Chinese Coins, process

 Chinese Coins
78 by 90 inches.
3510 pieces--1755 prints/plaids, 1755 solid blue.

 I have been enjoying the process of making this quilt.
It was inspired by Lori's Juniper Flats quilt on her Humble Quilts blog.

My pieces are cut 1 1/2 by 2 1/2 inches, like hers. I decided to use a constant, Kona's Candy Blue between the coins.
The fabrics are from my bin of scraps cut this size, plus pieces I cut from my mother's scraps which include fabrics from both of my grandmothers. I also added some recent purchases and dug out  favorites and cut pieces to add.

My fabric use plan was to include lots of shirt plaids--both to use up these scraps, and to give a saturated punch of color mixed in with the chaos of the print scraps. Helps calm things down visually. I used lights, mediums, and darks.  I made sure to use several with a close shade to the blue. I let the pieces fall where they did by serendipity.

I decided not make it in rows of coins, thinking that making 9-patch units would help keep the piecing square. Also, because I get really, really irritable when I have long rows of many seam matches to make. Which is exactly what this quilt would be. Hundreds and hundreds of long seam matches...

Because I didn't know how big I was going to make it, I bought what was left on a bolt and tore off pieces about 20 inches at a time to cut my constant rectangles, sewing til they were used up, then tore off another piece.
(This way I also bypassed the other thing that makes me irritable, having to cut hundreds and hundreds of pieces all at once.)

Come to think of it, there is a lot about quilting that irritates me, but somehow I keep working around those things to keep it enjoyable!

The two types of 9 patches are joined, then another such block is added, making four 9-patches in a row. It is joined to another, making a larger block of four across by two down.

I love that Jane Austin print! Mom used it for a pillow case for us when we were little.

These large blocks are then brought to the design board.  I added half blocks to the top and one side to make it the dimensions I wanted. Put together in sections, being methodical about pressing so that it lays really flat. One last long seam to put together.
No borders. Will bind with the blue.
Now, off to the quilter!