A lot of quilters use jelly rolls, and I'm no exception. They became a thing when they were first introduced back in 2007, and have been a staple of the quilting industry ever since. Simply put, a jelly roll is bundle of 40 strips of 2-1/2" precut fabric (they're usually 40" to 44" long, or whatever the width of the fabric is.) Jelly rolls are made of fabrics that belong to a collection, or are of the same or complementary colors, or have a common theme, like baby or Christmas. Because they're already cut you can start piecing right away, which is the convenience factor. I stopped using jelly rolls when I got more into quilting with thrifted fabrics. Precuts are too expensive, frankly. I still have an entire bin that includes quite a few leftover jelly rolls, and even more 2-1/2" strips in my scraps bin. I'd like to use them up, so I invested in Carolyn Forster's Jelly Roll Scraps . This book features 15 quilts and 15 gift items you c...
The first three months of 2025 proved very tough to get through for me, but I finished my first big work project of the year and got my income taxes filed on time. I did so well with my taxes that I beat last year's medical insurance underage (+$9.00) by six bucks, which amazed my preparer. It's very hard to estimate my income, but I was only $3.00 off this year, and I didn't have to pay anything because my rollover prepaid tax covered it. That's why when we went on a road trip to Dunellon to cruise the antique and junk shops I gave myself permission to buy whatever I wanted, like this little haul of vintage fabrics, a pair of embroidered napkins, and a bundle of romance books. :) The petite point on the napkins is just gorgeous. At a local artist collective shop I bought a fabric-covered notebook, some sketched cards and a bottle of delicious carrot cake linen and room spray. At the local yarn and sewing shop I found some half-price Rozetti Polari...