ChrisBobSquarePants Quilt

I've been planning to make my older brother a quilt for at least a year and a half now.  In 2011 I made my younger sister a quilt and my twin brother a quilt, but several life events (having a baby, dealing with swallow bug infestation, putting house on the market and a dear friend dying) and some other quilts got in the way.  Also I had been planning a very intricate whole cloth quilt...and just could not figure out how to do it right.  The thought of trying something that new, challenging and large, while also keeping the house in near-show condition, and a move in the near future (hopefully), and two small kids running around, just didn't sound like fun anymore.  Also, compared to the other bed quilts I've made, it wouldn't look nearly as vibrant and colorful.

I finally came up with a new idea to use the Tula Pink Salt Air fat quarter bundle I got for Christmas (from my older brother, haha!).  I need to buy a second fat quarter bundle to make the quilt big enough, plus I added a couple of other fabrics from my stash:

The 8 fabrics on the right are from Tula Pink's Salt Water line, the second from the left is from Cosmo Cricket's Salt Air line, called Sea Garden in Ocean (I've had it about a year--soooo love this pattern and the colors!).  And the one on the far left is from a fat quarter bundle, and I have no idea what it is from!  The background fabric is Kona Navy.

I asked my brother which of three quilts I found on pinterest that he liked best and he chose the LynneBobSquarePants quilt.  The tutorial she has for the blocks makes a 12 inch block, but to make a queen size quilt, I sized them up to an 18 inch block:

Four blocks done, 16 to go!

Since this is not a scrappy quilt, I decided not to make the double-colored half square triangles (HST), instead just using the right sized square of fabric (does that make sense to anyone?!).  Twenty-four HSTs (per block) is enough, thanks!

I've been trying different methods of making HST, and like this one the best, no bias edges and they sew up fast!  I also found that pressing the HST seams open helped the finished block lay flatter/smoother, even though it more than doubles my ironing time.  Once the HSTs are all made and trimmed, the blocks come together really quickly.  I love big blocks, they are so gratifying to make.  If you've made a LynneBobSquarePants block or quilt, leave a link, I would love to see it!