World Map Quilt

A very good friend of mine is giving birth to her first child (a boy) at the end of this month.

{A little background: I have known her + 3 other wonderful ladies for almost 18 years now (omg).  I love them all dearly and I'm hoping to create a little tradition of gifting their children quilts at their births.  This is the second baby to be born among our group, and a third is expected in August, which means I should probably get back to quilting soon!!}

Anyways, I made her little boy this quilt using a combination of applique and quilting techniques.  This was my first time using applique, and I have to say I'm quite smitten:

The front:

The background is Birch Fabrics: Whale Watching in Shroom (found here), and the appliqued map is a Moda Bella Solids (sorry, not sure what color- this was from yardage I had in my stash, but here is a similar version).

The back:

Fabrics (from L to R): Patty Sloniger-Bella Butterfly/Sweet Spots in Green; Moda Bella Solid  (similar), Anette Tatum- Boho Chevron, Moda Bella Solid (similar), Khristian Howell- The Woodlands/Dream, Patty Sloniger- Bella Butterfly/Sweet Spots in Aqua, Moda Bella Solid (similar), Joel Dewberry- Modern Meadow/Herringbone in Pond, Robert Kaufmann Kona Solids (similar), Patty Sloniger- Backyard Baby/ Birch Forest in Aqua

I started out by printing a map (google searched until I found one I liked) on several pieces of  paper, which I then taped together.  This would have been much simpler if it were printed on a large scale plotter (which, ironically ??, I have access to, but didn't use).  Then I outlined everything in dark ink.

I created a light table, which I rigged out of a glass topped side table and a scentsy lamp, and traced the (backwards) map pattern onto applique paper.  (I simply followed the instructions per the package).

I ironed the (uncut) applique sheets on to the wrong side of the applique/blue fabric, and cut out the pattern using this pair of awesome scissors (and yes, they are laying on my new coffee table):

Seriously, if you are going to applique anything, invest in these scissors asap! They are magical. I found mine at Joann's.

I decided to machine applique everything to the whale print fabric (instead of hand stitching).  Needless to say, it took a few rounds of practice and lots of frustration. Tension is *key* in machine applique.

The islands at the top of America are my favorite. I almost decided to do away with all islands on the map, but I decided that I wouldn't be okay with it being geographically incorrect :)

The quilting was done in straight lines- I love how it almost looks like an atlas.

My quilting quality is honestly a work in process. I quilt (and sew) on a 1970's Singer, which I LOVE, but it doesn't have any speed control other than how hard I push on the presser foot. It takes a while each time I sit down to quilt to get a rythm going, so there are several areas with uneven stitches.  There were also many, many un-stitches made with my seam ripper. I'm hoping practice makes perfect, so that maybe I'll produce a product with mostly even stitch lengths.

The binding was pre-made, purchased at Joann's. I tried machine stitching it and that was an utter fail.  So, I resorted to hand stitching the binding.  So. Much. Better.

 The finished product:

I love it so much, I might be crazy enough to recreate another one of these sometime soon.

World Map Quilt