A New Quilt – A Scrappy Trip Around the World

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March of 2017. That’s when I snapped the above picture. I’ve waited and waited to cut into that stack of fabric. I wasn’t completely sure what quilt pattern or block I wanted to use, but I also had too many other works in progress.

I’m thankful to say that now in May of 2018, I still have the same fondness for that stack as I did over a year ago. I had started too many other quilts and needed to wait to cut into this one. I have a quite informal goal this year of using up much of my fabric stash. I’d also like to finish my works in progress before starting too many new quilts.

What do I still have in progress? I wrote this post a while back that referenced many of my outstanding projects. I ensured I debunked any mystery that I was an overly productive individual. I explained that it just appears from the outside that I find a lot of time to sew. In reality, though, I just typically bounce back and forth between working on numerous quilts. I think the variety in my Instagram posts just makes you think I’m getting a lot done. Don’t you worry…I’m really just making slow progress on six quilts at once.

I’m still slowly working on my Dresden plate quilt. I think I stalled on this one so many times because I wasn’t really sure how to move forward. I finally came up with a plan and am sticking to it. Right now I’m in process of hand stitching my Dresdens to 15 inch panels of Bella Ruby Ice. It’s the best low volume aqua. (Believe me…I looked through allllllll the sample swatches at my local quilt shop.)

My hexagon quilt?

I think it will be another ten years before I finish this one. 🙂

I finally finished my son’s economy block quilt! This was a huge and relieving finish for me. I love the block, but economy blocks were definitely time consuming. Lots of trimming and squaring for me.

All my vintage sheet quilts are also finished! I am asked fairly regularly to sew one of those. The one pictured below was my most recent finish (and probably my favorite!). I currently have no outstanding custom orders for customers. It’s nice to have no deadlines.

So I decided it was time to start a new quilt and cut into my pretty yellow and pink stack. I’ve seen so many varieties of scrappy Trip Around the World quilts. Even though they are intended to be sewn with remainder strips of scraps, I decided to use a curated bundle.

I used most of the original stack pictured at the start of this post. I added the pink and yellow fabrics on the left side. Those were a more recent find from Heather Ross’ Tiger Lily line. Most of these fabrics are older and not for sale any more, but feel free to ask the lines, and I’ll try to find the names for you.

After reading a number of blog posts, I decided to use this tutorial from Quiltville for creating my quilt. The blocks have come together relatively quickly. I don’t think this quilt will take me long to finish.

I am pleased with how these fabrics are working together. Yesterday I added one more lower volume fabric from Sedef Imer’s fabric called Posy in white from her Sweet Prairie line.

You can see below how the blocks will begin to come together. Below you see four 12 inch blocks laid out. Do you see the pattern coming out where the fabrics are going in trips around in a circle? It’s kind of like you have to step back and look at a whole quilt.

My mom travels down often to small town southern Illinois to visit my grandma. Sometimes they swing into thrift stores checking for any vintage sheets for me. My mom has come home with some treasures for sure! She brought this one back a couple months ago, and I think it may be the perfect backing for this soon to be quilt top.

The fabrics in this new quilt are full of florals and pinks. This quilt is likely going to be mommy’s quilt in our home. I don’t foresee this one getting dragged off to the boys’ bedrooms. I thought a petite vintage floral sheet could be perfect for the backing.

I’m excited to continue working on these blocks this week! I never know if a quilt is going to come together in a few weeks time or a few years. Either way, the process is still so enjoyable for me!