Now, I'm not one to buy Jelly Rolls - I'm too mean to pay nearly £30 for 40 strips of fabric, 2½" wide most of which you can't see what they look like - and I probably wouldn't like a lot of them if I could see them!
So, how could I make this quilt without a Jelly Roll? Why, cut the strips myself from my stash. So I did! I actually cut more than 40 as I wanted the finished quilt to be around 60" square. I think I used about 48 or thereabouts.
Then I joined them into one long strip with diagonal joins.
Which meant triangular off-cuts when I trimmed the seams.
Then I started joining the whole lot together.
Due to back pain (drat you, psoriatic arthritis, for kicking in when I wanted to sew!!) I had to take it slowly - no "less than an hour" finishes for me on this quilt top.
But I got there eventually and then started quilting it.
That took me days rather than hours as well but it was finally done and the binding was machine-sewn on the front. Don't you just love the spotty fleece? I do!
I then took a couple of evenings to hand-sew the binding on the back. And this is the final result.
My quilt holder first of all held it up this way. No, turn it the other way!
I just love this quilt!
This is for a wedding present. I'm going to put a note in with it that it's not meant to be kept for good. It's to be used for picnics in the park, tents in the livingroom and movie watching on the couch. I hope they like it!
Oh it's like a waterfall of colour, I love it. Yes it must be enjoyed. We used to have a lot of carpet picnics when the weather was bad. I'm sure it's going to be well loved.
ReplyDeleteAli xx
Thanks, Ali. I hope it will be! :o)
DeleteNice idea about the fleece back. I've made 3 of these so far and my inspiration also came from watching Jenny Doan's video. 2 were wedding presents and my favourite was a purple & black one for my goth niece. I bought jelly rolls for all 3 quilts because all the fabrics were matched and I couldn't be bothered to cut! Lazy me - which is probably why I like making these quilts as they come together so quickly.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed making this one so I can see me making it again sometime in the future. I like your idea of purple and black together. That raises all sorts of possibilities! :o)
DeleteLike it? They'll love it. It's fabulous.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jo. I certainly hope they will! :o)
DeleteThis is so wonderful. Very pretty!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Beanie. I'm really chuffed with it! :o)
DeleteNice work, I do like the diagonal cuts.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Janet. The Missouri Star Quilt company has another video showing the same quilt but where you put in blocks between the strips instead of seaming them diagonally. I might have to try one of those sometime. :o)
DeleteA riot of colour, and perfect as a picnic blanket for the newly married couple! Once again, a fantastic job Anne xx
ReplyDeleteThanks, Chel! :o)
DeleteI love your quilt and enjoying reading your blog. The couple you made this for will love it as well I am sure!
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to comment, Linda - and for leaving such a lovely one! :o)
DeleteOh how fun -- and what a great idea for a note! I like your thinking -- I'm just like you -- I don't really understand how people don't know how expensive precuts are -- cut your own!!! Everyone likes them though -- and I guess, if you only want a little bit of each fabric, you do spend less money in the long run. I'd rather have all that fabric that costs less per yard LOL!
ReplyDeleteLOL Me too, Anna. give me more of the "cheap" stuff (that I've chosen) any day! :oD
DeleteWhat a lovely gift Anne! You are so right too, things like this should certainly be used and loved and not kept for best. xx
ReplyDeleteThanks, Amy. I hope they do use it - a lot! :o)
DeleteHi Anne, I'm back in Oz and able to do some catching up, but I just love that quilt and think I'll make one similar to leave in our car for "picnics", as we usually take our lunch with us when we go out. Just think on a rainy day, you could eat in the car snuggled under it as well. We've had many a picnic in the car in the wet. Thanks for showing and take care.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan. I might add "for car picnics" to my note too! :o)
DeleteOh this is a beautiful quilt, just the kind I would love to be given! I like the fleece backing, too. I have been collecting fabric for years to make a quilt but can't bring myself to cut it into strips.... I have been bloghopping tonight and clicked through to you from Amy's at Love made my home. Back soon!
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to comment, Christina. I've been cutting fabrics today that I've had in my stash for more than 25 years - *gasp*. Once I got started, it was surprisingly easy to do! :o)
DeleteWhat a beautiful quilt! I saw that video a couple of weeks ago and have been thinking of giving a jelly roll quilt a try. Now you've inspired me to try and make my own jelly roll and then make it into a quilt :)
ReplyDeleteOh, you should, Elisabeth. It was really a fun quilt to make - and even more special because the fabrics are all totally random. Thanks for taking the time to comment! :o)
DeleteWow, it's beautiful and it worked up so quickly. Interesting to read your thoughts on jelly rolls; I actually like having a couple of jelly rolls around because I like to make things with small squares so the strips make it easy to zip off a few squares when I need them, but I can totally understand why you're not too keen on them yourself.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jennifer. I'm just too mean to buy jelly rolls. That's the British meaning of "mean" - ie I don't want to spend all that money on it. If they were cheaper over here, I probably would buy them but at about £30 each (roughly $48) that's not going to happen any time soon. :o)
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