Progress Report: Trip Around the World

 Nearly a whole two weeks ago, I shared that I'd begun cutting for my next quilt - Trip Around The World. (TATW) What I did not share was that before I would get very far, I would be interrupted with another date with my ortho surgeon. 

Yes, knee #2 has now been replaced.

I'm 10 days home from the hospital. Therapy has begun, and I believe I am progressing faster with this knee than with the first. It is my hope to be sitting at the sewing machine very soon. 

I sure have missed it!

So let's assess my TATW progress so far...

Above are all the subcuts I've done so far. On the left is the stack for Strata A. In the middle is a bigger stack for Strata B. On the right are just the few cut for Strata C. I still have many more Strata C subcuts to make. Below, are 4 more C's needing subcut.

Then all of the Strata D's need to be cut. There are 7 strata here, so there will be lots of them. As the outer-most trips around the world, naturally more are needed.

When I look at the subcut units piled side by side, I can begin to visualize the trips the colors/fabrics will make around the quilt. 

This picture is zoomed in a bit on Strata A and B - as they fan out, the 'trip' of the fabric can be discerned. The blue at the bottom of Strata A will attach to the pink at the top of Strata B.

Here are Strata B and C in a close-up. The multi-color print at the bottom of Strata B will attach to the  top of Strata C. (Which you can't actually see in this photo; maybe check one of the other pictures that show Strata C.)

To keep everything from getting too complicated or mixed up, I created these 'cheat sheets" and they have been very helpful. The number at the top of each fabric is the row. When creating these strata, instructions say to press toward the even numbers. That has been critical to remind myself of - I am expecting that the eventual construction will be super-easy because I've pressed correctly.

Each strata needs to have a certain amount of subcuts - those numbers are penciled in on the bottom right of each Strata card.

While work on this has slowed down considerably in the last 10 days, I fully expect to get back to making progress in the coming week. Bits at a time, if cutting becomes tiring. (standing) Maybe I can sew a few of the first strata together??

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Jayne