Jelly Roll Jam II Quilt Progress...

Jelly Roll Jam II Quilt in Moda™ Midwinter Reds Fabric

My Jelly Roll Jam II quilt is nearly ready to quilt. I added the red border

and assembled the piano key border in the ivory and tan fabrics. I pinned

everything together so I could see see what it looks like and I'm happy with it.

I'll straighten up one side of the keys and sew them to the quilt top. After I've

done that, I'll square up the outside edge and then I'll be ready to quilt it up.

I've decided to use the tan dot fabric for the back and I'm going to bind it in red.

I have something fun to share with you on Wednesday. Here's a peek.
Tag will be here tomorrow. The poor lad is going stir crazy with the rain. We'll see what he comes up with for his blog post. Either way, he's always fun!

Stitching, Cyphering and Sewing...

I decided on the border fabric for my Jelly Roll Jam II quilt.

After I attach this, I'll be adding the tan/ivory piano keys, but first things first.

I had to figure out how much fabric to cut for those borders.

Do you know how to calculate how much fabric is needed?

Do you want to know? (If not, you can skip the rest of this post and wait

for a picture of the finished top - or even the finished quilt - on Monday.)

My actual calculation. I'll still round up to 6 strips.

If you're still reading, you'd like to know how to calculate how much fabric you need for the border. Here's your answer...

1) measure the length of your quilt, down the center of the quilt

2) measure the width of your quilt, again down the center of the quilt 

(Why down the middle, you ask? Pulling the edges could distort the fabric and skew the numbers.)

3) Double both of those numbers and add them together. (length x 2, plus width x 2 = total number of border inches)

4) Add 10" for creating the mitered corners and joining binding ends.

5) Divide that number by 40 (40 is the likely number of inches in the full width of the fabric, after removing - and saving - the selvage.)

The resulting number is the number of strips you need to cut to have enough to border your fabric.

Example: Your quilt measures 64" long x 48" wide

64" x 2 = 128

+48" x 2 = 96

 224 + 10 = 234

   divided by 40

= 5.85

I round that number UP and cut 6 strips of fabric my desired width.

 

If you want 6" strips, multiple 6 x 6 and you will need 36" (or 1 yard) of fabric.

In my case, I'm going to cut 3" strips (3 x 6 = 18"), so I only need a half yard of fabric to do my borders. 

 

So, I'm going to attach my first border and then measure and cut my piano keys to add outside the red border. In case you're wondering, my self-imposed deadline to finish the Strawberries s mid-month, October. When I take breaks from the stitching, I can fill in my time with sewing. Lucky me!!!

Retreat Recap...

I couldn't end my trip without posting photographs of some of the fabulous

 quilts created by my friends. There were so many beautiful quilt tops sewn

 together over the past three days - and not all were the group project pattern.

Alice made this stunning quilt top. She was set up on the table behind me, so

I got to watch her work on it. Alice is also the new owner of Prissy! Since I

brought my new Crescendo home, I've been trying to find a new home for

my hardworking, reliable Prissy. I took her to use at the retreat and let 

everyone know that she was "adoptable". Alice played with her and decided

to take her home with her. I'm really thrilled that they have found each other.

This is the quilt top my "roomie", Melinda finished. She started this top a few

years ago and decided that fall was the perfect time to complete her UFO.

I think it turned out lovely. She was right...it was time she finished this one.

Betty is one of my friends from the guild. She always makes colorful 

quilts and this one is no exception. I love her black and red poppy quilt.

I'll look forward to Show and Tell at the guild when she's got it all done!

My friend (and retreat hostess), Susan Slaton of Wazoo Quilts made

this quilt from a precut pack of batiks that a number of the women

bought when we went shopping. She'll add borders and her stellar

longarm skills to this pretty patchwork to create a stunning new quilt.
I wouldn't be surprised if she had it finished by the weekend!

This is Paulie's black and white version of the retreat project

"Jelly Roll Jam II" (free pattern from Fat Quarter Shop. Love it!

Here's Sandi's version in fall and jewel-toned batiks. Yummy!

This quilt is really elegant. Gladys chose a soft, soothing palette for her design.

This is my new pal, Linda Macklin. She made this project quilt using

fall-colored, ACORN-themed fabrics! Squeee! I threatened to abscond

with this beauty. It reminded me of Wisconsin whenever I walked past it.

(You may think she's smiling at the camera, but she was just taunting me!)

I first met Dawna at the Sebring retreat I attended last year at the 

Kenilworth Inn. Remember, there were four "Donna"s and one Dawna?

There were only two Donnas and one Dawna at this one. hee hee

I like how she arranged her six-piece blocks from light to darks. It made

for a completely different effect for the blocks. It's very spring-like, too!

  My last picture to share with you is the official "roommates" photo of me with my new friend, Melinda. I really enjoyed getting to know her and  sharing this retreat in her company. Until we see each other at a future retreat or quilt show...Wishing all "Happy Quilting and Happy Hearts".

Look What I Made...

I'm homeward bound around noon today, and I'd say it's been a great success.

In addition to all the fun I had with friends, old and new, I finished two

projects and got mostly finished on a third. I'm so happy with my trip results.

I showed you my first finished project on Monday, and these are the other two.

My Autumn Acorn Pincushion was a quick and simple project. If you'd like

to make your own, the kit is available HERE. It comes with all the supplies, 

and a set of five special stick pins. I only stuck two in my acorn, but you can see 

all five of them in the kit photograph on their website. I know I'll make more.

I already showed you these jelly roll fabrics I chose to use in our group project.

I'll show you photos of some of the other quilt tops created by the ladies I spent

the last few days with in tomorrow's post. Today, I'll just show you mine so far.

I like the size of this, but I want to make it just a bit bigger. I've decided that

I'm going to add a thin red border all the way around, and then make a

piano key border with more of the ivory and tan fabrics to finish up the top.

Tomorrow I'll share my final thoughts from the retreat, along with more photos.

Today, I'll be back with Handsome and The Corgi. Retreats are great fun,

but it's always great to get home again. Time to pack up and head south.

See you again tomorrow, my friends!

Jelly Roll Jam II Quilt...

Yesterday I chose the fabric I'll be using for our retreat group project. All I had to do was go shopping in the studio! (I have a boat-load few jelly rolls from which to choose.) I thought it might be fun to use this colorway from Minick & Simpson's Midwinter Reds. It's a Moda fabric, of course.   If you're interested in seeing what the whole collection looks like (before I make my Jelly Roll Jam II quilt, click this link to see every, luscious fabric!

I'm considering this polka dot fabric for the backing, but I won't make my final decision until the quilt top is done. I may end up not using the tans at all.

The pattern (free from The Fat Quarter Shop - with a link below) only calls for one jelly roll to create a 36 1/2" x 38 1/2" quilt. I'm planning to make a large  one, using two jelly rolls. I'll see how many blocks I can make without the tans.

If you'd like to make your own Jelly Roll Jam II quilt, let me know. I think it would be fun to share all the images in a future blog post. I'll make my quilt top at the retreat, but if you want to make one, too, I'll set up a Flickr page.    Click HERE to download your own (free) Jelly Roll Jam II Pattern. I'm also embedding the Fat Quarter shop video tutorial for this quilt into this post for you. Grab a cuppa and relax while you watch it! Direct link: http://youtu.be/sf98KddO1Uk   Enjoy! More to come on this project after the retreat...