Week 5 | Long Time Gone Sew-along | Trip Around the World Block

Time is just flying by! We're already into week five of the Long Time Gone Sew-along! How did that happen?! Today's block is a fun one to plan if a little bit fiddly to put together. Say hello to the Trip Around the World block!

I had my mind set from the jump that this one would be blue, but there were quite a few changes made along the way. And a lot of fabric cut and not used. But all totally worth it! So, are we all ready to get going?!

 

Angie and I will be alternating tutorials for the duration of the sew-along and today's block just happens to be hers. So pop on over and see what she has in store for you by clicking here!

Don’t forget Marti Michell is also offering a conversion chart and tutorial on how to make this block using her templates. See Marti’s tutorial and get the conversion chart by clicking here.

Today's post is short and sweet from me. My best tip for this block is to alternate your seams when you press them. What I mean by this is when you press your top row press all the seams in one direction, then the next row press them all in the opposite direction of the row above. Continue alternating for every row and when you go to sew your rows together the seams kind of click into place. It's called nesting and it is fantastic! I made this entire block with no pins!

Here's the back of my block so you can get a better idea of what it looks like.

So many seams!!! But you can see how they alternate directions. I pressed my seams open after sewing together the rows and I find that it helps keep the block laying flatter.

Now, you all know by now that I seriously dislike pinning, so I've decided to be okay with some of my points not being perfect. And this is something that you need to figure out. Are you okay with points not always lining up? Or does everything have to be spot on? 

 

You can see where some of my points don't quite meet up, but really, when it's all quilted up are you actually going to notice the points that are a little bit off? I'm firmly in the camp of life's too short to be worried about a few missed points!

I'll be completely honest here friends, I struggled with this one a lot. Not in the assembly of the block, but with the fabric choices and placement. There may need to be an AMH postage stamp quilt happening in my future with all the fabrics I cut and didn't end up using!

Oops. But there were so many things I wanted to try...

And sometimes you just need to be able to lay everything out to see what it may look like!
I tried a few times to add in more colour but the block just wanted to be blue, so blue it is!

I'm in love with the stripes in this one and will definitely need to add in more stripes into later blocks!

Okay, so again Angie is the girl with the master plan this week so pop on over for the full tutorial by clicking here!

Prize Winning Details

Of course the ultimate prize is making this amazing quilt, but if you'd like to also throw your hat in the ring to win some amazing prizes from our amazing sponsors then here's the information you need to know. You can find out more about our sponsors and the prizes on offer by clicking here.
We've made it as simple as possible for you to win. To be eligible for all prizes on offer all you have to do is:

• Post a photo of  this weeks  block to your Instagram account between 12:01am April 12th and 11:59pm April 18th 2017 in your timezone. 

• Tag your photo with the hashtags #LongTimeGoneSAL #AlisonGlass #AndoverFabrics #SewWithTheBest #AnnaMariaHorner #FreeSpiritFabrics #JenKingwell #LongTimeGoneQuilt #AmitieTexiles #MartiMichell #LovePatchworkQuilting

• Be Following these accounts on Instagram:
• @GnomeAngel
• @SnipsSnippets
• @AlisonGlass
• @AnnaMariaHorner
• @JenKingwell
• @AndoverFabrics
• @FreeSpiritFabrics
• @MartiMichell
• @LoveQuiltingMag

Please Note: You do not need to tag these accounts in your images, if you use the hashtag #LongTimeGoneSAL we'll be able to find you! 

You will also need to do the following:

• Post a photo of each of the blocks in their relevant weeks in your timezone. You can find the block timetable by clicking here. 
• Complete the quilt top and post it to Instagram within 12 July and Midnight 21 July in your timezone.
• All photos will need to have the relevant hashtags on them.
• You will need to be following all the relevant Instagram accounts at the time of the drawing.

Need help keeping all of that clear in your head, Angie has made up a fabulous Long Time Gone SAL Tracker, you can grab it by clicking here to download.

For more information you can find commonly asked questions and their answers by clicking here.

 
High fives for the crazy awesome Jacobs Ladder blocks you all made last week! So amazing!
xo nicole