Quilting has certainly changed over the years and it seems that lately there are lots of different ways to cut a piece of fabric.  For those new to quilting here are some terms that you might be seeing...

Fat Quarter -- A fat quarter is a quarter yard of fabric.  Instead of being cut 9" x 44" which is the WOF (width of fabric) it is cut 18" x 22", which is twice as wide and half as long as a regular quarter yard of fabric.

Jelly Roll -- These are strips of fabric.  A Jelly Roll will typically consists of 40 different pieces of fabric cut 2.5" x WOF which is about 2.75 yards.  There are lots of new Jelly Roll quilt patterns on the market that are fast and easy to complete.  Not all Jelly Rolls are being sold as 40 different pieces of fabric so you will need to make sure you read your sellers description before purchase. 

Layer Cakes -- This is a new one just out.   A layer cake will consist of 40 different 10" squares.  This is actually the same amount of fabric as one jelly roll.  All jelly roll patterns can be used with a layer cake. 

Charm squares (fabric sold as a square), charm quilts (quilt where there is only one piece of any one fabric), and nickel quilts (quilts made out of 5" squares) are all other quilting terms that one will get to know when you decide to enter this fabulous world of quilting.  Happy sewing!