When introduced to cross stitch in high school Alyssa Pruett wasn’t initially interested in the craft. With muted colors, Thomas Kinkade style landscapes and primitive sampler designs, the ‘old fashioned patterns’ didn’t inspire her creativity.   That changed in 2016 when the Cubs won the World Series. Alyssa wanted to commemorate the occasion, as any good crafter does, by making a celebratory piece. After searching online, she found a Cubs themed cross stitch pattern. The world of bright, colorful and whimsical patterns on Etsy opened her eyes to the potential of cross-stitch. No longer a reluctant stitcher, Alyssa was smitten.  “I dabble in all sorts of crafts but what keeps me coming back to cross stitch is the immediate gratification I get from working on a piece and seeing that work turn into a beautiful image in real time,” said Alyssa. One thing Alyssa likes about cross stitch: even when you’re doing the same pattern, the stitcher’s unique style will come through. Every choice changes the outcome, making each individual piece truly original. How To Get Started Alyssa recommends starting with a kit that includes a simple pattern, all the thread, fabric and other accessories you need. As a beginner it’s easy to get overwhelmed with the options and if you accidentally choose a more advanced pattern, it can be discouraging.  With the right pattern and supplies, anyone can cross stitch. “People would be surprised at how simple it really is. If you can count and have a bit of patience, you can cross stitch!” said Alyssa.  Favorite Projects “I don’t stitch anything that I don’t love!” said Alyssa, which is a good mantra for cross stitching and most craft projects. The project she’s most proud of is the Dark Queen of the Sea, a pattern by Autumn Lane Stitchery. “It’s so beautiful and really challenged my skills,” said Alyssa.  Award-Winning Pieces Alyssa is still aiming for a blue ribbon. So far she’s won second place for a piece named “Seek Refuge” and three honorable mentions for various projects. This year she’s planning to enter her biggest project to date: a sampler style pattern that will be a couple of feet long.  The 2023 Kentucky State Fair is August 17-27 at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, KY. Kentucky State Fair entries will open in early May and information will be available on https://kystatefair.org/participate/compete/. […]

Read More… from National Craft Month: Cross Stitcher Alyssa Pruett 

At Ballyhoo Farm & Fiber Emporium, Shetland and Gotland, Finnsheep and Icelandic sheep roam the green hillsides of fiber artist Madeline Rosenberg’s farm. For years she raised sheep and sold wool without any connection to the fiber arts community.  Then she learned to knit, dye and process fleece. While attending a fiber festival, she overheard conversation after conversation about her neighboring booth’s spinning wheel. By the time the festival ended Madeline knew she wanted to learn to spin.  Her booth-neighbor suggested starting with a drop spindle but it only took 10 days for Madeline to decide that wasn’t for her. She needed a spinning wheel. Madeline bought her first wheel from Nancy at The Woolery (link) and immediately dived into learning.  “When I bought my first wheel, Nancy gave me the most valuable piece of advice for life as well as spinning. It’s three words: Prepare to suck. I’m a perfectionist, and that advice freed me to the learning experience. I’d add to her mantra by saying there is no bad yarn. There’s no color too ugly, there’s no art yarn too irregular – someone will love it, and you’ll learn so much through creating it!” said Madeline.  Farmer to Fiber Artist Now she follows the entire journey of the wool, from field to fiber. Her flock yields around 300 lbs. of raw wool annually, so it’s rare for Madeline to buy other fibers. Ballyhoo farms shears for other local shepherds, who often give her wool and when she buys wool, she likes to support other farms.  Madeline is known for how finely she spins her yarn. A few years ago she won an award for a finished 3-ply yarn the same width as dental floss. Oftentimes handspun is disparaged as bulky and irregular, but Madeline’s goal is to spin so finely that it proves homespun can be just as useful and consistent as store-bought yarn.  Agvocating at the Fair Being both a fiber artist and shepherd offers Madeline a unique opportunity to teach about agriculture at the Kentucky State Fair.  “The State Fair provides an enormous opportunity to directly connect the general public with traditional crafts and agricultural products, and we are proud to help educate! I’m a unique exhibitor in that I can direct guests through the process of our Ag sector. I’m the only shepherd that walks around the grounds with my sheep on a leash, allowing the public to interact with them.” said Madeline. The 2023 Kentucky State Fair is August 17-27 at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, KY. Kentucky State Fair entries will open in early May and information will be available on https://kystatefair.org/participate/compete/.   […]

Read More… from National Craft Month: Fiber Artist Madeline Rosenberg

Creating beautiful artwork is only one reason Chelle Bright Eyes started making beaded jewelry. She sees beadwork as a way to connect to her Navajo heritage.  Chelle began learning beaded jewelry from her mother in 2003, studying for 10 years at her mother’s side. When she lost her mother in 2013, she continued learning to help connect and remember her late mother. Now she’s teaching her daughter. “It’s a way to keep my mother’s legacy and spirit alive. By her teaching me to bead like our ancestors have done long before me, and by me teaching my daughter and so on,” said Chelle.  Her top tips for someone getting started: Get the right materials Be organized For Chelle, organization makes the process more relaxing. Instead of wasting time searching for the right bead, she keeps everything organized. That allows her to unwind with Native Flute music, the soundtrack of her beadwork, which is another way she remembers her mother.   Award Winning Artist After friends saw her beadwork at the Green County Homemakers, they encouraged Chelle to compete in the Kentucky State Fair. The Green County Homemakers saw what Kentucky State Fair judges concluded: Chelle is a talented artist. To date, Chelle has won three blue ribbons and a white ribbon for her creations. “My favorite part was going and seeing my exhibit with all the other exhibits of so many very talented people,” said Chelle.  Chelle’s favorite patterns are inspired by the southwest, featuring the colors of the desert and alongside beautiful turquoise. She’s currently working on a wolf necklace and earring set for competition.  The 2023 Kentucky State Fair is August 17-27 at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville KY. Entries will open in early May. Information will be available on https://kystatefair.org/participate/compete/.  […]

Read More… from National Craft Month: Native American Beaded Jewelry by Chelle Bright Eyes

Mother-daughter duo Alyssa and Victoria Nichols share a passion for cross stitch.  Victoria, the mother, started stitching in high school. Browsing the local Walmart craft aisle, under the glow of fluorescent lighting, she saw her first cross stitch kit. She’s not sure what attracted her to the craft. She stumbled through her first attempts, teaching herself as she went, but she saw the potential in the craft. With practice and research, she improved and began tackling harder and harder projects.  Daughter Alyssa grew up watching her mother cross stitch. Always the artistic type with a wonderful eye for color, she asked to try cross stitch. Excited to share the craft with her daughter, Victoria bought her a stamped kit to learn.  At the start of 2021, designer Peppermint Purple began a New Year “stitch-along”. Victoria and Alyssa decided to tackle the project together. The pattern was a cross stitch style known as blackwork, essentially using lines to make geometrical patterns. Each week a small block of the pattern was released and week by week they’d create the artwork. “So Alyssa and I started this project together, each of us making our own. She had never attempted this type of stitching before, had never worked from a pattern before, and had never had to think about color selection. She quickly picked up on it. Everything about her project was her own choice – colors, how to split each block from a single color into two colors, the stitching, the mat/frame colors, and even the mat shape,” said Victoria.  How to Get Started When you’re starting to learn, both cross stitch and blackwork look daunting. Victoria’s recommendation? Because cross stitch isn’t as common as knitting and crocheting, turning online to find a community on social media is a great way to get started. There are Facebook groups that are warm and welcoming and a growing number of Flosstube channels (YouTube channels focusing on cross stitch) that cover every topic under the sun. There are also free simple patterns available online. As you learn, you can find different methods, fabrics and styles that work for you. For Victoria, part of the beauty of cross stitch is that it doesn’t have set rules you have to follow.  Favorites and Award-Winning Art Over the years Victoria has created many pieces she loved. As a surprise Christmas Gift, Victoria created a cross stitch of her mother-in-law’s Scottish clan tartan. She loved the piece and her reaction made all the time and effort worth it.  Another project Victoria loves is her blue-ribbon winning cross stitch of Mt. Fuji. It means a lot to her personally because her father spent five years in Okinawa with the US Marine Corps and loved Japan. She started the project at the end of 2020 intending to give it to him as a Christmas gift. Then tragedy struck and he passed away suddenly in September of 2021 without ever knowing she was working on the piece. For a month, Victoria couldn’t work […]

Read More… from National Craft Month: Cross stichers Alyssa and Victoria Nichols

Award-winning quilter Linda Lawrence loves the unlimited creative opportunities in her chosen craft. Changing the fabric, the size or the pattern and quilting offers an endless variety of projects. Simply changing the color can make a quilt entirely different from another following a similar pattern. “Quilt masterpieces from traditional to modern are being created by talented artists that are ‘everyday’ people. The skill level and artistry is amazing.” said Linda.  Want to learn? Linda didn’t set out to be a quilter. On a whim she stopped at a shop near her house and was instantly hooked. According to Linda, local quilt shops are the best place to get started. “Take a beginning quilt class at a quilt shop. The staff will guide you through the learning process and give lots of support. Such fun!” said Linda. Competing in the Fair  Her cousin, Martha Brown, an award-winning crochet artist, also competes in the Kentucky State Fair. During the year they share their ideas for projects and help each other prepare for the annual Kentucky State Fair competition.  In her time quilting, Linda has won two blue ribbons, one second place, two thirds and an honorable mention at the Kentucky State Fair. She’s also received recognition at the South Florida Quilt Show racking up a Judges’ Choice, two first place and two third place prizes.  Favorite Projects Her favorite quilt she’s ever made? A collaboration with her Aunt Wilma Brown, who is celebrating her 100th birthday this year. Back in the 1950s, when living with her mother-in-law, Aunt Wilma created embroidered squares of fabric as her “evening therapy.” She gifted them to Linda in 2007, which inspired her to turn the blocks into a quilt. She also loves the blue Sashiko quilt she entered into the 2022 Kentucky State Fair. The beautiful piece was chosen to be displayed in the lobby in a place of honor at the Kentucky State Fair. She considers it her “life achievement” quilt.  The 2023 Kentucky State Fair is August 17-27  at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, KY. Kentucky State Fair entries will open in early May and information will be available on https://kystatefair.org/participate/compete/. […]

Read More… from National Craft Month: Quilter Linda Lawrence

During March we’re featuring Kentucky State Fair exhibitors in celebration of National Craft Month! Laura Young didn’t realize she’d started a new hobby until it was too late. In October of 2020 Laura’s daughter hit a growth spurt, outgrowing her school uniform time and time again. As a solution, she decided to buy a sewing machine and let out the hems on her daughter’s skirts. She thought it would look better than hand sewing and over time save money on alterations.  It was love at first stitch. Sewing opened up a world of possibilities, allowing her to design and create her own clothing.  “I love the actual construction of sewing garments. It requires my complete focus, which means I tune out everything else going on in the world at the time, so it became a kind of therapy for me and I would spend hours sewing each day,” said Laura. “I feel like a clothing design engineer when positioning cutouts of material that are right sides together. It really is a lovely surprise watching a new pattern come together to form something beautiful.” Interested in learning to sew Laura recommends watching YouTube videos to get started. Her favorite is www.MadeEveryday.com because the instructor uses clear camera angles, provides detailed instructions and also offers both free and affordable patterns. After turning to YouTube, Laura dived into the vibrant sewing community on Facebook, joining groups like SLPCo and Serging for an Answer.  For Laura it’s hard to pick a favorite project because she rarely repeats a pattern. Her latest project is always her favorite, but if pushed she’d choose a dress she made for her daughter that had the ultimate twirl factor.  Blue-Ribbon Winning In 2022 she entered her first Kentucky State Fair. She went three-for-three on her entries, earning a blue ribbon for her reversible Christmas apron as well as both red ribbon and honorable mentions in Fashion Sewing and Wearable Textile Arts. As soon as she heard she’d won, she hopped in the car with her daughter and went straight to the exhibit hall to take a picture with her blue ribbon entry.  Laura is already planning for this year’s Fair, strategically picking a wider variety of categories and buying high-quality fabric in hopes that 2023 will be just as successful as her first year competing.  For Laura, sewing isn’t just a hobby and passion. It’s therapeutic. In the chaos of the world, sewing allows her to focus on the task at hand, creating a beautiful garment.   The 2023 Kentucky State Fair is August 17-27 at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville KY. Entries will open early May and information will be available on https://kystatefair.org/participate/compete/.    […]

Read More… from National Craft Month: Sewist Laura Young

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Kentucky State Fair Photography Department this year! Accomplished Division: www.fairvault.com/displayslideshow.cfm?fairName=ksfgen&slideshowName=Accomplished%20Division Accomplished KY Tourism:   www.fairvault.com/displayslideshow.cfm?fairName=ksfgen&slideshowName=Accomplished%20Tourism Aspiring Division: www.fairvault.com/displayslideshow.cfm?fairName=ksfgen&slideshowName=Aspiring%20Division Aspiring Division KY Tourism: www.fairvault.com/displayslideshow.cfm?fairName=ksfgen&slideshowName=Aspiring%2D%20KY%20Tourism Student Division: www.fairvault.com/displayslideshow.cfm?fairName=ksfgen&slideshowName=Student%20Division Student Division KY Tourism: www.fairvault.com/displayslideshow.cfm?fairName=ksfgen&slideshowName=Student%20KY%20%20Tourism […]

Read More… from Kentucky State Fair 2022 Photography Entries