Jelly roll klunkers!
 

I'm using jelly rolls and ToT white to make tons of HSTs and noticing in almost every jelly roll I unfold there is at least one strip or two that makes me say, but not to loud....HOW DOES THIS FIT!! Same with fat quarters. Some JR and FQ have fabrics that play nicely together, but OMG...some of these...WOW. Not talking about Kaffe Fassett cuz those or Tulla Pink since those collections are always wild and not to my liking.

I have learned that those clunkers improve my quilts.

I am guilty of wanting all my fabrics to coordinate and match beautifully. Thus my quilts have no surprises and are pretty boring. The clunkers add interest and spark to my quilts. They draw you back to look at the quilt again. It is still hard for me to include the clunkers but I like the results when I include them.

I rarely like the matchy match quilt fabrics. They never get the reaction of WOW from Show and Tell, mostly an ahhh response. I go for the Wow if I can.

This is why I don't buy Jelly rolls. I cut my own and make a nice collection of colors in a single theme. I have a large stash to work from and that makes the process nice. I have made them mostly for Christmas gifts for the quilters in my extended family.. At least making my own I am sure to have the strips a true 2 1/2" strip.

While I was cleaning out my sewing room I came across some random strips that I don't like very much. Then I got the idea to use them for a scrappy binding so they didn't make it into the donation bag (bags I should say lol)

I have never bought a jelly roll but I bet some of the fabrics are thrown in there to make a quilt have a"pop" look

Although I likely won’t be purchasing more jelly rolls once my current inventory is exhausted, my-ty has a point. I picked up a fat quarter bundle and removed three fabrics I didn’t think played well with the others. The completed top was OK but later I found another quilt on line using the complete collection and all I could say was “NOW I get it”! I accept that the designers at the fabric companies know more about colour theory than I do and I peruse new lines to get an idea of what items in my stash might go together well in future projects......assuming that I like the overall palette.

I buy mostly pre cuts instead of yardage. The yardage I do buy is mostly background, borders, and sashings. I get more motivation seeing a stack of layer cakes and jelly rolls on the shelf then folded fabric. I buy wide backing to go with the quilt top once it's finished. I love the beautiful wide backings available.