2017 show with no craft competition

This time for many a year I would be standing at the local show ready to clap the winners of the various classes in the craft competition.  With some luck, some years, I would also be waiting for my own presentation having won a class or two myself.

Then it would be time to post how I did with what ever entries I had made, sometimes up to the last moment in order to get them to the show. Indeed the "show" was often the spur, the reason for making things, provided a deadline to keep projects progressing when I might otherwise stalled.

This year it feels a little flat as there was no craft competition at all.  I do not know why, nothing has been said on the shows official web site.  It was the absence of the leaflet with the classes for the year and the rules that usual arrives in the post a month of so before the show that was the first hint.  I had thought it was just late but then one of my fellow competitors remarked that when collecting the key for her allotment she had been asked what would she do with no competitions to enter (she was an enthusiastic entrant to most of the cooking classes as well as the crafting)g.

That lead to a check of the web page for the show and there was nothing about the craft competition......oh dear.

Now it is not total sans crafts as the "for sale" stalls are still there with various crafts represented.

Following my attempts at jewelry making last year I have a greater appreciation of the skill required and was most impressed with the handcrafted items on offer from NorthStone beautiful jewelry (that I am sure will appeal to those that watch Game of Thrones or the Lord of the Rings.) copper portraits with tartan to order and other wire art I was most impressed.  They have just started an online presence click on the name to have a look. Or try the  Facebook page. I did not indulge myself (I may not have been able to resist if there has been hematite amongst the various stones used).  Although they do do commissions so you can chose the setting and the stone you want, sadly or for my purse luckily, there was not any of my obsession stone. 

I have been working on the pink quilt, but with less urgency as no show deadline. 

Roses unquilted and quilted

Quilting a butterfly

The hand quilting of the centre is done and the machine quilting for the wide edges also done.  I had been planning to self bind, back over front. However, there was enough of the pale pink backing to do a separate binding.  That is still to go on when next I pick up this project. 

I have also got the "bits" for the next block in the sampler quilt cut and having  set them out am happy with the way the colours look.  This is another hand sewn block and has been waiting for the hand quilting to be finished before it moved up in the to do standings.  It may wait a bit longer as the Pink quilts binding will be half sewn by hand.  

Card Trick  lay out.