My "rule of thumb" is about 10 yards for a queen-sized quilt, so 11 3/4 seems reasonable for a paper pieces pattern.
I looked up the "quick strip paper piecing" method, and it seems to have quite a bit of waste. Like Macybaby described, all pieces are cut as strips even if the final shape is a triangle. The paper pieces are also all sewn to a single fabric strip, rather than having individual pieces cut, so there is waste between the pieces. I found a sample of the book online; the waste between blocks is apparent in the illustrations.
It looks like an interesting technique; I'm going to have to see if I can get the book from the library. I can accept a bit of fabric waste if it saves time and headaches, and produces a good result!