The Teeny Tiny Trip

Just shy of two years ago this week, I took a Small Hand Piecing class from Chawne Kimber at QuiltCon in Pasadena. Made completely and utterly by hand, what began with 1 1/2" unfinished squares, is now a 38" square quilt.

Obviously, I took my time, and honestly my love for this project experienced a serious ebb and flow. Due to the nature of the hand-piecing, every single square required hand-drawn stitching lines, which I can't say I loved, but it worked well. Probably my absolute least favorite part of the process was the swirling and pressing on the back side. I would do that every round or maybe two. Any more than that and things got seriously depressing.

When I started, I had in mind this thing would be indefinite and huge! But when the time between rounds turned into months at a time, I decided that wasn't the best idea, and that finished was better than size. I made quick work of the quilt back, piecing some coordinating lengths from stash.

As far as quilting, doing it by hand was the obvious tack. And considering I had plenty of that in my quilting history, it actually felt very good to be doing it again. Can't say I ever got really proficient at it, but I was comfortable with doing it at least. That in itself felt pretty good, though it still took me a few months, even on this small size. For thread, I used what I had on hand - Aurifil 40wt #2024 [White] - and paired with some Sew Fine thread gloss, it worked wonderfully.

SO when I finally was ready to bind, I machine-pieced a length of binding strips without even thinking, just out of habit. Then it dawned on me that there wasn't a machine-stitch in this thing, and questioned why I should start as I was finishing it. The main reason was I had never done that before! Was it even a thing? I couldn't help mention my dilemma to Chawne, and she eventually confessed that yes, she does bindings completely by hand all the time. I considered for a bit, and came up with a few reasons why I decided to do the same, including removing the machine stitches I'd already put in the binding seams:

• Even hubby(!) said, "Well, you've done the rest of it by hand."
• The texture of the little quilt was amazing due to the handwork, and I didn't want to risk jeopardizing that.
• After nearly two years of fits and starts, now I wasn't in a rush for it to be done!

Gotta say, it worked ok and I'm super happy that this one was created by hand, right down to the last stitch. Considering how much I tend to rush through projects, it's nice to know I can occasionally just slow down. The texture, you guys, is indeed a delight. Yeah, I wish it was at least a little larger but oh well. Thinking another hand project might be in order.

This project was on my 2020 Finish-A-Long Q1 List!
Linking up with TGIFF!

The Next {hand-sewing} Adventure

It's been a couple of weeks of very slim sewing here, between a nasty cold, travel, holidays and all, I've sewn and blogged less in November than all year. I'm hoping that's about to change. On Saturday, I had the time and finally, the energy, to refocus, evaluate the projects in the works, and make at least a little progress on several. Some of that was gathering supplies or printing a pattern, but it was also getting started on quilting, which I'll share later this week, and most surprising of all, make a backing and pin-basting my Teeny Tiny Trip Around the World. Do you even remember it?

Below is a view of the finished top, hand-pieced 1" finished squares, measuring 38" square overall. I was able to press out those ripples, and I think I now have a relatively flat quilt sandwich all ready for hand-quilting. It's been a while, so I hope I get into it as much as I currently want to. Time will tell, but for now, it's at least one big step in the right direction.

The Final Round

When it takes you nearly four months to sew on 'just' 108 little 1 1/2" squares, I think there's a subliminal message: It's time to move on.

Yeah. My Teeny Tiny Trip Around the World that I started at QuiltCon in 2018 is now 38" square, and though I had thought I'd keep piecing on it indefinitely, it seems I've had a change of heart. I can accept that. My enthusiasm for hand-piecing it has waned, so it's time to say enough already and get to quilting. By hand, of course! 

Singular

As satisfying as last month's Teeny Tiny Trip Around the World progress was, this month was a bit tedious. No real reason. I guess I just wasn't feeling it.

But that doesn't mean I didn't add 104 more little 1 1/2" squares! And with a 'double' row of that dark purple, I'm thinking it's a nice accent and maybe I'll add just a few more rounds to finish things up.

But that's how I feel today, and things can change. For now, I'll just keep sewing.

Twice Around

For the whole last week, I went to bed counting.... How many little squares would I have to sew onto my Teeny Tiny Trip Around the World each day to finish the round by the end of the month? After all that, I sat down Friday night after a long week and sewed on nearly 30! And with that, the second round this month was done.

I'm not sure why I've got a couple of ripples there.... fingers crossed they'll press out when it comes time to baste.

For some reason, though, this month's progress was especially satisfying. In the first new round, I made a pattern of an orange print with solid orange, and that definitely added to the fun.

Swirling the seams isn't too bad these days. It still takes a while, but with just a couple of rounds, the swirls fall into place fairly easily. Pressing them is not my favorite part of this process at all, so I usually do it in spurts.

Anyway, I'm still not ready to stop, so on we go!

Slow and Steady

This month found me adding on at least a few squares to my Teeny Tiny Trip Around the World each evening, and that consistency meant I got another two whole rounds on! Obviously each round takes longer and longer now, but slow and steady wins the race.



It's currently about 36" square and I keep saying that my goal is at least 40". No real reason, but I guess it sounds significant in some way. Maybe I'm not quite ready to switch to hand-quilting this piece, so instead I just keep piecing. Whatever. I'm continuing on for now.

21 Rounds and Counting

Another month, another Teeny Tiny Trip Around the World check-in, and I'm feeling pretty good about my progress. As I worked on pressing the row I was working on, fully planning on taking progress pics, I got inspired, and an evening in front of the tv motivated me to finish up that row - some 30 or so squares, which is alot for me to do in a day. But yay, I get to share a completed round, and am now debating what color I should do next.

What made the last couple of rounds more interesting for me was to do a mixed-color round as I ran out of one solid, and I also introduced a new Karen Lewis print, which is subtle but I like it!

Folks keep asking how big I'm going to make this thing, and I honestly don't know. Let's just say I'm not ready to be done, so I'll leave it at that for now. Here's to another round!

Very Slow Sewing

Keeping true to my word, today I'm sharing progress on my Teeny Tiny Trip Around the World. After June's road trip sewing, things have slowed down a bit. I was gung-ho for a couple of weeks (thank goodness!) but then plain let it sit due to other demands.

Pressing it last night actually made me really happy, and I'm hoping to make time for it again. I bought I few more Karen Lewis prints since I'd run out of what I started with, so let's take that as a sign that the end is not yet in sight. Once this round is done, it'll measure 28" square.

Road Trip Sewing

So hubby, mom, & I took a little road-trip last week and it afforded me some concentrated - or at least frequent - car sewing time. After binding my recent do.Good Stitches quilt, I settled in on my Teeny Tiny Trip Around the World and made very good progress!

As I posted on Instagram, I needed a little change of pace and decided to mix things up a bit and combine colors in a single round. Well that didn't go quite as planned, so rather than a very ordered sequence, things turned out a little more random, "original" as mom would say, and honestly, I'm just fine with it.



It's kinda weird how the 'passion' for these projects ebb and flow but during our week away, I couldn't get enough of it. Swirling and pressing several rounds once I got home was rather taxing, but it's done now, so nice and neat, and I'm ready to continue stitching on.

Carrying On

Progress on my Teeny Tiny Trip Around the World has been slow but sure!



I still haven't gotten into the habit of taking it everywhere I go, so it's usually just the occasional tv-time project, but at least it's still growing, now 20" square.



With the piece larger now, it's much easier to press the back - which in itself is a bit of a reward for all this hand-piecing, don't you think?

Going Round

I'm a little late reporting in but at least I've made some progress on my Teeny Tiny Trip Around the World. Last report, I had ten rounds beyond the center; now I have just 12, and a start on the next. Obviously the 'trips' take longer than they did at first!



A variety of reasons - prepping for a trip out of town, publishing a newsletter, sewing on hanging sleeves, and pulling together an entry for the Pantone challenge - all kept me preoccupied otherwise. Though I did take it with me to Texas, the days were full, and I didn't find myself very drawn to work on it.



Maybe things will slow down a bit and I'll be newly inspired to continue on. One can hope.

Teeny Tiny Trip Around the World

Remember the hand-piecing project I started at QuiltCon? Well I'm still working on it! Can't say I work on it every night, especially when there's a quilt to bind or a newsletter to work on, but I am making progress, and I'm good with that!

Yesterday I spent a little time with my iron and tailor's clapper spinning all the seams on the back. It's fiddly and time-consuming, but it really seems to help the piece lay flat and neat... Ie. worth the effort.



I did get an ArtBin in which to store all of my fabric squares and hand-sewing supplies, and that inspired me to cut up all the fabric in the bundle I started this project with. I need to decide if I'll use just these fabrics or add more in the mix. Hmmmm....

I'm hoping by posting monthly I'll stay accountable and moving forward on this project. People have asked, "How big are you going to make it?" And there's no answer other than, "I'll know when I'm done." I have no real expectation to make it a full-sized quilt, but I'm hoping I don't lose interest anytime soon.