Blogger’s Quilt Festival Autumn 2013
Thank you so much Amy for hosting this wonderful event for our community.
This time I am previewing my Scrappy Trip Around The World Quilt.
I know there have been a lot of these quilts around this year due to a QAL, but I actually discovered the fantastic Quiltville Tutorial a couple of years ago and used it to make cot quilts to sell in our shop. I then taught the technique as part of a Modern Patchwork Technique evening class. A month or so back I taught a full day workshop too and realised I had used up all my class samples on cot quilts and needed to make more for the class.
The class went very well so I thought I better make a whole quilt which would help sell a repeat class in the new year.
Also I was loving these dotty blocks! So I made 16 blocks and thought that might be enough, or should I add borders? But after a discussion on Instagram and some great advice, I decided to keep going and make 25.
Here is the back, it’s very bright even on a dull day like this! It’s a Kaufman fabric that didn’t sell so well in the shop, but I really love it.
I used up some scraps to make a strip between the seams, but the fabric pattern is so busy that you can hardly see them!
The binding is a Kaufman newsprint fabric. I am very in to using monochrome binding, I think because my quilts usually have enough colour in them already they need some good old black and white to frame them.
Oh and the quilting… I was quite experimental here (for me!). I decided to FMQ a single circle in the middle of each square with a single line between each circle.
It was a very zen type experience to spend so many hours (approx. 4 in total) trying to draw the perfect circle with my sewing machine. As you can see I only managed it some of the time but it was fun trying!
I also love the idea of a circle inside a square and then circles all over the squares! It makes sense in my mind.
Overall I am pretty much in love with this quilt and it even got the thumbs up from my husband and son!
Thanks for listening to my story and now head on over to Amy’s Creative Side and enjoy all the other beautiful quilts on display there. Oh and I think I will be entering this quilt into the scrappy category!
I love this quilt……..it is Gorgeous!!! Love the fabrics.
It's beautiful, Jo. I love the continuity of the dots, but that you can't tell from a distance that they are all dotty fabrics. It works so well.
Without a doubt, a favorite of mine!! Such an original concept!
Ninth festival – that is impressive. I don't remember when I discovered Amy's festival but it opened a whole new world of quilt bloggers!!! Kept me modern.
I think you write up about trip around the world is delightful. The dots are certainly delightful. The idea to "theme" the strips is new to me and will remember. This coming year there are to be many "use 'um up" quilts to be sewn. Thank You for sharing with us….in the scrappy dept.
It's lovely and your circles/lines/squares quilting is a great idea:-)
Oh I absolutely LOVE this quilting! How original and it goes perfectly with the squares and the polka dot fabrics. This quilt is so bright and cheerful!
Great fun!! This would be perfect for cheering you up in cold weather
I love all the dots – a great way to make a scrappy quilt a bit more cohesive. Enjoy the festival!
It's beautiful. Very inspired quilting. xx
What a beautiful Scrappy Trip quilt. I really like how you've used the light at dark to make the diamonds more pronounced, and all those dots are so bubbly and happy. You're quilting is inspired!!
I saw this on Instagram this morning – so awesome!
This is one of the prettiest Scrappy Trip quilts I've seen. Love all polka dots!
It's lovely Jo, what a great idea to use all dotty fabric and I love the B&W binding.
Its gorgeous Jo! So happy and fun. I love how you've gone from dark to light in each block
The dots are such a perfect choice for this! I made a scrappy trip this year too, but it isn't quilted yet. Seeing yours makes me want to get it done!
Loving your dotty trip!
Beautifully done! Love how you were able to control your colors so you get the very pronounced diamonds.
The dots are fabulous! I love your quilting idea.
Every time I see one of these I'm just itching to start quilts for the kids. I have a bag full of strips all ready to sew together but something else is always on the burner!
Love it lady!
Very pretty, loving all your dots, this ones on my to do list!!
Oh my, all those polka dots are fabulous! Love this quilt and how you played with the value. Beautiful!
I love all the dots and the quilting was the perfect choice.
Love the dotty quilting to match the prints! A very happy quilt
This is one of my favorite scrappy trips yet – the dots and deliberate placement of fabrics make a stunning design!
Great quilt! Love the backing too.
I love the front and I love the back. I;m really surprised it didn;t sell well in the shop, it seems just like the sort of bright pop that looks great on the back of quilts
Its lovely Jo, you've got me thinking about all the dotty fabrics in my stash!!!!
This is a fun quilt, I love all the polkadots. It would be a wonderful fun quilt to teach and to learn if you were new to quilting.
This is a gorgeous quilt! I love it! Inspiring!
I love how this looks very different from the other Scrappy Trips. Love the dots! I need to try this one again with more forethought on the fabric placement. Love it.
Delightful! Scrappy trip around the world is a someday quilt for me. Thanks for sharing. Janita
So gorgeous. I love your quilting, love your colors. Maybe I will work on my scrappy trip quilt again one of these days. 🙂
It's hard to make scrappy quilts look balanced and you did a great job with this one. I love the backing fabric too.