Between There and Here

Today's post is kind of a mishmash of a lot of different things because that's how the past 24 hours have been. I drove all over town yesterday, from one end to the other, in my wanderings. Yesterday started with me picking up my quilt from the quilt show last weekend. I dropped mine off at a quilt shop near my home, and that was where I picked it up again.

It's Smitty and Gracie's fault that I ended up purchasing fabric while I was there. As I was telling a friend this morning, I should have known better, and I should have walked in, grabbed the quilt and fled the store, keeping eyes carefully averted from the fabric surrounding me. But Gracie's and Smitty's portraits convinced me to look for appropriate kitty fur fabrics. Some of their fur is a little hard to recreate in fabric because it isn't just one color. It's mixed strands of many different colors. In fact, Smitty's fur can be gray or black with white tips at the end. Some people pay a hair stylist lots of money to tip their hair that way. Smitty's grows that way naturally.

So anyway...I did pick up a couple of fat quarters that I liked. The wrong side works as well as the right side. These are the right sides.

I took pictures of the wrong sides too, but the images didn't really look very different. In person, it's easier to see.

And then there was this stack of fat quarters.

Oh my, those yummy colors. I picked it up and set it down at least three times. I walked around the store a couple more times, picking it up and setting it down each time I passed by. Finally, my credit card started whining at me, and trying to jump out of my pocket, and I gave in. I love these pretty colors in my quilts, and I know I'll use these. Here's the attached label.

As for my quilt, I was interested in what the judges had to say about it. I had absolutely no expectation of winning anything, and so there was no surprise there. Still, I submitted it for judging because I want to learn. Here are the judges' comments:

So that was very nice. I was curious about the last line, however, and so I got the quilt out this morning and examined it carefully. And since a few of you asked for a close-up, I'm using that as an excuse to show it here again. If you're absolutely sick of seeing this quilt, then just close your eyes for a few seconds.

Okay, so I suppose if I get out a straight edge, I might see a little discrepancy in the vertical sashings. The horizontal sashings are all one piece, and so the fault can only be in the vertical direction. My quilts are certainly not above criticism, and I actually appreciate suggestions for improvement. In this case, I just don't see it. If that's the worst thing they have to say about the quilt, then I'm feeling pretty okay about it. Some of you have pointed out, accurately I'm sure, that the judges feel a need to make at least one constructive criticism. Maybe that's the case here. Anyway...I'm happy with the outcome, and these comments shouldn't be construed as a complaint on my part.

So after I picked up the quilt, I went for my pedicure. Then I went to the grocery store. Then I went home to put away the groceries, and then immediately jumped back in the car to go in the other direction to drop off my quilts for this weekend's guild quilt show. When I arrived at the show location, I learned that none of my six quilts had been entered into the database, and the forms I'd filled out had vanished somewhere along the way. Fortunately, someone I knew had witnessed me turning them in so I know I'm not completely crazy. 

Anyway, all of that to say that I had to sit there and fill out another six forms for my quilts. It ended up taking about five times as long as I'd expected, and it was just a little bit annoying. That's okay. Other people are doing almost all the work for this show. Mike and I are going over this afternoon for a couple of hours to help hang quilts. Otherwise, it's someone else's baby, and all their hard work is appreciated, even with this little snafu that only affected me personally.

This morning I had some time to work on the Hocuspocusville block. I finished off one section and then rehooped it. Here's where it stands:

Now it's hooped up and ready to go again.

After that, Sue and I walked for the first time practically since the beginning of summer. I think we may have walked one other time. Sue had a birthday last month, and so we had breakfast to celebrate prior to our walk, and then walked on the road at the bottom of our hill. We were expecting a lot of fall color, but perhaps it's still too early. We still saw some nice colors in other ways. These apples, for example, that were the most vivid red.

Sue and I agreed that the white picket fence made the trees even more inviting.

Also this wild sweet pea that seems late blooming. Don't they usually bloom in spring?

Also, these bushes with orange berries. I don't know what they are, but they resemble pyracantha. Just now, I actually looked up and linked to pyracantha, and it seems that actually is what they might be. I always thought the berries on pyracantha were red, but Mr. Wikipedia tells me they can have orange berries as well. 

Oh yes, and my favorite neighborhood barn. Obviously, I'm going to need to include this in my Barns of America quilt since I've photographed it at every hour of the day and in every season of the year. It never fails to capture my attention.

Finally, these trees, only partially turned. I love seeing trees that are still partly green, and also partly in their fall colors.

Mike only works a half day on Friday, and so he should be heading for home soon. Time for me to take a shower and get ready to go help hang quilts. Tomorrow, I'll go see the show, and so I'll have more quilts to show you soon.