I am making a quilt right now that may meet what you are trying to accomplish. It is a scrappy quilt that is easy to make using a 8 1/2" square and a ton of scraps. Now I am doing mine by grab bag but if you wanted to make such a quilt selectively that would work too. here is a pic of what I have done. It is done on a foundation piece. I use a light parchment. It can be done with fabric or paper foundation. This has taken me less than 2 weeks to get this much done and I am doing it as a quilt as you go project. I hope to have it done within another week. I have another 20 blocks to go and another 4 1/2" boarder.