Scrappy Quilt finished

I finished my scrappy quilt the other day and it was a good feeling to cross it off my list as well as being happy with the results. As I've mentioned so many times, I'm not a good piecer so something like this is more of a challenge to me. On close look, you'll see seams that don't line up but the overall effect is bright and happy and that pleases me.

 Some of you had asked about the overall dimensions, amount of blocks etc so you might do it with your fiber group.  I will say it's a lot more fun to do with others as everyone can contribute to the pile of fabrics giving you more of a variety. There were 4 of us from our PTA retreat last year who made this quilt.  We did all the cutting at home and brought them to retreat ready to go.  We set up our machines in a quandrangle and arranged the cut fabric in piles - in the middle.  The small squares were stacked according to color and the longer strips divided into blacks and whites.

 The finished quilt is 60" high and 42" wide finished.
Each unit is made up of one long strip (black or white) and one small 4 patch.
There are 14 units across the top and 6 units going down for a total of 84 units.

 All meansurements given include the 1/4" seam allowance.
You will need:
42 black with white print strips - 7 1/2" x 3 1/2"
42 white with black print strips - 7 1/2" x 3 1/2"
Small 4 patch  - 336  2" squares - should have pairs of color
We cut a lot more than was needed to give us lots of choices - what was left over will get used probably by our "resident piecer" - Kate who is faster than the other 3 of us put together.

 We did lots of little 4 patches and than randomly attached them to a longer strip - not too much thought - just grabbed and sewed.

We stitched the units going across and as you can see in the top picture the 1st unit has the 4 patch on the top; the next unit, the 4 patch was on the bottom, staggering them all the way across. We staggered each row like this. We attached the 1st row to row 2, then 3 and 4 together and then 5 and 6. Last we attached 1 & 2 to 3 & 4 and then to 5 & 6. This made it easier to handle.  The quilt is so busy, it doesn't need elaborate quilting so I quilted in the ditch. I then decided to go back and add some wavy rows of hand stitching using 2 strands of black embroidery floss.  I like doing this kind of stitching and thought it added a little extra something.

Our 2014 retreat is coming up soon and we're busy looking for some fun and easy quilts we might like to do, Can't wait!
Til next time.....Judy