Hi Friends,
Just wanted to drop by a share an exciting piece of news. A couple months ago I was contacted by David & Charles Publishing who saw a review of a jelly roll pattern book. They asked if I'd take a look at a few books and do a review of them. Uh.... heck, yeah! So this is the first review: Jelly Roll Animal Quilts by Ira Rott.
Now before I get into it, let me just say that other than the copy of the book, I haven't received payment for this review; nor was I asked to say anything specific about it. So this review is ALL ME! It's completely honest, and I honestly love this book!!! It's super cute; let me tell you why.
As the title suggests, all the pieces come from jelly roll precuts; aka 2½ inch strips. There are nine animal patterns, each having a rug, wall hanging, and small throw quilt instructions. Also with each animal are fun, smaller projects like a pillowcase or mug rug or banner. And the last chapter shows how to combine some of the animals into an even bigger quilt!
This book has everything you need to make the quilt! There are no assumptions made! She talks about picking fabric, how to cut the fabric, how to label each piece for accurate sewing. She even gives quilting options and a lengthy tutorial for binding. And the binding covers straight of grain cutting, bias cut binding, curve binding, and all the degree angles you find in this book (not just the basic 90 degree corners of regular quilts).
What I Love About This Book:
Beautiful pictures
Clear diagrams of how to piece
Template for the 60 degree angle cuts (although you can use any 60 degree ruler in your collection; I'll list what I used at the end)
It's the entire instructional package from choosing fabric to finishing the binding!
What I Don't Love About This Book:
There's only nine animals!?!?!? ...I need more! I need a giraffe, and a butterfly, and a shark, and a hippo, and....
More time to make them all...
Okay, obviously I think this is a very well-written book. It's hard to be super critical of it because it covers so much. If I had to pick anything, then maybe a coloring page for each animal in case the quilter wants to preview a different color scheme than what is shown/listed.
Tips.... when you make your quilt!
You gotta read those first 15 pages! You can't skip and go straight to the cute animals. Those first few pages break down how to properly cut and label each piece, and how the piecing instructions work. The shorthand acronyms are clear ONCE you've read through the instructions. So grab a tea, read through everything then cut your fabric. (Please read between the lines here .... I may have cut a couple pieces wrong at the beginning because I didn't do this.)
Here's my Sparkly Owl Wall Hanging:
I wish I could tell you what fabric I used... but I pulled from my stash of scraps. That's the nice thing about jelly roll inspired patterns. Sometimes your scrap stash is all you need! I can tell you that the background is Kona Bone though. At present, I haven't yet quilted Sparkly Owl; he's currently on loan to the shop I work at part-time to show off this book. I'll post a few pictures when I do get around to quilting him though.
Contact your local quilt shop to order the book, or ask your local library to order it for their bookshelf. (I love checking out my local library to preview quilt books I want to add to my personal book shelf!) Or you can click on the book picture; it'll take you to the Amazon listing.
The book has a template for the 60 degree angle needed to make cuts; but any ruler with a 60 degree angle will work. I used a Creative Grid Diamond Ruler designed by Krista Moser.
You can buy this from your local quilt shop, from Krista Moser directly (kristamoser.com), or click the picture to take you to Amazon.
And be sure to check out Ira Rott on her website and Instagram accounts. You'll find more fun patterns, tips and tricks there!
Ira Rott
website:
Instagram:
David & Charles Publishing
Let me know if you make Sparkly Owl, or any of the other animals from this book by tagging me: #myquiltlab.
Thanks for stopping by! I gotta get back to my quilt lab!
Keep Quilting
Cynthia
Other fun links:
Check out my YouTube page for a video review of this book:
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