Are You Ready for a Road Trip?

 Last summer my husband and I took our dream trip - an eight week road trip across the United States!  We had such a great time traveling in our truck, visiting friends and relatives, seeing historic sites and national parks.  We loved it so much that we are wishing we could do it all over again!

With all the miles we planned to travel, and many stops we were making I didn't feel that taking my sewing machine along was a good idea.  Instead, I spent my down time playing with EQ8 on my laptop.  I had a great time finding blocks that were inspired by each day's travel, and thinking about what I could do with them. With the anniversary of our trip approaching, I thought - why not do a quilt along?  It's a great excuse for me to get out fabric and actually sew up my ideas! The first one?  That will be my 3 inch blocks.  Yes, that's tiny, but I love doing those little blocks!  They are fiddly and my fingers feel so clumsy, bit it's absolutely addictive!

For my lap size blocks with 6 inch blocks I am using just four fabrics and a background for the blocks.  I think this will be so pretty as well!  The six inch blocks are so crisp and sharp looking!

The nine inch blocks will make a bed size quilt at 84 x 94.5 inches.  Here's a fun randomized color palette done in EQ8!  Not what I am doing, but I do think it's an interesting choice!  I'll show you my color choice for this one a bit late this week.

Want to join in?  Just click the link below to sign up!  I'll send out the fabric requirements, then starting on August 6th I'll send out 7 block patterns each week for eight weeks!  

You can chose between 3, 6, or 9 inch blocks.  Or go crazy and do all three!  There will be some slight differences between techniques used for each size variation, and I am offering an alternative block for some of the more difficult ones in the smaller sizes.  Don't feel like you have to make them all, you can definitely make the ones you like and create your own quilt with them!  After all, a good road trip is about taking your time and going at your own pace.  I think it will be so much fun!

I'll post pictures from the big trip as well as some tips and techniques for making the blocks here on my blog.  I'm hoping this will be helpful and encourage anyone who is less experienced in their quilting journey.  Isn't learning to quilt like taking a long trip?  There are many roads to follow and paths to explore!

Sign up here!

Let's pack our bags and get ready for a great trip!