Minnesota State Fair 2015

Labor Day Weekend is over and the Minnesota State Fair is done for another year. It was a great year for entries in Creative Activities and I took lots of pictures to share with you. (For things I could find on Ravelry, I link back to the project page so you can get more information.)

First, for those of you who don’t follow us on Facebook or Instagram, my Hearts and Dalas Mittens took home their share of ribbons.

I won First Premium in Mittens, Color Pattern, the 3 Kittens NeedleArts Award for Best Use of Color and Texture in Mittens and the Minnesota Knitters Guild Award for Best Mittens. Talk about a thrill!

I did not win the Sweepstakes for Best Knit Item in the fair, this beautiful shawl by Flanknits took that honor.

I was blown away by this amazing sweater by Twinsetellen, such gorgeous fine work! People looking at it around me insisted there was no way it was hand knit! She also won for this incredibly detailed baby sweater.

Here’s some of the winners in socks and hats.

There seemed to be so many entries this year they had a hard time displaying them all. In the lightweight shawl category there were forty-two entries and in my color work mitten category there were twenty-five!
I had to pull myself away from the knitting because there were so many other things to look at. In crochet there was this amazing set of Lord of the Rings characters.

This garden made me think I should enter my knit fantasy garden next year.

This cute crocheted baking set by Threadbare Bakery that was in line behind me on entry drop-off day, took home three ribbons.

I absolutely loved these little animal dolls. I can’t believe they only took second place. They really show me I need to up my game if I want to enter my elf dolls next year.

This was first place in the doll category. Lots of work, though I find clowns a bit scary sometimes.

On to quilts. This one just blew me away! The quilting was actually “simple,” just little squares, but oh-so-precise. Then look at that embroidery! It has the crisp, modern look I love.

And how fun is this quilt?! A giant game of Risk.

The theme for this year’s Quilt on a Stick was Grandstand performers. The winner paid homage to Kiss. Love the chains and hair. The entries in this category are always fun.

Doctor Who was a popular theme, here in glass art and seed art.

I’m always so impressed by the projects by school age kids in the Education and 4-H buildings, some of them put the adult entries to shame. This ornate, detailed dollhouse was made by and 8th grader.

How about this felt food sewn up by a 4th grader?!

Over in the Agricultural Building, people got really creative with their seed art and scarecrows. It’s a nice call-back to the origins of the Fair.


Finally, over in Fine Arts, there was this amazing sculpture of dresses knit from wire.

Look at the detail on this right down to a little collar!

Every year I’m so impressed by the skill and creativity of my fellow Minnesotans. It’s also got me thinking about my entries for next year!