Prism

It’s amazing what you can do with one jelly roll! This is only the second jelly roll I’ve purchased or used in my entire quilting journey! Way back in 2013, I used an American Jane Pezzy Print jelly roll for the third quilt I ever made, and I haven’t looked back since. I actually enjoy the cutting process, so pre-cuts have never interested me that much. Well, about two weeks ago, I stumbled across Kathryn Jones’s destash Instagram to find the below from V and Co. Initially, it was once again a bit of a soft “hmm,” and I kept scrolling. Then a few days later I ventured back to see it was still there, and at a bargain price of $50 AUD, I figured I’d find something to do with it! I mean, Moda Ombre Fairy Dust Metallic jelly roll: I literally love all of those things. Moda. Ombre. Fairy Dust. Metallic. Jelly rolls (the donut kind of course!) — What else is there to love?! If there was a fabric to describe me, this very well may be it! So yeah, I bought it hard.

While it was in transit, my brain had clicked over to remember another jelly roll adjacent Instagram post from the ladies at Ruby Star Society. As part of Rashida Coleman-Hale’s launch of her fabric range, Speckled, she/they had released a free pattern called Jelly Rainbow. (<– That’s the link, click it for the PDF!) I occasionally like to dabble in other designers’ patterns, and this one seemed so striking, along with my new fab fabric purchase … it’s what they call kismet, dahlings!

Once it arrived and I unwrapped it, there were some initial challenges since the fabrics clearly aren’t the same as Speckled. Plus, with ombre, you’re dealing with more than one value in each jelly roll strip. I noticed how the original Jelly Rainbow pattern utilised one entire block of low values, another of a rainbow cascade, one entirely warm, and one entirely cool hues. So I started modelling my strip sets in that direction, but ultimately had to spice things up because of the differences in the fabrics. In the end, I just had to rely on my instinct about what I thought would work out the best.

The layout of these blocks is like a titty-twister for your brain. None of the blocks are exactly alike, even though they seem so similar. However, you don’t want it appear like any of the colours are directly next to each other, so I must have spent an hour twisting and turning, cocking my head for a look, then flip flopping those blocks all over the design wall. Not my usual kind of Saturday night (or is it?! Ow!) If you do make this quilt pattern, recognise that all of those cut edges are bias edges and will stretch in ways you’ve only seen in dirty videos!

Another interesting note about this quilt process: I started timing myself for each stage of the construction. I’ve then input those values into my Molli Sparkles Costing Sheet to start determining how much this quilt is actually “worth.” (I use that term loosely, as monetary value alone does not equal worth, but in our capitalist society, it does partly inform). I’ll report back with full costing details down the line once I have it quilted and bound. It’s already in the $500 AUD (~$400 USD) price bracket which I find incredible for such a quick finish. I also have an interesting solution for the backing, but more on both of those things later!