Sewing Up the Christmas Random Planks

I got out of work early on Friday and started sewing up the Christmas Random Plank Quilt.  I cut a piece about 76" long, lined it up with the rest of the strip and sewed it together. I added a few more strips and then saw this:

I did NOT like the two red strips almost perfectly aligned. So I ripped it out and moved the strip around to the other side, then kept going.

After a while I'd lay the quilt on the floor, and then place the big strip next to it, to decide where I wanted to stitch it down.

My self imposed rule was to use the strip as it came off the pile. I could arrange it on either side of the quilt any way I wanted. I didn't modify the big strip by trimming pieces down.  I used the strip as it came. I did have to wiggle some things up or down a little bit so the accent squares didn't line up.

 by the time I stopped for the night, I had nineteen strips sewn together.  I cut my original strips 2-1/2" wide, so this is about 38" wide.

I'm pressing the rows after sewing four or five together. Otherwise it just gets unmanageable.

It's not a bad way to make a quick quilt. I made the random planks because I had a lot of 2-1/2 strips already cut, and I wanted something quick. If I were to do it all over again, I wouldn't leave any strips the full WOF. I don't like they way they look when they fall next to each other. You can see it here in the first pair - there's a long gold strip next to a long red strip right in the middle.  It's not particularly interesting.

This is going to be a quilt that will live on the back of the couch during the holiday season, so I can wrap myself in it when I lie down on the couch to read or take a nap. Or it will be used for guests, so it's going to be just fine.

I had HGTV on while I was sewing this up, and one designer said "If it's perfect, it isn't interesting to look at." I think that's not far from the truth.

I don't know how much more I'll get done over the weekend. I have to get the Christmas tree up and decorated, and the house needs a good vacuuming!