I think Elaine is probably right, but when I did an Around the World quilt, I actually used a small cutting mat (about 12"x18") I had and carried blocks of blocks over to the machine and pieced it that way. I don't remember the specifics but I think the larger blocks I ended up sewing together were grids of about 4x3 or 5x4 blocks (individual pieces). I haven't looked at it in years (it was an early project and is still just a quilt top in a box somewhere) but I seem to remember everything ended up in order. :-)