Friday, May 16, 2025

Virtual Book Tour Update / Beauties Pageant 294

The virtual book tour for Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts is well underway, and I’d love to tell you about the participants who posted about the book so far. Be sure to check them out—many are hosting giveaways for the ebook version!

Amy Friend / During Quiet Time

Amy Friend has been blogging and designing projects under the During Quiet Time name longer than I’ve been quilting. In her latest blog post, Amy reviews Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts and, in the process, says what I think may be the best possible compliment: “My favorite thing about [the book] is that the designs are very creative and do not have the look that we think of when we hear the words ‘jelly roll quilts.’”

Read the review here!

Lilo Whitener-Fey / Trace Creek Quilting

Lilo Whitener-Fey is the face of Trace Creek Quilting. Based in St. Louis, she and her team of longarmers quilt projects for people all across the United States. When I finished my second version of Pixelated Herringbone, I knew I wanted Lilo to give it an edge-to-edge panto treatment. There’s a peek of the quilt below. (I’ll devote an entire blog post to this project once it’s bound!)

See more pictures here!

 

Becca Fenstermaker / Sugar Sand Quilt Co.

Becca Fenstermaker is a quilter and teacher in southern New Jersey. She fell in love with Myriad, a pattern from the book that uses strip sets to make half-hexagons and incorporates them in a bold star design. If you’re local to Becca, you can make a Myriad quilt with her in the class she’s teaching at Block Party Quilts, in Medford, NJ, on June 26 and July 10!

Read the post and learn more about the class! 

Yvonne Fuchs / Quilting Jetgirl

I suspect all regular readers of From Bolt to Beauty know Yvonne Fuchs and her work. What I love about Yvonne (aside from how sweet and encouraging she is!) is how different her projects are from mine. In her latest blog post, Yvonne shares her version of Tag Sale Floral in a palette that my brain could never curate. It. Is. Amazing!

Read the blog post here! 


Lynn Woll / Create Whimsy

Lynn Woll, the artistic brain behind Create Whimsy, strives to bring creators and makers together and share their stories. I am honored to be one of those stories! Visit Create Whimsy to hear about how I started quilting, where I find inspiration, and what I hope readers take from Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts.

Read the interview here!

Virtual Book Tour Schedule

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Saturday, May 10, 2025

Virtual Book Tour / Beauties Pageant 293


I spent the past few days at H+H Americas, a large fiber-arts tradeshow, and it was a blast. I got to meet quilters and shop owners and talk to them about Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts. The road to publishing a book is a long one, and reaching this point is very rewarding. Seeing people’s faces light up while encountering my designs for the first time never gets old.

Over the next two weeks, bloggers, designers, and social media mavens from around the world will be opening up a copy of Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts and sharing their thoughts. Some of them will be writing a review of the book. Others will be sewing up a block or two. And others still will be interviewing me about my creative process and book-writing journey. I can’t wait to read what they all have to say!

Many participants will be hosting a giveaway for the digital version of the book, so I encourage you to hit each stop!

Virtual Book Tour Schedule

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Friday, May 2, 2025

1-2-3 Giraffes / Beauties Pageant 292

I’m at H+H Americas this week. The usual Friday post and linky will go live tomorrow: Saturday, May 10.

Can you believe I have something to talk about today that has nothing to do with jelly rolls? It’s true! I have a backlog of projects and finishes to share, which as a weekly blogger, seems like a luxury.

But first ... A thank-you to everyone who has purchased my book or cheered me on during its first week of release!

If you see Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts in your local quilt shop (see the cover at the bottom of the post), could you snap a picture and send it to me? I’d love to promote that store in my Instagram stories.

If you own Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts, please leave a review. You don’t need to have purchased the book at Amazon or from my publisher to leave reviews at either site, and reviews count for a lot with book sales. The Amazon listing is here. The C&T listing is here. Thank you in advance!

And now, a finish that has zero connection to jelly rolls! It’s my Giraffe Love project, made for a fellow quilter’s new baby boy.

I wrote about this project from Sew Fresh Quilts back in January and put off the quilting as long as possible. I’ve gotten out of the habit of quilting projects myself—I prefer to devote my time to designing and piecing instead—and the ones I do plan on tackling myself grow in size and scope in my mind.

In the end, quilting this small baby quilt was fast and easy. (Isn’t that how projects we put off usually turn out?) Using my walking foot, I quilted wavy organic lines across the width of the project at 3-inch intervals. Then I quilted another line in between the originals ones. At least I think that’s what I did—a hazard of writing a blog post weeks after finishing a project is remembering the details!

I had the perfect sunshiny backing in my stash and bound the quilt with a seemingly made-for-this-project mustard fabric. Project finished and gifted ... check and check!

I am close to a point where I can start a just-because project, one without a recipient or a commitment or expectations of any kind. So, I long to see what you’re working on. Bring on the inspiration!

Purchase a copy here!


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Friday, April 25, 2025

Release Day and a Thank-You / Beauties Pageant 291

I’ve been waiting to say this for—quite literally—years ... My first book has been released! Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts is in stock at Amazon, the C&T site, quilt shops everywhere, and my own online store. Yahoo!

I would not be the quilter I am today without the support and expertise I have found in the blogging community. For those of you who have been reading From Bolt to Beauty all these years, thank you! Your support and encouragement have meant the world to me, and I would not have taken on this latest endeavor without you, my small army of quilty cheerleaders.

There’s more to come ... a virtual book tour, sew-alongs, giveaways. As always, stop back here on Fridays for more information and inspiration. 

I cannot wait to see what you create with this collection of patterns!

For a closer look at the quilts, see:

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Friday, April 18, 2025

Three Scrappy Quilts / Beauties Pageant 290

Over the past five or six weeks, I have been introducing you to the quilt designs in my book, Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts. Today we’re looking at the last three projects, which have one important thing in common: They are conducive to busting through scraps!

When working with jelly rolls, I consider scraps to include leftover bits from cutting projects as well as entire unused strips ...

Five Little Ghosts

I often have low-volume strips leftover simply because they don’t work with my preferred white and cream backgrounds. I had a lot of fun thinking about what I could do with those light-colored leftovers. One solution I came up with is Five Little Ghosts. These silly little ghouls wouldn’t scare anyone, but they sure are cute in white-on-white strips from various jelly rolls I used in the book.


Jelly Roll: White-on-white prints from various fabric collections 

Background fabric: Spooky Darlings from Ruby Star Society

Batting: Warm and White

Finished size: 52.5" x 64.5"

Pieced and quilted by Michelle Cain

Meow Mates 

Another project that incorporates full leftover strips is the sample quilt for Meow Mates, pictured at the top of the post. The pale green background fabric provided the perfect backdrop for those low volumes. Then I mixed in smaller scraps for the kitties’ ears and muzzles. I also repeated a few prints multiple times throughout the quilt top to tie everything together.

Jelly Roll: Prints and solids from various fabric collections 

Background fabric: Moda Bella Solids in Hometown Sky 

Batting: Warm and White

Finished size: 52.5" x 64.5"

Pieced by Michelle Cain; quilted by Ophelia Chang

Neighborly

My version of Neighborly was sewn from a single fabric collection, but its fabric requirements could easily be met by my scrap bin. I am plotting a super-size second version that’s all black and white.

Jelly Roll: Flower Pot by Lella Boutique for Moda 

Background fabric: Moda Bella Solids in Off-White 

Batting: Warm and White

Finished size: 30.5" x 30.5"

Pieced and quilted by Michelle Cain

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You can order my book here!

Thank you for joining me in this first look at all the quilts from Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts! If you missed any of the posts, you can read them at the links below:


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Friday, April 11, 2025

Big and Bold, Cute and Sweet / Beauties Pageant 289

Hello, quilty friends!

I hope you’re having as great of a week as I am ... I had six to eight hours of glorious alone time in my house on Tuesday and Wednesday. That is a rare occurrence, and I cherished every quiet, uninterrupted minute. And then, at last night’s guild meeting, I won a fat quarter bundle of Melody Miller’s new Carousel collection. (Insert happy dance here!)

But what has really made life fun lately is getting to share projects from Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts. It is a thrill to see people’s excitement about my designs and hear which one they hope to sew first.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, this collection of 14 patterns spans the spectrum of project sizes. It also spans the spectrum of my design preferences. In the pages of the book, you’ll find everything from big and bold quilts to cute and sweet ones ...

Five-Star Experience

The collection’s cover girl, Five-Star Experience, is one of my favorites. The stars finish at 34 inches because, sometimes, big blocks are best! 

According to the book’s skill-level guide of one spool (for quicker, more straightforward sews) to three spools (for more fiddly sews), it comes in at one spool. I would take that assessment a step further and say that Five-Star Experience is the easiest project in the entire book.

I adore the colors in the sample I made, and that chartreuse binding is the perfect pop of color to frame those giant stars.

Jelly roll: Meadow Star by Alexia Marcelle Abegg for Ruby Star Society

Accent fabric: Moda Bella Solids in Black 

Background fabric: Speckled in Sweet Cream by Rashida Coleman Hale for Ruby Star Society

Pieced by Michelle Cain; quilted by Ophelia Chang

All the Xs 

Although Five-Star Experience features big blocks, the biggest quilt in the book is All the Xs. Here it is, below, pictured on a queen-size bed.

I consider this pattern my quilty mic drop because All the Xs requires just one jelly roll, a background fabric, and an accent fabric to produce a huge project. 

All the Xs is a little trickier than Five-Star Experience because of its size and the bias edges created when cutting the setting blocks, but its over-the-top Xs make the extra effort worth your while.

Jelly roll: Strawberry Lemonade by Sherri and Chelsi for Moda

Accent fabric: Moda Bella Solids in Dark Teal

Background fabric: Moda Bella Solids in Gray

Pieced by Michelle Cain; quilted by Ophelia Chang

Buoyant Hearts 

Buoyant Hearts was the first project I designed for Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts. Its fabric requirements are easily met in my stash, and there’s no background fabric—just a jelly roll, an outer heart fabric, and an inner heart fabric. 

I think the trick is to use a fabric line that has lots of different colors in it, and Fancy That Design House’s Songbook delivers on that front. In fact, I purchased a jelly roll of Songbook: A New Page, a follow-up to the original Songbook collection, to remake this pattern.

Jelly roll: Songbook by Fancy That Design House for Moda

Heart fabric: Moda Bella Solids in Off-White and Burgundy

Pieced by Michelle Cain; quilted by Ophelia Chang

I Heart Rainbows

Whereas Five-Star Experience may be the easiest pattern to sew from my collection, I Heart Rainbows was the easiest to design.

I have another version of this pattern planned, too. I think this time I’ll start with the backing fabric (for real!) and pull fabrics from my bin of solid 2.5-inch scraps. This will bust through one of my long-neglected fabric cuts for backings and chip away at those scraps.

Jelly roll: Rise and Shine by Melody Miller for Ruby Star Society 

Heart fabric: Moda Bella Solids in Pomegranate 

Background fabric: Moda Bella Solids in Off-White

You can order my book here!

And if you missed my previous posts about the quilts from Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts, you can read them here:

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Friday, April 4, 2025

Two Pixelated Quilts / Beauties Pageant 288

Hello! And welcome back to my look at all 14 projects in Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts ...

A few weeks ago, I shared two quilts that I designed to use one of my favorite time-saving techniques: strip sets. By sewing jelly roll strips together along the long edges, cutting those blocks of fabric into smaller units, and sewing those units in different configurations, I made both butterflies and a set of stars in a striped-hexagon sky. The two projects I’m sharing today take that technique one step further, into the realm of pixelated projects.

Pod Patrol

I love the look of pixelated quilts. In fact, I had made some in the past, including a pixelated fire truck and pixelated hearts. Once I set my mind to designing a whale quilt for my book, I saw an interesting opportunity to incorporate pixelation: In Pod Patrol, pictured below, I sewed 2.5-inch squares together to create bands of waves. 

I could have randomized the placement of the fabrics in the waves here (and the instructions provide advice on that front), but I really love the diagonal color gradient of these waves. It optimizes the jelly roll I had to work with and creates a fun sense of movement.

When I finished this sample, though, it seemed so very blue. To up the cuteness factor—and provide a splash of color—I gave one of my white whales an appliqued spray of red hearts. I have to admit, I love this last-minute addition so much that I’m tempted to give the second white whale his own heart spray, too!

Jelly roll: Water from Ruby Star Society 

Background fabric: Moda Bella Solids in Smoke

Batting: Warm and White

Finished size: 56.5" x 66.5"

Pieced by Michelle Cain; quilted by Ophelia Chang

Pixelated Herringbone 

Pixelated Herringbone takes strip-pieced pixelation to the extreme. Almost all of this quilt’s 1,280 squares are strip pieced, allowing me to assemble the top in a fraction of the time.

And this design is so versatile. I recently sewed a version by using two blue-grays as the solids that corral the herringbone segments and by pulling the necessary prints from my scrap bin. With all those individual 2.5-inch squares, this approach required more fiddly sewing, but I still managed to strip-piece the solid-color units. I’m sending that project to a longarmer soon and will follow up with a blog post as soon as it’s bound. : )

Because my stash can easily fulfill Pixelated Herringbone’s fabric requirements, and because I can always dive into my bin of 2.5-inch scraps for a fabric pull, I foresee making this project many times in the future.

Jelly roll: Stay Gold by Melody Miller for Ruby Star Society

Accent fabrics: Moda Bella Solids in Mediterranean and Blue Raspberry

Background fabric: Moda Bella Solids in White

Batting: Warm and White

Finished size: 64.5" x 80.5"

Pieced by Michelle Cain; quilted by Ophelia Chang

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Read more about Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts:

  • That’s a Jelly Roll Quilt?
  • Strip Sets for the Win!
  • Big and Bold, Cute and Sweet 
  • Three Scrappy Quilts 
    •  

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    Friday, March 21, 2025

    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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    Friday, March 14, 2025

    Strip Sets for the Win! / Beauties Pageant 286

    This post features projects from my upcoming book Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts!

    You’ve heard me waxing on about jelly rolls, and you may be wondering why I’m not compelled to work with a different precut, like layer cakes. I love a good layer cake, and a few of the patterns in my book can probably even be made with a layer cake’s 10-inch squares instead of a jelly roll’s 2.5-inch strips. But there’s one thing a jelly roll can do that no layer cake can, and that is produce big, time-saving strip sets.

    You’ve likely made strips sets for other patterns. It’s the process of sewing jelly roll strips together along the long edges and then cutting the resulting set into smaller units to resew in different configurations. When I’m working with jelly rolls, I leverage the power of strip sets whenever I can—it’s simply a more efficient way to sew. 

    Two quilts from my book that employ this technique are Butterfly Season and Myriad ...

    Butterfly Season

    Quilts take a long time to make, so I take advantage of every shortcut I can. In Butterfly Season, that means strip piecing the wings of each butterfly and strip-piecing the butterflies’ bodies. 

    Plus, setting the time-saving benefits aside, there’s something super satisfying about sewing together these strips and then cutting crisp, pristine units from them.

    Butterfly Season requires a full jelly roll and produces a twin-size quilt.

    Jelly roll: Beautiful Day by Corey Yoder for Moda

    Background fabric: Moda Bella Solids in Off-White

    Batting: Warm and White

    Finished size: 77.5" x 90.5"

    Pieced by Michelle Cain; quilted by Ophelia Chang 

    Myriad

    Strip sets are the foundation of Myriad, a generously sized throw quilt that I sewed with a line of Kate Spain batiks. 

    Again, relying on the strip-set technique here makes the quilt-making process go faster. It also produces less waste than if the pieces were sewn into rectangles and then cut into the necessary half-hexagons.

    Myriad may look difficult, but in the end, it requires sewing columns of equilateral triangles together. Easy peasy!


    Jelly roll: Confection Batiks by Kate Spain for Moda

    Background fabric: Moda Bella Solids in White

    Batting: Warm and White

    Finished size: 64.5" x 83.75"

    Pieced by Michelle Cain; quilted by Ophelia Chang 

    You can order my book here!

     


    * * *

    Read more about Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts:

  • That’s a Jelly Roll Quilt?
  • Two Pixelated Quilts
  • Big and Bold, Cute and Sweet 
  • Three Scrappy Quilts 

    • Follow Me On ...  


     
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    The pageant rules are simple:
    • Post your finish in the linky tool. (No links to your own giveaway or linky, please!)
    • Point your readers back here with a text link or use the button above.
    • Visit and comment on other participants’ finishes.

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