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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COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.

A Japanese Stash Buster Quilt

A Catalog of my Japanese fabric stash!

I made a quilt! My sew-jo had been missing for the last few months, allowing days and weeks to slip by without the one thing that has been such a big part of my life for more than a decade. Fabric play, stitching, patching, quilting have always been a source of pleasure and comfort. This quilt is hopefully a sustained return to that which I once so enjoyed, and an endeavor to stitch my way out of the doldrums.

Click on any image for a larger view.

I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed digging deep into my fabric stash and slowly putting the pieces together. Therapeutic really. The quilt features many, if not most, of my much loved stashed fabrics from Japanese fabric houses including Yuwa Fabrics, Kei Fabrics, and Sevenberry. Many of the prints are designed by popular Japanese quilter and designer Suzuko Koseki, and Atsuko Matsuyama.

Some of these fabrics have been in my stash for a number of years and they are now difficult to find, others are relatively recent additions and can fairly easily be sourced online. Of course, I have been adding to my collection for more than a decade and have bought small pieces whenever the opportunity arose. I have also had the great pleasure of going the Tokyo Quilt Festival in 2018 where I was able to greatly enhance my Japanese fabric collection!

I have quilted the quilt with edge to edge vertical lines. The quilting lines are spaced just a ½ inch apart to create a texture that I absolutely love, even though it can become rather laborious to straight stitch the many lines for several hours on end. It is worth it!

For the back of the quilt I have combined my favorite and often used newsprint fabric (Newsprint from the Story collection by Carrie Bloomston for Windham Fabrics), and a beautiful daisy print by Suzuko Koseki for Yuwa Fabrics. I really wanted to use the floral print for the quilt back but only had two yards on hand, and as this quilt was supposed to be a stash buster I thought it only right to use the floral print and combine it with my often used - for it versatile as it goes with everything! - newsprint fabric. The top half of the quilt back is floral, and the bottom half of the quilt back is newsprint.

For the binding I have again stuck with my signature black/white stripe binding, in part because I am very fond of this finish, but also because I do not have on hand all that many pieces of Japanese fabrics in quantities suitable for binding (at least a ½ yard), and the few prints that I do have larger quantities of were not suitable.

QUILT DETAILS

Japanese Stash Buster Quilt

 The finished quilt measures 64 inches x 76 inches (163cm x 193cm).

608 patchwork pieces.

Each finished piece measures 2" x 4" (excludes seam allowances).

This quilt was not strip pieced, instead I randomly pieced

individual blocks of 4 pieces x 2 pieces (a 8½ inch block).

Fabrics:

Fabrics from my Japanese fabric stash collated over more

than a decade, including many

designs by Suzuko Koseki for Yuwa Fabrics.

This quilt is for sale! 

I have made this quilt to raise funds for the official charity of the 2020 Boston Marathon - CYCLE Kids. All proceeds from the sale of this quilt will go directly to the charity, and in turn will fulfill my husband's dream of running the Boston Marathon. My husband Paul is a keen long distance runner and has run 7 marathons across the world. He has his sights set on the Boston Marathon for next year but to gain entry we need to raise funds - all funds go directly to the charity.

My husband has supported my passion for patchwork and quilting for a very long time. He had cheered me on all the way, and financially supported Red Pepper Quilts - particularly in the early years! - and now it is my time to reciprocate and support his mission.

CYCLE Kids is a US based charity committed to working with schools to ensure the basic rights of children to a physically and emotionally healthy start in life all through the experience of learning to ride a bike and make healthy eating choices! CYCLE Kids is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, EIN: 20-1169399.

If you have any questions or if you are interested in purchasing this quilt

please contact me by email: 

redpepperquilts@gmail.com

OR if you would like to make a donation to support my husband
and at the same time raise funds for a very worthy charity I would be
super grateful. Please use the link below:

https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/cycle-kids1/paulhodge4

As always, thank you so much for stopping by! I really appreciate it.
Rita

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COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.

A Scrappy Hexagon Quilt - Part 2

A Finished Quilt!

Click on any image for a larger view.

I am so pleased to have finished my Scrappy Hexagon Quilt. One inch hexagons are the best! They are just the right size to comfortably hold together in your hand while stitching, and the scrappy patchwork fabric created by the use of ALL the fabrics is rather delicious. I do so love a scrappy quilt! I estimate to have used 250+ different fabrics and many hexagon pieces have been fussy cut to feature a fabric design element. There's a lot to see! The perfect I-Spy Quilt.

I basted the quilt sandwich late July and immediately got started with the quilting. I have kept the quilting really simple by stitching vertical straight lines across the quilt, spaced 1" apart. Lots of straight line quilting! This works perfectly for this quilt with lots of stitching guide points to avoid having to mark lines on the quilt top. It also is the simplest way to straight-line quilt a hexagon quilt that has been English Paper Pieced without ditch-stitching any of the hand sewn seams; these seam lines may not fare well when the heavier needle of the sewing machine stitches into it (particularly as seam allowances have been pressed open).

For the back of the quilt I have used a single text fabric from the Vintage Made Modern Collection by Amy Barickman for RJR Fabrics. The text design is printed on a soft yellow background. This collection was released in 2015 and the yardage, bought for quilt backing fabric, has patiently been waiting in my stash for the right quilt to come along.

And for the binding I have used a soft pink and white stripe - Essential Stripe in Baby Pink for Moda Fabrics. (I am rather fond of this stripe fabric for binding - it is not the first time I have used it for binding - see this quilt).

QUILT DETAILS

Scrappy Hexagon Quilt

The finished quilt measures 54 inches x 63.5 inches.

1 inch hexagons.

A total of 1332 Hexagons.

Started: June 2019.

Finished: August 2019.

English Paper Pieced.

Machine Quilted - domestic sewing machine.

All quilting cotton fabrics.

Low loft cotton batting.

TOOLS AND NOTIONS

 1 Inch Hexagon Papers

1 Inch Acrylic Hexagon Template with 3/8" seam allowance.

Water Soluble Basting Glue - Sewline.

Straw Needles - Size 11.

The Bottom Line 60wt thread by Superior Threads

(a neutral color thread - I used color #655 throughout).

For more details and step by step instructions

 on how I English Paper Pieced this quilt top

please click on over to the work in progress blog post:

https://www.redpepperquilts.com/2019/07/a-scrappy-hexagon-quilt-part-1.html

If you have any questions or are interested in purchasing this quilt

 please don't hesitate to contact me: 

redpepperquilts@gmail.com

Lots of photos today! As always, thank you for stopping by and scrolling through.

Rita

RELEVANT LINKS:

A Scrappy Hexagon Quilt - Part 1 

More RPQ Scrappy Quilts:

Scrappy Irish Chain Quilt - November 2017

Scrappy Bow Tie Quilt - August 2016

Modern Half Square Triangle Quilt - May 2016

A Scrappy Day Trip Quilt - February 2016

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COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.

A Scrappy Hexagon Quilt - Part 1

I had no business starting another English Paper Piecing (EPP) project but I did it anyway. Having a slow sewing project on the go continues to give me so much pleasure, and while I have yet to baste and quilt several of my already completed EPP quilt tops, this one quietly slipped in without any guilt or regret, and has now been added to my pile of finished quilt tops.

Click on any photo for a larger view.

A traditional 1 inch Hexagon Scrap Quilt has been on my quilty bucket list for some time. I just love the look of scrappy patchwork and by keeping the hexagon pieces relatively small I get to use many of my favorite stash fabrics. As you can see, many of the fabrics have been fussy cut to feature a design element (it seems I have many different fabrics with strawberries!). If you've been quilting - and collating a fabric stash for a while - I think you will recognise many of the prints that I have used. Some fabrics have been around for quite some time, and others are fairly recent additions to my stash.

Making this quilt top has been a labor of love! Just like any hand pieced quilt, the process is very time consuming. I spent a lot of time cutting fabric pieces. Most fabrics have been repeated up to four times, and I estimate to have used up to 300 different fabrics. I really do enjoy pulling fabric from stash and can happily spend days cutting hexagons, watching the pile of hexies grow. All fabrics were cut by using a rotary cutter and an acrylic hexagon template.

I continue to glue baste my papers/fabrics for English Paper Piecing and have no trouble keeping the papers in place for as long as is required, nor do I have difficulty removing the papers. Most of the hexagon papers used for this quilt were previously used to piece my Scrappy Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt.

All the photos shown here are of the quilt top after the papers have been removed, except for along the very edges of the quilt top. Pictured above is a photo of what the back of the quilt top looks like.

QUILT DETAILS

Scrappy Hexagon Quilt

The quilt top measures approximately 53 inches x 63 inches.

Started: June 2019.

English Paper Pieced.

1 inch hexagons.

A total of 1332 Hexagons.

To keep my project portable - sew anywhere, anytime - I pieced 16-patch blocks.

Step 1 :: Piece strips of four hexagons together as pictured above.

Step 2 :: Piece four strips together into a 16-patch block as pictured below.

A total of 324 strips of four hexagons (Step 1).
A total of 81 16-patch blocks (Step 2).

I then arranged the 81 blocks in 9 rows of 9 blocks,
 pieced the blocks together in vertical rows,
and finished by piecing together the vertical rows with
a long vertical seam.

TOOLS AND NOTIONS
 1 Inch Hexagon Papers
1 Inch Acrylic Hexagon Template with 3/8" seam allowance.
Water Soluble Basting Glue - Sewline.
Straw Needles - Size 11.
The Bottom Line 60wt thread by Superior Threads.

Points to note:

• Whenever possible I like to ensure that my fabric pieces are cut and sewn together on grain. This should result in a nice and flat completed quilt top with the least stretch and fabric movement, which will make basting and quilting easier.
• Removing papers as you go makes for much more comfortable piecing. I started removing papers when sewing together blocks into vertical rows.
• Once the quilt top was completed I decided to add one extra row of hexagons (36 hexies) to add an additional 2 inches to the length of the quilt. 

My goal is to baste this quilt top by the end of the week, and then start quilting it next week. I have already sorted through my fabric stash for a suitable quilt back, and cut a piece of batting to size. Now ready for basting ....

Thank you for stopping by and for scrolling through the many photos!

Rita

RELEVANT LINKS

More RPQ Scrap Quilts: 

Delectable Mountains Scrap Quilt

Bright Hopes - Color My World Quilt

One Patch Quilt - Diamonds

A Custom Order Baby Quilt

More RPQ English Paper Pieced Quilts:

A Stretched Hexies Quilt

Liberty of London Hexagon Quilt

Scrappy Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt

Liberty Stars Quilt

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COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.