Beyond the block

I think I'm addicted to Craftsy!  I've signed up for a few free and a few paid courses on their website and Designing Modern Quilts by Weeks Ringle is one of my favourites.  One of the concepts of this course is Beyond the block.  It involves looking at a design concept as a whole first and then breaking it into smaller units to construct rather than repeating blocks to make a pattern . 

One of the thoughts I had in my head the whole time I was watching this specific lesson was "stars".  Weeks had a quilt with very specific curved shapes in it called Tankini and I guess it inspired the giant red star in the foreground.  I had an idea of the colours I wanted, rich oranges, yellows and reds against a navy blue background so I started playing with shapes and graduated colours in this Photo and came up with the the design in the image above.

I have no idea how to make this, no clue at all.  Week's suggestion is to make a mini version first to test the design.  I know I want insert circles rather than applique and probably should use graduated dyed fabric and I know the curves, dimensions and placement are super important or the design won't work the way I want it.  I know quite a bit but not how to start so I'm winging it!

In order to make my mini version I ordered this beautiful Kona solids fabric bundle from Cindy at Fluffy Sheep Quilting (it's called sunrise!) and I'm going to print my design 1:1 A2 size and get out the ruler and calculator.  Wish me luck!