Here we go! Are you ready? Do you have your fabrics all gathered up? If you’re still waiting for something you ordered, never fear, this quilt is really easy, so you can catch up really fast. I just thought I’d give you these instructions before the weekend, in case that works out well for you to get this step done.
We’re gonna start off by cutting all the background pieces for the quilt. I’m going to suggest you label the pieces, so if you didn’t download the free label sheet yet, you can do that HERE, and print them out and be ready (or feel free to make your own). I printed 3 copies of my label sheet, so I’d have enough for all my colors, etc.
Follow the instructions for the version of the quilt you’ve chosen to make: the traditional or the modern.
For the Traditional version:
For the traditional version, I used yardage, so all the pieces are cut from the same fabric.
We will first cut strips from the width of the fabric (WOF), so all your strips will have selvages on both ends, and be 40-42″ in length. We will be cutting the strips 2 1/2″ wide. Cut the pieces in the order stated, cutting the largest rectangles first, down to the smallest squares.
From your background fabric, cut 47 strips 2 1/2″ x WOF. Then cut the selvages off the ends.
Subcut these strips into the following rectangles and squares, and use the labels to keep track of which sizes are which:
45 rectangles 2 1/2″ x 10 1/2″
4 rectangles 2 1/2″ x 8 1/2″
164 rectangles 2 1/2″ x 6 1/2″
16 rectangles 2 1/2″ x 4 1/2″
64 squares 2 1/2″ x 2 1/2″
I put my pieces in a little bin that I kept on my cutting table while I was working on the quilt, but sometimes I use ziplock baggies to keep things organized. Use whatever your favorite method is to keep from getting confused (especially if you have to walk away from it for any length of time).
For the Modern version:
I used fat quarters for my modern version background, and I made sure to cut some of each size piece from each print, so that I would have a good variety sprinkled all over my quilt top.
I cut each fat quarter into 2 1/2″ strips the long length of the fat quarter, so that I had strips measuring 2 1/2″ x ~22″ to begin with. Then I removed the selvage end, and cut my rectangles and squares from those strips.
To mix all the prints up, cut a few of each size from each fabric. Here’s what you need to cut:
45 rectangles 2 1/2″ x 10 1/2″
4 rectangles 2 1/2″ x 8 1/2″
164 rectangles 2 1/2″ x 6 1/2″
16 rectangles 2 1/2″ x 4 1/2″
64 squares 2 1/2″ x 2 1/2″
Use your labels to keep the sizes separated, and store them however it’s easiest for you to use them. Here’s mine after I cut them, before I put my labels with them:
And that’s it for today! This gives you the weekend to get a good start on this, and I’ll be back on Tuesday with the instructions for cutting the print pieces!
The Life of Hazel Ilene 
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