Our State Fair is a Great State Fair

The State Fair has again come and gone.
Our whole family loves the State Fair. The food, the rides, the Village of Yesteryear, the craft competitions and displays. Pretty much the only thing we don't do is waste money on the games, (because I have no desire for a house full of tacky, dusty, stuffed animals.)
None of us entered anything into the competitions this year, which made the fair a little less fun. Last year, my daughter entered something for the first time...and won a blue ribbon! (It was a cross stitched picture she had made for her baby brother.) Last year, I won an honorable mention on my son's Noah's Ark quilt, and a 2nd place ribbon for a dress I made for my daughter. (Which is too ragged and faded to take a picture of now. She literally wore the thing out!) Here's a picture of the Noah's ark quilt (which was made for my son named Noah. Mind you, it has a year's worth of wear on it as well!):

It has lots of paper-pieced little animals which are embellished with hand embroidery. Here are a few of my favorite blocks:




Here we are at the fair this year, watching some spinning action at the Village of yesteryear:

(Tip for going into a crowded place with a big family...wear the same color shirts. It really helps you keep an eye on everyone.)
The village of yesteryear is a building in which people display handicrafts that were common in the old days.
This lady and her husband also weave on a huge loom that dates back to the 1800's. I enjoy seeing them every year.
It's a shame that many of the old time crafts are being lost. Even the village of yesteryear isn't as great as it once was. They now have multiple people doing the same craft (pottery, quilting, etc.) I assume because there isn't enough variety to fill the place up.
I'm really fortunate, because my husband truly values the work I do. He thinks that my knitting, sewing, quilting, crewelwork, rug-hooking, smocking, soap-making, etc. are really important skills, and he doesn't mind my spending money for the supplies and equipment I need to do them. He also doesn't mind my taking the time to teach classes in quilting and knitting, because he really thinks it's important to pass those skills on to another generation. One more reason I gotta love that guy!

Balance

My comment on Autumn's blog explains my whole trouble with the blogging thing over the summer (and extending into this fall.)
"I have the same struggle with my time. Especially with blogging, somehow. It's a wonderful way to document things for yourself, and to share yourself with others...but it seems like if I have time to blog, then I'm not accomplishing enough...and if I'm accomplishing enough, I don't have time to blog."
I can organize "stuff" meticulously, but my time is a whole different matter. I'm not an extremely disciplined person, and I tend to just do the next most important thing. I have to 'create' deadlines for myself to get anything done. (Like entering a quilt in the fair to make sure it gets completed.)
I often wonder if I should work harder to make myself be disciplined with my time, or just accept myself the way I seem to be "wired" because it does have it's benefits. (Hubby is a self-employed builder and carpenter, and therefore has no set schedule. I'd be batty if I was one of those people who had to do the same thing at the same time every day when his schedule is so non-consistent.)

PS, Autumn makes the best purses around. I've been using mine all summer, and it still looks brand new!