Little Debbie snacks made these amazing little sweet treats called Jelly Rolls. My mom would buy them for us every once in a while for afternoon snacks. I loved them. Last year I was introduced to another jelly roll, and that's the quilt pattern. Now I am the first to admit, I am a tragic sewer. I've been known to hot glue, super glue or duct tape sewing projects all for the sake of getting it done, but I've started to enjoy it more and more since I was introduced to the jelly roll quilts.
Now in layman's terms, simply it's pre-cut rolls of coordinating fabric you sew in a train, fold back up, connect, sew down the edges, and do this over and over again until you have the square-ish shape you're looking for. Recently I found out how you can cut and corner, and flip these pre-sewn strips into more of a design, but it's baby steps for me. I'm still on the sew the straight-line part, however it's fun and a great way for me to feel as if I accomplished something. It's taken me about an hour and a half to complete the top. I haven't figured out how to do the back or the binding, so stay tuned for how that evolves. Hopefully I won't have to bust out the hot glue or liquid stitch, but the project is still in it's young stages.
Also, there's a new quilt shop in Red Lodge, and Wanda, the owner, has been 'sew' helpful in my art of newbie sewer/quilter. She has easy kits (and advanced), jelly rolls and beautiful fabric, and shares great tips and tricks to the trade. I've found myself wandering in there just to admire her beautiful talent hanging on the wall, or the charming fabrics she has in ensembles. Here's her web-site; Quilt Lodge
And...so I don't completely destroy the true description of the jelly roll quilt, here's a web-site I found with the 'proper' definitions about quilting.
Quilt Bug
The image is my first jelly roll quilt top, with my special 'jelly bean' helping me model. Wishing you 'SEW' much fun if you try creating a jelly roll quilt!