A Ridiculously Easy Retrospective / Beauties Pageant 240

 

For the past month, the impending winter solstice has been the wrench in the works here at From Bolt to Beauty world headquarters. With the sun so low in the sky, I have to photograph finishes during the limited window when light is adequate, and don’t even get me started about the difficulties with making fabric selections. I love considering fabric pulls for new projects at night when I am relaxed and open to different ideas but cannot bear the thought of making a decision at 7 p.m. only to discover it’s a bad one at 10 a.m. the next day.

 

Instead of photographing a finish or picking out fabric for my next project, I used the daylight this week to make a silly reel, National Geographic style, about that elusive species called the quilted yeti. (If you’re logged on to Instagram, you can view it here.) And because the algorithms are forever plotting against me, I am sure no one will even see it! (Darn you, Instagram!)

But you got this far in a rather rambling post, and you deserve a little eye candy. So today I am presenting a retrospective on my Ridiculously Easy Jelly Roll Quilt pattern, mainly because it requires taking zero pictures.

 

 

I first published the Ridiculously Easy Jelly Roll Quilt tutorial back in November of 2015. Year after year, it was my most popular blog post. Since graduating from being a humble tutorial to a full-fledged pattern, in 2020, the design has been made by thousands of quilters. It has been kitted more times than I can keep track of. Many people have reached out to tell me they’ve made it multiple times. 

 

I don’t know why this quilt has struck a chord with so many makers. Is it the geometric design that renders well in both modern fabrics and more traditional collections? Is it the cheeky title? Truth be told, I wish I knew how to replicate Ridiculously Easy’s success! 

The pattern’s sweet spot will always be the lap size, which measures about 58” x 70” and requires just one jelly roll and background fabric. This pattern comes in other sizes, but I like the number of peaks of the chevron in the lap quilt. (Compare it to the child size at the top of the post, which has just three peaks.) Plus, the quilt top is pieced in columns. As the size increases, the construction remains simple, but the columns get longer and the lap quilt’s columns are easily managed.

 

The owner of the original REJR quilt is a friend. We were talking recently, and she said that the quilt is one of her favorite things in her house. I love that!

For those of you who are celebrating Christmas next week, have a lovely day of family and faith. If Santa brings you a jelly roll, you know where to go for a pattern to tackle it. As for me, I’ll be here next Friday with a finish to share!

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