A Bumper Crop of Fun!

As promised, here's my second post for today.  And it is all about the North Carolina State Fair, which is in full swing this week.  Alton and I headed over to the fairgrounds on Friday.  My sweet man worked long hours all week long so that he could leave work early so we would have plenty of time to soak up the fair atmosphere.


It was a gorgeous day; I really don't think it could have been any nicer.  The midway was full, but not too crowded:

I've always loved going to the fair.  I like looking at the flower arrangements, listening to the music, looking at all the cute little animals:

The amount of produce on display is always amazing:

I always get a big kick out of the cake decorating section.  From the children's first efforts to the professional masterpieces, they all have a bit of charm.

And of course it wouldn't be a real trip to the fair without some food that's wickedly bad for you.  This year, I was on the hunt for fried Girl Scout Cookies.  Although I think I prefer my cookies unfried, they were worth the hunt:

 There were several artisans around the fairgrounds showing off their skills.  There was even a guy giving live demos on pumpkin carving.

And what would a State Fair be without giant pumpkins?

Alton and I decided to try something different, and watched an hour or so of the tractor pull.  If you've never experienced one, it is kind of interesting to watch the tractors go flying across the grounds and then grind to an abrupt halt as the heavy weight they are hauling becomes too much for the engine.  But you really need ear plugs if you're going to sit around for more than one pull.

See that swing ride to the left?  I persuaded Alton to ride it with me.  I think that's the first time I've been on a fair ride in nearly 10 years!

And finally, among all the other exhibits, there were the two I was most interested in.  The first we found was the scrapbooking entries.  I had entered 3 layouts in 3 different categories.  I won an Honorable Mention in Pets with this one:

I actually think this layout of that naughty little toilet paper-loving cat was my favorite of the three I entered.

I also won an Honorable Mention in Travel/Vacation with this layout on the Vietnam Memorial in DC:

And then we found my best performance of the fair in the wedding section:

 Yep, that's a second place ribbon!  Not too bad for my first try at entering a State Fair, I think.

There were lots of pretty layouts, but it was impossible to photos without lots of glare on them, so I have no others to share.  But I do have a few entries in the needlework section to share.  The entries in needlework were divided by evenweave or linen, cross stitch over one or over two, and other types of counted stitching. Then they were further broken down by whether you were a first time entrant, a prior ribbon winner, or a prior non-ribbon winner.  This pretty piece won 3rd in first time cross stitch on linen over 2:

 I won 4th place in the same category.  Of course I wanted to do better, but hey, this means I won a ribbon of some sort for every single piece that I entered!

 This piece was in the 'other' counted stitching and won best of show.  I think it's absolutely gorgeous!

 And here's the first prize winner in the same category I entered.  There were lots and lots of pretty pieces.  I think this woman should be very, very proud of herself!

That's about it from our day at the fair.  I see that I've hit the 100 followers mark.  There will be a giveaway announcement in the next day or two.  I think I know what I'm going to do, but I'm going to think about it a little bit more before I make the announcement.  Til next time, I hope everyone is able to take advantage of some gorgeous fall weather!