the strips were 2", so the squares finished at 1.5"
the design in the center is not a fleur de lis. it's a medievalish cross-kinda thing. technically, a medievalish x-kinda thing, but i turned it on its side to fit in the white area. the same design is quilted in all the the white centers. i used red thread in the center block and off-white on all the others. yes, i used and open toe foot to quilt that design.
because i'm trying to improve my skills using methods other than QAYG, i only prequilted the centers, trimmed away the batting from behind all but the centers, then assembled the blocks, sandwiched with another layer of batting and a one-piece back. i used polyester batting because i was out of my favorite cotton. machine quilting on polyester batting isn't working well for this particular quilt. it's basted every inch and a half, but even with a walking foot it's giving me fits. i had to put it away for a while or it was headed for the incinerator. :shock: :lol: :x :lol:
i guess by the time i get this one quilted, i'll have the bugs worked out so the other two will go together with less frustration.
it took me about a month to make enough blocks for a HUGE quilt. i'm very, very slow and only have an hour or so each weekday to work on my quilts. the amount of time i have on weekends varies. factor in ripit and recut time.
because of all the different colors and fabrics (3 reds, 1 yellow, 1 green and 2 "whites") i wouldn't say this is an easy quilt. however, i do think you could easily get any size you wanted to make completed by October.