Scrappy Rainbows / Beauties Pageant 287

I’m interrupting my deep dive into all things jelly rolls and the upcoming book release to report on some squirrel chasing. Early in the process of writing patterns and sewing samples for Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts, I made a quilt for my older son because, I figured, what’s one more quilt when I had already committed to completing 14 of them?! But one more quilt is one more quilt, and I quickly resolved to focus solely on the book projects. There was simply no time for squirrels. 

All of that changed once the book was put to bed at the end of last year. I found some big, rainbow-colored squirrels to chase. What you see here is the result: one of the four rainbow colored-pencil rolls I made in the past few months.

I’m convinced that everyone loves a good rainbow* and that anything rainbow is a worthwhile sew. These projects supported that theory! 

Finding 24 fabrics that match perfectly with the 24 colors in a box of Crayola colored pencils, however, is no small feat, so I never sew just one roll—I always make multiple.

I originally made a set of these pencil rolls over 10 years ago, keeping one for myself. I suspect I’ll return to this pattern again, so Future Michelle, these notes are for you: 

• Use a little spray baste to keep all the layers stacked up nicely
• Remember to sew a scant quarter-inch seam, especially if you plan to press seams to one side
• Give yourself some extra wiggle room on the two end colors

The pattern can be found in Joelle Hoverson’s Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts, one of the first quilting books I ever bought and one that’s now out of print. The standalone pattern is available from the designer, Kathy Mack of Pink Chalk Studios, here.

* Back in February, and on a lark, I made a reel of my disembodied hands putting the colored pencils in the slots of a completed roll, and it went viral. 

Last I checked, it had been viewed more than 600K times. See? People really are crazy about rainbows!

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