Easy Peasy Beginner's Quilt, with herringbone/minky back

After seeing some cute quilts floating around Pinterest, I decided it was time to make my first quilt ever. Something very simple, the thought of cutting and sewing all those tiny pieces makes me nauseous. My inspiration came from here. Super easy, seven panels total, you don't even need a pattern. I also experimented on the back, creating a herringbone pattern using minky ribbon fabric.

To do the back I used two yards of minky ribbon fabric, and had a lot leftover. Minky isn't the easiest fabric to work with, stretchy and slippery, and when its cut, it sheds, A LOT. But its so super soft!
First, take your fabric and cute it in half.

Find a forty-five degree angle, you can use a piece of paper or the lines on your cutting board.

Make your first cut along that forty-five degree angle, then continue cutting strips along that same angle. My strips were nine inches wide.

Once you have several strips from your first side, you'll want to make strips using the other half of your fabric. Make sure its turned the opposite direction, so the diagonal lines are going the other way.

Then lay your strips out, alternating the pieces to create your pattern.

Cute the corners off, then sew the strips together.

Next is the fun part, choosing your fabrics! Here are my panels, laid out.

Here is my vertical panel, I ruffled a piece of fabric. I love how it looks like a ribbon (to me anyway).

Finally, place the top and bottom together, right sides facing each other. (Ignore that binding around the edges, it was a failed experiment.) Because the minky is so slippery, I basted the front and back together. Be sure to leave a six inch space somewhere, to turn it right side out.

Lastly, turn the quilt right side out and add a final stitch along the outer edge of the quilt. It is done and beautiful! Congrats, you just made your first quilt!