That Quirky Scrap Quilt (along): Putting It Together

I almost got That Quirky Scrap Quilt top put together today but it didn't quite happen.  Just a few more seams!  When I was laying it all out on Sunday my husband noted that it was a little chaotic and (proudly using his quilting vocabulary) that there wasn't a lot of contrast in value.  He is right.  It is pretty crazy and there isn't a strong difference in value, but while that could be a real problem in another quilt I did it purposefully with this one.  I think is is going to have that quirky scrap quilt feel I was going for.

So, let's put it all together.  The quilt is 13 blocks wide and 16 blocks long.  The un-pieced 4 1/2" squares are alternated with either 4-patch, half square triangle (HST) or quarter square triangle (QST) units.  The pattern is like this:

un-pieced, 4-patch, un-pieced, HST or QST, un-pieced, 4-patch, un-pieced, HST or QST, un-pieced and so on across the top for 13 units.  Note that you can use either a HST or QST when you get to that unit.  Spread the QSTs evenly through out the quilt.

When I was laying out my real quilt I chose to have the darker squares in the 4-patch unit go in the same direction in a diagonal from bottom to top.  I also chose to have all of the darker halves of the HSTs be on the right/bottom.  It give all the crazy a dash of order.  :)

The 1st row starts with an un-pieced unit followed by a 4-patch, un-pieced, HST/QST and so on....
The 2nd row starts with a 4-patch unit and follows the same pattern across the top.
The 3rd row starts with an un-pieced unit followed by a HST/QST and so on....
The 4th row starts with a HST/QST unit and follows the same pattern across the top.

Repeat the pattern in the first 4 rows for a total of 16 rows.  You will notice that the 4-patch and HST/QST units run on a diagonal from bottom to top.

Sew units together into rows, set the seams and press towards the un-pieced unit.  Match seams and sew the rows together.

And it is done!

I will get a picture of mine posted Tuesday or Wednesday.   We are going to start driving to California on Saturday (I keep telling myself, "It will be great!" but I am not buying it), so I will put off the big reveal of the final quilted and bound masterpiece until the beginning of August.  I hope you will link up if you have been quilting along.

I hope to post now and then while we are on vacation.  We will be stopping by the Quilt Study Center in Lincoln, Nebraska on our way to California.  It is about 4 hours from us and I have been telling the husband and kids, "It will be a great stopping place!"  I don't think they are buying it, but they can take a lunch and play break while I look around.  :)

My mom made a quilt for my brother and his soon-to-be wife for their wedding (the reason for the trip to CA) and I will post pictures of that too.

Actually I have a lot to post about:  the pioneer dresses I made for Emily, the sashes for the flower girl dresses, the fabric for a quilt block contest that has absolutely no difference in value again, (ugh!)...so much to write about and make and so little time!

I hope you have a great week and are able to stay cool and get some sewing time in too!