In my year of turning 50, I am trying to do at least 50 new things. My list consists of a few mundane things such as trying new foods (yes I like octopus now), running a 2 mile race on July 4th(not very exciting but glad I did it with my daughter and husband), and something centered around embroidery. Yes, I finally pieced and machine embroidered a jelly roll quilt. Drum roll please!
A few weeks ago the DIME staff hosted a workshop for their educators and we had the opportunity to have a Jelly Roll Race.(I think I won because I was the only person to actually complete the entire quilt). Eileen showered us with the pre-cut jelly roll fabrics and of course we had the top of the line embroidery/sewing machines at our disposal. The workshop was held at a tremendous quilting retreat in the Texas countryside. We enjoyed 4 days of sewing /embroidering/ quilting and meeting new friends.
Although Eileen and I have taken a hiatus from our Stitching Sister events we continue to work and laugh alongside each other and this retreat was no exception. She likes to tease me about my lack of knowledge in some things such as: quilting. She loves to create new quilts and I generally do not. This time however, was an exception. The pre-cut jelly roll fabrics are so fun to work with and you are so surprised at the outcome when all the strips are sewn together.
The endless sewing of fabric strips finally takes a productive turn when the rows are assembled (the actual directions are found on Youtube) and actually starts to look like a quilt top. After the top was complete I had to “quilt” it with my embroidery machine. 
I layered the batting and backing and used the ShortE and the Monster Snap Hoop. Eileen would talk endlessly about the shortE while we were traveling the past 2 years. I know my eyes would start to glaze over during these conversations, now that I see how efficient it is for the home embroidery enthusiast, I really get it.
The secret is to use the magnetic hoops which eliminate the difficult task of hooping a quilt. The frame sits underneath the embroidery machine and holds the bulk of the fabric to evenly distribute the weight. The embroidery design selected for my quilt is a simple full size stipple; I printed a template and placed it on the pieced quilt top. The easy to use camera function and laser light on our machine assists you in placing each design. We had many “experts” attend the workshop and sometimes it is very difficult to learn in this atmosphere. I was humbled and enjoyed learning about the pieced binding, mitered corners and everything in between. I am proud to share my first “machine embroidered” quilt. (I even have an embroidered badge).
The quilt is a gift for my daughter who will be moving into her first apartment at the University of Cincinnati this week and she was very pleased with the result.
Clink the link to save on my Craftsy class “How to Start a Machine Embroidery Business”.
https://www.craftsy.com/ext/MarieZinno_4963_H
11 COMMENTS
Lindsey
8 years agoLove you, mom! Thanks for the beautiful quilt.
Laurie
8 years agoVery pretty Marie. I have been wanting to try quilting on my 6 needle. I haven’t got the courage to try it yet.
marie zinno
8 years agoI stitched it on a single needle but it would work just as well especially if you have an extension table…
Thanks for reading.
Marylee
8 years agoLearning and sharing is how memories are made. Your accomplishment will make for warm hugs & snuggles for many years. Happy 50 as well :>
marie zinno
8 years agoYes, i hope so.Thank you for reading the blog.
Laurene Shewan
8 years agoWhat’s the Short E? I have a snap hoop, which I love to use. Congrats on your 50th!
RB
8 years agohttp://www.shop.dzgns.com/collections/shorte/products/shorte
“Easily create one-of-a-kind quilts using the patent pending shortE quilt frame system. The compact frame design works with a single needle embroidery machine to hold bulky quilts out of the way. The shortE is designed to work in tandem with the Snap Hoop Monster for quick and simple re-hooping right under the needle. With shortE holding the weight of the quilt and Snap Hoop Monster creating the tension, quilting large quilts with a single needle machine is a breeze.”
J Curtis
8 years agoLooks like fun, I will have to try it. I have a few Jelly Rolls that are waiting for me to use them and that looks like the perfect way to do it.
Ashley Jones
8 years agoSo much fun! It turned out great…are you already planning the next one?!?!
Marti Morgan
8 years agoI LOVE my magnetic hoops – just need to get one LARGER, which I don’t think exist yet Would be easier for my self digitized quilting design – for some reason when I am done, they are too big for my hoop, ha ha. So much !
Bruce
7 years agoIt looks so beautiful. Thanks for sharing. Great job!
Bruce, https://www.printavo.com