Melissa's Ice Pop Quilt

I have been busy, busy, busy. I've got a bad case of insomnia right now so I'm not sleeping well at all. When I can't sleep, I sew. It's completely calms and soothes me. Right now I have 2 quilts that need binding and three that need to be quilted. I've also been making blocks for three other quilts I'm working on.
I just finished a quilt for my friend Melissa. Melissa is the coolest chick. She has the best personality, a great sense of self and an open heart. This past summer, she used her vacation time to go Africa on a mission trip. She spends most of her Sundays after church at a nursing home visiting "her ladies". She doesn't just talk the talk, she walks the walk! She, like me, also loves to travel and has been to some great places like Antarctica, Spain, Greece and Italy. I wanted to make her a modern quilt with colorful colors but her living room is neutral so I went with neutral colors.
I wanted to try Denise Schmidt's Ice Pop Quilt for a while. The only problem was it required templates and I hate templates! I've done alot of improv blocks lately and it has given me the courage to just wing it. I cut 2.5 inch strip for the middle and just added strips until I had a 15x20 inch block. I then added 6 inch borders and the result was a 56"x71" quilt. I quilted it on the diagonal again and I think I finally got it right!

For the back, I recreated one of the blocks from the front only larger. I wish I had made the middle brown strips longer but part of sleep deprivation is mush brain. I love the end results for both the front and the back. I've been calling this quilt the "2fer" quilt. It's almost like having two quilts. She can display the front or the back. Also, Melissa's birthday is on the 16th and she just moved into a new house. I hope she likes the "2fer" quilt as much as I do!