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The August UFO, my jelly roll race quilt, was a good selection for me after my harried time of getting my hand quilting project finished by the end of July. This new UFO project was not part of a class nor was it a gift so there was not the usual pressure to get it done in a timely manner. I made it because I was intrigued with the jelly roll race process that was all the rage at the time. It was already pretty far along in the construction stage only needing borders to complete the top. I had all the fabrics on hand, not only for the borders but for the backing and binding as well. I started this jelly roll race quilt when I saw a video of the process on You Tube. I was just starting to watch quilting tutorials on You Tube and saw several on the jelly roll race quilt. Then I saw the tutorial by Jenny Doan on the MSQC site. I knew then I just had to make one. This type of quilt was made from one jelly roll and could be done is less than an hour, or so "they" said! This was my kind of quilt!
When I researched the origin of the jelly roll race quilt I learned that the jelly roll was invented and trademarked by Moda Fabrics in September of 2010 according to The Sewing Directory blog. I had not yet gotten hooked on the precuts which were now appearing on a regular basis along with all kinds of quilt patterns for them. I must admit, I was getting very intrigued by them.
In the previous post on my UFO Challenge projects I stated that my jelly roll race quilt was started last year, but when I looked back at the history of this project, it was actually started in in July of 2014 - time flies! I did spend some time looking for a jelly roll that I liked and that had yardage that would make nice borders and backing. I found them on the MSQC site and ordered them shortly afterwards. I really did complete the strip piecing part of the top in about an hour! The joining of the 42 strips end-to-end took a good portion of the time. But then the sewing of the strip units together went along smoothly. I liked the process! I would do it again!
When I was at the decision point for the border fabrics, I changed my mind from what I thought I would do and put the project aside for a while. I finally chose the alternative fabrics and placed the order for them. But by that time, I had moved on to another project. I added this to the UFO Challenge to get it completed since it was so far along and the challenge would inspire me to get it done in time to use it during the cool nights at our mountain cabin. This is a very young UFO for me!
At this point, the top is completed and double bordered. I have the pine-cone themed backing ready to go. I also have the binding fabric ready but not yet cut (shown at the bottom of the picture below). I originally thought I would do a flanged binding but I am reconsidering that method for a more traditional hand-sewn binding. My other decision to make is whether I want to machine quilt it myself or send it out. I am leaning more towards quilting it myself right now. The quilt will finish at 60" x 75". The fabrics used are from the "Through the Winter Woods" line by Holly Taylor for Moda. Stay tuned to see the quilt in use on a cozy couch!
So, what did I learn from this project? Well, even though there was very little cutting involved, it was important to sew my 1/4" seams so the strips did not "elbow". I was also very careful about pressing the seams - there were a lot of them!
Now to wait to see what project is chosen for the September UFO! Eight down, four to go!
I have always loved the double wedding ring pattern. I took a class to learn how to create the blocks. I had not worked with curves before and I thought the class would educate me on that technique. I did learn quite a bit in this class and I decided to make this a hand sewing project. I decided to make the table runner with 3 rings. I used 1930's fabrics and cut my templates from cardboard, another new technique for me.
The class used a book by Rodale Press called "Wedding Ring Quilts". I liked working with the ring and melon pieces and found the value of using pins - lots of pins! This class was held over 3 sessions at the Quilter's Barn in Allentown in October and November of 2000, (I found a receipt for fabric in the book with this date on it!) another oldie but goodie. I did not work on it on a continuous basis as it was a good mobile project that I could take on long car rides or when I could not do a machine quilting project. It was so convenient to just take a small bag with the fabrics, some pins - lots of pins, some sewing needles, a needle threader, small pair of scissors and a spool of thread. I worked on it here and there and got it to a point where it was ready to be finished. That's when I added it to my APQ 2016 challenge.
It is the smallest of any of my UFO projects but it was chosen as the July project at one of the busiest time of my year! I did not want to rush through the finishing process just to get it done. I wanted to finish it the way I had always intended - hand pieced, hand quilted. I was clearly out of runway on this one! So, I decided to at least get the hand piecing completed. I also intended to do a bias binding on the curves so I spent some time on you tube on how to make the binding and what size square I would need to cut. That is probably a full day class in itself! But I am ready to take that step.
So, here are some photos of how this project has progressed over the last few multiple years:
This is early on in the process. You can see how many pins I used to attach the ring to the melon!
Finally getting to the end of the hand piecing. You can see the orignal pattern that was provided in the class. This was for a 3 ring table runner. A 4 ring wall hanging pattern was also provided. I was glad I chose the table runner!
This is the completed top. It looks pretty good on my dining table in our mountain house! I don't think it will be used when food is on the table however!
The project for August is a full size quilt but I think will be a lot easier to finish compared to the small table runner! It is my first Jelly Roll Race quilt and was was started last year. It needs borders, backing and quilting. This will be a totally machine project, including the quilting. I am thinking of using a flanged binding which can be attached by machine as well. If you don't know about this type of binding, you can google flanged binding or magic binding.
I hope to get this completed in time to use it at our cabin since it is made with all woodsy themed fabrics. Here is where it stands right now. The picture shows the top with the fabrics for the borders (burgandy and green) and the binding. The pine cone fabric is the backing. Looking forward to seeing how this one comes together!
Stay tuned!
