CA-bound #1: Reversible Quilt-As-You-Go (QAYG) String Quilt

Quilt #1 sent to Robert Kaufman for the #quiltsforCA drive.

This is a QAYG (Quilt As You Go) reversible quilt, using strings and chunks of fleece fabrics I had either intended to make sweats with, or had made sweats with and saved the scraps. Since the likely targets of my intentions (a couple of little boys) are now in their 30s, it was pretty ridiculous to keep hanging on to these.

With the fleece were coupled strings, scraps, and chunks of non-100%-cotton (n1c) fabrics. For each fleece triangle, strips of n1c fabrics were used to fill the opposite corner. Likewise, for each triangle of n1c....

Typical QAYG blocks have you sewing strips onto a whole-cloth backing fabric. Somewhere along the way I learned a different technique, one in which both sides of the block were stringing along. I didn't take pictures while I made this with an eye toward creating a tutorial, but I'll try to drop enough hints that anyone interested in the technique could probably piece together enough information to duplicate this method.

To a square of batting, I stitched (right side up) a triangle of fleece on one side, and a triangle of n1c to the flip side, in the opposite corner. Securing the fabric is crucial when working with fleece!

In this picture you can see the blue fleece in the upper right; in the lower left, you can just make out the stitching lines along the edges and diagonally down the middle where I've secured the n1c triangle on the flip side of the batting square. (The vertical lines of stitching you see on the batting are zigzag seams piecing smaller pieces of batting together to make this larger piece. All that was done prior to this phase of construction.)

A strip of n1c (face down) is sewn to the diagonal edge of the fleece, as shown above. The strip is then flipped face up and ironed down. Another strip of n1c (face down) is then sewn to the raw edge of the first n1c strip, then flipped face up and ironed down. This is repeated until the batting is covered with strips all the way to the lower corner.

The n1c triangle on the bobbin side of the batting is being quilted in place as each strip on the top side is sewn down.

When this side of the block is filled with sewn-down strips, the entire block is flipped over and the same process is used on that side. As each strip is sewn down, the fleece triangle (now on the bobbin side of the block) is being quilting in place.

 I like using my computer to play with settings, rather than all the bending and reaching (when using a mattress), or pulling down and repinning when using my design wall. To that end, I take pictures of each completed block, digitally trim them to their finished size, and happily rearrange things while sitting comfortably.

Raw block:

Trimmed and straightened digital version:

8" x 8" finished* block = 800 x 800 pixels

This was the layout I finally settled on, alternating fleece- and n1c-triangled blocks:

I don't remember for sure, but I probably did spend some quality time with a bed top, making sure this layout still pleased me when the reverse sides were considered.

I've mentioned before that sewing together QAYG blocks and then finishing the seams was tedious, so I went looking for and found an alternative method. This wasn't great as a first attempt, but it was passable and quick, and I'll definitely be using this method again!

Both sides of the finished quilt:

*This quilt is 58"x72", with blocks at roughly 14.5" finished, so I don't always use the 1"=100 pixels "rule" when digitalizing my blocks for arranging, especially when they're all the same size.

Update 7 December:
This quilt can be seen in the pile of quilts getting ready to be delivered: