A new quilt in the works

Here’s how it goes…
1. Clean out your sewing area and realize how many small scraps of fabric you have from dozens of previous projects (including a bunch of extra squares from the quilt you made for your bed 7 or 8 years ago).
2. Get inspired by some blog where they were showcasing the Chevron quilt. Download the instructions. Decide it’s the perfect use for all of those scraps of beautiful fabric. Completely disregard the part about using solids since most of your scraps have some kind of pattern. meh. Decide that of course you have the time and energy to make a quilt right now.
3. Start cutting out squares. At home, on vacation, squares, squares, squares. And not the size they called for in the instructions, because 4 7/8” squares seems harder than 5” squares somehow. Finally finish cutting out a ton of squares, in the 200 range. Each square needs a matching one. This is great fun on vacation, in the sun, while visiting with friends and watching munchkins. This is also great fun at home avoiding cleaning the bathroom. The cutting takes a long time, but I found it to be enjoyable, especially using the rotary cutter.

4. Slice squares in half on the diagonal to make triangles. Fast. Fairly simple. This gives you four triangles (at least) of each pattern. Some of the fabric I had a lot more than 4, some just 4. Meh. It’s a scrappy quilt, we’re going with the randomness of it all. 
5. Start matching sets of patterns – 4 triangles of 2 patterns to make the squares. Even better, have your crafty friend matching patterns up for you while you begin the sewing.
6. Sew those triangles together along the diagonal to make squares. Four matching squares of each set of patterns. Get most of the way through the matching and about half way through the sewing. Take a break (and by break, it might be a coffee break, or it might be a ‘drive home from up north’ break, whatever works for you).
7. Get out the ironing board. Turn on a movie. Start ironing those squares flat and then clip the uneven corners. Do this for a long time (well, get through your stack of squares). 
8. Once that batch is ironed, back to the machine, sew the four squares together to make a chevron pattern blocks.
 
Note: Be careful not to do this. You’ll have to rip them out to correct it. Or scavenge your scraps to see if you have any scraps left to make more half squares to avoid ripping out. Or decide you didn’t really want that square anyway. It is a scrappy quilt after all.
9. Repeat steps 6-8 until you have enough of the chevron squares. So far I have 50 completed chevron squares (40 to go) and enough of the smaller squares ready to be sewn into the remaining chevron squares (I think). I thought this could take me years to even get to this point, but it goes pretty fast once you’re sitting there sewing. And I like this because there are a few different steps so you can mix it up if you have the attention span of a flea like me.
 
Even the clippings look fun!