Friday, February 7, 2014

January Jewels Baby Quilt

Last weekend I went on my first quilting retreat, and it was amazingly productive. Having cut the fabric beforehand, I managed to completely piece, quilt and bind this baby quilt during the retreat!



The seeds of this quilt were planted last January when the Scrappy Trip Along trend took Instagram and the quilty blogosphere by storm. It’s no wonder this technique has been so popular. It’s simple, quick, fun and lends itself to using up scraps. The original tutorial can be found on the Quiltville blog, and a handy size guide at Just a Bit Frayed.



While I love scrappy quilts in theory, in practice I like my creations to be more cohesive. Instead of using all scraps, I started with fat quarters from Jeni Baker’s Color Me Retro fabric line and threw in some Lizzy House Pearl Bracelets and miscellaneous coordinating scraps, while sticking to a color theme of aqua, blue, lime green, purple and white. Each block is bisected by a dark blue fabric, which further unifies the blocks. The backing is more Pearl Bracelet and the binding is an anonymous solid.




After spending a year admiring other bloggers’ Scrappy Trip Along quilts, it was very satisfying to make one of my one. It was also extremely gratifying to finish a quilt in a weekend, something I had never done before. (My previous record was sixteen days.) The only problem is, I like this quilt so well that I want to make a larger one to keep for myself! Next time I have a stack of fat quarters in need of a pattern, I just might try this pattern again.


11 comments:

  1. So nice! Though I love my scrappier 'Trip', your more coordinated one is really beautiful! Glad you gave this 'trend' a try!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am really a fan of "controlled" scrappiness like this. Beautiful. I haven't made one yet.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I definitely like the color theme - beautiful quilt!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think that the key to a lot of production at a retreat is a clear focus and cutting ahead of time really helps. Love your quilt.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is a beautiful version of the trip around the world pattern. It is more like the more traditional approach to this pattern but looks so fresh with this fabrics and colours.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Very colourful and such a cool design! Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  7. LOVE it!!! The quilting is perfect for it:)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Very nice! That purple was the perfect addition to the colour scheme.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This is gorgeous! The pearl bracelets work PERFECTLY! That's one of my favorite fabrics. Well done :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good for you to get it all done at your retreat. I'm not so focused. It turned out beautifully. I'm in your Mom's Mid Century Bee btw.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Rachel, I'm just admiring your trip around the world quilt! How did you offset it like that? Is it all in the way you position your blocks? What size strips did you use? Love the modern look on this.Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete