Jelly Roll Workshop - by Caroline

I was very excited and slightly apprehensive about my first workshop with Shirley Quilters but I needn’t have had any worries; I enjoyed a great day with friendly, likeminded people and learnt new techniques and skills that I shall use to (eventually!) finish my chosen project and maybe attempt a second option.

As I understand things, this workshop was due to take place about three years ago but had to be postponed due to the pandemic and resulting lockdowns. As a new member and beginner quilter I’m therefore very pleased to have the opportunity to participate. We had all been provided with supplies lists for three projects from which we could choose one to make on the day; a rectangular or oval rug or a large bag, with the majority of attendees opting to make the bag. We had to take along Bosal foam interfacing and plastic tubing in addition to our chosen jelly rolls, fabric and sewing supplies but everyone appeared to have sourced the day’s requirements and readily set up their sewing machines on the tables that had been laid out for us. After we’d helped ourselves to hot drinks Claire proceeded to demonstrate what we needed to do. To make the rugs, the jelly roll strips needed to be joined together into one long strip before being wrapped around and sewn to the Bosal. Some members had come prepared with tools and gadgets to make this process easier. The bags required us to fuse individual fabric strips around the Bosal before folding and sewing these into narrow thick tubes. Would our sewing machines cope with the thickness and number of layers, had we wound sufficient bobbins, which foot would work best for the task in hand? Why were some members’ Bosal strips refusing to adhere to the fabric whilst others managed to fuse easily? So many questions and concerns… I had an additional panic as my parcel of goodies hadn’t arrived on time and I had to raid my stash for matching materials the night before the workshop. However, I received a phone call from home informing me that my delivery had arrived! I decided to brave the roadworks and traffic queues along Lower Addiscombe Road to collect my parcel containing my preferred materials for the project. 

When I returned the church hall was a hive of activity. Members were concentrating on their projects with some sat at sewing machines, some ironing and others winding their newly formed tubes into giant balls of material. Everybody had chosen different fabrics to work with; from rainbow brights, traditional Christmas prints and pastels to more muted greys and blues but everyone’s choices were beautiful. We had to be reminded to take a break, stretch our legs and eat lunch as we were all so busy creating our masterpieces!

Back to work for the afternoon session. I don’t think any of us had anticipated how time consuming this task actually was. Once our strips were fused & sewn they needed to be joined together using a zigzag stitch to form our chosen make. I don’t believe anyone reached this stage by the end of the day but please correct me if I’m wrong. Hopefully some of the wonderful projects will be completed very soon; I for one can’t wait to see how they’ve turned out. I have to admit to not getting very far. I still have a number of strips to fuse before I can think about sewing them together but it’s half term now so hopefully I’ll find some free time. So many unfinished projects to choose from though! 

Thank you to everyone involved in organising the workshop and to Claire for her reassurance, assistance and positivity throughout the day. We all had a fantastic time.