Next Steps for me in Making this Dresden Quilt

I bet you all forgot about my Dresden quilt! But, I haven't even put it aside. After much deliberation, I've decided to take all the little scraps of beautiful fabric I chose for the Dresden and make 5" blocks of designs I really like as I browse some of my quilting magazines. I found one design that called for long strips of 2 fabrics, so I gathered pieces that were long enough and made a pile of strips.

pile of strips

preparing the strips

This took several days to cut, stitch, press and find pieces that would match for alternate patterns. When I finished as many strips as I could, I began the next step of making the blocks.
I hope to make these, but also put together smaller amounts of fabrics to make a variety of block designs.
Once I have a stash of little blocks, I hope my next step will be to connect all the blocks into one long strip and make a border for the Dresden blocks. As I learn new block designs and patterns, I hope I can add these to my 5" pile of blocks, as scraps allow. Because I am using scraps, it will be interesting to see how many I can pile together, in a variety of designs to create an intriguing border.

In the meantime, I'm hunting for a delectable fabric which jumps off its bolt, begging to be the backing for my very first quilt. I'm considering a navy or deep garnet shade with barely any design to keep it from being a plain boring piece. I'm sure I'll know when I see it waiting for me on some shelf.

For any "quilter police", please give this newbie a little space. I know I'm taking such a long time to accomplish this one quilt, but it is because I often lay it aside to work on what I've learned before I add it to this project. I'm reading quilt books, browsing online sites, and flipping through quilt magazines like crazy. Wow! There is so much to learn and so many blocks to try!

In case, you forgot what it looks like...

I've already put 2 fronts together with the Dresden ruler and other colors! But oh! That's a secret until the recipients hold their gifts!  I find it so fun to experiment with color and fabrics, and then take what I learned to make another part for this border.
This may be my first quilt, yet I'm also creating a journal for 2010-2011's hours spent learning a new hobby. What better way to record what I am learning as I wander down the path into the wonderful world of creating quilts and designs!
So, patience will prevail, and some day...my Dresden quilt will not only keep me warm, but will remind me of all it took to make each square!