That sinking feeling....

...really hit when I unravelled my much anticipated Jelly Roll yesterday. It wasn't the 'Bliss' I had anticipated. Oh, no....That jelly roll didn't tumble as I'd predicted. It kind of stayed 'Criovac-ed' in a state of frozen animation. I had to push and prod and pull it apart. And then the unthinkable .....a half formed 2 1/2" strip fell from the collection. I plucked it out. I held it up. It was grotesque. Off-skew and in terms of jelly roll quilt construction...unusable.

I gathered my thoughts. After all, these little wonders of superb marketing wrapped in baking terminology are created from off-cuts and ends of (or starts of) new fabric runs, so surely there are slip ups. (None of that reasoning resolves the amount of cutting I'm faced with and what the !#$ am I supposed to do if there's one short....!)

So what do you do before you frame the letter to United Notions that has just run through your head?

You count the strips.

Yes. Count them.

Because that tragic strip that has just sent your world spinning and the quilt top you were planning running down the drain, just might end up being a bonus.

A wonky bonus. But it's extra fabric nonetheless.

Who said there were no thrills and roller coaster rides when you're a quilter?

Thanks 'jelly roll machine'. Send me your wonky strips anytime you want.