Fun with bargello strips

I have been having so much fun with this Bargello.  Step one was to cut two sets of strips.  Each strip was 2" wide and the full width of fabric.  I then sewed them together.  Hint:  if you sew each strip on in the opposite direction, such as top to bottom, then bottom to top, you are more likely to keep your strip unit straight.  Otherwise it might start to curve like a rainbow.  No bueno.

 I stacked my two units on top of each other to save time.  Here is what I cut:
6--3/4" wide
12--1" wide
12-1 1/4" wide
8--1 1/2" wide
4--1 3/4" wide

 I stacked them all up by size to keep them straight.

 Then I sewed them into loops.  I didn't pin--I felt like that would have been a waste of time.  I stacked each pile on  my leg, lined up the short ends, and chain-sewed all of them.  I left them sewn together by size to make it easier to keep them organized and a little less crazy.

 Then I had to reach into each loop and press the seam allowances toward the dark fabric.  This was only slightly tricky.

 Next was the fun part--removing the seams at strategic locations, and laying out my bargello.  I started from the middle and worked my way out.  It was actually really easy to do.  I'm doing a double bargello, so the top and bottom are mirror images of each other, with one strip right side up, and one strip upside down. 

 Then I sewed the middles together, and joined the ends of every other strip so each would be the same length without having half-rectangles sticking off.  If you look at the very center, narrow strip in the picture above, you can see that it is gray on top and white on the bottom.  Doing this will put half of the white on top and leave the other half on the bottom.

 The ones that I sewed the ends together then had to be cut in half, right through the middle of the "extra" piece.

 Can you believe this thing is a quilt?  My husband says it looks like a mop.  Thanks for being my hand model, hon.

I love chain sewing.  Even though I end up with "mops" like this sometimes, it really helps me stay organized.  This whole thing has every strip in the right order, so all I have to do now is carefully cut them apart and realign them so they match up correctly, then sew all the strips lengthwise and my top will be done.  This has been so fun, I might actually do a larger bargello someday.  It hasn't been scary or intimidating at all.

I'm linking up to Work in Progress Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.