Just Ducky

In the past, when working with fabric leftovers, I was not really concerned about the size of the final project--it would be whatever it turned out to be.

But now that I am using leftovers to make lap quilts, I am finding that having a "target" finished size helps me to develop a plan.  

So, how could I turn four 6 1/2 " squares (plus a few smaller pieces) of a duck print fabric into a usable lap quilt? 

This fabric is very colorful.  So, looking at the colors in the print, I searched my stash for possible fabrics to use in making a lap quilt.

First, I bordered out the print squares so that they would be 12" finished.  The 1 1/2" blue strips that "came with" the print squares were used as the inner border.  Fort the outer border, I chose lime green.  Those strips were cut 2 1/2".  

Now that I had these four squares, what could I do with them?  If I made the quilt top basically a 9-patch, I would need 5 more blocks.  

I had plenty of white fabric and more of a similar shade of dark blue fabric.  An orange fabric would be fun to use, too.   

I sketched out a plan for 9 patch blocks to surround the print blocks.  The squares would be cut 4 1/2".  I decided to position dark blue squares to create an X design across the quilt top.  A bright orange print was placed in the 9-patch corners.  Smaller pieces of the duck print fabric were sewn together so that a 4 1/2" square could be cut from them.  This square was used in the center of the middle 9 patch block for continuity.  

 

 

 The finished quilt top measures 36 1/2" square.  It's bright and cheery, and Just Ducky!  :)