A Tie-Dye Weekend

We had our family weekend together this past weekend, and this time around we attended the Oregon Country Fair. This is a tradition for Mae's family, and she grew up in area. Her brother has a booth at the fair, and the booth has been a part of their family tradition for over 40 years.

The rest of my family had attended the fair before, but this was a first for me. We followed these people in, and their costumes were on the milder side.

Approximately 3/4 of the people attending were in some sort of wild costume. This was Matthew's look.

Some of the things we saw were eye-popping and mind-boggling. In this next image, Erik is standing to the right of characters from the Wizard of Oz who were walking on tall stilts.

The Oregon Country Fair is a huge craft fair. The things available for purchase there were truly beautifully hand-crafted. There were some quilts, mostly being used as drapes. I didn't see many for sale, although there were a few small quilts and potholders. Here's a screen shot of the map I took off the fair website.

Although the print is tiny, it was surprisingly readable when I used my fingers to enlarge it. Also, around the fairgrounds one could find more maps with the helpful "You Are Here" signs. The glittery green strip running through the map is the lazy Long Tom River.

This next image shows Mae's brother's booth where he sells tie-dye t-shirts, socks, caps, Frisbees, and lots of other tie-dyed items. That's Valerie and Mike off to the right and Matthew  with the backpack right in the middle. It was helpful knowing where the river was because this booth was right next to the river. If we just kept walking until we were alongside the river, we could navigate back to the booth. It was a nice respite from the crowds since we could go back behind and find chairs, beverages, food and Mae's family. Above is a balcony where one could watch the goings on from a safe and peaceful distance.

Here are some things that were available for purchase, and it was all beautifully crafted, and fairly expensive. This booth sold fantastic guitars.

Seemingly out of place in this booth was this antique sewing machine. This was the first day of the fair, and so maybe someone was actually using this.

Crowd control was amazing. There were hundreds of smiling volunteers who kept folks moving along and moving out of the way to allow large pieces of equipment through. It was all very organized, while seeming completely chaotic, and it was all done with good humor.

This next image shows a place where volunteers and vendors, many of whom were camping there, could get hot showers. The water was heated with a wood fire. That's Mike on the left checking it all out.

I loved this next quote. I'm showing the sign, and I wish it were more readable because I'd like to be sure to give credit to the person who said it.

If you're having trouble reading it, it says:

The value of art as a process

is sometimes more important

than art as a product.

Truer words were never spoken. How many of us will never win a big quilt show, but still gain so much gratification purely out of the act of sewing and making quilts? It's certainly true for me.

As we walked along, I noticed this pattern on the ground. (Sorry about my finger over the lens.)

Looking up, I saw this:

And then there was this: Condom Roses.

Here's a close-up...yep, they're the real thing.

It seems as good a time as any to say that clothing was optional here...I had the good sense to keep my clothes on. And, let me tell you, there are some body parts plainly visible that I would like to unsee.

Here are some sock monkeys. If you look closely, you can see some are wearing crocheted bikinis. Of course they are.

Some things just defied explanation.

There was beautiful pottery of all kinds, and I was sorely tempted by some of it. With Mike retired though, I'm learning to avoid spending money on things I really don't need....and there is almost nothing I need.

Here, you could purchase some of the wings we saw coming in.

Who says unicorns don't exist?

Read the sign carefully to catch the acronym.

Of course, I took pictures of every cat I saw.

This next one was a planter that hung on the wall. You could plant something like an asparagus fern here and give it fur on the top of its head.

This was the only thing I bought...a refrigerator magnet. I chose the rolling pin because they didn't have any cats. The squirrel was tempting.

And now we're home with lots of putting away to do. When I arrived, I found the third panel of the Girls Getaway project in the mailbox. There are six of these, still being designed. I probably won't start on this project until I have all six in my possession.

And there you go. The past week has been so incredibly busy, and I'm glad for some smooth sailing ahead, and essentially, for the rest of the summer. I've reported for my jury duty orientation, and I'll say that our county makes it as painless as it can possibly be. I've already made my first call in, and I'm not required to report. The next call-in day won't be until Tuesday evening, with the possibility that I'll report on Wednesday. I can request days off seven days in advance, and so we might try to squeeze in a camping trip at month's end. Other than that, it's back to business-as-usual tomorrow, and high time. I'm looking forward to allowing boredom to set in.