Jelly Roll Race - results

Well the challenge was on; my sister Sue, friend Sonia and myself settled in yesterday afternoon to participate in a Jelly Roll race.

Sewing machines at the ready, we unwrapped our jelly rolls, shuffled them to mix up the colours and then started on our warm up lap ... sewing the entire 40 x 2 1/2" strips into one long strip.

After finishing that, and having a pit stop, it was time for the actual race to begin.  The green flag was dropped and we started sewing, oh no, one contestant was a "no starter"  the bobbin change wrecked the tension ... machine not sewing, call in the pit crew.  Yellow flag out, slow down ...

After roadside assistance, we were back on the road again, and in under 2 hours we had all completed our quilt tops ...great fun, there were groans when fabric colours seemed to be repeating, however in the end it did not matter at all - they all looked fantastic

Sue - Moda Ready Steady Snow

Sonia - Moda

Mine - Moda Reindeer Games (not my toes)

All three - approx 48" x 64"

The winner of the race was unimportant as it was very close between the entire three of us .. this would be a fabulous challenge to have with your quilt group, lots of fun and laughter (and groans)

Check here for the entire instructions, and to view the video by the wonderful ladies who created this concept. How the fastest lady finished in 35 minutes is beyond me ...

A couple of hints,

• have two bobbins filled before starting,
• a jelly rolls with lots of colours would result in fewer colour repeats.  (Both Sue and I had Christmas prints, therefore our colour palette was limited). 
• ensure your fabric is not twisted between each row.

We all agreed that we would love to make another one, so that is a good recommendation.  You could also use the same technique with any 40 x 2 1/2" strips - good way to use up your fabric stash and achieve a quilt top in a very short time.

This week, I hope to start working on some birthday gifts.

Until then
Judy