Jelly Roll Racin'

Jelly Roll Race.

 Have you heard about this?  It's a hoot.  Each quilter prepares for the race by sewing a full jelly roll (2.5 inch strips by the width of fabric) together end to end.  That's 40 strips of ~40 inch long pieces, or 1600 inches of fabric.  The long joined strip is folded in half right sides together.

 When the official shouts go, the participant starts sewing the folded unit.  That first seam is about 800 inches long, LOL!

When that's finished, the folded end is quickly snipped open and the unit is folded in half again (right sides together) to be sewn again.  Once 5 seams have been sewn, the top is ready.

My favorites are the 4 batik collections of fabrics above.  But they're all terrific.

 Some of those jellies were sewn end to end with a diagonal seam, while others used straight seams.  Either works well in these quilt tops.

I didn't win the grand prize.  Nor second.  Nor third.  Nor even forth place.  Actually, once the time passed an hour, I didn't keep up with my time nor how many others beat me.

 Everyone had a good time! 

 I think mine will become a Project Linus quilt.

It was fun to see them draped over chairs at our retreat.   If you ever have the opportunity to join a group on a quilting retreat, I recommend it.  Along with the friendships formed, there are experienced people who are glad to share their knowledge.

 This Mary Englebreit fabric collection started off at 1.5 inches.  It's a smaller quilt and so adorable.

 Sue planned the placement of those strips, although she denies it.  I like how they turned out.

Betty finished one, but didn't want to race.  I enjoyed getting to know her!  She's confident enough not to take herself too seriously.  :)

Enjoy your day!
- SeeingStars