The Irish Chain is an easy quilt and comes out beautifully and looks like your an expert! You can do what I did and use white and a variety of blue (choose your own color) or just use two colors. I had a bunch of blue scraps, so that's what I used. I made it for my dd's best friend when she got married. I used 1 1/2 inch strips, but you can use 2 inch, or 2 1/2 inch, and it will be just fine. I used the pattern in the book "Quilts, quilts, quilts, but I know there are bunches of patterns all over the web. Just choose one. Happy sewing, Gina