My Dilemma With Pre-Cuts

Do you use pre-cut fabric like layer cakes, jelly rolls or charm squares in your quilting?  Heaven knows I have enough fabric that I don’t need to but they are really appealing!  Most of my stash is more traditional fabric and it’s fun to get out of my comfort zone and use something fresh and new. It’s exciting to have all those coordinated colors and prints in one little bundle.  It is so convenient to have everything all ready to go.

This morning I wanted to implement a mindless quilting project that has been brewing in my head so I pulled out a layer cake of Moda’s Juggling Summer by Zen Chic.  It’s a contemporary, masculine looking line and I thought it would be perfect for the project in mind.  However, once I started cutting, I panicked.   Too many of the squares were of the same print.   I understand that some lines don’t have 40 or 42 different prints, but I wasn't sure if it work to use so much of that one print.  Most of my quilts are very scrappy and I use lots (and lots) of different fabric.  Typically I try not to duplicate prints so I'm a little worried that this might not work so well.  I'm hoping the colors just all muddle together and it will look great in the end.

Of the 42 squares in this particular layer cake, 17 were this print. That’s over 40%!



These are just nine patch blocks and I was hoping to avoid having more than one of any print in a block but it was impossible.  Some blocks ended up with as many as four!



This quilt is just for fun—it’s not for a show or special occasion.  It’s certainly not an heirloom project and it probably won’t even matter when the blocks are set together.  Right now, though, I just wish there was a little more variety in my blocks.  I’m sure I’ll continue to buy pre-cuts from time to time but might supplement them with a little yardage in additional prints.

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