Thank you all for your kind comments! I highly recommend the Quiltsmart printed interfacing for these; I've done the throw and a queen size Broken Lone Star top with it, and I've had very good results. It'll be a while before I attempt one of these any other way - that thought scares me to pieces! Using the interfacing, the panels are all done with rectangles of fabric, which was much less intimidating for me as a beginner. The background triangles gave me much more trouble :D
Thanks again for all of your comments!