Levi's Trip Around the World

    Earlier this summer, my nephew and his wife welcomed a new baby boy.  As I was planning his quilt, I was inspired by this quilt, a stunning granny square quilt, by Rita of Red Pepper Quilts.  I am still trying to work only from my existing stash, and thought that some "around the world" quilt blocks might work to get the same type of vibe.  Several years ago, I had made a scrappy quilt using this block, and decided try the block again, with a more traditional layout.  I decided on a red, black and yellow color scheme with white - I love the black Alexander Henry fabric, and had never had a project to use it in.   

     I went with 6 strips (each 2 1/2 inches wide)

     I then sewed the strips together in the same order, then ironed the seams, and made the tube to create the strips by undoing the seam in a different spot each strip to create the diagonal pattern.

Oops - had to redo this one ! 

     The finished blocks had the black as the center row.  

 

     I had to decide on a layout.  I tried it with a red center (with Chester's assistance) 

I decided to go with the white center. 

I caught the error on the bottom right corner before it was too late!  That was the redo, above! 

    I had considered many quilting options, but, used the backing as inspiration, and went with a double bubble overall pattern.  I used Aurifil white, and am getting more accustomed to my Tiara II.  

Chester is very helpful in the quilting process 

     Here is the backing fabric, with a close up of the quilting pattern. 

    

     I had started the quilt before the baby arrived, and before our trip to Scotland (see my previous post about that wonderful adventure!).  Once I returned, Levi was here!  I decided to personalize the white center block.  I printed out samples of the name with various fonts, and settled on one. 

 

     I cut out the letters, and carefully traced with a mark-be-gone pen. (which disappeared beautifully!)

Thank goodness he has a four letter name! 

 

     I then sewed around the letters, and tried to do a dense quilting to allow the name to pop out. 

  

     I used a bright yellow batik from my stash for the binding.

The quilt finished at a generous 48 by 48 inches.

     A close up of the finished center block.  Subtle. 

     The stitching shows up more on the back, but isn't that visible when looking at the back as a whole.

The wind was quite strong on Lake Erie for the quilt wrangler! 

    Welcome to the world, baby Levi!  It is hard to believe that the summer is winding down.  I have a long list of quilts to get underway!

Enjoy the rest of the summer.

Take care,

Gretchen