All-Yellow Scrappy Trips Around the World Quilt Finished!

yellow scrappy quilt | whipstitch

All finished!  I have been steadily working my way through my pile of incomplete projects, and wanted to get both this and the triangle quilt all done–and here it is.  Jubilee!

yellow scrappy trips around the world quilt | whipstitch

This could very easily be my favorite quilt I have ever made.  Oh, alright, it IS my favorite quilt I’ve ever made–there, I said it.  How cheerful is this thing, right?!?  How could you ever feel anything but joyful when this quilt is around?

all-yellow scrappy quilt

I dreamed this puppy up almost two years ago, then got busy working on it when the #scrappytripalong popped up on Instagram.  The fabrics are from my (alarmingly expansive) collection of yellow cottons, but also were donated by IG friends near and far–and I’m so honored and delighted that every time I see this quilt, I’ll be reminded of how amazing the online sewing community is.  Who sends fabric to a near-stranger so they can fulfill a wild-eyed idea for a bed covering?  Sewing folks do, that’s who.  YES!

sunshine quilt with sky binding | whipstitch

I was pretty indiscriminate with the fabrics, and put anything next to anything as I was working.  I wanted it monochromatic, but scrappy, and I think the result is really amazing.

lattice quilting on all-yellow scrappy quilt

The quilting is the same as my other Scrappy Trips Around the World quilt, modeled on the design Rita used on hers: straight lines with the walking foot, through every other row of squares on the diagonal, repeated in the opposite direction to create a lattice.  Simple but really perfect for this quilt.

yellow scrappy quilt

Part of what I like about this quilting design, rather than an all-over pattern, is that it really allows some movement to the finished quilt.  It washes up nice and crinkly, but not too stiff or solid.  I love how fluffy and drapey it is, and have already taken it outside more than once to read on the back patio as the days warm up.

lizzy house pearl bracelet in yellow

The back, like most of my quilt backs, is pieced.  I used a giant chunk of Lizzy House’s Pearl Bracelet, with some contrast strips along the seamline.  Rather than more yellow, I opted for a turquoise bid print, to pick up on the bits of turquoise in some of the yellow scraps on the front of the quilt.  Ditto the orange, which picks up some of the warmer yellows from the quilt top.

pieced quilt back in pearl bracelet with lattice quilting

You can really appreciate the lattice design of the quilting on the pearl bracelet, right?

lizzy house pearl bracelet quilt back with lattice quilting stitches

The contrast strips on the quilt back are what must have inspired me to use turquoise for the binding–I don’t really know where that idea came from, but the minute it popped into my skull, I knew it was exactly the right choice.

contrast binding on monochrome scrappy yellow quilt

I could have used another yellow for the binding, but I think that would have made the whole quilt wash out at the edges.  What I really like about the turquoise is that it frames out the quilt and makes the yellow the star by putting it at the center of attention.  Same thing with the black-and-white dots on my other scrappy trips quilt.  Sigh–isn’t it just dreamy?  Love, love, love.

turquoise binding on yellow quilt

Like with all my quilts, the binding is sewn on by machine.  I know, I know: all you purists insist on finishing your binding by hand, and I get that.  But I am impatient and I have yet to truly see an advantage to hand-sewing binding–other than the chunky binding on the Animal Alphabet Quilt I made for our son, which was so wide that it really had to be hand-sewn to mask the stitching on the front of the quilt.  In this case, a super narrow stitch line through the binding front and back does the trick.

all yellow quilt full size

I have at least one more postage-stamp-style quilt going (still!), with all my FOR REAL scraps cut from my scrap basket.  It won’t be strip-pieced, like this one, and it will have a really different look, but knowing how amazing a monochromatic quilt can be makes me want to play with more variegated scrappy designs.

all-yellow scrappy postage stamp quilt

Hello, spring.  I can almost smell you.  And I am so, so ready.  Bring it.

Want to make your own?  Download and print out the cutting list and get going!  Spring is nearly here!

You Might Also Like

  • Quiltin Jenny
    February 21, 2014 at 4:20 am

    Gorgeous! I am not even a fan of yellow normally, but this is fantastic.

    I have to add this pattern to my list. I just love them all.

    • Deborah
      February 21, 2014 at 1:11 pm

      I love yellow, so this was an obvious choice for me, but I’ve also seen an all-red one that was awesome. I love monochromatics!! I hope you make one of these–it’s such a quick and easy pattern, so satisfying.

  • Brooke
    February 21, 2014 at 6:03 am

    I love every version I’ve seen of this quilt but the monochromatic is especially fun. That turquoise binding really makes it pop!

    • Deborah
      February 21, 2014 at 1:12 pm

      I love it so much that I want to be best friends with it. So glad it’s finished and I can use it!! 🙂

  • Martha
    February 21, 2014 at 9:15 am

    So gorgeous and so spring-like. After you came to Chattahoochee Evening Stars, I made one of these variations on the trip around the world. Mine is tiny – 30×40, but I love it. Thanks so much!

    • Deborah
      February 21, 2014 at 1:12 pm

      Oh, I love hearing that!! So great to come talk to you all–you’ve got a really great group out there. Am excited to know it introduced you to some new quilty projects!

  • Karen N.
    February 22, 2014 at 9:34 am

    What a sunny and cheerful quilt! I love it, I hope you have many hours to snuggle with it.

    • Deborah
      February 23, 2014 at 6:59 pm

      Cheerful is the right word! I just adore it–I never really thought about being this attached to a quilt, but I think of this one as “mine” in a way I haven’t any of the others I have ever made. Excited for spring to get here so I can take it outside more often, but until then, it’s spring on my sofa! 🙂

  • mjb
    February 24, 2014 at 11:32 am

    I love how much variation there is in values even though this is monochromatic!

    • Deborah
      February 24, 2014 at 3:40 pm

      I know!! I don’t think even I expected that–I totally love how I find something new to admire and enjoy every time I look at it. Sigh–love!

  • Saturated Stripes Quilt | Whipstitch
    May 2, 2014 at 10:15 am

    […] bright colors.  I think of this as my Saturated Stripes quilt, and you know how I said my all-yellow quilt was my all-time favorite quilt I’ve ever made?  Well, I think we might have a new favorite. […]