Finally, this quilt top is done.  I've been quite in suspense about it, waiting to see if it would actually be worth quilting.  

What if it was so ugly I'd have to donate it to the local animal shelter to use for dog bedding? ..... No, it couldn't be that bad.  

Once I added a border, I started liking it much better. So I added two more. What do you think? I think it's a keeper.    

I love the way borders set off a quilt, like putting a picture in a frame. And I really love multiple borders. What I do NOT love is math, so I made myself a handy-dandy spreadsheet to crunch the numbers for me. I can plug in the size and number of my blocks, and widths of up to 10 borders, and instantly see how the quilt grows, how many strips to cut for each border, and how much yardage I'll need. Sure, I can do most of that in EQ, but I don't like EQ yardage estimates for borders. I always cut my borders across the width of the fabric and piece the strips with diagonal seams, so I wanted the yardage calculated specifically for that method. Also, it's really handy to know how many strips to cut before I start cutting.  

Click here for my nifty Quilt Border Calculator.  If you want to use the border calculator, click the link, then click SAVE. Otherwise, you won't be able to save your own calculations. It will only work if you have Excel on your computer. I'm still trying to figure out a way around that, but I'm not terribly hopeful. Maybe I should ask my brother, who is a genuine techie nerd. Every family needs one, ya know?

Please, please, please, let me know if you discover any bugs in it, or if you have suggestions for improvements.

​I promised you a chart for using all those scrap strips, and here it is (finally)!  Click the link below this post to download the PDF.  

The chart has a grid showing how you can combine scrap sizes.  For instance, if you make 4-patch blocks from your 2-inch squares, or make 9-patch blocks from your 1 1/2-inch squares, you can easily combine them with your 3 1/2-inch squares to make bigger blocks.  (And believe me, you DO want to make bigger blocks.  As much as I like working with all those tiny bits, even I don't want to make a whole quilt from 3/4-inch strips...unless it's for a dollhouse.)  

There are so many possibilities!  And that's just talking about SQUARES.  If you cut your scraps into strips, like I do, the possible combinations multiply.  I have a gorgeous quilt in the works that started with 4-inch pinapple blocks made from 1-inch and 1 1/2-inch strips.