Three of us went to the LA County Fair this weekend. While it's not a problem dragging the Dude through the craft competitions, it took the promise of air conditioning to lure both boys away from the track. We admired the over-the-top table decorating, the Christmas tree decorating (purchased and handmade divisions), and the various craft displays--everything from papier mache (some husband entered his wife's belly-cast; do you think they're divorced yet?) to cross-stitch. I'm always agog at what some people will enter. Disney kits. Plastic canvas. Horrible, total travesty. In fact, when we were looking aghast at the hen and rooster decorated with beans and dried corn, we invented a new category, not "other crafts" but "other crap." The Best in Show cross-stitch was quite well-done, but the picture, eh, not so much. The stitching was unbelievably even. I showed the Dude the reason one of the Teresa Wentzler dragons got a first and the other a second. I found a terrific sampler that features a Cyrillic alphabet with a Russian church; took a first in its division. Convinced once again that I should enter. I'm thinking about entering both the Christmas tree competition, handmade division for the over-the-topedness as well as a stitching project. Only problem is I still have the damned afghan to work on. And whatever gets entered has to be big--they don't like the small stuff. Even well-executed complicated small stuff.
Gallica has fallen by the wayside. I still have backstitching on the square, but I'm sick of backstitching. I've got about half of the big rose to do. That's all! But I'm tired of working on it. I've been knitting in-law Christmas scarves for the October 15 deadline. I've got two child-sized hats and two man-sized scarves. Took the gray and black wool scarf on the hour-long trip to the Fairplex yesterday. And for the 30 minute commute this morning.
I think I might just start the next square so I can get back on track. My next deadline is to finish the [somekindofweddingflower] by October 17, and I have yet to begin. That's too much to do in such a short period of time. Maybe I can hire a blow-up doll to do my job a few days a week. You know, the one in the office that I am trying to leave. The one where I write to you, dear reader.