Home County Fair Quilt Exhibits and Contest

About a month ago, we enjoyed visiting my hometown in the neighboring state for a few days. As it was, they were having their county fair! I've missed that so much, so was truly glad to get to take in some of it!


One day was the judging of fair exhibits at the high school. One favorite category, of course, is the needlework, including quilts. This year, the Extension Office held a "quilt block contest," furnishing kits of material to those interested to come up with a quilt block design. I really liked this idea! If I was living there, I'd have done one for sure. Here's a picture of all the quilt blocks that were entered.




The top three blocks in the photo are the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners in the quilt block contest. I think all the blocks are going to be made into a quilt top and quilted, and displayed or raffled or something at NEXT year's fair. Ought to be pretty!




Needlework exhibit room.







Closer views of hanging quilts.






















Exhibits on tables.

First of Farmer's Wife Blocks

Well, I've taken the first steps into my own "Farmer's Wife" quilt project. I'm not going to do all the blocks, but I've chosen a pretty good chunk to make a small quilt or something. I kind of stayed in a certain subject - titles that reminded me of grandparents and parents ... one grandpa was a farmer, the other was a carpenter. So everything I picked kind of relates somehow, and reminds me of the older days I've heard about.


Autumn Tints, Snowball.




Calico puzzle, Spool. Yes, the Spool block turned out a little "wonky," oh well! I'm having fun. :)




Contrary Wife, Seasons.



You can see I started with several of the simpler ones, but that will give me some confidence to have some done, and tackle the more challenging ones. I'm excited!

Ready for the Fair!

I don't know why I had to push myself so hard to finish a small item! But finish it I did. :)


Sewing the binding strips on.




Binding strips sewed on. Note handy dish of chocolates, which gets visted often.




Starting to tack the binding down on the back.




Partly finished with tacking down the binding.




Finished! So, this and the Log Cabin will be my two fair entries in a little over a week at our local fair.




Patriotic Postage Stamp "quiltlet" against the Oklahoma sky.




A happy quilter. :) Now on to some new projects!

Ideas

http://www.amazon.com/Farmers-Wife-Sampler-Quilt-Inspired/dp/0896898288


Somewhere in the disaster zone that is my living room, I have this book. I got it at Tractor Supply quite awhile back, and enjoyed looking through it and seeing all the various quilt blocks and reading the stories.


At one point, I had made a "project list" of some things I wanted to do, quilting- and sewing-wise. And ... I have accomplished some of these things. That sure gives a person a satisfied feeling! But ... recently I decided it was time to make a NEW project list, as some things I have lost interest in, or they've moved down on the list, and other things have caught my eye. Now that these fair projects are all but done, I've got an idea in mind.


I've seen on many blogs where gals are making the "Farmer's Wife" quilt blocks, and I just love seeing the different patterns and material combinations. One thing on my list is that I've wanted to do something with vintage prints such as from back in the '20's, '30's and '40's and such. I have some originals that I picked up somewhere, plus I have newer fabrics that LOOK vintage-y. Another thing on my list was to make a sampler quilt of some kind, even if it isn't a big one. So, combine the interest in the Farmer's Wife blocks, the desire to make a sampler quilt, and the fabrics I want to use, and ... I think the next thing I'll tackle will be these Farmer's Wife blocks, at least the ones that I want to do. I may not do all of them, and I don't dare follow a "schedule," but I think it will be fun. A different block each time, plus playing with the fabrics, will give a nice boost of variety each time.


Now, if I can just find that book! I know it's here somewhere .......... :)

Almost Done

Quilted, trimmed, and ready to sew the binding on! Then tack that down, add a label to it and the Log Cabin, and I'll have both quilt entries all ready to go for the fair. :) Two weeks from today!

Had To!

Well ... actually, no one twisted my arm!


And just as an update, I AM making good progress on the little postage stamp mini-quilt. The fair is 2 weeks from tomorrow. I think I'll make it!


We had some business in the nearby bigger town this morning, so while we were there, we checked out some stores we hadn't been in for awhile, plus a new one. One I've visited before is a little quilt/fabric store. So ... I just HAD to pick up a few fat quarters and a pack of big squares. HAD TO!


Here's the stack of squares, a couple of old-fashioned prints, and a couple of what I'd call "retro" or "vintage" prints.




The edge of the stack of squares shows the different colors, and there's a multitude of different prints among them. I may try a "twister" quilt with these.




But this is the one that I really latched onto ... I love vintage stuff, and the combo of red and turquoise got my attention! DEFINITELY will find a project for it! After I get this postage stamp thing done. :)

Need To ...

I need to ... GET CRACKIN'!!! I keep letting this little wall hanging block sit, I guess because it's so small. But I've got a little over 2 WEEKS before the fair ... I need to finish the diagonal quilting, sew the binding on, and tack the binding down. And label it. Just because it's small, I'd still better get busy!