lynnegreen

I made four of these little quickies last week and it was sooooo much fun. The first one went a lot slower then I thought it would, but once I had the hang of it the others were done in a flash. Absolutely love the way the tops turn out. I had just finished making a very complicated lap top carrier and needed something I could finish in a hurry and not get too frustrated over and this fun pattern really fit the bill, and, I have four Christmas presents half done now - they are small enough to quilt on my home sewing machine.

FranM

Any tips on the stitching to connect the strips? That looks like it'll be the most time consuming part.

QuiltE

Just do it! :)

Assembly line fashion will be the quickest/easiest.
I like the looks of the ones with the strips joined together on the bias.

Some have added joiner squares between the strips too. So another consideration for variety.

june6995

I decided to go against the grain and sewed strips of 5 together and rolled them in a roll. I had 9 rolls ready and made my first strip as a base, then added to the right side of the center strip, then the left side, and used the rolls and cut them a the end of the row. Worked out nicely and I did not have those tangled 40 strips. I also made the width that I wanted the quilt to be. There were no surprises at the end, and yes, I did add extra strips.

I cut my strips from yardage. Jelly rolls are versatile but I would not buy one to make a quilt Fabric on Sale makes it worth my time to cut strips. I bought 10 yards total, and have made 2 tops and still have more to use. All for just over $30. Missouri Star has a neat one offered by Jenny and 3 dudes.

June in Cincinnati

rexie

Is it anything like quilt as you go?

lynnegreen

I tried to be very organized about sewing the initial strips together, but you pretty much end up with a large pile. What I did find helpful was when doing the diagonal piecing of the strips I took the top strip and threw the end of it over my shoulder, funny as that may seem, but it actually flowed better during the actual seam creation.

Once the strips are all together you fold this 1600 inches of strip back on itself and sew a long seam (repeating this step several more times). Making sure you don't twist the strip as you sew is paramount. You cannot just grab the both ends and start sewing, I found out the hard way. I grab one end with my thumb and forefinger, right side facing me, and pull the fabric pile across my lap, adjusting the fabric to be right side up as I go with my left (not letting go of the beginning end) and when I get to the end of the strip all the twists are out and I can begin sewing.

june6995

I don't think you can quilt it as you go because you have all the strips to sew together. They are sewn one after the other, with the seams falling in various places. There are no blocks...just strips and more strips.

June in Cincinnati

QuiltE

Not at all!
Did you take a look at the links provided?

patdesign

As always this board is great, I always learn something new each day!!!:)

QuiltE

Perhaps you'd show us some pics of the ones you have done.