Woodbury Sewing at the Minnesota State Fair

For Woodbury’s Irvine family, the Minnesota State Fair is a family tradition. “My husband Jim and I met on a blind date at the State Fair,” says Kathy Irvine with a laugh. “We’ve gone every year since then.” Jim and Kathy now attend the fair with their kids, Laura and Peter.Laura, who will be a sophomore this fall at the Math and Science Academy, is an accomplished sewer. At last year’s fair, a purple dress she crafted won several awards. Accolades aside, Laura’s favorite piece wasn’t the dress—it was a beautiful quilt based on the Broken Star pattern. “It’s a rainbow quilt, and it looked really cool, like a kaleidoscope,” Laura says. “My mom taught me how to sew when I was really little, and I like making things and seeing the product of what I’ve made.” She’s working hard on this summer’s entries, including another Broken Star-patterned quilt for Open Class.In years past, Kathy has entered her own impressive sewing at the State Fair. “There are so many entries, even if yours just gets displayed, it’s a thrill,” she says. These days, she’s busy with her kids’ involvement at the fair, including Laura’s llama showing and Peter’s robotics demonstrations. It’s a whirlwind, but you can bet that as soon as the fair is over, the Irvines will be looking forward to next summer.