The Great Equalizer

Hello Again!  I have a confession to make...sometimes...I don't love pre-cuts.  I know - blasphemy!  I guess I should clarify.  I love the idea of pre-cuts.  Let's get a piece of fabric from the whole collection! I can have one of everything!  Sounds great, except, once I get the charm pack, jelly roll or layer cake open, I'm standing there thinking "now what?".  I guess what I don't love is that they make me feel limited, like I have to use them in a certain way.  So, when I received a store made* pre-cut roll for Christmas, I was determined not to let it get the best of me.  It took awhile, but I finally decided that I should just sit down and sew.  I unrolled the pre-cut roll and grabbed some super soft and shiny grey cotton sateen from old sheets and started adding to the strips.  When that was done, I knew I wanted a really large border, but I couldn't do that great Kaffe Fassett Big Bloom print justice by butting it up against the grey.  Then I found the Kaffe Fassett green inner border and when I added that, the quilt just sung!  And this is the result:

                                                                 The Equalizer Quilt

And, you know what?  I LOVE IT!!!  It is bright and vibrant and even though it is made from pre-cuts, it has movement and individuality.

This got me thinking....maybe I haven't given pre-cuts a fair shake.  Maybe if I starting thinking about them in a different way, I will start to feel less limited by them.  What do you think?  Are pre-cuts limiting or a good way to get a variety of different fabrics?

*This pre-cut roll was made by Intown Quilters in Decatur, GA (www.intownquilters.com).  It is not a "full" jelly roll like the ones that Moda distributes, but instead is made of 16 fabrics at 5"wide and about 14" long.  How you see them in the quilt is exactly how I received them.