Long Strange Trip

I've actually got a finish! I finished the blocks for my scrappy trip quilt before I went to the beach, and the other night I finally put the blocks together!

I'm naming this one Long Strange Trip - another reference to a Grateful Dead song. (Remember Sunshine Daydream?)

I really like this quilt, it comes together so quickly, and it can use literally ANY fabric you have on hand. I used Good Fortune by Kate Spain, and I love that the fabrics are really different from each other, but still relate really well. I wasn't ready to go full-on scrappy yet ;-)

Sorry some of those pictures are so dark. I took the last two in the middle of the night, as soon as the top was done. I haven't quite figured out the best way to take pictures of finished quilts. I think I need to get used to the idea of taking them outside and laying them on the grass in the sun. Maybe I'll experiment with the fence in my back yard...

That time I had to un-do my un-doing...

Or, alternately, "how I managed to screw up one of the easiest blocks in the history of the world."

I tell ya, my blog earns its name.

I've been making progress on my scrappy trip, and the other day I had a big ol' stack of blocks that were at the point where they were in the little pieced strips, but still needed to be seam ripped into the different strips for the block. Go here if you are royally confused. I'll wait.

See the pile of plates on the top left? Those are the ones to which I refer...

Ok, so these blocks and I were sitting on the couch, watching netflix and seam ripping (Prison Break, I think?) and apparently, I can't multitask that well.

Because this happened:

Yep. Somethings not right... At least I figured it out before I put the whole block together. But I had to seam rip the two rows I put together, and then re-piece the strips that were wrong, and then seam rip them at the right places, and then sew the rows back together to make the block.

I'm a winner.

BUT! I have a pretty stack of blocks that are all done and ready to be pressed and trimmed. So yeah, I win.

They're very fluffy. I have the urge to squish them.

Scrappy Tripping

The other day I sat down and churned out a bunch of piecing for my Scrappy Trip. So far I have enough blocks (that are at least started) for a 6x6 block quilt. I think I'm going to go with 7x7 though. I'm still debating...

These things are pretty quick!

This is where they are now, ready to sub-cut into the pieced rows of squares. 

Here is the layout I've been thinking about, and all the blocks that are all the way done so far.

So I still have like 15 Scrappy Trip blocks left (after this batch is finished) and three(!!) Honey Honey blocks left!

(Way) late to the party...

So there are a few informal quiltalongs that make the rounds on Instagram... I caught the bug on the xplusalong earlier this year, and I'm loving the results from that one. Soooo... I know I'm way late on this one, but the quilt I started the other day is a scrappy trip around the world!

I've seen these all over the internet, and they are all so fun. Katy has made like 20 already this year!

It took me a while to catch on to this one because I just didn't know what fabrics I wanted to use. I knew that I wanted the fabrics to at least sort of coordinate, and not be too dark. I decided to cut into a big ol' stack of FQs that I've been hoarding, and just go for it.

I'm liking this.

These blocks come together SO FAST!!! It's unbelievable. I've worked on this quilt twice total, and have 15 blocks done. And those two sessions included pressing and cutting all the fabric!

I've still got a while to go - I'm going to do 48 I think. I've even got an idea for the scraps for the back.

So yummy!

Not taking my own advice...

I know, after saying I was trying to finish this quilt before starting a new one the other day, I promptly went back on my word.

I cut into a FQ stack of Good Fortune that I've been hoarding for a year and a half. I don't know what got into me, I have three other quilts that I've had planned for a while, and that I have all the fabric pulls ready for. I also have this quilt that desperately needs to be finished quilting. That has been a WIP for waaaaay too long.

I guess I just needed a change of scenery?

It is a pretty view...

From Instagram: a fresh jar of selvages and 48 empty plates = a new quilt about to start!

Everything laid out, getting ready to fill those plates!

Here they are, all ready for stitching!