Rag quilt!

Hey sorry I have not updated in a bit....that is my new goal...to be more active with my blog. I do post more on youtube but it usually more scrap related.
My latest project was a rag quilt. I have this crazy desire to quilt and I figured this was a good forgiving way to start a quilt....not so precise and very forgiving. So here goes
I just picked out some flannel fabric because it frays better with each wash but you can use sheets old clothes and denim...your choice. DO NOT PREWASH NEW FABRIC!!
I picked 4 coordinating designs and decided I wanted to make the squares on the back all the same. So here is the fun part...the math...
You need to decide how big you want your quilt to be.  There are plenty of good sites with converters out there if you are not mathematically inclined....but just remember 36 inches per yard so if you were making say 9 inch squares you could get approx 20 squares per yard if the bolt is 45"
I just picked up a few yards of each fabric for the front and 3 yards for the back and 2 yards of batting and I ended up with extra but I am sure I can put it to good use somehow....
I decided on 9x9 squares for the quilt and 7x7 for my batting squares...So you take all your fabric and cut it into squares...if you don't have a rotary cutter, invest in one :)
You need a square for the top, a square for the bottom, and a square of batting in between.

Then comes the fun part lay out your design on the floor and tweak it however you like I went with a kind of patchwork design with an alternating stripe through the middle. Then I took my ruler and drew diagonal lines with my chalk that met in the middle if you like you can "eye" it....

Then you go to the machine and sew on those lines, you can do a straight stitch like me...a curve...a design, whatever you and your machine can do....

After you have decided on your design and laid them out accordingly I pinned each row together so I would not get my pattern mixed up. Then start sewing your seams together so top row then next row so you will have long rows sewn across not columns yet....Make sure the seams face up toward you...I know it defies sewing laws!

after you have all the rows done start sewing them together as well....

Front:

Once it is all sewn together the back should look like this...

Then you want to take your scissors and snip into each edge about every inch or so but be careful to not cut the sewn seams and don't forget the ones between the blocks

Then you want to wash and dry your quilt...the more you wash and dry the fluffier the rag edges will become....

See! Very easy and forgiving!