The Zumbro River Fiber Arts Guild has a new President each September, and that President gets to choose a theme for the next year and this years theme is 'Take It To The Fair!' The fiber guild has been busy with spinning workshops for improving product, learning about entering items and doing demonstrations at the Olmsted County Fair just last week. While I wasn't able to attend those events because I'm busy here at the shop finding new products to temp you fellow fiber artists with. :) However, I'm totally flattered to have just been asked to be a judge at our local Goodhue County Fair, for the Crafts Department,(that includes crafts, decorative accessories & dolls or stuffed articles). 

As a family, we always take the kiddos, we always see many friends, visit with local vendors, play a few games, see the animals, eat many more things on sticks than is prudent, keep the kids from taking any petting zoo animals home (especially if the chicks are only .50 each!) and leave fulfilled that we've been to the County Fair for another year. But this year, being the 150th year seems to have more substance, and now to become a small part of the behind the scenes action it will be quite a memory that I'll enjoy making.  

My husbands Grandmother originally from Norway, had for years entered her finely woven and knit items at our county and state fair, eventually filling a box with her prize ribbons. That simply amazed me. It takes a lot of courage and confidence to put your art and crafts out there where the whole world can see them...okay, if not the whole world, at least some of the people in your town. For all of the people who enter there must be quite a few people who are afraid to enter or simply don't want to be judged. I can understand that, but next year I am going to enter something, somewhere and let fear go, what will be will be! So, let's hear it for summertime, county fairs and memories!