Roll With It

My third quilt. A quilt for some friends of mine who are getting married. It measures about 54" by 57". And I used a Moda Jelly Roll, plus a little bit of extra yardage for the boarders. The back of the quilt is pieced using some lovely KonaBay cotton and Moda hummingbirds.

I learned several things while doing this project:

1. Don't wash a jelly roll. Dumb idea. All the little strips turned into mass of craziness that started to unravel. What a mess. Plus I lost some fabric width as a result.

2. Borders, as much as I tend to dislike them, do have a place. I like the red and green. I like that the green is slightly more narrow than the red boarder.

3. I love nice back. That fabric is just as important to me as the front work.

4. I thought I'd be OK with the same colored thread for the front and back while quilting but really a thread that matches the back makes all the difference.

5. Do not quilt under duress. Rushing the process makes it much less enjoyable.

6. There's a funny cycle with quilting: "I love this fabric. Look at the pieces!...Ugh...this is tedious...ugh...the seams, the fabric combinations. Oh, what have I done?! I hate it. Gotta finish. Ok. I like this back. Oh look, it's quilted. Oh look, the binding looks so nice! Oh. It's done. I think I love it. Do I really have to give it away?!" That's the quilting path I walk down.

7. Don't forget to back stitch when you miter your bindings.

8. Plan your next project.

9. Take pictures!

10. Enjoy