Off to the Fair, the Quilter and Flowers

     Well, it's been ages since I've posted anything here.  So busy with work and then work after school was out and then I took on more work, and when I had some down time I really didn't want to spend it on the computer.  Combine that with a record-setting winter for snow, nearly twice the usual amount, followed by a record cool July, 53 degree average, when there was sun, we were outside enjoying what little sun there has been.
     So here is a preview of what has been happening.  The first photo is of the Baltimore Quilt that I have been working on for about two years.  I began it in earnest two summers ago when I began summer travels.  I finished most of the blocks over the following winter but did not put the top together until that fall.  This last winter I finally layered and quilted it and have been doing the finishing touches these last two weeks.  This Friday is the gathering day for the Alaska State Fair and this will be the first quilt I've entered in about three years.  I'm really please with it, but my downfall to a ribbon will probably be the backside.  I had a terrible time keeping the thing taut and free of wrinkles.  The front is stellar, the back less so.  We shall see what the judges think.  The individual block shows the tiny stippling that I did in each block. I was also a bit untraditional in my choice of fabrics, using several bali prints, and I used ultra-suede for the berries.  My own touch I guess.
     The third picture is the quilt that I help Mom finish for my youngest sister when I visited this summer.  Apparently some of the fabric was purchased late last summer and the rest was scraps from Mom's very large stash.  The top had been begun, but things weren't turning out right and my non-quilting sister was having trouble figuring our what was wrong, partly due to the directions.  The center strip on both the six and nine-patch blocks was cut too wide.  Another seam down both sides and a cut along both ends and all was fixed.  I was the cutter, presser, direction reader, and organizer and Mom sat and sewed.  I've left the picture sideways as that will be how the quilt will be on their bed.  Wider rather than longer since they have a sleigh-bed.
     The last is one of my Mom's hydrangea bushes.  She has three and this is the most spectacular.  It is on the north side of the house and I guess that being out of the brutal sun of this summer and the sprinkler system has been good for it.  Several neighbors walking by have stopped and commented and many pictures have been taken.
     So, I've been working on a red-sticks quilt as that can be sewed at any time without any pattern, and I have a large, 18 inch by 24 inch applique flower basket bouquet that I started on my summer travels.  I actually had all the pieces cut out over 17 years ago, but had been avoiding making the bias strips and weaving the basket.  Well, I got that done and the sewing has begun.  Something to do in the evening.
     But, school starts this Friday and with new books, new software, new principal, and other new duties that I have crazily signed up for, I'm afraid not much sewing will be accomplished.
     Oh well.