A Hand Pieced Trip Around the World Quilt

A Finished Quilt

When I say things are slowly returning to "normal" I mean super slowly ... like snail paced ... but I am good with it. I am embracing slow and as well as being keen to learn new techniques. This quilt is entirely hand pieced. Hand pieced as in - - - - - running stitch with needle, thimble, and thread.

It turns out that I can do slow, I can hand piece and sew secure seams; the quilt top did not fall apart when I picked it up, nor when I pressed the seams! In addition, I thoroughly enjoyed hand piecing the quilt top. Who knew?

I have always enjoyed choosing what fabric to use and where, and this particular traditional quilt design allows for quite some fun fabric play. Choosing what goes next was intense and I planned ahead maybe 3 to 4 rounds at a time, but even so I often changed my mind as each row (or round/trip of fabric) was added. I have cut several rounds of fabric squares that have remained unused! Maybe they're ready cut for the next Trip Around the World Quilt.

Above is a photo of the back of the quilt top. You can see the pencil marked seams, the running stitch, as well as how the seams were pressed. The stitches are far from perfect - they are not all even, nor consistent length - but they do the job. I did a small back stitch at the start and end of each seam, and added a back stitch every 4 to 5 stitches to secure the stitches/thread.

QUILT DETAILS

Hand Pieced Traditional Trip  Around the World Quilt

The finished quilt measures 58 inches x 58 inches.

1625 squares measuring 2" x 2" (includes seam allowances).
Started: 26 December 2019.
Finished: 22 February 2020.
Hand Pieced.
Start with the center square then add a "trip"
around the centre square (ie add 4 squares).
Continue by adding additional trips - each additional trip requires an
additional four fabric squares.

Fabrics

All fabrics are from stash. Some are relatively new additions, others are my go-to favorite that I have had on hand for some time. Choosing fabrics from stash became more difficult once a trip around the quilt required more than a fat quarter of fabric. No single trip of fabric required more than a 1/2 yard of fabric.

Notions / Tools
All 2" fabric squares were cut using a rotary cutter and ruler.
After cutting all squares were marked with a ¼ inch seam allowance.
I use a mechanical pencil with a 2B 0.7mm lead
for ease of marking a line on the fabric.
Jeana Kimball's Foxglove Cottage -Sharps Needle - size 10.
Aurfil 50wt thread (the orange spool) for hand piecing.

Finishing

I have finished the quilt by using a light weight cotton batting called QuiltLite. Quiltlite is a woven cotton fabric similar to a loosely woven flannel fabric; it offers the presence of batting without adding bulk.

I have then machine quilted the quilt by ditch stitching all seam lines; simple and functional rather than decorative quilting, which at the same time gives the quilt a lovely texture and a soft drape. For the back of the quilt I have used my favorite text fabric Newsprint from the Story collection by Carrie Bloomston, and have matched it with my signature black/white stripe fabric for the binding.

I will continue to update my blog with photos of my quilts as and when I have something to share. I am still sewing - oddly I have a second completed hand-pieced quilt top ready for quilting - but I am finding myself easily distracted and ready to start new projects, rather than complete my quilt tops.

Thank you for stopping by and scrolling through the photos. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions (redpepperquilts@gmail.com).

Rita

RELEVANT LINKS:

More RPQ Trip Around the World Quilts (Machine Pieced):

Giant Granny Square Quilt - May 2016

Giant Granny Square Quilt - April 2017

Scrappy Day Trip Quilt - February 2016

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