Strip Piecing Improv Style!

A NewFO for Thursday Threads!

Although I am still technically restricted to UFO's only, I justified a new quilt start this week since I have been saving blue & yellow scraps for several years with mom in mind. Even though it was only a bin of yellow and blue bricks, in my mind that IS an unfinished quilt...

I pulled out the little border mom gave me a while back, a sample of her room décor, and right away I found the yellow and blue a bit unsettling next to her sample. No wonder this project had not actually begun yet...
Quickly, this turned into a NewFO!
I attempted to pull fabric that will work with the pattern...

It was a bit of a challenge to keep the focus on the blue and yellow that mom requested, and to make them work with the new color additions I made. The fact that mom is colorblind further complicates decisions. This is not the first time I have wished I could see her perspective of things! Growing up, turquoise was her favorite color, so I brought in the aqua colors, and navy is a color she often wears so I deepened the blue. The riskiest part is the coral, (a color I have been collecting a bit this past year and am anxious to use!), I am not sure how this will sit with her. I thought it risky & decided to go ahead and share this quilt online, sacrificing the surprise factor for her actual opinion :-)

Once I selected a bunch of fabric, I set to work making strip sets that are approximately 13-14" wide.

Making sure strip-sets will have similar finished widths is easy. One can randomly sew strips together 'til the target width is reached, OR,
if you love to control your 'scrappy' quilts you can do like I did:

1. Cut various widths 1"-2.5" or so, and laid them out in an order that pleases you.

2. Measure the total width across as they are lying, edge to edge.
3. Count the number of seams you have to sew. (ex: 12)
4. Divide this number in half. (ex: 6")
5. Subtract this number from total width across step1, and you have your finished width after sewing.

After sewing a bunch of strip-sets, I used the grid on my cutting table and marked the pattern line I wanted, right on the table with a permanent marker. Then I traced it on paper and cut it out.

I wrapped a strip set over the template, flipped it and removed the paper.

This way I could play with my options before cutting.

So many possibilities for strip sets!

 

Wonder what mom will think of these huge blocks? They come out about 26", so the quilt will have two blocks (columns) across and three rows. I will probably set them wonky (askew with white sashing), making them more like 30" blocks, to adjust the dimensions.

 

Linking up with gratitude to the hosts:

 

Kelly, at My Quilt Infatuation for Thursday Threads

 

Barbara at Cat Patches, for November NewFO's!

I am so fortunate to have such a busy quilt shop in my neighborhood!
Quiltique is featured today on the Moda Cutting Table!