Just sitting here this morning with lots of thoughts running through my head .... Ida has cleared out along with HEAVY humidity & rain. It’s breezy, cool, low humidity ... sort of a pre-fall day. Fall is my favorite time of year. This afternoon, I’ll be mowing ... some of the grass stalks are knee high & that’s in the yard, not the fields so it’s a grassy mess.
So, what is running through my head that applies to the Fiber Arts thread? Our State Fair. I used to LOVE the fair; however, it has gradually changed (as does everything) to more of a ‘modern’ fair rather than one with a more old-fashioned, country flavor. There are still animals & I think my favorite part is watching the kids grooming & showing their sheep, cows, & pigs. I used to have horses & show them so I do enjoy some of the horse show classes as well.
The biggest disappointment is the crafts section .... it just has been getting skimpier & skimpier every year. They have now crammed it into a corner of a building where there are vendors selling sunglasses, cookware, hot tubs, windows, etc. Some of the items are still quality and “worthy” of a state level fair .... others are just ridiculous & poor quality, frankly. There are still some quilts and they do have a good way of displaying them, but the crochet/knitted items are not displayed well at all. My friend volunteers as a judge .... when we’ve visited the fair, she’s pointed out some of the reasons certain items have gotten ribbons; however, she has bemoaned the fact that the way the items are displayed, you cannot see those special stitches, techniques, etc. Sigh.
The BIG concern for me is that you could spend many, many hours on an item and they are not protected at all ... anyone could just stuff an item in a big bag (given out by those vendors, btw) & walk out with it. Like that baby blanket or shawl or doily? Walk out with it. I’ve talked to my friend about this & she agrees - has assured me that if she submits anything for me in the county fair, the items are displayed in a way that makes them harder to get to. At this point, I think some of my items would do well in the State Fair, but I would not enter anything due to the lack of protection/poor display.
So that’s what I’m thinking about ... trying to remember all the good times as a kid at the State Fair. I do not do the rides - have ear issues/vertigo & I’d be throwing up for a week if I got on any rides (merry-go-round & ‘bump’ cars are the only ones I did as a kid) so it’s all about the animals, crafts, & food items (GO for ribbons in canning!! :-) which are becoming an afterthought as our State Fair tuns “modern” in a citified environment.
To end on a happier note, the hummers have finally started coming to a new feeder I bought maybe 2 weeks ago. They love the 2 original feeders, so I ordered the same model to have a 3rd. When it came, the top is the same, but the perch/flowers are different. I guess they were so accustomed to the old ones that they hovered around the new one, would perch briefly, then take off & finally they quit coming. The perch works ... good distance so they can perch/feed. Two days ago, I noticed the nectar level looked a little lower & then I started seeing the hummers on the feeder again. I bought the 3rd feeder because I needed 2 at the hummer garden - it’s a very busy, ‘happening’ place. :-)
“The biggest disappointment is the crafts section...it just has been getting skimpier & skimpier every year.”
When I dropped of my afghan yesterday afternoon, about 5pm, there was one quilt, one sewn top and one quilted tote bag along with my afghan. People could drop off until 8pm. There were SIX canned goods there, total.
Granted this was the *SNIF* ‘Senior Division’ there were other entries in other parts of the Expo Hall.
Maybe our goal should be to contact some local craft guilds in our areas and find some ‘competitive ribbon winners?’ I mean, we CAN’T be the only two left, LOL!
Yarn shops? Fabric stores? Any other ideas for finding Fair entrants?