What a fun pattern, and flexible to whatever jelly roll you might want to use. This is a free pattern released by Moda Fabrics last year for National Jelly Roll Day.  Great pattern for a Jelly Roll.  By the way, some of our members cut their own Jelly Rolls (2.5 inch strips x width of fabric) from their fabric stash.
​Use the link below to save, view, or print the free pattern.

"National Sew a Jelly Roll Day" is an annual celebration, started by Moda Fabrics.  It is held on the 3rd Saturday of September and many stretch it out to the entire month of September.  If you don't know it, in quilting a Jelly Roll is a collection of precut 2.5" fabric strips, usually 40 to 42 strips cut and ready to sew.  Often they are curated to include all the fabric in a designer collection.  They are so tempting because the fabrics look so pretty together, and we love having the fabric to work with.

Moda trademarked the name "jelly roll" in 2009 so you will see other companies calling them strippies, Roly Poly, Strip Roll, Spirals, and Pinwheels, etc. Are you confused yet? Right here on our website, we have quite a few free patterns to try out, and many designers and pattern makers sell them as well.

SCROLL DOWN PAST THE VIDEO FOR THE 4 FREE PATTERNS FROM MODA (3 quilts & a Tote)

HERE ARE THE 4 FREE JELLY ROLL PATTERNS FROM MODA.  CLICK TO OPEN & SAVE:

Another easy and quick quilt pattern using a Jelly Roll (2.5 inch strips).  Make an easy block and lay them out to the size that you want.  Great for beginner quilters, to make donation quilts, or for a gift quilt in a hurry.  Thank you to Missouri Star Quilt Company for the tutorial.

Also see the written instructions below the video.

Materials
1  roll of 2 1/2″ strips
1 3/4 yards of background fabric
5 1/4 yards of backing
.........................
Instructions

Step 1:
Get the 1 3/4 yards of background fabric and cut it into 5″ strips, then sub-cut into 5″ squares.
Step 2:
Match your 2 1/2″ strips into two. Lay them right sides together and sew a quarter of an inch seam allowance on the side. Do this for the whole pack. You’re going to have 21 sets of them. Iron them open.
Step 3:
Get one of the units, cut the selvage off, and cut a 5″ square. Take one of the 5″ background squares and place it on the 5″ square unit. Place them right sides together and sew on one side. Press it open. It should be 9 inches. This will be block A.
Step 4:
Get another of the units, cut the selvage, and cut a 9-inch rectangle. This will be block B.
Step 5:
Take the block B and lay it on the side of block A. Sew them together with a quarter of an inch seam allowance. Once done, press it open, and square it up if needed. It should end up with a 9-inch block. Now, you have your finished block.
...
You need seven blocks across and eight blocks down. When you assemble this, each block should be alternating. Sew them in rows first, then press them flat. Once done, sew the rows together with a quarter of an inch seam allowance. Put a 2 1/2″ inner border, then a 6″ outside border and you are done. 

We had a drawing at our September 9th 2:00 Zoom meeting, nd the lucky winner is Sue S. from Simi Valley, CA! Congrats Sue!  Sue let us know that she plans to use the blocks to make a quilted item for her Guilds quilts that are donated to her community.  
PS - click on any photo to see a larger image.

Here are some interesting things to shop for at the Hardware Store.  The lesson is to keep your eyes open for products that can be useful.  Have you ever bought any of these?
​   ---Ann

If you love the look of a piano keys border like I do, you will love this easy miter corner technique to go with it.  If you are a Virtual Quilters member, you might recognise this heart block.  The pattern was our July Block Lotto.  I wanted to make a small wall quilt, and use the scraps from making the blocks to add a piano keys border.
​  --Ann

Click on any photo to see a larger image

A new fun activity for our members is the monthly Block Lotto.  Each month a new block pattern is shared, which the members can use to make quilt projects including quilts of any size they want.  The fun part is that if a member mails a completed block to Ann per the instructions, we have a drawing.  The winner takes all.
The winner for July is Pam S. from Sonoma, Calif.  Congrats Pam!

This is a tutorial on how to Miter Borders on a quilt, and it is well done.  Helpful to be successful if you want this look.  A thank you to Fat Quarter Shop for the video.

Interesting exhibit and thought you might enjoy watching this exhibit.

This is really helpful information if you love pantographs for marking your quilting design. You can print them at home and use your domestic machine or your sit-down quilting machine. Everything you need to know is in the video.
PS - the Pencils recommended in the video are well worth buying.  I found they marked on both dark and light fabrics.  One marking pencil for almost everything, and it easily comes out with water. If you can't find them locally, I bought them on Amazon.
Thank you to SewVeryEasy for another helpful video.
Link to her video on quilting from the back:   Click Here  
The website mentioned in the video with free patterns  Click Here

What is that???
Do you remember as kids playing the Telephone Game, also called the Whisper Game? Whisper something in the next persons ear, they repeat and whisper in the next, and so forth.  At the end we get a laugh on how much it has changed!
The Quilt version starts with a photo sent to the first person in the 4-member team. They make a small quilt top in any quilting style (12x12 is big enough) and submit a photo to us.  That photo is sent to the next member of the team, and so forth.  No one gets to see previous clues, 
Timeline:  August, September, October, November.  Reveal of all 4 quilts in early December.

Details and signup in our "Member Login"  section
To Join Virtual Quilters if you haven't (membership is free)   Click Here

Here is a video of the Game done by another group:

This video shows an easy way to make portable design Boards any size you want.  Handy for laying out components for quilt blocks, organizing your paper piecing blocks, and stacking up your project to save running back and forth to the iron a few less times.  
Inexpensive, lightweight, and stackable!
Of course, a big Thanks to Pride & Joy Quilting for sharing this info.

Here are some interesting tips if you are frustrated with your seams not matching on projects.  Sometimes it really matters, especially when the pieces you are sewing are small. 

A big thank you to our member, Tomi of California, for letting us know about this video.
​Understanding the best way to use your sewing machine is pure gold.  Here is an good video with tips on the best way to wind your bobbins.  It could save you a lot of hassle!

This video is really helpful and helpful in making Strip Sets for some quilt patterns.  Check it out.

I thought this was an excellent video for someone who wants to try Walking Foot Quilting. It is a free video on You Tube by Southern Sewing Co. 
I find this type of quilting is faster and easier to do and is perfect for donation  or gift quilts. I happen to use the design she calls "waves" also known as "gentle curves."  It is relaxing to do and has looked really nice each time I have used it.   Here are some time stamps if you want to go straight to the topic you are interested in:
Time Stamps:
0:00 Introduction
1:14 How to Install a Walking Foot
2:48 How to Start/Stop Quilting
5:31 Stitch Length
6:25 Walking Foot Quilting Designs
6:55 Stitching in the Ditch
8:44 Straight-Line Quilting
11:59 Waves
13:54 Cross Quilting
15:22 Diagonals
16:48 How I Quilted My Quilt
​17:25 Tips for Quilting Bigger Quilts

This was posted as a comment by someone.  I thought it was a very useful tip and wanted to share it here.  The blue line is her marking on the fabric of the "path" for her to follow as a general guide. The red is her quilting/stippling.  By having the path determined ahead of time, it helps you know your way and not get stuck in a corner.  With one less thing to think about, it can be much easier to do and it looks better too.  Give it a try!