It didn't take as long as I thought it would - a couple of weeks, but I wasn't pushing myself to get it sewn, so I might have worked on it only an hour or two then I'd go do something else. It's strip and chain-pieced as much as possible.

There are a couple of rows missing at the top because they're hanging over the upstairs balcony. And the lines just look wavy because the hanging part is rippled a little bit.

I first planned this to be a double nine-patch with star-point sashings and nine-patch cornerstones. But then I couldn't figure out how to get four different fabrics to meet at 8 points in 64 different stars. I made the star blocks with nine patch and square sashing. Much easier.

Yardage at my LQS is usually $9.26 and FQ's from the same bolts are $2.90.

But on Mondays, FQ's are 30% off, so they cost $8.12 a yard - less than yardage.

You can also get some fair quality FQ's at Joann Fabrics for $1.00-1.29/each. Sometimes, they have them at 40% off and I've seen them at 2/$1 or 3/$1 for moonlight madness type of sales. Be careful - try to feel a single thickness of each one - hard to do the way they wrap them. Some of them are truly awful fabrics, but a lot them are medium-quality and a few are very nice.

FQs are usually more expensive per yard.

I started out buying lots of fat quarters so I had variety (which worked great for the applique I was doing at the time), but switched over to yardage (for the baby quilts I'm doing now).

I think it's good to have a collection of both. You never know when your quilting interests are going to change.

I bought many of my fat quarters on ebay in lots. One time I wound up with a huge box of almost 200 different, high quality fat quarters for under $50.

FQ's are generally a little more expensive, but are a great way to have extra stash for that piece that just needs "something"

Which is not a bad price when you see the cost of a yard of fabric. I like fat quarters because I can get a better variety that way, and I tend to use a lot of them. Jan

Gorgeous quilt. I assume that you used a lot of fat quarters to get a good variety of fabrics! Jan

thepolyparrot, I'm in awe. I can only dream that I will be able to make such a beautiful quilt.

FQs are quick too. You can run in and grab a few FQ and not have to wait for someone to cut your fabric.

I found that if my project is pieced with repetitve pattern, yardage is necessary. But if it is an applique, fat quarters come in handy for a variety of color. With applique, you still need yardage for background.

I never buy fat quarters unless they are on sale. Do the math, you get more for your money if you purchase a quarter of a yard.