Wednesday, April 18, 2012

My own personal Jelly Roll Race

I know, I know ... how could anyone possibly guess what I was going to do with a jelly roll and a little fabric? There are so many possibilities :-) This is the first time I've used a jelly roll, and I decided to do what EVERYONE seems to be doing right now - a '1600 Quilt' - or a 'Jelly Roll Race Quilt'.

It took me some time to separate the fabrics into the order I wanted to sew them, and then to add the little squares between the strips. But after a while and some pressing, I was ready to go!

This is part of the mound of fabric I was faced with after stitching the first two strip lengths together. Not very interesting right now huh?

Apparently, the fastest time for someone to sew the Jelly Roll Race is 35mins. I can't even imagine that! It took me an hour to sew the first long seam, and three hours total. But I did take some time out to help Amy bake some cupcakes. Whoever that person was, they must really have had the pedal to the metal!

And this is what my quilt looks like prior to pressing. It's hard not to get fabrics and patterns sitting next to each other, but with this technique, it's all part of the charm of the quilt.

Usually for these quilts, the strips are simply sewn together with a diagonal seam. But when I purchased my jelly roll from Widebacks at the AQC, the kind lady showed me two quilts she'd made using 2.5" squares between the strips. They looked wonderful, so I decided that's the path I'd take. The binding will be from the same fabric as the squares, and I've used the remaining piece as part of the backing fabric. I really have very little fabric left over!

I've pressed the top now, and I'm hoping to get it pinned today ready for quilting. Chores have gotten in the way so far, but later this afternoon is looking good :-) This quilt is destined to be a gift for my new nephew - he was born on the Easter long weekend. So exciting!

If you're interested in the Jelly Roll Race quilts, I hear there are some wonderful tutorials on You-Tube, so be sure to check them out.

9 comments:

Pip said...

So that's what you were making, I hadn't seen the square between each strip type, it helps break it up a bit. I did have a jelly roll that I was thinking about using for this but changed my mind and used it for something else, I still might have a try later on this year.

Sheila said...

Its a great idea for a quick quilt,Your fabric choice is lovely for a young boy. One of my quilt group recently made a "Port Power " one (local Aussie Rules team for international readers)

Impera Magna said...

What gorgeous fabric... and I love the squares separating the strips!

I don't know who did all that sewing in 35 mins... that first seam is a doozy!

meg said...

I think the 35-minute-racer did not take the time to sort and put in the squares that you did. The squares are new to me and it really looks good! Nice job!

Shay said...

Totally going to copy this idea..it looks wonderful!

DaisyJulz said...

I too have made this quilt (minus the 2.5" squares) and I even used the same jelly roll. I however made mine into 2 smaller quilts, bordered them with contrast fabric for Cot quilts. Have just made 2 in "girly" jelly roll fabrics!

Katie said...

I've made several of them. I discovered it makes no sense to sort the fabrics since you can't plan where they end up! Just like you said. :-) They're fun quilts though.

FIONA said...

Gorgeous quilts and a lovely block I am now following!! Love all your beautiful work! xx Fiona xx

Anonymous said...

That looks great! I've not seen any with the squares before, and I like that a lot. Thanks for the idea.

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