An Actual Quilt

I have a mixed relationship with quilting. For all that I'm getting comfortable with making quilt tops (one blogged here, the other set needs blogging), I've never actually finished a proper quilt. I've always gotten stumped at what to do once the top is finished. But I'm happy to report that I've finally finished a whole entire quilt:

The quilt in question is a Jelly Roll Jam quilt using this adorable Moda "Into the Woods" fabric. I really got into using quilting precuts in 2014, particularly mini-charm packs, and recently thought I would try my hand at different kind of precut pack - a jelly roll. It didn't hurt that the Fat Quarter Shop came out with a pattern (with video!) for making a simple and cute jelly roll quilt.

For all I like how things turned out, being new to a craft always means a few things to do better for next time. In this case, that means making my backing a little bigger, using a less lofty batting, and trying a more complex quilting pattern (I would rather my quilt didn't look like a row of mounds in a plowed field). Otherwise, I think my bumbling attempts (with help from this book) to actually quilt something turned out well and I'll be much more comfortable with the process for my next quilted project.

Overall, I'm happy with the final quilt, especially that I was able to use the second half of the jelly roll pack for a striped backing. I think the final quilt is adorable and I'm feeling much less anxiety about this whole quilting thing. This is good, as I have a couple quilt tops on hand to finish and my eye on the Fat Quarter Shop's second pattern in this series, Jelly Roll Jam II. :)