Jelly Roll Race 2015

Brady said this morning that race day is the best day of the year--second only to Christmas.  I have to agree.  I love everything about this event. Thanks to everyone for your enthusiasm, donated prizes, and all of the laughs.

 

Jan delegated some of the referee duties to Brady--and gave him a whistle (thanks so much FG Jan--sarcasm!).  She told him not to start until I sat down so here is a picture taken with everyone waiting to start because I am not sitting down yet.

 

 

Our first place winner was Lynn!  We started at 11:11 and Lynn finished at 12:00. The last of the sewing wrapped up at 12:49 but there was a lot of other stuff going on during that time.  We had two dance breaks and some snacks and margaritas--all without stopping the clock.  Boy have things changed in that regard since the first race.

Mike had places to be today so Brady helped with the group shot.

 

Judy made St. Patrick's Day themed cookies.

Lynn brought Peeps-kabobs.

 

Several machines were acting up today--intermittently.  We had our first ever racer who started on one machine and finished on another (Kathy switched to Lynn's machine part way through).  There was a lot of talk to doing some intentional musical chairs next time.  That would be exciting.

 

I took so many photos today that I decided to break them up into multiple posts.  I was afraid to leave any out and that Ruth and Laura wouldn't feel like they were here with us. 

 

Next month, we will swap the art quilts.  Bring one if you want to receive one.  We will also continue to work on our braid challenge pieces.

The prizes!

With this group, you never know what to wish for.  To win or not to win.  After winning our very first jelly roll race and getting the topiary, Lynn had the courage or audacity to win again today.  She said emphatically that all she wanted was a crown.  Jan had made her a crown but, of course, there was more--including a box that was very heavy on one end.  Lucky for Lynn, it was box with a brick and a new package of batting.  She also got one of Kathy's world famous food jelly rolls.  The prize committee was good to the winner this year.  Thanks to Jan for all of the lovely tote bags.

 

Susie made party favors for all--including these adorable panels.

 

 

Susie came in second and was thrilled that Jan regifted Lynn's abandoned heritage medallion near-top plus a box of leftovers to help get her through to the end. She looks pretty happy in this photo, but there was more ... you can see in the background on the left side of this photo, the cow print box is lurking.

After a long sleep, the topiary came out of hiding and Susie was the lucky winner.

 

Dianne got quite a few gems too, no kidding!  She received this lovely nativity panel which she is threatening to stack and whack.

 

She also got a Lorelei church lady panel.

 

And a one of a kind vintage 3" strip jelly roll from Syd's stash at the Amish getaway she was too ill to attend.  What do they say about being absent when prizes are in our midst?  There was a black fabric strip with gold stars ... and cabbages. It will be lovely, no doubt.

 

Fran got a lovely knit from Kathy.

 

Mary Ann received a flamingo panel (not shown) and a wine multi-tool which became the subject of many raunchy jokes.  You had to be there.  This was another curveball from the prize committee.  Trying to keep everyone on their toes!

Syd got an odd assortment of gifties.

 

Judy also got a knit from Kathy.  Looks like she's trying to make off with Dianne's panel.

 

Jan got a very appropriate Queen of Everything mug.

 

I received a very special vintage prize from Margie and Kathy from their trip to help with their aunt's belongings.  I had to take this shot of everyone anxiously waiting for me to open it.

And here it is ....  this shirt is in mint condition.  Just look at that gold sparkle!

There were some extra special prizes for Laura--just because.  Laura and Ruth will have to wait until the next time we see them to get their loot.

Runway show

Here's a post to show the completed tops plus today's show and tell.

 

In first place, we have Lynn's top which was made from a Caryl Breyer Fallert jelly roll.  Talk about luminosity--wow!

 

 

Here's Jan's top, made from a dots jelly roll Kathy gave her.  Love the geese!

 

Here's Susie's top.  It was made from a very cute set of prints in what is becoming one of my favorite color combinations.  Susie came in second place, by the way.

 

Here's Judy's top which was made as the beginnings of the backing for the friendship blocks we made for her.  She plans to take apart a few seams and add in some additional fabric to make it large enough for the backing.  She's always got a plan!

Here's Kathy's top which made us all want to have a beach getaway.  The photo is not crooked, the right side will get trimmed at some point.

Here's Syd's piece which started with a dog themed jelly roll that Kathy gifted to her.

 

 

Here's a closeup of some of the dogs plus the other fabrics Syd added.

 

Mary Ann made a top from the jelly roll she received as a prize last year.

Fran was trying to use up some neutrals and wound up with this very pretty top.  The photo does not do it justice.

 

Gwen made a top from some of the Halloween strips she collected from the Friendship group.  We just can't get enough Halloween. So cute!

 

 

How did Dianne get her accent squares so evenly distributed?  She must know the secret.

Here's my batik top which I wanted to read as beachy.

 

For show and tell, Gwen brought some of the storefronts she's been working on--starting with the Friendship blocks we all made. I can't wait to see this finished.  The details are stunning.

Here's a close up of the left side.

 

 

Right side:

This section is in progress, also.

 

 

Gwen has so many strips, she's also been making lots of Halloween houses.  Here are a few.

When Dianne realized she would have to miss our February race date, she put together the jelly roll she had prepared.  Ruth, if you squint, you will notice this is quilted and bound.  We have another overachiever!

 

 

Here's a shot of the back, right before Sherman cozied up on top of the quilt.  I think that is his look of approval.

Lynn made a baby quilt--spontaneity!

 

All of the jelly roll tops were beautiful and interesting.  Show and tell was great, too!