My next new pattern that I want to introduce to you is
Jellyroll Gemstones.
The rainbow of color across this quilt can be made entirely
with 1 jelly roll of 40, 2 1/2″ strips.
This is Flower Garden Gatherings by Primitive Gatherings for Moda.
When I started this quilt I cut all the petals
& sewed them into a long string.
I encharged Betsy to keep them tangle-free.
She did a great job.
You can’t even see her beneath them all!
Next, I sewed & sewed, & sewed some more…
Eventually I had a nice array of plates.
I auditioned many background fabrics to complete my design,
but couldn’t find just the right one so they rested a while.
If you remember, I mentioned
that I picked up this cool Shedd’s Peanut Butter tin in Michigan
while traveling to teach at the Berrien Towne & Country Quilters.
It was the perfect place for the completed plates to hang out
while I did more traveling last fall to teach
& to vend & then attend fall quilt market.
In February at our retreat at Rosemary’s I got them out again
& auditioned more background fabrics & decided on just the right one.
So, I went to work & cut all the pieces for the blocks.
Then I assembled them into little kits for each block
so the color combinations wouldn’t be duplicated.
My new-to-me wooden tray was the perfect holder for the little kits.
& my new-to-me m&m’s (or Dr. Pepper) holder
from my friend & fellow retreater, Chris, now holds my bottle near my machine!
Soon I had a nice stack of blocks ready to have a Tiny Dresden appliqued to the center.
Soon after that I ran out of thread!
I use a lot of Sulky’s Medium Taupe thread!
Fortunately I had more thread, so I was able to finish all of the blocks.
Of course Nemo, my supervisor, was always good at
keeping an eye on me to be sure I kept working!
Laying out the blocks was next
& I soon decided that I had just the right colors in just the right places,
then I added the Tiny Dresden plates at the intersections of the blocks.
I decided a small sashing was necessary
to space the Tiny Dresden plates a bit farther from the blocks.
So another fabric audition was necessary.
I decided on a low contrast between the two fabrics.
Next, I went to work sewing sashing strips between the blocks.
Thanks again to my friend, Chris,
I numbered the rows with the pins that she made for each of our guild members last year.
What a great trick to keep track of the rows.
Nothing is worse than laying everything out & getting it just right,
then getting the rows mixed up & sewing a green block next to another green block!
My numbered pins now hang out in this clip-on pincushion on Betsy’s shoulder.
I don’t have to wonder where I put them!!!
Next, I appliqued the Tiny Dresden plates to the sashing as I assembled the rows.
Notice how the Medium Taupe thread blends well with lots of colors?
This saves a lot of time not having to change thread color for each plate.
Finally the quilt top was complete & beautifully quilted by Tamara,
then photographed by Scott, all being overseen by our late friend, Nemo.
I still have a string of petals hanging out on Betsy
just as they’ve been doing since September 4th as you can see by the calendar!
Eventually I’ll find a use for them too.
For now I just love them hanging out with me in my sewing atelier :)
Jellyroll Gemstones is now available on my website.
One more new pattern to go.
Until then,
Just Keep Sewing…
Susan
Quilting my way through life! 