Background is done!

Background pieces sewn together but not trimmed. It was fun to learn this technique...I didn't enjoy sewing with interfacing on the back because it sticks to everything and is so flimsy that sometimes it would flip over/under and I didn't realize it until it was caught up in a seam. But making 12 squares was just enough that I got the hang of the technique without getting bored with the project. I do think I will try this again...I have seen string quilts on the diagonal that look amazing and would like to try that. It is A LOT of work for such a small project. I'm not sure how I would last on a much larger quilt of this style.So here is the background with the blocks all squared up and sewn together...I love my fabrics but I wish the colors had blended a little better...it seems to be all dark on one side and all light on the other with no middle ground. Never have been great about finding the middle ground! Started off with all narrowish strips and soon learned that I needed some wider strips to give variation and to make it go faster. Also completely melted my interfacing on the back of my first two squares because I had the iron temp set too high. Luckily I had only sewn 2 strips on each interfacing square and the loss wasn't that great. I also learned not to leave a tiny space at the edge of the square so that a tiny strip of fabric needs to be sewn there and then most of said tiny strip trimmed away and then the rest of said tiny strip sewn into the seam allowance. Not only irritating and tedious, but makes for a bulky seam.

On an unrelated note...this is offspring # 1 (which I will call Bebe) and a friend. We live in the south so ball caps and big hair are ALWAYS in style!