starting a second mod mosaic pillow

My friend Einat, who came for a visit, saw the first mod mosaic pillow I made for the Retro Pillow Challenge (read more about it here and here) and wanted one for herself.

first mod mosaic pillow I made

Mod Mosaic Floor Pillow by Elizabeth Hartman [ tutorial PDF ]

So I gladly offered to make her one - a better one!
I am using the blue fabrics I have left over from the place mats I made, with an off-white sashing.

place mats I made

Here's a picture of the second mod mosaic pillow in the works:

Improvements Made

• Cut the wonky pieces only -slightly- off. Don't make the diagonals too strong, or you'll get more of a "triangles" look and not so much a "wonky squares" look.
• Use better fabric! The fabric I used for the first pillow is not quilting cotton - it was just cotton scraps I had from various projects. This time I'm going for the higher quality stuff.
• Use larger blocks. Remember that each piece loses its seam allowance on all sides, and the pieces are re-cut to straighten the edges as you go, so they'll become smaller anyway.
• Use narrower sashing strips. Last time my sashing was 3 cm ( a bit over an inch). This time I'm going with 1 inch, as instructed.
• Eliminate the white border. There was too much white for my taste in the first pillow. Making the sashing narrower and eliminating the white border should yield a better balance between color and white.