CRAFTY | JELLY ROLL 1600 QUILT

Earlier in the month I wrote about my quilting goals for 2013 and the first quilt I wanted to finish for the year was a Jelly Roll 1600 Quilt for @Alivicwil and @TripleJoe‘s wedding.  Well the two love birds are getting married today. (So exciting!)

In a miracle of all miracles I managed to finish making their quilt top.  I had originally planned to quilt it myself but time got away from me and I decided in the end to send it to Helen (of Altogether Quilting) to long arm quilt it.  (I want it to last for years and I was worried that my first ever quilting would probably not make a great gift.  I’ll save that for a quilt we’ll be using!)

…joining the jelly roll ends…

I made good use of HUBBY being home for the holidays and set up in the Mum Cave and got down to the stitching. I set up my iPad so I could watch the youtube tutorial as I worked.  I found the tutorial really helpful, but I had a bit of a brain fart when it came to lining up the ends so I could get the chain piecing happening.  In the end I worked it out (after having to unpick and redo a couple of lines!) and decided that I would take a photo of how the ends go into the machine so anyone else that struggles with left and right like I do could see how it works.

…2 jelly rolls joined together…

I ended up using 3 jelly rolls to make the quilt the size I wanted. 3 jelly rolls makes a heck of a long piece of fabric and I found it difficult when I got to the end as it had a habit of twisting in on itself as I sewed. I just dealt with it until it got to a more manageable size and I could match the sides up before sewing.

…you can see the strand twisting in the pile…

In total the sewing took me a couple of hours, but that had a lot to do with procrastination, the LITTLE MAN and a little event called Christmas.

…sewing the last join…

The end quilt top was longer than our queen size bed but only not as wide as a double bed.  I debated about what would be the best way to go.  I didn’t have enough backing fabric (or time) to be able to put sashing on the sides of the quilt top to pad it out to a queen bed size. After much debate and testing out various sizes HUBBY and I came to the decision that I would just cut the quilt top in half and use each half for the front and back. Simple!

…font to match the invitations…

I also decided to stitch the quilt label to make it a little more personal and handmade.  I used the font from the wedding invitation for the name of quilt (imaginative name isn’t it!).  I thought it added a nice touch.

Because we all know each other from the internet I decided to use our twitter names in the label just for a laugh.  I also added another special touch that I’ll show you when I reveal the finished product.

The quilt is now with Helen and I can’t wait to see the finished product. I’m a little bummed that it wasn’t done in time for their wedding, but I’m happy that it will be done (fingers crossed) in time for their return from their mystery honeymoon.  (@Alivicwil has no idea where her honeymoon will be as @TripleJoe has booked it all without telling her – really exciting but I wouldn’t be able to live with the suspense, I’d have to know!)

I’m so happy to have my first quilt of the year done and now I’m working on my February quilt. I figure if I can get a run up on the quilt tops I stand a better chance of getting them all done.  Well, that’s the theory anyways…