August 23rd: The JOURNEY Concert...

... and the last day of the Fair! When DH got home from work that Sunday morning, I didn't expect that he's not planning to sleep... so I wasn't dressed to leave yet. In fact, I didn't believe him when he said we'll leave right away until he got dressed, etc. Anyway, by 9:30AM, we're at the fairgrounds parking already. We usually get there before 8AM on other days. The good thing about that day was that we didn't have to wait for any building to open. But before checking out any exhibits, we ate breakfast first... funnel cake and coffee!... so yummy! Within that day, I managed to see all the places and things I wanna see.

Look at this jumbo pumpkins? Most of there are about 1,000 lbs weight. I think I even saw a piece which is almost 1,200 lbs.

I got these miniature primitive stuffs at the Shopper's Mart... plus other fabbie things. Each item in the photo below reminds me of my favorite samplers. These are the only miniatures that caught my attention as the rest are christmas related stuffs like snowflakes.

Other things I can't resist are jewelry supplies? I'm planning to make a set of bracelet and earrings out of the garnet chips... and will use the Brazilian agates stones as cabochons on my next encrusted pendants. I also bought various jewelry making tools at the Flea Market, i.e. bend pliers, ring sizers (both plastic and metal), etc.

With all the walking we did that day, we decided to ride the "Sky Glider". I think that would be the first and last I'll gonna ride it coz I hate heights. LOL

One of the famous trademark of IA State Fair is the butter cow... and other butter characters (photos courtesy of Iowa State Fair website). In my first 3 years here, me and DH would usually fall in line to see the butter cow up close and personal. But since last year, we stopped doing it. Anytime we go there, the line is just crazy... soooooo long. I heard in the news before that they're planning to make a butter Michael Jackson, as a tribute to the King of Pop. But obviously, the proposal wasn't approved (?). Last year was Shawn Johnson, Iowa's golden girl... the olympian!

And finally, around 6PM, we're already at the gate of the Fairgrounds for Journey's concert. As expected, there were a lot of Filipinas there. LOL We managed to get in right away and waited for almost a couple of hours. We decided to get in early after all the walks we had. "Heart" was the first performer during the first half, for almost an hour. By the time Journey appeared on stage, it was way past 10PM already. But the waiting is all worth it. LOL Forgive me if my photos are blurry... and during the break, I got DH a souvenir concert shirt.:)

Now I gotta wait another year again for the Fair.... It just ended but I'm missing it already.

Have a great week everybody!

IA State Fair's 4-H Exhibits

I didn't ge to go at the 4-H Building till Sunday, last day of the Fair. All of these entries were done by kids and teen-agers (in High School). Aren't their works fabulous? I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Sampler MA From MW Of Malaysia

I recieved this wonderful MA from Margaret last Monday, with various laces inside. I love the design as well as the colors. I can't wait to use the laces for my next project. Thank you so much for this wonderful exchange MW!

Sampler MA from MW of Malaysia

MailArt Friends Group

Sampler MA From Michelle Of Greece

I recieved this MA from Greece yesterday, another MA exchange from MAF Group. Per Michelle's note, the design was from Geranium House of CCN. Isn't it lovely? My partner pampered me with extra stash and a bracelet gift. I just love the colors, and the bracelets goes well with most of my tops as I love earth-tones. Thank you so much for this wonderful exchange Michelle. I love everything you sent me. I can't wait to use the lace and threads.

Sampler MA from Michelle of Greece

MAF Group

Have a great stitching day everybody!

Heirloom Sewing And What Nots

Here's the pillow I made on the "Heirloom Sewing Class" I attended on the first day of the State Fair, August 13th afternoon. It is made of dupioni silk, in green and ecru... and as the teacher said, it has to be filled lightly. I'm thinking of embellishing the edge but I'm not sure yet what medie to use, i.e. beads, trimmings, etc. It was a fun class and I can't wait to enroll on another class on Friday or Sunday.

Heirloom Sewing Project - August 13, 2009

Unfortunately, the "Shuttle Tatting Class" I wanna enroll is offered on the day I wasn't on the Fair so I'll gonna miss it this year. As I was browsing my Fair photos earlier, I realized I didn't share some of the tatted pieces so here they are. I think "Tatting Category" has the least entries this year, as per Dorothy.

The top 3 fabbies in the photo below were the ones I bought the other week, while the other 3 on the bottom were purchased this weekend. I so love the Fall and Halloween fabbies! The floral blue on the bottom left is kinda like a thick canvas-feel (cotton) fabric, and I'm thinking of making tote bags out of it.

Yardages of Cotton Fabbies

I finally decided to do some canning last Friday after all those rain we had early last week. Me and DH picked a bucketful of cucumber on Friday morning, both the regulars and skinny ones. As I gather my canning supplies, I realized I don't have much "small mouth" jars so DH had to get some at MIL's. I made 7 big jars of sweet pickles and 5 big jars of dill.

Sweet Pickles and Dills - August 14, 2009

All those rain early last week refrain us from picking veggies in the garden. Our garden is in the lower part of our lawn and it's kinda muddy after so much rain. As a result, some of our cucmbers got really old, which are actually perfect for MIL's relish. So I separated the big ones and we deliver these at MIL's on Saturday, along with some fresh corn, a muscatine cantaloup, and grilled chicken breasts. DH was in the mood to grill after we went in town, so I prepared mashed potato and gravy with our grilled chicken and corn. We've been enjoying MIL's fresh potatoes in weeks now. Needless to say, I'm sure I'm gaining extra pounds again. LOL

Cucumbers for MIL's Relish

Are you familiar with parslane? Well, it's called "maligoso" in my hometown in Pampanga, Philippines... an edible weed that has a lil' bit bittery (like ampalaya leaves) and slimy feel taste (like spinach). I already blog about parslane last year when I found them being sold at our local flea market. moreso, we gets lots of these in our backyard every summer so I told DH not to remove them when he's weeding in the garden. I picked some on Friday as they're starting to conquer our other veggies. I only picked 4 roots yet the big bucket got full. Unfortunately, I only managed to "himay" half, and the other half went into waste. It was just too much, and I have more to pick at the garden next few times!

Edible Weed: Parslane or Maligoso in Tagalog

I watched Tyra Banks Show, Dr. Phil Show, Who Want To Be A Millionaire and Jeopardy on Friday the entire time I was seggregating the leaves. But all the time I spent doing that was well worth it as I enjoyed eating my supper. After washing the leaves reallhy good, I sauteed them with a clove (minced) fresh garlic, medium size onion, olive oil, and a can of sardines. It was sure good with steam rice. I can't wait to do it again this week.

Parslane Leaves ready to cook!

Our eggplants this year are doing good too! I planted 3 kinds - lavender touch, satin beauty, and japanese eggplant (the skinny ones, similar to what we plant back home). I've been enjoying them for almost a month already. I usually eat them with fried fish and "burung isda", but since I got so much last week, I decided to start preserving - frozen method. I cut them into quarters then blanched (boiling water with lemon juice to preserve color) them for a few minutes... once they're strained and cold, I put them in zip lock baggies then freeze.

2009 Eggplants: Lavender Touch, Satin Beauty & Japanese

I took a lot of photos of our veggies garden last Wednesday, August 12, so I can show them to my family back home. I'll share some of them in my next post so you can see our "Christmas Tree Eggplants" and "Christmas Tree Tomatoes"... as in we had to put rods and sticks on them so they won't fall on the ground.

I have some stitching works to do so I better go back to work now. Have a great week everybody!

2009 Iowa State Fair - Part 2

The best of the best! Best of show winners on Fabrics and Threads Division.

Some quilts that I managed to browse. There's a lot more that I didn't able to take pictures, but I'll do that next week as I'm sure MIL want few photos for inspirations.

Below are some entries for the Crochet and Knitting Categories.

And of course, Needlepoint entries are must-look pieces.

The Counted Thread Embroidery category is one of my favorite.

I so enjoyed looking at these handmade purses, as part of Sewing Category. They're way better up close and personal. And there were purses i n the Crochet and Knitting Catogories as well, unfortunately, I didn't able to take pics of them. That's something I have to remind myself on friday.

I had so much fun on my "Finishing Techniques for Stitchery" class. I met wonderful stitchers,!Some of the students are not stitchers but were brave enough to enroll in the class. There were a set of friends (quilters) and sisters (one of which is into crochet). Thank you so much for enrolling in the class ladies. I hope you had fun too, and will manage to use what you learned when you get home. I can't wait to see your completed pieces so please don't forget to send me a photo or 2.

DH ate more than I did... of course, as he had a lot of time to kill while I was in the class. I had "pork chop on a stick" and a big cup of iced tea for lunch... my favorite at the Fair. After eating, I managed to take a glimpse of my 2 jewelry entries at the Creative Arts & Crafts Division. My piece for the "Needle Constructed Jewelry" won 3rd place, while for the "Stringing Technique" won 4th place. I was extremely happy with the result coz I know how talented the jewelry designers in Des Moines are. I was just expecting my pieces to be displayed (not rejected), yet they'll go home with a ribbon. I'll just share the photos next time as the pieces were all displayed under a glass... inside the cabinets.

Six out of eight entries for the Fabrics and Threads Division will go home with ribbons: 4 entries for the Counted Thread Categories all won (1st place on the set of 3 Ornaments) and only 2 out of 4 entries on the Cross Stitch won (1st place on the Pillow). That's the result of the friut of my labor from mid to end of July, as I devoted those 2 weeks stitching and finishing my pieces.

Aren't these marching geese adorable? We passed them by on our way back to the Varied Industries Building, around 1:15PM. They were guided by their master who's behind them. They were dressed with bandanas and some got a backpack. They sure made the onlookers smile!

And lastly, this is the parking lot looks like by mid-afternoon. I'm sure it's been like this by mid-morning. Some residents in the neighborhood converted their lawns into a parking space, and they're all full as well. This is the time of year where some of them earn extra $$$ by letting Fair-goers to rent a parking space in their lawns.

I have another photo to share on my next post, a silk pillow which I finished on Thursday afternoon at the Fair from "Heirloom Sewing" class. It's kinda like a patchwork piece. I can't wait to make more of them... sometime!

Have a great Sunday everybody!