Jane Austen Quilt: Constructing the Border

Here's a quick update on the Jane Austen Quilt I am supposed to be working on...

I cut all of the fabric I had collected into 1 1/2" wide strips (this includes 1/4" seam allowance.)  The strips vary in length, depending on the original size of the fabric.  But, most are around 24" long.

The border of the quilt is going to be 8" wide, and composed of 1" squares (the original quilt border was made of 1" diamonds...but I'm not that good...so squares will do for me.)  So, I randomly select 8 strips at a time, and I sew them together.  I will repeat this process until all of the strips are used.  You can see 3 finished sections above. 

Next, I cut these sections across the width into 1 1/2" strips (this also includes seam allowance.)

This is what they will look like when cut out.

Once I cut all of these strips, I sew them together, creating this mottled look.  I'm obviously not that good, because the pieces don't line up very well.  I'm not letting that bother me....

Eventually, I will have a border long enough to go all the way around the quilt.  Here's a quick sample of what it will look like.  It took me nearly an hour just to get this much done. 

I'm going to be at this for quite some time...

*sigh*