"Giraffe" my First Quilt

I made this Giraffe quilt for my grand-nephew, who is to be born this summer.

Here is the tutorial I followed:
http://www.cluckclucksew.com/2010/07/tutorial-road-trip-quilt.html

This was fun, and relatively easy. Because I used scrap fabric, cutting was more time consuming, and there is a larger variety of fabrics than the original.

For me, the most difficult part was creating a pleasing layout. Random goes against my logical nature! I suggest taking a photo of your layout before you start sewing. I ended up rearranging all along the way.

Giraffe is actually pieced, but not quilted. A technique to simultaneously quilt and sew strips together is described here: http://originateandrenovate.blogspot.com/2011/11/quilt-as-you-go-strip-quilt.html

It took all of my good sense to refrain from trying to use a variation of the block below.
http://www.equilters.com/library/techniques/slashstars3.html This style would really look like a giraffe! It is a good thing I stayed with the original plan, it was enough of a challenge for a beginner.