To Undo Excessive Saturation

 I am trying to replicate a quilt top I saw about five years ago in a quilt guild meeting. Like this was, it was made with .75 inch finished squares with a pattern/neutral checkerboard. I also remember that it looked cohesive. I'm not sure why it looked cohesive...maybe the colors stayed in the midrange.

And of course, I rarely have that effect when I piece everything somewhat randomly. I usually end up with a chaos quilt (that I enjoy every second making). So when a comment mentioned bright colors, I realized that I had gone through the bin and taken all the bits that make retinas burn. So today I went through the bin again and picked colors/patterns I don't notice. After that foray, the bit bin is reduced by roughly a quarter to a third. I also cut down about three hundred of those bits to the size needed for piecing.

And I'm heading towards a quilt that is roughly 60 inches by 80 inches, but I won't know if that's the right size until I get a look at it on the design wall.

And I do a fair amount of fussy cutting along the way...first when I reduce the bit to 1.25 inches wide and about two inches long.

After the bit is sewn to a neutral strip and ironed, I have a second opportunity to fussy cut when I reduce the two patch to 1.25 inches tall.

After I start sewing the two patches together, the fox and the squirrel should still have their ears, if they are lucky and I'm sewing straight.