Around the World

I took a class at a Quilt Expo, and we began making an "Around the World" quilt.  I learned about "strip sets" and choosing fabrics.  I was in the midst of making a very exciting Sampler Quilt at the time, and not all that interested in this new quilt of small squares.  It was an interesting class, but afterwards, the quilt pieces went into a box and there they joined the Cowboy Quilt on the shelf for a year.  

Over the course of time, I learned about a "design board."  At first I didn't see the point.  Now I wouldn't want to be without it!  My design board is home made, cardboard from a new furnace box (ie--big cardboard!) and I draped it with old strips of unused batting material, leftover from previous projects.  I can lay out my quilt pieces on it, lay out the rows and/or blocks, rearrange blocks, step back and see the "Big Picture."  The fabric of the quilt squares stick to the batting material.  You don't have to pin it, so it is easy to rearrange.  Many people use flannel, and I have even heard of using old vinyl tablecloths with flannel backing.  But I used batting strips, which would have been thrown out otherwise, and they work just fine.

I recently laid out the pieces of the Around the World Quilt that I had thought was "dull."  I wanted to take a picture of it for this blog.   Before, I could only see small strips of squares.  Laid out on the design board, I can see the pattern coming together.  SURPRISE!!  NOW I can see the big picture of this quilt, and I thought, "WOW!  That is really pretty!"  I have a new motivation to finish it now!