It doesn't seem fair...

I know I've said it before but I'll say it again, all work and no play makes Patty a dull girl. I have literally less than a week till the biggest deadline I've ever had is upon me but I needed to get out of the house and do something mindless for once. So, I dragged myself out of the dungeon and on down to the Clinton Apple & Pork Festival today. This was our first time attending this fair so I wasn't sure what to expect. Boy was I surprised when I encountered dozens of true artisans demonstrating their craft right there for all to see!

I was fascinated with this woman knitting this big fat scarf with this big fat wool and these big fat needles.



She had pictures of her sheep at her booth and she said she hand shears them. I was immediately reminded of this blog post by my pal, Betz.



I have never learned how to knit before but when she said you could make a scarf in just a few minutes with this big fat wool method, I was almost tempted to take up knitting right then & there. But instead I just bought a super cute scarf & hat set from her. Who's got time for another hobby? Not me!



Then I saw this woman throwing pottery on a foot-operated wheel.



Again... sooo cool for us to see. There she was just pumping away with her foot as she shaped these awesome pieces with her bare hands.



I'm not a potter or scultor either, so maybe that's why I find these crafts so interesting.



Then I came upon these kids making rope (???)



Yeah, just like this. Not sure why. Just for fun?



Then there was this man stirring a huge old smoky cauldron full of beans.



So witchy! LOVE IT!!



We also saw this man so carefully oiling and cleaning is vintage engines.



The rust and textures were out of this world! I thought of my buddy, Melissa, and how much she'd enjoy this.



Of course, there was the usual fair stuff, like petting zoos...

I was particularly fond of this guy...



And I think he was fond of me too... or maybe just of my camera...



See what I mean?



Pony rides...



And face-painting... (not the best face-painter, if you ask me, haha, but Sydney wanted it nonetheless)



And yes, Sophie was with us too, but she thinks she's too big for pony rides and face-painting, sigh.

We did attempt to take a family picture...



yep...



"attempt" being the operative word.



For those of you who were expecting to see skateboarding pictures today, sorry! We need to go out and buy some safety gear before we attempt this. Maybe next weekend? I'll be ready to celebrate once the patterns are off to print and the first manuscript of the book is off to the publisher. Oh, wait... but then there's Quilt Market.... argh... it never ends!