Wednesday, June 16, 2010

My design wall is full of projects that aren't the sort of thing I normally make.

I blame the whole jelly-roll thing for that.  I would never buy these fabrics by the metre, yet I willingly pay for a jellyroll of them.  Incomprehensible.The blue batiks are gone, all used up by that top.  However, the Fig Tree fabrics are proving harder to get rid of.

I had a jellyroll and a layer cake of these, plus some strips from a scrap bag from Hancocks.  (must stay away from Hancocks....)

I've cut 20 of these Churndash blocks out, and there is still a great pile of strips and squares and offcuts.

There's enough for at least 2 quilts, and even though these ranges are pretty, they're just not Me.  I'll have to buckle down and use them up, but I do think I need to be more discerning when I buy jellyrolls.  Or not buy them at all.

These Civil War Home Front fabrics are much more to my liking.

As are the French General prints; some of these are wonderful.  But there's that other jellyroll just waiting to be used.  How many quilts can we have in those colours??
 It's so easy to buy a jellyroll, there seem to be so many ideas for them, until the time comes to actually cut into one.  Then it's  really hard to make a decision, you don't want to 'waste' it, but you can't decide what is the 'perfect' pattern.  I should just make a comittment not to buy them in future; I'd be better off  buying a tower of FQs.

What am I saying????  I can't afford to add that much fabric to the stash on a whim!  I think I have to veto all these pre-cut options entirely.  And I will, as soon as I buy the set of Attic Shirtings, and maybe Cocoa Express....


9 comments:

Karen 10:12 AM  

I like the look of the Fig Tree fabrics and had many of them. I made at least three quilts using them and still had bunches left. All the quilts I made using them were given away. They just aren't me. I have a jely roll left for a give-away. I am trying to avoid the pre-cuts too but they are oh so tempting.

pdudgeon 10:24 AM  

ROTFLOL, sorry, but i had to do it!
i started collecting jelly rolls when the towers got a bit too expensive for me. in fact at one point i was known as the "Queen of Jelly Rolls"! Soon other quilters had the same idea, it seems. And then Moda came up with all the other secial cuts, and of course i experimented with all of those too.
Now i have a stack of jelly roll patterns from which to make quilts, so i'm never at a loss when confronted by a new-to-me fabric collection. Dare i say it? i've got the fabric requirements memorized for my favorite patterns!
i found Fig Tree Quilts too, and have dutifully been collecting many of their jelly rolls and layer cakes for quilts. if left to my own devices I probably would not have combined these fabrics, and yet I love them! they fit a perfect niche when i want a quilt that expresses every good thing about the last golden days of Summer.
thanks to these jelly rolls i've broken out of my quilting box, and have ventured into previously unknown territory where fabric is concerned.
So don't be afraid to experiment with a jelly roll...you never know what new quilt will be waiting for you!

Linda 2:00 PM  

Scrap Basket Surprises by Kim Brackett has phenomenal quilts for 2 1/2" strips. I absolutely love the kitchen sink quilt and then there's Monkey Business and...and...and
Lurking Linda
HAH, my word is cheat!!!

Lori 2:03 PM  

Hmm, I just read about someone else saying they were addicted to Jelly rolls. I spent last night and this morning looking at jelly rolls in Hancock's catalog, planning a project. EEekkk! NO NO NO!!

julia 5:30 PM  

Hi Keryn!

I have to admit I'm very drawn to Fig Tree fabrics...and patterns ;o) (having said that, I don't love ALL fabrics of them...but the overall 'feeling' they transport).
And I'm a collector of moda pre-cuts as well (shame on me ;o) ).
But what I initially wanted to tell: recently said company had a "new" idea (ha, isn't new, but you know what I mean): they now sell fat eights bundles of their collections, too...I think they're a good alternative to fat quarters if the budget is a bit tighter.
My rule of thumb is, not to buy Jelly Rolls if I haven't a special pattern in mind - when I "have to have" a special fabric collection & I don't have a plan already, I try to stick either to yardage of my favourite pieces and/or buying those "larger" pre-cuts, because they seem much more versatile...
Greetings from Germany, Julia

P.S.: sorry, it seems I'm too chatty this morning ;o)

Brenda 10:32 PM  

I'm wit you - buy the Attic Shirtings - I have.

julieQ 2:28 AM  

I think the same about Jelly rolls...I love certain fabrics in them, but there are some duds too. I have given away my last one!

Susan 10:42 PM  

And I thought I was the only one with this problem. I see an amazing quilt made from a jelly roll, and by the time I get the jelly roll in my hands I have forgotten what the amazing quilt was that I had seen. So now I have decided to keep a record of the jelly roll quilts I like, so I can remember what I wanted to make.

Mary Johnson 2:45 PM  

I love the idea of them but rarely like quilts made from all one fabric line. One the the rationales I used when buying my GO cutter was that I could cut Jelly Rolls from my own stash and my quilts would be scrappier!

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