Tropical Stack-N-Whack Flimsy

 Last week at social sewing I worked on adding the coping strips to all the tropical stack-n-whack blocks to enlarge them so I could trim them all to a consistent size without cutting off the points. When all the blocks were framed up I put them up on the club's design wall and everyone there contributed suggestions for the layout. 

We sought a balanced distribution of the peach, the darkest greens, and the lightest blocks. After many suggestions and much moving around of blocks, the layout above is where we ended up. 

I brought the blocks home and squared them up to the largest possible size. I was able to trim them all to 16". Here is the top assembled on my home design wall (the background fabric is the same color as the wall so the edges don't show up very well). 

As you can see, some of the blocks rotate left and some rotate right, which makes the negative space around them variable, not a consistent shape. 

Since these were Carla's blocks (from 2001!) to begin with, the plan is to quilt this on Carla's computerized long arm. I'd like to see a motif that complements the tropical theme quilted in peach or seafoam thread in the negative space. I'm sure she has something in her library that will work. And some sort of simple wreath in the blocks, something that doesn't conflict with the fabric and piecing. If necessary I can stipple any leftover background space in off-white thread to complete the quilting. First, though, we have to find backing and get batting. That will have to wait until I get back from retreat.

This will be a donation quilt, probably for hospice. The top measures about 50 x 65", lap size.   

Link ups: Small Quilts and Doll Quilts,  Love Laugh Quilt