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I went to the animal fair,
The birds and the bees were there,
The big baboon, by the light of the moon,
Was combing his auburn hair…
 

Well, this fair didn’t have birds and bees so much as the many offspring of overactive rabbits. Along with chickens, horses, cows, pigs, and goats. We watched several young ladies show all of these animals in a round-robin showmanship contest that lasted four hours. We didn’t stay for the whole thing, but hats off to the girls for their stamina.

SF County Fair 2011For me the highlights were the craft exhibits, especially of the needlework and quilting. Santa Fe County has many talented folk, and I enjoyed looking at all the beautiful lace, crocheting, and quilting, as well as the gorgeous photography and too-bad-they-were-in-a-glass-case baked goods. Yummy.

Okay, so the real highlight was seeing the first place ribbon on my tatted Rose Garden doily. Also I loved the second place ribbon on my landscape quilt, especially since I didn’t expect it to win anything.

My Rose Garden doily is made of size 10 DMC threads, in white, mauve taupe and yellow, and measures 41 cm (16″) across. The pattern is by Darlene Polachic, from her “Big Book of Tatting.” I somewhat modified the stitch count in the rose centers so that they would lay flat more easily. I’ve been working on this doily on-and-off for three years, and finished it up only a few months ago.

Rose Garden DoilyI received good comments from the judge, receiving 42 out of 44 points. I was slightly surprised that our small county fair not only had a tatting category, but an entire judging sheet designed for tatting–though it looks like a modified version of the crocheting score sheet.

Rose Garden Doily CloseupMy Sunset over Hills quilt is a small wall-hanging, only 32 x 28 cm (12.”6 x 11″), and was entered in the machine applique category. I designed this landscape scene myself, inspired by the designs in Karen Eckmeier’s “Accidental Landscapes.”

Sunset on Hills QuiltNext month I’ll be driving to Albuquerque to enter the New Mexico State Fair. I’m still deciding what to enter, and fortunately have a few options to choose from.

And because I spend much of my time with people who are knee-high to a grasshopper, as my dad would say, I’ll leave you with this amusing image:

The monkey, he got drunk,
And stepped on the elephant’s trunk,
The elephant sneezed, and fell on his knees,
And that was the end of the monk.
 

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