Saturday, September 13, 2014

Oregon State Fair

My family recently made a trip to Portland, OR. Besides being a major hub of modern quilting, it's a great place for a family vacation. They have Voodoo Donuts, Powell's City of Books, the International Rose Test Garden, OMSI, and food trucks. We also made a side trip to Newport and the Oregon State Fair in Salem.

Of course, I checked out the quilts. There was a nice assortment of modern, traditional, and art. As for modern, I recognized this Mod Pop.


This version of the owl pattern from Boo Davis' book features girly cuteness, scallop feathers, and detailed quilting.


The pattern can be found in Dare to Be Square Quilting.


For all you selvage savers, here's a thought.


As for art quilts, my favorite was this autumn feline with a snarky look.


There were some fine examples of traditional quilting too. While peering at this crazy quilt, one of the guild ladies volunteering in the exhibit asked, "Are you going to go home and make that one?" Sorry, but hand embroidery and velvet aren't my cup of tea, I'm afraid.


I enjoyed the dense machine quilting and bright batiks on this one.


There's no denying the precision and fine handwork on this feathered star.


The quilts weren't the only artistically inspiring items at the fair. Permit me to show you are few other  categories. While there may have been some ribboned beauties in the produce section, this was my favorite vegetable on display.


A new-to-me category featured at the Oregon fair was table settings. I thought these were fun, especially given the current popularity of party-planning blogs.



Then there's cake decorating. You may think I've misplaced my picture here, but it is actually composed of frosting!


This wee mouse house had an incredible amount of detail.


Wouldn't this be cute for a baby shower?


Avengers, anyone?


Fandom in Stitches followers, this is one I know you'll appreciate.


Where do I begin? Wow!


How could the state fair officials give anything less than a blue ribbon for this?


The cuteness doesn't stop at tiny balloons. How about some garden creatures?


Isn't this just a feast for the eyes? I  can't decide what I love most--the realistic shells, the mosaic, or the fondant waves.


My son has developed an obsession for those boards with holes for your head, so my husband and daughter joined him in a celebration of dairy products.


We staved off our hunger with friend balls of mashed potatoes, roasted corn, and a colossal brownie before listening to the Charlie Daniels' Band play "The Devil Went Down to Georgia".



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7 comments:

  1. So nice to see a mix of modern and traditional at the fair! I am going either today or tomorrow to see how my quilts fared in our county fair!

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    1. Congrats on your third place ribbon! It's tricky when your categories are the most popular. I was fortunate to be the only quilt in the small professional category, and one of two in the large professional category at the New Mexico State Fair. (They make me enter in the professional category since I have taught classes in the last 7 years.) I neglect to mention this when I mention my first and second place ribbons. I'll be going to see the quilts on Sunday, so I'll share on the blog after that.

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  2. I love getting to look at the quilts at the fair. The Mod Pop you photographed has some really dense quilting! It sounds like you had a very nice vacation. :)

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    1. The Mod Pop is definitely one of my favorites, and one I'd be more likely to desire to attempt making. Some I admire, but they aren't really something I would enjoy making (like the lovely crazy quilt or the precise feathered star). It was interesting to see the judge's preferences. It would be difficult to rank quilts when there are so many different styles and notable skill areas.

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  3. Sounds like a fun vacation and day at the fair! My grandmother has one of those giant velvet embroidered crazy quilts framed on the wall (not from our family unfortunately). Its gorgeous to look at, and wonder what those women were thinking while investing so much time into it - but no, I will not be making one. I'll just keep admiring them at the fair, museums, and gramma's house. :D

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    1. I'm with you on the admiration without participation. Though I'm sure there are those who would wonder about me too, if they knew the true extent of the effort and expense I put into quilting.

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  4. Thanks for visiting our Oregon State Fair. That's my Mod Pops (from Distant Pickles blog). I also combined it with a traditional Drunkards Path in a different setting for my "Pantone 18-3224" quilt that I made for Play Craft's Radiant Orchid Quilt Challenge. Go ahead and make one. There are a lot of great ones on Flickr.

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