kellyer21

Piecing, cutting, ironing, maybe all three! I guess I need to be more precise throughout the whole process.

suern3

When watching Jenny I keep in mind that she is working quickly to fit a certain amount of information into a small time frame for videos. Usually just demonstrating a general idea of how the pattern will go together, not the specific techniques to use in each step of making a quilt. There are other videos available for that. Lots of them. Start by checking Youtube. The other thing to keep in mind is that she has been sewing/quilting for quite some time so by now if she choses to not use pins, etc. she can probably handle it. Not so much for beginners. Or me, I'll probably never feel confident enough to not use pins or to not press carefully Sounds like you are on the right track here, tho. Lots of good advice.

Barb in Louisiana

Just a thought. It's not whether you have a perfect 1/4" seam, but does the sewn area come out to be the size you are required to have to make the block. I have had to do scant 1/4" seams too many times to get the size block I need. I have started checking the size as I sew the blocks. For instance, if you sew 2 pieces of 4 1/2" squares together, you should get a resulting rectangle of 8 1/2". x 4 1/2" For the width, the math is 4 1/2 + 4 1/2 - 1/4 - 1/4 = 8 1/2. Until you get confident in your sewing, measure everything!

And, if push comes to shove, you can offset the blocks by making some fillers for the end of the rows and just sew them together, easing in any fullness. That way you don't have to match seams. It makes it a little harder to quilt if you don't have a long arm, but it can be done.

Bree123

You can do this, but you'll lose the points. Not a problem, just thought I'd mention that before you went to all the work.

Jenny Doan's style is to crank out as many quilts as quickly as possible. The whole reason she says she started making YouTube videos was to give people ideas about how to use fabrics she sells at her shop. They are not good tutorials for people who don't already know all the proper techniques for quilt construction. Dedicated teachers like Leah Day, Heather Thomas or the classes offered on iQuilt (and some of the classes offered on Craftsy) are much better resources for learning quiltmaking techniques. Jenny Doan is really better either as a resource for inspiration or if you are on a tight timeline & need a bunch of shortcuts so you can finish all those quilts for your 10 grandkids by Christmas. She is the queen of speed quilting & quilting shortcuts and there is a place for that in our craft -- but probably not what you're looking for if missing points bug you.

bennie0755

I would sash two sides and then square up. The difference wouldn't be that noticeable.

bearisgray

Thank you for writing this.

Some of what Jenny does makes me cringe!

Her finished items do look great, though - from a distance, anyway.

ILoveToQuilt

By Granny squares, is that the quilt that looks like the crocheted afghans? If so, you can sash with black (or any other color) around the smaller blocks to make them the size you need. Then square to the size of the larger blocks. Clear as mud??? I know what I am trying to say...just add another "round" (if in fact I am thinking of the afghan type pattern).[ATTACH=CONFIG]550770[/ATTACH] This is what I am thinking of. (Sorry image is so large).