Deco Block Construction

When I first saw the rotary cutter in the early 1980's, I could see its potential right away and I knew I'd never make a quilt using templates ever again, and I never have. (I don't do paper-piecing either.)

So when I had to add a 2-1/2" square on the end of a 4-1/2" strip, there wasn't any way I was going to cut either 2-1/2" squares or 2-1/2" x 4-1/2" rectangles. Since the exact location of the square at the end of the strip didn't need to be precise, I came up with a different way of doing it. The other reason was I was using a LOT of different fabrics. If I had wanted a group of these exactly the same, I would have sewn a 2-1/2" strip to a 4-1/2" one and then cut them crosswise. (See one of my earliest blog posts for an explanation*.)

 Instead I sewed the ends of my blue strips to a long colored strip that would be the square...

 Cut them apart,

And them trimmed them down to size.

Then I made all the blocks. I confess I did need to cut a few more strips (about 10) to finish the blocks, but as I trimmed them I set them out on the floor to see what they might look like. This is by no means a final layout.

I should have the blocks done tomorrow (well, if I ignore the housework I can), and I may start sewing rows together.

This is kinda wild. I'm not used to making a quilt in less than two weeks.




*The black quilt in that post is still on my bed, btw.