Jelly Rolls, Fat Quarters and Charm Packs

My friend Diane warned me about a friend of hers who was hoarding fabric.  I am shortly on my way to becoming one of those people.

I just finished a pillow, so I was looking for a new project.  I wanted to give this pillow away, but the Boy insists I keep what I make.  I shipped my first pillow off to my parents, and I don't think my kids noticed it is gone.  I can see why my aunts and Grandma Jennings gave away their creations:  there just isn't enough room or use for all of this stuff in one house.  And of course I want to make more!

Instead of buying fabric for one project, I bought fabric for several.  And my "project," I mean one twin size quilt and two full size quilts, plus a little blanket.  I can ponder on an plan for the next project while I am working away on a project that I have already started.  It is too much pressure to buy fabric and begin right away.  Half of the battle is picking the right pattern and organize the fabric in the right way.

Since I am a beginner, I am not very good a picking matching fabrics.  Thankfully, the quilting industry has fixed that problem for me with the invention of jelly rolls, fat quarter sets and charm packs.  Matching fabrics are sold in sets, so there is less stress about finding fabrics that go well together.  The next genius step they made is to sell the fabric in precut packages, making it even easier to sew something awesome.  Jelly rolls contain 40 strips of fabric 2.5 inches wide by 42 inches long.  Fat quarters are rectangles of fabric 18 by 12 inches.  Charms are little squares usually 2.5 by 2.5 inches.  The pillow above was made from a charm pack.

In addition to fabric, I needed batting and thread.  What I might not have needed but bought anyway were two books on quilting ideas for jelly rolls.  Long story short -- this is an expensive habit.  About ten years ago, I bought I full size quilt at Bed, Bath and Beyond.  I don't remember the exact price, but it was between $100-120.  Finished.  With lots of great colors in a beautiful pattern.  It even had circles, something I have yet to figure out how to sew.  Heck, I can't even do triangles yet.  The fabric and supplies for a quilt are about the same if not more than what I paid for a finished quilt ten years ago.  And I have no promise that this fabric I've bought will one day be turned into something useful and/or beautiful.

I suppose that is the fun part of a hobby: waiting to see what a bag of supplies will turn into.

Here is my current stash:

I bought this bright colored fabric jelly roll.  When I brought it home, the Boy decided he wanted the a quilt for his room made out of this fabric.  We scrolled through some pictures of jelly roll patterns, and he picked out one.  It isn't the one I would have picked out, but it is fine.

These patterns remind me of something my Grandma Conti might have had at her house.

Halloween prints are in, or these are leftover from October.  I don't know.  The little monsters are super cute.

Here are some fat quarters.  These will be the hardest for me to figure out.  I love the bike print and the tree house print.  I need to get this one done soon so I can get back to the quilt shop in Ballard and pick a matching fabric for the back.