Quietly creating

A few weeks ago, I came home with this set of  scraps from a Super Bowl sale, and I have been tossing around ideas of what to do with them ever since.

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Something about the neutral tones with the touches of pink was just very calming, and serene.  It was just the feeling I was looking for in an otherwise hectic February.   I chose a square-in-a-square block variation and sewed up the first block:

Not much contrast, I know, but I wanted more of a whisper than a shout.

Being a complicated block, it seemed best to paper piece it.  I turned to my trusty Electric Quilt software, and created a pattern, dividing it up into five sections:

Then, knowing I wanted to make multiple blocks, I took the time to figure out the approximate size to cut each fabric piece for the least amount of waste.  This was important, because I was working with some small sized scraps.

Piecing followed along pretty well, but I often had to stop and check to be sure I was using the correct  triangles that I had intended  in the right  spot.  I decided that a cutting diagram would be a good idea to help keep track of the pieces.  I used a file folder, and made a true-to-scale drawing of each piece.

When preparing for the next block, I placed my cut pieces on the diagram to keep track of where they belonged in the block.

Sewing  was a lot easier now that I had a way to keep things organized.  Here are the two blocks that I have done so far:

and here are the fabrics I have chosen for the next few blocks.

Now that I have the cutting diagram for reference, I can cut pieces for more than one block at a time, and know that I can keep them organized as I progress with the sewing.