Sunbreaks in Scrappy Trips

I have a lot I could share with you because it's been so long since my last post! I sew when I'm functioning well and then don't have the energy to do a blog post. {sigh} Such is life.

I have finished making the Scrappy Trips blocks I was working on recently (inspired by Nifty). I kept a yellow print in the middle of my blocks and the rest of the prints came from the older pieces in my  stash. Some demon in my soul made it harder than it needed to be by challenging myself not to use the same print more than once. There was a wide stripe that I did use more than once because each stripe looked like a different fabric! ;- )

One thing I was anxious to do was to try out various settings for these blocks. Here's a zig zag arrangement for example:

And here's something more on the order of a traditional Trip Around the World:

This is the Sunshine & Shadows arrangement I thought I might use originally:

Eventually I decided that this set of blocks would really look best in the Many Trips setting. (Although, looking at these pictures I find I'm still drawn to that Sunshine & Shadows setting!)

It took a while to find just the right configuration. I would have been happier a lot sooner if all the yellow prints had been of the same strong value.

It worked out best to have the darker yellows through the middle of the top and the pale values toward the edges. Well, in my opinion anyway!

I had an intended recipient in mind when I started making these blocks. Now I'm not so sure that's where it will end up. It's 60 x 72 inches now, which would be fine for a couch quilt. If it goes to Foster Care instead I may add borders to make it a little bigger for a teenager. And of course I've had ideas for using this technique with other sets of colors and prints. Haven't started any of them yet but they're percolating! :- )