Prickly Situation

This is the fifteenth quilt I’ve made for the Utah State Fair Quilt Challenge. The theme for this year’s challenge is “Be Leaf,” to go along with the green challenge fabric that’s covered with tiny leaves. Very likely, when the fair opens September 8, the western wall of the Zion Building will be full of lovely wall hangings depicting trees and bushes full of bright green leaves. I wanted mine to be different. I’d originally designed this to be 30” square, like most of my other challenge quilts. The center would have been 20” square, with an elaborate pieced blue-and-white border called “Delectable Mountains.” But the closer I got to assembling the top, the more I came to realize this quilt didn’t WANT to be square. And it doesn’t want a border at all. Later today, I’ll take this to the fairgrounds and submit it, and then wait a week or so to see if the judges agree.