Show time!!

I had planned a day of quilting on Tuesday, but then had to spend the day tidying up and cleaning for my mum's visit (Mrs F). She, and the labradoodles, had come to visit to go to Bakewell Show.

Bakewell (as in Bakewell pudding) is a small market town about 15 miles away, and every year there's a big agricultural show there over two days. As the small labradoodle is now 13 weeks old, Mrs F thought it would be good for him to go out and about in the big wide world...

Agricultural shows are fabulous places where eccentricity can run wild. There are displays of riding, carriage driving etc, and so many competitions that it makes your eyes boggle, from cattle and goats. through pigeons and rabbits. to crafts and baking, and flowers, vegetables, cheese and meats. It's all taken very seriously (as a child, my sister and I entered the local shows every year in the craft section), but as an adult I don't think I've ever entered. Mind you, I wish I had when I saw the patchwork and quilting section - there were just 2 entries - you had to produce a small wallhanging, and I figure even I could have completed that by the necessary deadline - maybe next year??

But I'm always transfixed by the effort that goes into producing the flowers and vegetables:



The photo above shows my favourite category - 'One flower and one vegetable' - and as you can see, there is one flower in each vase with a single vegetable solemnly placed in front of it - how do you choose what to enter? I imagine that the competitors spend hours in the build up to the show deciding what to enter and how to present it.

And here's what the small labradoodle felt at the end of the day:


They all went home again this morning (after small one had fallen into our garden pond yet again...), and I though I'd start on a needlepoint project that's been in the cupboard for some time. I prefer to needlepoint in the evenings instead of quilting as the holes are already in the canvas, so I don't have to worry about stitch size or choosing colours too much. But look at all this wool!!!!!


I've deliberately included my feet in the photo so that I can see just how much wool there is. Once again, I appear to have got inches and centimetres mixed up - this isn't for a cushion after all, but for a RUG!!! Estimated time of completion - at least 2 years, I think....