I love the fair.
Cotton Candy, Tilt-a-Whirl , cool oak tree shade. Funnel cake, 4H. Golden California grasses and poppies waving in summer sun. Ferris Wheels. Giant Swings.
Competitions.
***
Matt and I rode Caltrain out to the San Mateo County Fair a few weekends back. In May, I submitted my Jabba the Hut skein and a small hand-dyed rug I wove for my weaving final to the textile competition.
We ate curly fries and hot dogs. We rode the Tilt-a-Whirl. We looked at the photography and paintings and mixed media and saw more quilts than I’ve ever seen in one place before.
The art by the folks from ARC was outstanding. If I’d been working, I would have bought some. It was absurdly affordable, and Matt and I found it more interesting than much of the polished, professional work.
We visited my submissions.
THE UNEXPECTED
Hey! I won second place. Twice!
SO super cool to win prizes for my first-ever fair submissions. I’d entered them hoping for the judges feedback on my work. Sometimes they’ll write you notes: you need to improve here, here, and here. Try doing this, or this. Feedback can be quite lengthy and detailed.
Instead, Matt and I get to wipe our feet on a prize-winning rug. Life is good.
THE END
Bikes on Caltrain. Going home.
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https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/journey/
curvylou 
June 22, 2015 at 9:21 am
Congratulations! It’s a beautiful rug! When do I get mine, hahahahaha! I know what it cost u to make that rug. And Jabba…..what can I say…he’s stunning!
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June 22, 2015 at 1:40 pm
Turkey Lips the Great! I am lmfao! Let’s see, let my stupid weaving elbow heal, and you can buy me a 4-harness loom with your millions. Then you can come over and choose your yarn and Bob’s your uncle!
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June 22, 2015 at 6:09 pm
SUCH a fun-looking outing. Congrats on the award! I don’t know much about textiles, but from what I see, it’s a gorgeous piece and the award was well-earned.
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June 22, 2015 at 6:15 pm
Hey Sam! We did have a wonderful, fun-filled day. The ribbons were such a cherry on top, totally unexpected, especially for the rug, which is my first weaving of anything besides plain weave. I have more experience as a spinner, though, and did hope for a ribbon in the skein competition. I do love that yarn. But now I have to figure out what to do with it! One lady tried to sell her own prize-winning skein for $300 on Etsy. I thought she was crazy. (:
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June 23, 2015 at 9:18 am
Man, with Etsy I don’t even know anymore. Between the lowballers and the crazy high pricing I’m like wtffff am I getting a deal or getting ripped off? XP You’ve got serious talent girl! Especially for something you’re trying a new technique on. 😀
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June 23, 2015 at 10:23 am
I know, Etsy, right?! That yarn is still for sale; it’s been three years. Thank you for the encouragement. It means a lot, coming from an actual artist, which is a word I cannot apply to myself. “Talent” is a word I can begin to believe in. You know what it’s like when you’re learning something new, and you have to f around with it for a while to see what it can do, and only then can you begin to combine it with other things and predict it a little? I feel like that’s where I’m at, and an aesthetic is starting to appear. It’s a little earth-shaking for me. I was always such a rule follower. Then I got sober and the sh*t hit the fan.
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June 24, 2015 at 7:35 pm
Heeeey I only bullshit when I can get something out of it, so when I say you’ve got mad skills I mean it! 😀 I definitely think you are an artist. Honestly I was a fake-ass artist until I started painting what I wanted to paint, like two years ago, otherwise I was just…doing dumb shit people paid me for lol. And I’m f-ing around with oil paints too and slowly figuring out how to adapt to the medium and all that, so I totally get you!
Sobriety and the resulting shitstorm is so awesome and rule-breaking is how good art is made. 😀
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June 22, 2015 at 11:19 pm
You won second place! That’s awesome. Well done.
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June 23, 2015 at 10:12 am
Thanks! I was totally gobsmacked. I’m one of those people who never win anything. (:
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June 27, 2015 at 7:59 pm
I love fairs, too. Used to live in St. Paul, home of the Minnesota State Fair. Going every August was a tradition. I never entered into any competitions, though. Good for you and congrats on the wins! The yarn and rug both are quite beautiful.
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June 29, 2015 at 9:49 am
Gad, I haven’t been to a state fair in ages. I’ve always wanted to visit St. Paul, and bet your state fair is fantastic. I’d love to see what Minnesota considers best of show in the textile categories. Thanks for the compliment on the rug and yarn! I got them back from the fair yesterday, and we’re officially wiping our feet on the rug.
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June 29, 2015 at 11:31 am
It’s hard to beat useful art!
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