Race Day! (and stash report week 22)

photo from IndyCar.com Carb Day

I grew up about 45 miles west Speedway, IN, home of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) so the Month of May was always something special.  The track opened on the first weekend for practice and then qualifications took place on the following two weekends - yes, 4 days.  Whoever qualified fastest on the first day got the pole position.  Everyone else who qualified the first weekend were locked into their spots, despite how fast other drivers might go the following weekend. This has changed - it is no longer a month-long event.

 courtesy of  IMS

Anyway....it was an entire month of drivers doing local commercials.  Back then it was watching the local teams get ready for their one big race of the year.  Amateur racers around the state tried to get a local car in the race.  Around 1960 my grandpa was a wheel man on a pit crew at the 500.  My mom tells a story about how Grandpa forgot to dip his crew suit in the fire-proof solution the night before.  He did it the morning of the race and his suit didn't dry so he had to start the race a little damp!

In high school a whole lot of  kids played hooky and went to the track for "Senior Skip Day."  There were no graduation ceremonies on Memorial Day weekend.

Oh - and the race is still not televised live in Indiana.  It was after my freshman year in college while on vacation in California that I saw my first live race - 1989 and Al Unser, Jr. lost to Emerson Fitipaldi.  Little Al was one of my faves.

We always listened to the race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network which broadcasted on many stations, including Armed Services Radio, worldwide.  With one reporter in each turn and others in the pits and gasoline alley and the garages, well, the news is up to the minute - something that TV cannot do.

That's what I will be doing today - listening to the race from an Indy radio station via a live stream from the internet.  I may combine it with quilting if it rains or gets so dang hot and humid that being outside is unpleasant.  Oh yes, one is supposed to be doing yard work or such while listening to the race (it's a farm thing, idle hands and all).

However, I do like to watch the pre-race ceremonies, which include tributes to the armed forces, and the start of the race on TV.  The most dangerous part of the race is the start.  With 33 cars vying for the inside of the track thru turn one and about 100,000 people in the stands and in infield- that's what has made the 500 the "greatest spectacle in racing" for 100 years.  It all began in 1911, there were no races during WWII.

If you've stuck with me through all this, I know most people aren't interested in open wheel racing, then I will get right to the pix this week and stop "talking" so much.  I did add a bit of fabric to use in a charm swap and, of course, some "just because."

That totals 3.5 yards.

Then, I finished a 1" hexie for the first time.  My others are 3/4".

I'm really getting tired of this fabric!

Finished the doll quilt that I showed a couple of weeks ago - woohoo!

It's small, about 23x36 for about 1.5 yds, but it's a finish.

And a couple more blocks for my 9 patch sampler.  That leaves about 3 to go.

Here's the 6" block for my guild BOM sampler.  Had to use a different pattern for the 6" block this time to avoid working with 36 - 1" finished squares and hst's in the Union Star block.

Shawna is hosting a Jelly Roll Race today and of course, there's a giveaway, too.  If you have a jelly roll or 40 - 2.5" strips, then consider making a top this afternoon.  If you don't need another quilt, do one for charity.   Ackfeld Mfg'ing in Reed Spring, MO, is collecting quilts for tornado victims in Joplin.

This week's numbers:
Used this Week:  1.5
Used year to Date:  33.25 (33 1/4)
Added this Week: 3.5
Added Year to Date:  57.215
Net Used for 2011:   -23.965

Head over to Judy's blog for more stash busting reports.