It is often said that sewing and quilting have become a thing of the past, but that theory has been proven wrong in recent months.  Never has sewing been as useful as it has been throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.   Sewists, experienced and new, honed their skills by making face coverings that were used in hospitals and beyond to help stop the spread of the novel Corona virus.  As interests in sewing renewed, a surge in the purchase of sewing machines, fabric, sewing notions, and elastic caused a shortage of supplies.  This also caused an upswing in the number of community members asking for sewing and quilting classes as people wanted to learn new sewing skills.

The Jabez Quilt Seminar (JQS) is typically a five day quilting retreat with guest teachers from all over the United States.  Because of the pandemic JQS was not able to meet in person for classes, but wanted to meet the needs of the many people who were asking for continuing education in the areas of sewing and quilting.  To that end, the organizers of JQS created a one day event where attendees could participate through Zoom and attend 8 workshop sessions covering Quilt binding, longarm quilting, half-square triangles, zippers, and more.  62 people were in attendance for the Zoom classes.

An evaluation of the program was given to which 57 of the 62 participants responded. 90% of those who responded to the evaluation said they learned at least one new technique that could be used in their future sewing endeavors.  Additionally, 85% of those polled stated they would attend the 2022 Jabez Quilt seminar which is being planned for January 2022 at the Lake Cumberland State Park and Conference Center.  With the Zoom format used in this year’s JQS workshops, many people who were able to attend through the use of technology had never been to one of the past in-person retreats thus opening the pathway for more people across Kentucky to be able to learn more about and attend Jabez Quilt Seminars in the future.   While the pandemic has caused many things to change, in this manner it has allowed JQS to grow potential teachers and potential participants from across Kentucky and beyond.