State fair fun!

 We went to the state fair this week, after me feeling under the weather for most of the week. The fair is only open until Halloween, so I didn't want to risk missing it. I actually was feeling so sick I didn't accomplish any stitching of my own this week (you know it's bad when I don't even want to lift a needle!) But I have lots of pretty stitching to show you from the fair. Above is two of the quilts I loved. Lots of gorgeous quilting, but they hang the bigger quilts from the rafters so people won't touch them and it makes it hard to get good pictures of them. Aren't the fall colors in these two beautiful?

 Here is a wall of some of the cross stitching and needlepoint. I loved the fabric used on the snowman circle in the middle. It was hand dyed and had spots of white that looked just like snow against the chilly blue. And isn't that icy white frame perfect for it?

Fjord ponies by Ink Circles. I loved seeing the variegated blues on this one, and the stitching was so delicate. Beautiful sampler.

Let's be Wicked-- I think this one is an Ursula Michael's design right? Didn't she do a bunch of word designs for one of the cross stitch magazines? Anyway, I love anything Halloween so this was right up my alley.

Oh, I forgot the name of this sampler, but it was amazing to see up close! The colors were gorgeous together, and the linen looked so delicate, I couldn't even guess how high a count this was stitched on. It definitely deserved a blue ribbon.

And here is one of my favorites. I actually have this chart in my own stash, and seeing her in person made my fingers itch to pull it out. They finished it as a stand-up display, and the beading on it was perfect. Even my girls had to ooh and aah over it before dragging me back outside to the rides and fry bread (the southwest version of funnel cakes kind of)

 Another blue ribbon piece. They didn't include the name of this design on their entry tag. Maybe a Teresa Wentzler? Solid stitching, and a great design.

And not cross stitch, but from the fine arts section. I really liked this mixed media collage. It was made mostly of wood and wood chips and was 3-D. Looked like the little owl was flying right off of the piece. So fun seeing what other artists create and what they make it out of (I guess not everyone loves needles and threads!)

Lastly I had to share my spooky thrifting haul from today. I love Goodwill and any second hand store, finding unique stuff for cheap is a thrill for me. I found two older Stephen King books, I am working on building a collection of the hard covers of all of his novels. It has been a while since I read these two particular titles. You know what my favorite part of used books is? Finding other people's inscriptions, or notes in the margins, or even just folded over pages that makes me wonder if they ever even finished the book. Also Roald Dahl's Ghost Stories. My middle daughter and I have read all of his children's novels, and this is a collection by him of other authors spooky tales. I look forward to sharing it with her. We also found a really nice pocket watch for the same daughter. She is dressing up as Alice in Wonderland this Halloween, and has a little white rabbit to carry with her. So the pocket watch will be attached to the white rabbit's vest as part of his costume. And I found a very nice running jacket for myself. Not that it has been cold enough to need one yet here in Arizona, but I have been running and enjoying the slightly cooler fall temps already.