Jelly Roll Fun

I saw this video on someone else's blog a while back and have been thinking and thinking about it.  I have made quite a few blankets but I wouldn't call them quilts because as careful and fussy as I am, I can never get the pieces and edges to perfectly match up.  Years ago I made a simple patch work blanket using 6 inch squares cut from the scraps of my scrub tops.  Cutting out the squares was tedious, as was sewing together the individual pieces.  This technique really appealed to me because strips can be different lengths and you only have to measure 2 sides of each piece versus 4.  I also loved the randomness of this method.

 

Here are my 40 odd scrub tops from work.  My hospital changed to color coded scrubs for the various departments almost 2 years ago and these have sat in a bag ever since.  We actually used that bag as a door stop for a while!  I know I am a compulsive saver at times but I really didn't want to throw these away.  They represent my 14 year nursing career and were all made from carefully chosen beautiful prints of fabric.  I always tried to be seasonal with my work tops.

All the strips I cut were 3 inches wide and as long as I could squeeze out of the scrubs.  I cut the scrubs apart first, cut the pockets and neck casings off and then using my rotary cutter and mat, cut long strips from the back panels and middle fronts and then short strips from the arms.  It took me almost 2 days to get through all of them. 

Then I separated out each print and stacked them all up so they were evenly distributed.  I did some fancy math to figure out how many strips I'd need to make a full/queen size blanket and decided I'd need 4 stacks.  Oh, can you tell which scraps were Dave's contribution?

I sewed the strips together end to end but next time I will do the angled method.  This blanket was so much easier and forgiving to piece together.  It was almost mindless which is my kind of project.  When it comes to projects like this, I am a firm believer that busy is better and this is certainly a busy blanket!  I backed it with a very busy chevron print.  I have enough strips for at least 2 more blankets and I just bought 4 more queen size cotton battings on sale for 70% off!  We learned this winter that you can never have too many blankets when company comes and they make such great gifts because everyone can use and enjoy them.