Just finished my second of three lessons on how to make a quilt. I bought a jelly roll, stitched lots of three strips together and then began cutting them into 6.5" squares. When the lady started to suggest how I put them together into larger squares it looked awful. The colours were too bright and seemed to clash rather than blend. I was well shocked. The teacher suggested we separate the larger squares with cream sashing, borders (don't know the correct term, sorry) to calm it down a bit and that if I used enough it would now turn out big enough to fit a double bed.
Anyway, after much googling at home I saw a quilt using the same colour jelly roll and it seemed to blend well together. So I unpicked all the strips and some of the squares I had cut and made and will follow the internet quilt instead (I could have cried but DH said better to unpick and make something I like rather than to keep looking at it and have my eyes scorched! However, if I copy the internet one, it won't be big enough for the bed so what do I do with it?
Thanks for bearing with me. Just feeling unconfident and mystified and I'm sure lesson three won't be long enough to cover it all.
This is the one off the net pimg-threadbias-com.s3.amazonaws.com/project_pictures/6/2/5/6051d45e0758b77f6d7c47c6a3dc98c0.JPG
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My first ever quilt - please help!
LeaveIt · 20/11/2013 23:41
Oh, Leaveit, what a bugger. Well done on not giving up though you're a better man than me, Gunga din.
50hoo's idea of having a smaller one for the bottom of the bed is good, or you could make it into a lap/back of the settee quilt (these would all be easier to quilt 
). Also Crafty's idea of adding borders is good, incorporating any leftovers from the jelly roll.
Let us know how you get on. 
What pain. I have been there. Did a quilt with a dark background, I thought the colour was fine but what I hadn't thought about was the quality of the cotton. My tutor said it didn't feel very nice. I had already thought that and I ended up unpicking loads of work, and recutting loads of background again with a better quality fabric. It was heart breaking. My tutor has no idea I did that but I just couldn't put up with it as it was. The quilt didn't get finished in time for the end of the course, sadly.
Anyway, I just wondered if you had bought a named brand of jelly roll? Moda or something (it looks like Moda)? You could probably get some more fabric from the fabrics included in the jelly roll. A lot if not all of them can be bought by the meter and you could chose 4 or 5 FQs to make another row of blocks. It isn't as expensive as buying another jelly roll and wasting it. Or as others have said you can buy a contrasting plain fabrics and make borders.
It is a lovely pattern but I can imagine that if you have clashing fabrics it could be hard to live with. I think you are doing the right thing by changing it around to something you like better. It will be worth it!
If it's not big enough, then consider it your trial run & plan a bigger one next time! 
I had another thought about your quilt last night, Leavit. What about doing two or three strips of your patterned bit and having very big sashing in between? I'll try and find a picture of what I mean ...
Like this but with wider coloured bits and wider background.
I know what I mean. 
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