When Lannea Borcherdt was just a child, she used to watch her grandmother at her treadle sewing machine, fascinated by the stitching together of colored fabrics. Her grandmother taught her to sew, and now, Borcherdt is sharing her passion for quilting with her own granddaughter.
Borcherdt won the coveted “Best of Show” award at last year’s San Miguel Basin Fair — and her granddaughter earned a blue ribbon for her first quilt. Borcherdt, like all ardent quilters, has a huge “stash” or collection of fabrics, and hers takes up the entire loft of her home.
“It’s real creative,” says Borcherdt. “I’ll get a notion at 2 o’clock in the morning and start going through my stash, figure out what I want my colors to be.”
This year Borcherdt has another unique quilting project: she has trimmed English lace doilies and put them in quilt blocks, in a heart pattern. The lace makes it look antique, and the colors are not your typical provincial primary mix, but are black, white and a splash of red.
“It’s probably one that someone would either love or hate,” laughs Borcherdt.
The Open Fair segment of the annual San Miguel Basin Fair and Rodeo is one of the most charming aspects of the weeklong event. Families like Borcherdt’s share their heirlooms and pass down traditional skills that are sometimes lost in urban areas and modern times.
There are all manner of categories, from fine arts like painting and drawing, to quilting, crocheting and needlework, to woodcarving, stained glass and jewelry making, and even floriculture. There are also the lost arts of wreath-making, hand-sewn clothing, and embroidery.
There are also food entries for breads, cakes, and preserves, and the most crowded event every year is the pie and ice cream contest. This year the pie and ice cream contest is scheduled to kick off the fair on Sunday, July 13, where people can come and get a mouthful of the most magnificent meringue imaginable.
Some categories are more modern than traditional — artists are welcome to make anything they can imagine out of recycled materials. Last year’s young winner, Caleb Jones, created something out of dryer lint and earned the blue ribbon.
The fair board is already busy readying for the event, getting new banners, printing this year’s booklet of events and categories, and planning for the show. Sheila Henderson, one of the board members, said that they will accept entries on that Monday and Tuesday (July 14-15) and get them set up for display and judging. She said that this fair is unique because the judges take time to make comments on every item — she also said that artisans and craftspeople should limit entries to three per category, so as not to overwhelm the judges.
Henderson said that anyone interested in making something special for this year’s fair should pick up a booklet at the Extension Office in the Lone Cone Building and get creative.
“Just a reminder: Now’s the time to get started,” says Henderson. “The more things we get, the better fair we have.”
~By D. Dion