Rebecca VLQ

Or you can use mine!

This will be written conversationally, and if you have questions....PLEASE ASK!!!

Most of this quilt is based upon fabric that is 2.5" widths. Potentially, you COULD use some jelly rolls for it, save for some of the larger blocks which are about 8-9 in all. My quilt was very scrappy (15 different fabrics) so it would have to be like that to be able to incorporate jelly rolls.

The actual "recipe" that shows the cuts you need...is broken down into sections by color. Within each section there is "A", "B", and "C". These indicate the same color, but a different fabric. For example: RED has ABC, I used 3 different reds. If you want to simplify your quilt, you can use all the same fabric for each color. I think that's what made mine sparkle though...the variety.

Each "letter" section took "around" a half yard. The BLUE and PURPLE sections took a little more (In my quilt, it was the showstopper fabric that a customer provided). The REDS took less, since there was 3. The GREENS took more than 1/2 but I think it's because those were batiks that shrunk and WOF was more like 40 inches than 44".

There are THREE (3) happy faces on the diagram. This is where I fussycut 3 teal daisies. The rest of that fabric is what makes up the yellow portions of the quilt.

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CUT EVERYTHING OUT FIRST!!! (well, press first but don't start sewing until you cut everything!)
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Recipe is written so the smallest cuts are listed first, but so you get the most out of your yardage...Cut the LONGEST lengths first, then work down to the smallest. Since I used yardage, I folded mine in half, then folded AGAIN and made sure the folds were parallel. Then I cut a section and then removed the "hanging" fabric, then divided up what was on my mat accordingly.
Stack your same colors together.
Eat some chocolate.
Repeat with each color change. :D
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When I started assembling, I was NOT very organized and did it all willy-nilly. Nothing bad happened, but I DID end up having to figure out what I missed. WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST is to take things one row at a time, and complete all blocks within that row before moving on to the next row. (I thought I'd be slick doing all the 6.5" squares first, but then I had to figure out what came next!)

Starting with the upper-left, retrieve a "Red A" 4.5" square. Then a "Purple B" 2.5x4.5" rectangle. And a "Brown B" 2.5" square. You should have 11 "middles" for the first row.

GENERALLY the sides will be the same size as the middles. So for the upper left hand square, you will be attaching two "Green A" 4.5" squares, on opposite sides of "Red A" 4.5" square. The rectangle in the middle is an exception, because it is 4.5"x8.5"...but the length of the sides you attach will be 2.5"x8.5". ALL CENTERS ARE CENTERED IN THE CENTER!!! If you have a right, you will have a left of the same length and width.
Eat some chocolate.
Press the fabric to the OUTSIDE of the block. If you like to press seams open, have at it! It's a big PITA for me though. And this quilt does not end up with much bulk.
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After you get all the centers attached to the "sides" and have them pressed, you can attach the "top" and "bottom" to them.
Keeping a 1/4" seam is important, otherwise the top and bottom will hang over. If it hangs over, then things may start to get wonky. So, be consistent! :D
Eat chocolate. Press to the outside.
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Now, you *COULD* connect all the blocks in this row and set aside. Actually I would encourage you to! If you follow the colored drawing everything will be well-spaced. There is little room to make adjustments, except for trading things like a 6.5" square for another one. I may have done that with one or two on mine, but for the most part...I did all the legwork on paper first. If you decide to do a coloring sheet you may wanna hold off.

When I started connecting blocks, if two seams butted up to each other, I just turned one square or the other so the "top" faced it. As long as you don't have a lot of directional fabrics, you can do this. In mine, the Laura Gunn Lantern Pod had to all go the same way, as with gravity and how the pods would actually grow.