x3 grid)?
3) which would measure 8x8 inches (unfinished) before you cut the 9-patch block into quarters/fourths?
4) After resewing the quarters, did you end up with 7-1/2 inch (unfinished) blocks?
Is this where you are at? Or did I totally misunderstand what you did/are doing?