ArtsyOne

I've made this pattern with these fabrics. What I did was arrange all of the pieces on my design wall and then stand back several feet to see where I had too much of one color. Occasionally I added a piece from my own stash where I just couldn't separate the existing colors enough.

alikigirl

I agree with this method, and Gay's idea of using half the fabrics to make half the blocks and then the other half of the fabrics for the rest of the blocks, and then alternate them when piecing the top.

Rose_P

I usually lay out a few blocks at a time before I start sewing them, to make sure there's no unwanted repetition. It should be easy enough to switch pieces between them at that point. As long as you use a design wall or lay all the blocks out where you can see them before you sew them together, you probably don't need to worry about it too much. I find no matter how much planning I do, I still make changes after I have the blocks ready to play with. That's the fun part of making a scrappy quilt. I'm not even terribly averse to using the seam ripper at that point, if that's what it takes. I noticed that in the sample shown the quilter has placed the same fabric side-by-side in a few places, and probably assumes that will happen. It's not a flaw but a feature. That quilt is more about the flow of colors, and you have to look at it a bit to see that blocks have a pattern that is repeated.

ladyinpurple135

Wish I had known about the paper plate system back in 2002 when I made my husband a quilt using the “T” block (his name is Tom). Each block was a different color and a different background so I made piles of the pieces for each block and when chain stitching I used the top piece and then rotated the pile back to the top,of the line. Paper plates would have made my life so much easier������. I’ll definitely remember to use this when I need to make different blocks with different colors. Thanks to all who mentioned this method.

tricialt

Nice! Bright and cheerful!

tricialt

Here's what I ended up doing: I put 15 (I think) block pieces on paper plates, then the last several I laid out on squares of freezer paper, which I piled up for lack of space. When I got down to the last 2 blocks, I couldn't finish because of unwanted repeats. So I pulled out a paper plate (from the bottom of the stack for no apparent reason), laid the block out, and managed to switch out all the pieces I needed!

Scraplady

I use the paper plate method too. In looking at that quilt, I also think it's not going to be a huge deal if two patches of the same fabric touch each other in random places. It would be highly unlikely that it would happen in the same way in more than one spot.

One other thing I do: ALWAYS make a few extra blocks. That way, once I've finished all the blocks and I'm working on the final layout, if I find one that just won't cooperate, I call in one of the standby blocks to take it's place. I use the leftover blocks to make mug rugs, hot pads, FMQ practice pieces or other things. And if all else fails, there's always the seam ripper.

oksewglad

I had this idea a couple of years ago...Look to post #46 for Judith1005's big book

Mini quilt book to hold cut block pieces

sak658

I'm a paper plate gal too..especially when I made my daughter's Double Wedding Ring quilt all in purples...the plates made it so simple...fixing to make a DWR for my self...using the same paper plates...they work great...