Jelly Roll Race Challenge

I love being a member of Quiltsy Team on Etsy.  It's a seller's team, and we have members from all over the globe, many of whom chat about everything.  It's like a huge, global, small sewing guild.  I consider many of the members friends.  We all have a different style, but we all support each other's business on Etsy.  Recently, Gail and Lauren decided to coordinate a Jelly Roll Race challenge.  36 members signed up to make a Jelly Roll Race style quilt, using fabrics from our stash, or a pre-cut package of 2 1/2" strips.  The strips are sewn end to end, in one LOOOOOONG piece of fabric, then that's sewn, long edges together, and sewn again, and sewn again, until you have rectangle for a quilt top.  It's almost mindless, and you can't often control where the fabrics end up.  You can add insert/accent squares between the longer strips, or just use leftover pieces from making binding.  It's fun.  The challenge was to pick your fabrics, submit photos, which would be featured in the Group page on Facebook and have the top completed and ready to list by September 1.  

Any guesses how many of the strips chosen were the same, from 36 of us??  If you guessed NONE, you would be correct.  NO ONE picked the same fabrics!!  So, although each quilt would be the same style (or similar), none would be the same fabrics and colors.  

Here's my pack.  I chose Viola by Island Batik.  It's an older pack.  I've used it before in a different quilt, but had 2 of them.  It seemed like the right time to use it.  I also added some neutral strips to the mix.  As an Island Batik Ambassador, we sometimes get cuts of fabric that are left from making pre-cuts.  The bundle I had (admittedly for a while, but didn't know what I wanted to do with it), was 20 strips of 3 1/2" wide, all neutrals and light batiks, about 10" wide.  My idea was to add them between the strips, but sew them on the 45* line, instead of straight squares or rectangles.  I thought it would add interest and movement to the top.  I cut the scraps down to 2 1/2" strips, then into 5" pieces.  I mixed them up and added them at the end of every color strip, on the diagonal.  

Then, when all the strips are one big long strip of fabric, you fold it in 1/2 and sew.  Forever.  And ever.  Just keep sewing.  Oh, and wind another bobbin.  

You're going to need it.  (I thought this bobbin filled with Aurifil looked so pretty!)

Then, when you get to the end of that strip, you have a piece that's about 1/2 mile long and 4 1/2" wide.  So, make it 1/4 mile by 8 1/2".  Then by 16, and 32, and...

  Then by 16, and 32, and...Kind of like a marathon during the Olympics.  

And before you know it, you've made a whole quilt top, and if you've picked Island Batik, it's going to be gorgeous.