The Bridgewater Country Fair is part of the CT network of state fairs, and is the primary source of incoming for the Bridgewater, CT Volunteer Fire Department. Something I just learned is that the fire department doesn’t receive tax revenue from the town to fund the department, making them the last remaining self-sustaining fire department in Connecticut. This means that they maintain all of their own equipment and buildings, including the grounds where the fair is held. The fair has all the things you would expect of a county fair – rides, food, entertainment, animals and contests – lots of contests – including Needle Arts.

The Needle Arts competition includes sewing, quilting, knitting, crocheting, needle felting, weaving in junior and adult categories. We had more than 75 entires, with the majority being in the quilting / sewing categories. I wanted to highlight some of those projects.

Lisa Schmidt had five entries, and won five ribbons. The first image above shows a Kaffe quilt of hers that is going to the state quilt competition and won 1st in the lap quilt category. The piecing is amazing, and she did a great job quilting it as well. The middle quilt won first place in the bed quilt category. The third photo shows her Lightening quilt which won third place in the wall hanging category and her large tote that won first place in bags. Stunning work.

It was nice to see so many different types of entries. The first image features Jenn’s coat that she sewed in class with Sam and won first place in apparel. Next to it is a romper that Laura made in quilt camp earlier this month. The middle image is the guitar collage that Jenn made for her boyfriend’s classroom and it took second place in wall hangings. And the third image shows Moe’s quilted coat that won first place in the quilted apparel class. This coat was so well admired that people were asking to buy it!

It was nice to see many smaller items entered. There were seven entries in the bag category alone! Polly’s travel bag took second place (second image) and Peggy’s Poppins (third) took third place. Katy one first place for her Tilda pillow in the home decor category, and Kim’s pillow took home third. This category also included three gorgeous table runners, but unfortunately the photo is too blurry to share.

It is fun to be Superintendent for Needle Arts but I have a lot of help. Maureen, Rosalie, and Kate were all on hand, as was Kim, to help with breaking down the exhibit at the end of the fair. Congratulations to Maureen for her 2nd place ribbon for her Jen Kingwell quilt, and to Rosalie for her pretty bed quilt. I think we need a new category for a coordinating set!

I am so disappointed that some of my photos did’t come out well enough to post. I would have loved to share Donna Francois’s gorgeous quilts, two of which won ribbons. I also missed Dorrie’s beautiful wall hanging and Bev Raymond’s gorgeous bed quilt. Her quilting was a super unique edge to edge design. I also didn’t photograph all of the crochet, knit and other junior entries. Next year I will have to allow more time so I can share them all.

I mentioned above how much help I always have in putting the Needle Arts exhibit together. First, the ladies of the Home Arts tent, especially the big boss Katie, and Hobbies Superintendent Ashley are always so helpful and collaborative and I appreciate it. The staff of Cotton Candy Fabrics do so much taking in entries and making sure they are returned to their rightful owners after the fair. The Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild helps with volunteer to staff the exhibit and talk about quilting in the area. And, I definitely couldn’t pull it together without my better half Rob, Maureen Raftery and her husband Robert Prest, and Rosalie and Tom Fitzgerald. They help with set up and breakdown, with Tom being in charge of ladders and Bob supervising the rope! (Photo evidence that Bob is bringing the rope next year above! 🙂 Inside joke!)

If you didn’t enter your items, please consider entering the contests next year, or find a fair near you. There are still a bunch to attend or submit your handiwork too.