Fair Inspired Goodies

The last few weeks have been so busy! I've been working hard sewing more stuff for the upcoming craft show:

Celebrating a four year old:

 

And doing fun stuff like going to the State Fair! I'm not sure who these strange fair-going kids belong to:

 

You just never know what you'll see at the fair.  Take a look at these prize winning carrots! Really makes me want to bust out some ranch for dipping. (in their defense, this was day 6 of their showing)

 

Here's a funny chicken:

 

And a friendly camel:

Some of the usual crazy fair food offerings:

 

Then this weekend was our little burg's fall festival complete with rides and more nasty fair food. Okay, not all fair food is nasty, some of it's pretty good. Like my favorite Indian Tacos, roasted corn, caramel apples...and this yummy concoction. Two years running it's my son's lunch choice a the state fair. They call it a "Barbecue Parfait." It is layered baked beans, mashed potatoes and pulled pork, drizzled with bbq sauce on top. Looks like a yummy dessert!

So, this last week, we decided to make our own at home. Simple enough! Stuck some pork in the crockpot with bbq sauce, whipped up some potatoes and warmed some beans, then layered it in a glass.  

 

My other fair goody wasn't something we ever ate AT the fair, it was on the way. There is a bakery in an Amish town on the road up to the fair. It was always a tradition for us to stop and get some of their marvelous cinnamon rolls. Well, last year after we got home from the fair, we learned that the bakery was closing :(. No more gooey, nutty doughy rolls to complete our day at the fair. So sad. Then, a few days ago I spotted this recipe and couldn't stop thinking about it. I was craving that doughy cinnamon something. I think my brain automatically expects me to overindulge in some cinnamon roll type treat mid-September. I just had to make it. I did, and it was SO good.

Apple Walnut Pull-apart Bread...this kind of sweet treat is my weakness.

 

So, September is winding down, there is another somebody with a birthday coming up, then October hits with crazy Halloween busy-ness (a kid wants to be spaghetti & meatballs for Halloween....good luck to me making that costume). Then November will be upon us and with it, the Craft Show!! Yikes!! Slow down time!!

Sewing, sewing, sewing

I'm so excited to report that my sister & I have been given a booth at one of the biggest, busiest Christmas craft bazaars in town! It was quite a nerve-wracking summer waiting to hear for sure. We applied in April and were supposed to hear back by June 30. What a joke! June 30th came & went. So did July 30th. So much for sewing the summer away! It was a frustrating wait, but finally just about 2 weeks ago we found out that we will indeed have a booth. That means it's time to kick our rears in gear and get some stuff made!

I decided to first focus on making purses and some roll-up tote bags. I ordered some really pretty fabric last spring, thinking positively and planning ahead for our booth. I was excited to finally use it. So, last weekend I was very productive and completed four purses:

 

And four roll-up tote bags:

 

Doing four at a time assembly line style actually went rather quickly. And I was on such a sewing roll, I went ahead and finished up this chevron mini quilt that has been laying around forever just begging to be assembled & quilted:

 

Just a fun little scrap-buster to display on my "new" quilt rack.

After finishing up the bags up I am so excited to make some more.  I have NO idea how well they'll sell, so it's hard to know how many to make. If I have leftovers I suppose I can try to sell them on etsy, so I'd like to error on the side of making too many.

Here's the fabric for my next batch of bags:

I already have the pieces cut, I just have to squeeze some sewing time into this busy holiday weekend.