Fiber Arts Friday: County Fair

Miss A, her family and I did a little reconnaissance at the local county fair last weekend.

Neither one of us have ever entered an alpaca performance show, so we wanted to get a better idea of what she would be asked to do at the November show.

I concede that animal shows can be quite boring to watch unless you happen to be very interested in what's going on.

Even if you're very interested in what's going on, when you're eight years old they still get boring.  So Miss A and her family went home after a couple of hours.  ;-)

That being said, we learned a lot.

First there was a halter show.  This is where the competition is mostly about the breeding.  But since this was a 4H Performance Show, the competition was more about how well the kids handled their alpacas.  This is really boring, unless you happen to be a breeder or a huge fan of one of the kiddos presenting or a huge fan of the animal being shown.

Setting up for a Youth Performance Class

Then there were the obstacle courses with four levels of difficulty.  This is what we were interested in.  A course is set up and the handlers are judged on how well they get the alpaca to navigate the obstacles.  We took notes and planned ways to practice the different elements at home.

There was also a costume contest.  The kids dress themselves and their alpacas up and write a short story about the characters they are playing.  I always thought this was kind of silly.  But realizing what it must take to put a dress and hat on an alpaca leaves me impressed with the relationship built between those kids and their alpacas.

After the alpaca show, I happened upon a Tractor Parade.

Then I went in search of the Fibery Fair Entries.

I found a few weavings...

and a few handspun yarns...

But clearly, the Quilters are in full-force here in Northern Colorado.

I remember going to a quilting circle with my mom when I was very small.  It seemed like those ladies were having fun and I think they were all working on the same quilt at the same time.

I've never tried quilting myself, but I have always admired them greatly.

I hope you're having a terrific Fiber Arts Friday.  Be sure to visit everyone over at Wisdom Begins in Wonder to see some beautiful work.