Have you heard about National Sew a Jelly Roll Day? (It’s a real thing, up there with National Golden Retriever Day and National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day!) On the third Saturday of September each year, we’re encouraged to unroll those lovely bundles of strips and get to quilt making!
Thimble Blossoms’ Patchwork Sky
One jelly roll pattern I sewed recently and wanted to recommend to you is Thimble Blossoms’ Patchwork Sky. (Thimble Blossoms is Camille Roskelley’s pattern company.) This project turned me into a fan of strip sewing—that is, sewing the strips together length-wise and then cutting them into usable units for the quilt top.
That technique makes the 16-patches in between the big stars go together much faster, while still maintaining the super-scrappy, I-pieced-all-these-little-squares-individually look.
I had hoped to have my Patchwork Sky all quilted and bound for a National Sew a Jelly Roll Day debut—after all, it’s been basted since June!—but here you see the project as a flimsy. I am planning on quilting double lines on an angle all over this top and binding it with Grunge in wild ginger (the stars are Grunge in blue steel). Here’s hoping it crosses the finish line before the end of the year!
Ridiculously Easy Jelly Roll Quilt
Regular readers are familiar with the second pattern I wanted to showcase today. It’s my own Ridiculously Easy Jelly Roll Quilt. This humble pattern has been my most successful to date, and the ombre version was so well received that I recently updated the cover of the PDF version with it.
Patchwork Sky is not a weekend project, but the child and lap sizes of Ridiculously Easy are. Personally, I think the lap size is the project’s sweet spot, because it calls for 29 strips and jelly rolls usually contain 40. In other words, there is a little wiggle room for you to select the fabrics that work best with your background fabric.
The pattern requires sewing long columns together (it is not a block-based pattern) and includes tips on getting great results. If you’re a new sewist, I recommend making one of the smaller sizes before embarking on one of the larger sizes.
Will you be at your machine on National Sew a Jelly Roll Day? If so, we’d love to hear what you plan on making!
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Your Patchwork Sky quilt is a stunner! I'll have to look up that pattern. Also, your choice of grunge in blue steel couldn't tweak my happy receptors more!
ReplyDeleteBoth are great jelly roll quilts. Thanks for the reminder of the special day as well as the chance to share with others. Blessings to you!
ReplyDeleteWhen I think about jelly roll patterns, I always think of your designs. :)
ReplyDeletePatchwork Skies is beautiful! Happy stitching!
ReplyDeleteI really like the patchwork skies. But I uncovered a jelly roll yesterday and I might just have to try out your ridiculously easy pattern. That is more like what I need in my life right now.
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