Moving Right Along

This morning I boxed up my quilts for the Oregon State Fair. Tomorrow I'll drop them off at one of the remote locations near me. Our fair starts August 22nd. These are the quilts I'm entering in this year's fair.

Last year was my first time entering anything in the fair, and I was so excited when I won a red ribbon for the "You Are My Sunshine" quilt.

For as much fun as it is to win something, it's also just plain fun to enter. There are some things that once seemed out of reach because it was too nervous-making to even try. And then, somehow I get a bug and just go for it. Then I'm hooked for good. Anyway...all of that to say that I hope I win a ribbon in this year's fair, but it's fun just to be a part of something and to see my quilts hanging in the show. If you're like me, and holding back out of fear, just go for it and enjoy the experience.

Yesterday I finished the binding on the Happy Campers quilt. Mike is going to attach velcro to the back and we'll stick it to the wall of our trailer. (When your house moves down the road over bumpy concrete freeways, velcro is the best choice for hanging anything on the wall.) I told him he has to wait until I've taken it to my guild meeting for show and tell on the 18th.

Next up, I'm finally going to get to work quilting Joseph's Quilt. I sandwiched this way back in April (I think). Then, Big Bertha was out of commission for about a month, and my quilts-to-be-quilted quilts piled up beyond all belief. This is the last one of the bunch, and it's my oldest UFO. I'll be so happy to get it finished.

My plan is to free motion quilt it sort of randomly, with whatever seems to fit for each block. It'll be sort of a free motion sampler, and a good practice piece. I don't have anyone or anything in mind for this quilt, and so I feel free to experiment with it a little bit. I have a pretty variegated thread to use and I'm planning to use it for the whole quilt, top and bottom. It should be fun.

This morning I'm getting my monthly pedicure and then I'm going to the grocery store. Hopefully, I'll have some time to do some quilting, but I"m not counting on it. Yesterday's activities got put on hold while I finished up Happy Campers, and so I have a few housekeeping chores to do as well.

Thanks to all who expressed their sympathy for little Smitty, who was not happy at all about going to the vet. He howled and yowled all the way there and all the way back, trying mightily to pull himself through the bars of his carrier. He actually put some little divots in my gear shift knob when he used it for leverage. I keep him on the front seat with me so that we can see one another. It's a small car, and so the door to the carrier ends up right next to the gear shift. Fortunately, he can't reach the clutch, and so we're okay. He's been wormed now, and so those creepy crawlies (if indeed he had any) have breathed their last. Also, he's up-to-date on his shots, so we should have no problem when we briefly cross the border into Canada next month. Gracie gets her turn in about ten days.

How's your Wednesday going