The second birthday cake of the week is in the oven so I have 17 minutes left to write this quick post!
March is crazy busy around here with 3 kids having birthdays, but it also means there is leftover frosting in the fridge that I hide and dip pretzels into when no one is looking.
Mom win!
When I started writing the Jelly Weave pattern I realized the pattern would truly shine through in a two color quilt.
The quilt on the cover is made with a jelly roll of Backyard Blooms (in stores in July!) with all the colors, but I wanted to show how great this quilt is if you only use two colors as well.
If you want to make a two color version, you just divide the number of strips you need into 2 colors. For example I made the Crib size, which requires 24 pre-cut 2 ½" strips...so I used 12 black strips and 12 gray strips. The gray fabrics were almost all from this jelly roll, the black fabrics were leftover from my Chicken quilts.
When you construct the block, use the opposite color for the center strips and outside strips in each block.
When you lay out the blocks it makes the woven look of the pattern more pronounced with just the two colors.
I quilted it with simple straight lines, and of course I had to add in a pop of color with the backing and binding. Both are from my older fabric lines, Hello Jane and Hazel.
It's a crib size at 41" x 57", and went together fast! Trimming the edges straight is the scariest part because of the diagonal/on-point blocks...the rest is easy.
A couple of tips I use for trimming the edges of an on-point point quilt top straight...lay the cutting mat and quilt on the floor flat so there is no pulling or stretching, and start trimming the edges in the middle of a side (not in a corner). It's easier to trim when you have a top and bottom row seam as a guide. I trim the sides, and then I go back with a square ruler and make sure my corners are all square (ish).
I should have thought to take photos of me trimming this quilt, but as usual...it was late at night and my brain had clocked out for the evening!
I hear an oven timer beeping at me so it's time to go decorate a cake and celebrate a cute 10 year old tonight!
Jelly Weave can be found here as a PDF, or here as a paper pattern.
Kathy
Great tip on trimming the top! I'm excited to make this one! Thank you!
Allison
Thanks Kathy!
Betty Ayers
Love the alternate colorway - gave me a different way of seeing the possibilities! Your patterns are always the best - have many and have actually made many :)
Allison
Thank you Betty!
Christine Burch
I feel you on the March birthdays. 3 of my 4 kids have their birthdays between February 23rd and March 20th. It’s always such a busy time of the year and to top it all off I always get sick at this time of the year. This year it’s pink eye. But you have reminded me I need to find out what kind of cake my youngest one wants.
Allison
Oh man you know the craziness!!! My birthday is April 2nd so we have 4 birthdays within a month...worst family planning on our part! It's so busy, and we're so sick of cake by the end of the month LOL. Good luck making it through!
Colleen
what a beautiful quilt ! Happy Birthday to the newly minted 10 year old !
Allison
Thank you Colleen!
Shannon Fraser
Love the B+W and the movement in the design - super fresh and fun!
Allison
Thanks Shannon!
Judy Dobbins
Oh great idea, I have this pattern so I am thinking maybe red and pink.
Allison
Pink and Red would be super cute!
Aileen
When making a quilt with a lot of white, is it best to use a bleached white batting? Does the backing need to be light so it doesn’t show through?
Allison
You definitely can, but I don't. I just use a normal neutral colored batting that comes on the roll (I'm currently using a Pellon batting) and it has an off white natural look. They do sell white bleached batting if you are concerned about it, but I've never found the very slight difference in the finished product worth it. Thanks!
Anne Fisher
Love this -- the 2 color quilt-- for some reason I am always drawn to black/white combos.
Kelly O.
the grey black and white combo is fantastic! and creates a neutral baby quilt top that I could have done and ready to back and bind with gender specific colours once baby arrives! I'm going to give this a try!