I store these little markers in an empty prescription bottle and replace as necessary. They are cheap and easy to make and last longer than little pieces of paper.

Love your picture! I'm a speech pathologist and Big Bang just cracks me up! Sheldon is a classic Asperger's client!

Remember to account for your seam allowance. a 5" block will give you 4 1/2" finished square.

I also agree with the previous responses, I not only mark my rows this way, but I use the little colored dots that are often used in garage sales and number them then stick them on the rows or blocks. They come in sheets from an office supply or WalMart. I also take pictures of my quilts as I am laying them out to decide for sure just how I want them. Very surprising how different they look through the camera lens and ones own eyes. I use my digital camera and load them on the computer, so I don't have a bunch of hard copies. I can change them and see what I like best. I always take a picture of the final lay out, just in case something gets moved. You could also do the reversible method with the large four blocks that would make the size easier to work with at the machine when you are working on the quilting part if you are machine quilting the quilt yourself. Show a pic. when you're finished. Stitches of fun for you.

If you chose to do it row by row - my only suggestion (and I learned this the hard way) is to alternate the direction you sew the strips together. In other words, when sewing row one to row two - sew from left to right. When sewing row three to the now combined row1/row2 sew from right to left.

Such great information and advice! Scissor Queen your method makes so much sense yet row sewing is so often recommended in patterns, mags, tv & online shows. Yet stretching is one of the biggest problems with people's finished tops. Thanks for posting!

well it seems you have been given enough ideas on how to lay out your pattern for the quilt...but I noticed in your post you said your tablerunner of the same pattern was "a bit crooked because my seams are somwhat accurate".....I can only say.......when you are doing this quilt top you must really be careful with those 1/4"seams.......I know none of us is perfect, but try to be a sure as you can otherwise that tablerunner is only a precurser of a really cattawambus quilt top.....with that said, have fun piecing your project...........

Bed sized quilts are harder to make than lap size. As a beginner I recommend doing a few small quilts first before tackling a bed size.
If it dosnt turn out nice your not out the price it cost for a large quilt.
I also reccomend getting a Quilt In A Day book. Eleanor Burns makes quilting easier and her instructions are very detailed even to which way to iron your seams.
Be sure to watch lots of videos, there are many free ones on the web.
http://quilterstv.com
http://quiltinaday.com
Lots of free videos.
This board has lots of good advice also so have fun learning.

What a great piece of explaining, thanks..