The morning after

What a great day!  There was lots of laughter and a competitive spirit—sort of.  We are developing our own competitive style, that is for sure.  Now that everyone knows that there be prizes no matter what, it takes the pressure off first place (as in … DON’T come in first place).

This year was a series of firsts.  It was the first year that I thought … we can fit everyone into one spot.  We don’t need to have people sewing in the tv area.  That led to the first ever power outage.  I guess 8-9 machines on one circuit is too much.  It was the first year we had a DNF when Mary Ann’s machine balked under the pressure.  We are all sending positive thoughts her way as she takes it to the spa on Monday. It was the first time we had one extra prize bag and one orphaned sewing machine at the end of the day.  It was the first year we had dancing and the first year Ruth wasn’t stressed about a late finish. It was the first year to have some folks posting and commenting on the blog (Ruth’s prodding has finally paid off).  As many have also pointed out, it was the first year that the topiary did not make an appearance.  I wonder what that could mean?

All in all, it was a great race.  I agree with Ruth—it gets better every year.  Thanks everyone for being such great sports and for all of your enthusiasm.

The Race

Yes it really was a fun race and a fun day all around.  I am happy to see Kathy's post and  posts by Laura and Mary Ann who are new to posting. I am hoping to see a few more.
I have a confession to make I CHEATED; I sewed 2/3 of the first long seam at home.  Actually it was more of a handicap because I am always slow and I am old and I burned my thumb and I did it for my friends so they wouldn't be waiting and extra hour for lunch.  I didn't come in first anyway so it didn't matter. Just to keep myself honest I told 2 people before the race started.

We got there an hour before the race so there was time to set up and catch up on what is going on with everyone and drink coffee, and partake in some pre-race nourishment. Brady is very good at playing host he always makes sure no one is feeling left out.








We did have 2 power failures which were quickly fixed. Some of us took advantage of the time to have another quick snack and then it was back to work.
There were also 2 dance breaks. I didn't dance because I was too busy snapping photos. But it looked like everyone was having fun.

 There was some serious sewing going on too and everyone except Mary Ann had a flimsy to show off.





For some reason we didn't get individual photos of all the flimsies but we did get a group shot. You can see Mary Ann holding up her Jellyroll which her sewing machine refused to sew. I think the race quilts get better every year  this being the best so far IMHO.








Everyone received a prize and there were goodie bags made and filled by Judy and participant patches made by Lori which were signed by everyone there.












Because Gwen finished first she was the Queen Diva today and she received a purple crown.

Side note

And no topiaries were maimed or exchanged today!!!

Stupid machine

Punishment for cleaning and oiling it ahead of time?! Still had a great time. Lunch was wonderful as usual.

Bernina heading to the spa Monday.

And the winner is....

It was sunny and mild as the quilt gladiators entered the arena for their yearly combat. Only Susie was missing so you know who we talked about the most.
We started with the usual wasting of time greetings and snacking on breakfast appropriate goodies. But once we got going......
 What drama this year. Two blown breakers and one broken machine. Poor Mary Anne's machine started making a "clicky clicky" and then seized up. Jan tried to get George to bring over her machine that is a duplicate of Mary Anne's but he got the message late.
 We warmed up to a half assed hearted "Jelly Roll" dance. There were several dance breaks. Poor Brady looked away as if The Chicken Dance and YYMCA were things he should not see. Gwen finished first but to her dismay, found her jelly roll had only 30 some strips, Not her fault and it will make a charming baby quilt. In this race, a winner is a winner. Nest came Ruth in a startling upset considering she finished dead last only a year ago. There might have been some unauthorized pre sewing done but, what the heck. Eventually we all finished, complimented each other and had lunch.
Fantastic again.
 Gwen was crowned Queen of the Jelly Roll and prizes were distributed. Many fantastic goodies appeared as it has become a sort of "Stone Soup" kind of thing. Judy took her prize from last year, a jelly roll of junk food fabrics and made us each a pouch filled with goodies.
 There was more chatting and laughing.  Something about mustaches turned into a discussion of goatee and we knew it was time to break up the party.
 Mike, Brady and Sherman were their usual fantastic host selfs. Thank you guys.
 Someone will certainly post pictures.
  Next time? a continuation of the Mary Ellen Hopkins challenge.

Jelly Roll Race

A good time was had by all.  Another successful event by the Basement Divas!  I didn't take any pictures, so I hope someone else posts!  Actually, I have never posted before, so this is a test.  I know Ruth will be proud of me!

Happy New Year and Happy 100!

Did you realize this is our 100^th post?  Here’s to the next 100!   Speical thanks to Ruth for guilting us into a few of those to get us into the habit.

I have to say, I do a pretty horrible job with quilt photography.  It is always a last-minute recordkeeping task rather than something that is likely to turn out to be a quality photo.  I wanted to review what I’d accomplished sewing-wise in 2013 and decided that a blog post with a few photo collages might be the best way for me to remember what exactly I’d spent my time on last year.  It turns out that I am even less proficient with photo collages so you’ll have to bear with me.  This was only my second turn at it and, again, I put function over form.  Here goes.

 I made a few crafty things last year as well as a few projects that only made it to the block or flimsy stage.  I didn't bother to include the 20 pillowcases I made for Brady's birthday party.

 

I was surprised to see how many charity quilts I finished.  Some of the things that helped me in that area were the Wildwood charity sewing day, digging through Dianne’s leftovers, and a more realistic review of some of my stash (cut up those flannels and big prints I’ll never use!).

These are all of my finishes that were given to family and friends.  I’ve decided that it is silly for all of these tops to be hanging in the closet instead of on beds.  The biggest challenge is that I seemed to really enjoy making queen sized tops for the first few years.  I’m slowly and steadily working through the pile, though, and I’m using up quite a few yards for backs, too.

I managed to keep up with some of the challenges this year, too.  Thankfully, these are small pieces.

Fellow Divas, I hope you are getting your fabric together and revving your engines in preparation for the Jelly Roll Race on February 22.  It’s always a crowd pleaser and, of course, everyone gets a specially chosen prize!