Last summer, my family traveled through 16 states over the course of 2 months away from home.  That trip inspired me to host the Road Trip Quilt Along.  Each week, beginning in June, I posted a tutorial for a state quilt block representing one of the states we traveled through.  By the middle of September, I had posted 16 block tutorials and was able to put together a sampler quilt (it’s still not finished; but the quilting is in progress!).

This summer, we will NOT be taking a road trip of that magnitude.  However, when summer rolls around, I will still host a summer Road Trip Quilt along.  The states represent an imaginary road trip that one could actually travel if inspired to do so.  My long term plan is to continue to host a summer Road Trip Quilt Along until I have covered all states in the United States.

Like last year, I will begin again in Virginia, and travel north through Maryland.

Then it is on to Delaware, New Jersey, and New York.

We will continue through New England with Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.

The return trip will come back across the northern states and finish with Vermont and Pennsylvania.

There will be twelve 12-inch finished state quilt blocks in this Road Trip Quilt Along, rather than 16 like last year, and with borders, the finished quilt will be 56 inches x 70 inches.  Or, you could hang onto your blocks until next year and make a larger quilt.  Three states will repeat from last year, but since there are often several blocks that represent a states, no blocks will repeat.

I have spent way too many hours over the last few days researching various state blocks, drawing them out, and then creating the graphics you see above.  Before the road trip this summer, I hope to learn how to make printable templates for the paper pieced blocks so that you can you simply print them off, rather than following my directions to make your own.

Mark your calendar.  The road trip will begin Friday, June 7th, 2013.  Will you join me?