Thursday, January 24, 2013

scrappy trip around the world

I drank the kool aid folks.  There was this amazing surge of awesomeness happening on Instagram a couple of weeks ago.  Lots of little scrappy blocks turning into beautiful quilt tops in what seemed like seconds!

It is basically a trip around the world quilt made with 2.5" squares!  It's strip pieced with a twist to make it so easy!! Go see the tutorial at Quiltville, I'm not going to explain it all again, but I'll show you some pictures of what I've been up to!  You can also see many more by searching #scrappytripalong on Instagram or Twitter.

Remember when the lovely Fat Quarter Shop asked me to curate a fat quarter bundle for them?  I decided this bundle would be the perfect start for this quilt.  Although, to make a large lap quilt it's not quite enough fabric!  So I went to my LQS and picked up some red Riley Blake mini chevrons and dots!
I needed to keep all of these strips organized since I was not doing a true scrappy look. So I pulled out my clothes drying rack and hung them all right there next to my sewing machine! Perfect!
 
I chain pieced strips together in sets of two and then again into sets of four.  And they went together really quickly!
After sewing these sets into tubes (the tutorial explains this and it make more sense once you see it) I cut them across the seams into strips of little blocks! yippee!
Once you get the strips organized and sewn back together you get something like this:

And I have all of these small 2.5" strips left over that I am going to be able to use for a baby quilt.  I'm excited about that too.  I just love these fabrics so much.  And the colors!! They make me happy.
This may be the Chinese year of the rat snake - but for me? It's the year of the quilt. I've got plans to finish up some UFOs!!

8 crafty mcCrafters commented:

Jen said...

It's actually the year of the snake! I love those colors too. Will be a very cheerful trip around the world.

Leslie said...

oooh! sooo pretty! I am just starting my scrappy trip along!!! love yours!

YC said...

Heehee, exactly what I was going to say (my brother is a rat and he is past his 24th, and nowhere near 36...). I think I'm going to go pull a pile like this from my stash!

Katy Cameron said...

Oooh, pretty, love those colours!

diane said...

Scrappytripalong takes another victim. Yeah! Your fabrics are do pretty. Can't wait to see the quilt.

Michele said...

Love the colors and fabrics in that. I can't wait to see it finished. And yes it is most definitely the Year of the Snake...the one creature on this planet that I cannot deal with at all. Real or fake, they just freak me out.

Kelly Cole said...

Such cute rainbow colors! The WIP finish up is catching on in 2013, good luck!

Rebecca Grace said...

LOVE your Trip Around the World -- but I'm especially excited about the clothes drying rack idea. I used to hang cut fabric pieces, strips and rows from my treadmill (which was the ONLY thing I was using the treadmill for!) but that machine isn't in my sewing room anymore. I never thought of the clothes drying rack, but it's PERFECT. Thanks for sharing that tip!