If you are on Instagram, you are probably aware of the impromptu quilt along that started in the last week, the Scrappy Trip Along. It really began quite innocently, when Brenda, Katy and Megan became making quilts using the Scrappy Trips Around the World tutorial on the Quiltville website.

Well, I was bit by the bug and decided this was a great first project of 2013 – something spontaneous and fun! It’s a bit refreshing to just be able to jump into the party.

I decided to go a bit outside my comfort zone with my colors. I’m not sure if I love it or hate it so far, but I am pushing forward. The more blocks I add, the more it grows on me. It feels all sorts of wrong to not have orange in there, but it is the one color I’m leaving out.

It’s super windy here today so I could get a photo of all the blocks together outside. The color here is a little off, but you get the picture.

Hopefully I’ll have more progress to show over the next couple weeks. I am planning on 30 blocks, so I have 21 to go. If you are on Instagram, check out the tag #scrappytripalong for hundreds of photos! There is also a Flickr group with 450+ members and growing.

Last week I asked for suggestions as to what you would like to see more of on my blog this year. There were lots of great suggestions: quilting basics, color/fabric selection process, smaller projects, sewing with kids. But I think the most requested idea was more quilt-alongs and tutorials.

I have had it in my head for quite some time to make a quilt out of various stars. I decided to incorporate this idea into a series of tutorials so we can all learn together! Over the next five weeks, I will be posting five star quilt block tutorials. Maybe you want to just use this as a skill builder? (There will be paper piecing and probably even some y-seams…both of which are not as scary as they sound and you can find tutorials for them here.) Maybe you want to make a quilt out of one of the stars, repeating? Maybe you want to use all five in a quilt? Maybe you want to add these to other star blocks tutorials online and create a star sampler quilt?

Lots of options! I hope you will join me and we can all learn something new. The “Solstice Stars Series” tab at the top of the blog will contain links to all the tutorials as well as buttons for you to grab for your blogs.

Tutorials will be posted everyday Wednesday, beginning January 18th and ending on February 15th. Finished blocks can be added to the Fresh Lemons Quilts Flickr Group. I will also use the discussion in the Flickr group for any questions. I hope you are as excited as I am!

I finished my quilt top for the Summer Sampler Series! I took everyone’s advice and added sashing and cornerstones. As I was staring at my solids trying to figure out the right choice, my eyes settled on Free Spirit Designer Solids Nugray. I think it is a bit unexpected but added some balance to the beautiful bright colors of Pat Bravo’s Pure Elements. The cornerstones are fabrics from the blocks, tying the whole thing together. The sashing is 2″ wide and the cornerstones are 2″ squares. I can’t wait to quilt this and share the finished product with you!