This week I have a finish to share – I made a quilt top using a jelly roll of Kaffe Fassett solids and a coordinating striped piece of yardage. Several months ago, I saw the jelly roll on Cratsy.com and was crazy about the colors. Really rich, earthy tones that were just calling out to me. I didn’t have a specific plan for it so it sat on the shelf for a while.
Meanwhile, I have been practicing my FMQ and am always in search of something to stitch. I decided to make a very simple quilt top with the jelly roll as that would allow me a really clean slate for quilting. I went to my LQS and found the coordinating yardage (she has a great selection of Kaffe Fassett in her shop.) Then I started to play with ideas. I cut strips from the yaradage and laid them out in a few patterns with the jelly roll (actually I drew everything first on graph paper but then still had to play around with it for a while, crawling all over the living room floor.)
First try:
In this version, I was putting the striped pieces in a random pattern. (You can see that Lady was supervising me all the while – those are her paws in the upper right corner.)
Next I tried something with a bit more order to it, increasing and decreasing the length of the striped pieces by size.
I decided I liked this pattern best. The stitching not a big deal. Well, it shouldn’t have been. I had all of the striped pieces sewn to the solid strips and then I spend a day or two dealing with a migraine. I thought that I was through the worst of it and started to sew the stripes together. As luck would have it, I was not thinking clearly enough and in several places, I sewed them together incorrectly, creating havoc with my simple pattern. It took a bit of time with my seam ripper to get it all fixed up.
Now that it is done, I am really happy with the curved look of the solid color stripes. Kind of like an over-sized chevron.
I haven’t figured out what I will use as backing. I know I don’t have anything in my stash that will work so I will do some shopping for that. Most likely I will use a solid that is used on the front. I don’t plan to put any borders on it. I do plan to finish this up soon so I am going to use it as my October goal for ALYOF. I will have it quilted and bound by end of October!
Later today my five sisters are coming to my house for the weekend. I am beyond excited. My mom and dad live about 15 miles from me so the whole family will be together for the weekend. My husband and daughter went up to the Downieville house which means it will be just the original eight of us for the weekend!
Have a great weekend all!
Linking to Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts.
This was fun. It’ll be fun to see how you quilt it as well and have a wonderful weekend…sounds like you most certainly will! 🙂
Thanks Deb. The weekend will be a blast. I can’t remember the last time it was just the original eight of us, all together without spouses or kids. We are all looking forward to it.
I’m glad you overcame that migraine, because this looks great! That stripe background is really interesting. It works great on this quilt. Kind of like a rainbow tornado! have a great weekend with no headaches!
A rainbow tornado… that is great! I look forward to getting the backing done so I can get it basted.
Time to make some sort of dessert for tonight! Better get off the computer.
B.
Oh, that sounds like a fun weekend for you. Have a great time with your family! (And I hope the headache is gone for good.) I really like how you used the striped fabric for the ends of the rows. I’m looking forward to seeing what you choose for the backing and FMQ.
The background will be easy to choose. The FMQ choices are never easy. I am thinking one patter for the solids and one for the striped pieces. I also think the pattern should run parallel to the strips, right? What would you do? (I love your quilting and your opinion is very welcome!!)
I’m a bit of a Kaffe Fassett junkie but haven’t done a lot with his solids yet. This turned out great. Made me think of a Moroccan dancer with some good hip action going on. I really love this quilt top.
A Moroccan dancer with good hip action…. That is such a great description! Thanks so much for stopping by and I will post some quilting pics later as this project progresses.
Take care,
Bernie
Congratulations on the finish! I am sorry to hear that you get migraines, too. Thankfully I have finally figured out most of my triggers so they are rare for me theses days. I hope the same for you. Enjoy your wonderful weekend with family. 🙂
Thank Yvonne. Migraines are a chronic issue for me and I get them all the time. There are so many things tied into it so it is really a tough thing to control. No fun, to be sure. Nice that you have your thing somewhat figured out.
Enjoy the weekend!
B.
What a great way to use a jelly roll and stripes! So inventive, Bernie!
XX!Lori
Thank you Lori!
I like the movement in this, and the earthy tones. Have fun with your sisters!
Thank you Heather. We had the best weekend together. Hope yours was as lovely. 🙂
Take care,
Bernie
I need to experiment more with jelly rolls, especially since the quilts can come together so quickly. What is it with quilters and migraines? I think we all suffer from them. Glad you’re feeling better.
Hi Diana:
I think there are so many fun ways to play with a jelly roll. Sorry to hear that you are a fellow migraine sufferer. No fun at all. Very glad to be feeling good now. 🙂
Oh what a lovely way to show off a jelly roll! I’m looking forward to seeing how you quilt it 🙂
Thanks Carie! I am looking forward to seeing how I quilt it as well!! Waiting for some sort of inspiration to come over me and give me some hints. Time for a little exploration on Pinterest. 🙂
Great job. Love it with the stripes. Great supervisor. I wish I had one like that.
She is a pretty good supervisor! For the most part, she seems to know she can’t walk on projects while they are on the floor.
Thanks for coming by Sherry!
Love these colors and the coordinating fabric is gorgeous! You did good Bernie!
Thank you Linda!
Both layouts looked great to me. I do look forward to seeing your finish on this. It’s a great quilt!
What a lovely quilt!! I cannot wait to see it finished!
Thank you Bethany. I am still going back and forth trying to decide how to quilt it. This is usually the hardest part of the process for me. I am anxious to get started tho so I better make a decision! So glad you stopped by.
Take care,
Bernie