Pack your bags, almost time to begin the Road Trip!

 Hi everyone, I'm back with some tips for packing up for my Road Trip Quilt Along!  We spent weeks last year gathering all of the things we took on our trip last year.  Since we were gone for so long we couldn't just take a small bag with travel size containers of shampoo and conditioner.  It took a good size bag just for my "lotions and potions".  Luckily for this quilt along you won't need to pack two big suitcases! 

Download fabric requirements here!

It can be a challenge to decide on fabric, especially if you are working with scraps.  For me it helps to decide what I want my main colors to be.  I decided that I wanted the colors in this quilt to remind me of the landscapes we saw when we were traveling.  Another method I have used is to choose a fabric with colors that I like, and pull other fabrics in those colors.  

You could also use a photograph that you love, or a piece of art. I'm fascinated by the colors of all the rocks we saw on our trip!   Here are the fabrics I chose for my bed size quilt - these are from my Island Batik stash, scraps and leftovers from previous challenges!

I divided them up roughly into a selectin of dark, medium-dark, medium-light and light.  My background will be one fabric.  I find that having one consistant fabric helps settle a scrappy quilt and keep it from being too chaotic.  I'm thinking of a pale blue as the sashing, just because I like blue and I think it will be a nice contrast.  

One of my favorite tips is to take a picture with your phone and use a filter to see the contrast better.  I can see some fabrics that could be moved, but I will probably just take it one block at time, and concentrate on making sure each block has the contrast it needs.  It'll be fun, right?  At least I think so!

It's nice to be able to keep your fabrics in a bin or basket so you can keep them together, and you'll want some basic rulers - a 24 inch ruler for cutting strips, and a smaller ruler or two for sub-cutting the smaller pieces.  I like a 3 1/2 inch ruler for the mini version, I find that it helps! A new blade in your rotary cutter will make the cutting smooth and easy!

You can gather up some nice sharp pins if you like, I don't pin too often, but I know some people like to.  You'll want a marking pencil - I like the mechanical pencils because they produce a nice small line. Some small snips are handy for cutting units apart.  Of course, I hope you won't need it too often, but a seam ripper is good to have on hand.

One important part of getting ready for a road trip is making sure your vehicle is in top shape, so I'll be back on Thursday with some tips on getting your sewing machine ready for our journey!  And don't forget the snacks - you might want to stock up on those, too!

If you haven't signed up, there's still time!  I'd love to have you join us on our 8 week jaunt across the Unites States!