Rag Quilt Update

I'm making really good progress on my rag quilt (and hope to make LOTS this weekend when Jason and the kids are all at the ADay Game and I will be enjoying a blissful, kid-free weekend. (Which I need SO very badly!)

But, here's a little update and pictures for anyone interested in seeing how this thing comes together. None of it is difficult, just time consuming.

After picking all my fabric and coordinating "color families" which you can see HERE, I cut three inch strips, and made a 'sandwich' with a two-inch piece of batting in the middle. You choose a decorative stitch - I used a wide zigzag - and make all your sandwiches...and there are lots of them!



In this picture, Lucy was using my completed strips as a balance beam to walk across :-)


look at her holding her baby doll! LOL! (and yes, my room is a disaster...there are some days you just don't feel like cleaning up...this was one of those ;-)


After all your strips are sewn together, you make your "rail fence" pattern, by sewing three strips together - your color family strips - by putting the "dark" strips on the edge of the middle "light" strip.



Now, you have your 6 color families sewn together in long strips. Next, I'll cut these across the grain to make 6 inch squared squares. Then, the tedious job of piecing all together will begin...

And I've gone ahead and made the border. I used a plain navy blue, but used variegated thread to make a neat detail on the border.