Find a group of other quilters and just sew strips together for starters. There are tons of things you can do with strips. For added freedom, make them scrappy...that's right, nothing has to match. When you're done. cut your sewn strips into long rows and add a border , do it again , 3 times altogether. When you're done you will have a Chinese Coins quilt top. Don't know if this will help but strips are great when you can just mindlessly sew them together and end up with a top.