7/24/14

Fair Lady

Not a whole lot going on here today. I've been working away sewing sleeves and labels onto two of the four quilts I'm entering in this year's Oregon State Fair. And I'm happy to say they are all ready to go now.


They still need to be properly packed up for entry...lots of hoops to jump through, it seems to me, but thems are the rules.

Aside from that, it was boring stuff today: ATM. Post Office. Grocery Store. The weather has been kind of crappy the past two days, but that just means I can hang out in the house and not worry about what's going on in the garden. A couple of days like that in July is fine, but I'm ready for the return of summer now.


They had a pretty good deal on sweet cherries at the grocery store today. I picked up five pounds. Tomorrow I'm going to do my first canning of the season when I turn four of the five pounds into Sweet Cherry Chutney. I found the recipe online earlier this week. It went straight to my to-do list. I just happen to love chutney, and pretty much any flavor will do. I've made plum chutney, blueberry chutney, cranberry chutney, green tomato chutney, and peach chutney before. This will be my first try at cherry. I'm hoping it's a good one.

Mae and I are going to the Portland Farmer's Market on Saturday, and I'm going to pick up some pie cherries and some zucchini. It's time for my annual cherry pie. Martha Stewart had a pretty alternative to lattice top in one of her magazines recently. I'd like to give that a try.

Doesn't that look yummy? It's made pretty much the same way as a lattice top, only instead of weaving those strips of crust together, you twirl them into a corkscrew and then spiral them around from the center out. I'm going to give it a try, and see how it goes.

And since I just have one more jar of zucchini relish left, it's time to make some more of that. A batch usually lasts us a couple of years, with some to give away. Today I checked the tomatoes again, and now there are two red ones! Can salsa and pasta sauce be far behind? So...lots of canning in my future over the next few days. The jars are washed and ready. Also I'm needing to pull together my list of supplies for next week's quilting symposium in Tacoma. I don't leave until Thursday, and so I still have a little time to get that ready.

Tomorrow I'm going to try to get the quilt sandwich made for "Where Angels Walk".


I'm going to do some simple straight line quilting on it. The quilt is wider than will fit on my ping pong table, and so I'm going to try Sharon Schamber's method of sandwiching it. I have the requisite boards now, and so I just need to make the back and clear off my workspace to get started. She thread bastes hers, but I'm going to pin mine with large safety pins. I figure I can pin it in unquilted spaces, and they won't get in my way. I realize I'm dragging my feet a little on this, as I usually do when I try something new. Do you do that too? Once I get going, it usually ends up being easier than I thought it would. Still, it's hard to get started.

So that's the game plan for tomorrow. What's on your list for Friday?


12 comments:

gpc said...

I love that cherry pie idea! The spiral looks very nice and should be easy enough to do. I have been glutting myself with Michigan cherries this year, although I am still forced to buy the pie cherries from the frozen food section since I haven't found them locally. I have finished a few quilt tops but still haven't moved into sandwich time, so yes, I am pretty adept at putting it off.

Snoodles said...

I'm betting on you to win at the fair! In fact, I am certain that you will win more than one award! Looking forward to seeing the results!

Snoodles said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Vroomans' Quilts said...

Love seeing your four quilts in a collage - they should all do quite well at the fair.

Diane Wild said...

I'm busy making zucchini bread and dog biscuits. Rain over night so it's too wet to get in the garden. Preparing for quilt shows takes more time than sewing sometimes. You'll do well, I'm sure, so the time spent will be worth it.

Marei said...

The cherry chutney and zucchini relish sound very tasty. And the cherry pie? Well, if you make that cherry pie for my Billy boy he'd love you forever. Glad you got the quilts all 'sleeved' and labeled. Such a lot of work. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how easy Sharon's method is.

Betty said...

My least favorite part of quilt making is getting the layers basted together for quilting. One of my friends has tried that method for layering and likes it.

quiltzyx said...

Wow, almost packed up & ready to leave home! Looking forward to seeing some pictures of ribbons soon :D

Yummmm, cherries! What do you use the chutney with? I've only had it as part of a cheese ball, and the chutney was from a jar. Yours always looks so delish.

Janarama said...

Woo hoo, more quilts being entered into a show. I'm sure you'll get a few more ribbons for your collection.

Those cherries look sooooooooooooo good. I read that this was a great year for the sweet cherries, that's why the prices are lower. I've been getting them for only $1.99 a pound and they have been very tasty.

Lyndsey said...

Great quilts for the show. They certainly have star quality and should do well. I'm cheering for them to come home with ribbons.

Mmmmmm cherry pie. No I mustn't as I started a diet last weekend in the hope of making my skirts feel more comfortable. I'll look forward to your comments and stash the recipe away for the future.

beaquilter said...

lovely quilts for the fair, our state fair is an hr drive from me and I get lazy, but maybe I SHOULD enter... do you mail yours?

Junebug613 said...

Mmmmm cherries! I saw some in the grocery store and should have gotten them. Next trip! Best of luck on your entries! Yes, I too am a foot dragger, when I'm not feeling 100 percent on trying something new. I really like the colors in that quilt. Very pleasant.