Let's go to the Fair!

I suddenly feel like a missed out on a huge part of childhood... 

I've been researching home brew competitions for my husband to enter his concoctions into, and I found out that our county fair is hosting one this year. I also found out that you can submit just about ANYTHING to the fair and WIN RIBBONS! ha ha... my inner child is totally geeking out right now. I was always a super creative and crafty kid- why didn't anyone tell me this before!?

Beyond sewing, crochet, painting, beading, photography, etc., there are also the obvious livestock judging things that everyone knows are part of the fair. One thing I'm bummed about is that the "dog" category- dog obedience and agility (something I've ALWAYS wanted to do with my dog) is only open to Juniors (AKA kids). Boo. I tried desperately to train my childhood Yorkie, Sniffer, how to jump and weave polls in our tiny basement when I was 9 years old... had I only known I could actually do it for real!

Ha! That's adorable.

I printed out all the guidelines and rules for the crafting categories I'm interested in... and I'm going to try my hardest to submit at least a few things! The submission deadline was July 15, and entries are due on site by August 15 so I've got a bit of time yet. I just need to pick something and run with it!

I'm way more excited about this than I should be... let's go to the fair!



I was able to get in a handful of submissions before the deadline... I entered 9 photos (a mixture of "snapshots" and "enlargements"), as well as two small quilts, a sewn tote bag and a crocheted tote bag. I'm just a tad nervous about the quilts and totes... I have plans for them, but I don't really have anything started yet!  

My photos are all printed and ready to be mounted to poster board; "snapshots" are 4x6" photos mounted 4-up on one board (not entirely sure why?), while "enlargements" are no larger than 8x10". I'm having a hard time finding dry mount tissue in craft stores, and I'm afraid to try fusible webbing for fabric. I guess I can try a sample first! I'd rather do dry mounting than spray adhesive...  yuck!


I want to try to different styles of quilting for my quilt submissions. Both are "small quilts", both fully machine-sewn, and one is specified as long arm quilted. I have never used a long arm! I will have to spend some time on my mother-in-law's sit-down long arm... both for practice and to actually quilt my quilt.

One of the quilts is going to be a reverse applique snowflake quilt. How did I not come up with this idea?!? Rob Appell of Man Sewing does some really fun and creative stuff, but my snowflake will be super curvy and detailed (I've won the family snowflake making contest several years in a row. lol!). I'll hopefully FMQ the background of the small 36x36" quilt with some swirls to match the icy blue background print I purchased, and applique the silver-dotted snowflake with a nice silver satin stitch. 



The other quilt will be constructed with curved piecing. I love the idea of this Fizzy Block quilt, and I want to use up some of the pretty batik charm packs I've been hoarding for a while. I'm having an acrylic template cut on the laser cutter at work, so all my pieces should be exactly precise. This will be the quilt I'll put on the long arm... and we'll see how it goes!


I was originally going to submit my yoga mat sling tote bag- I designed the pattern a while ago and I really love how it turned out- but I noticed that Mr. Quark seems to have enjoyed sticking his claws into it while it was hanging by my workout stuff in the den. Grr. Poke holes = no blue ribbons! I will have to make another one. Fortunately I have no shortage of fabric lying around. 


It even has a cute little tassel key chain!

Darn cats and their claws...

As for the crocheted bag... I do have a finished granny hexagon bag that I made as a class sample when I was teaching at JoAnn, but it's not really my style. The Exhibitor Handbook also specifies that all entries must have been completed in the past year. I have enough hexagons made to construct another one (examples from teaching the class), and I like the color scheme a lot better, but I'd have to figure out where I put the pattern. Or maybe I'll just wing it.



Have you ever submitted anything to the fair? Am I too excited about this? Ha ha... my dork is definitely showing. 

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