Forty years of blue ribbons at the fair

Entering exhibits at the Deschutes County Fair is a habit for Sisters resident, Ruth Rowe. She is one of the stalwarts who keep the long-held tradition of textile crafts alive and well, faithfully entering her embroidery projects for the past 40 years.

In an era of digitized and machine-assisted handwork, Rowe, 90, holds her embroidery hoop in arthritic hands, creating linens decorated with fine stitching. Her family cherishes the finished projects; each generation lays their heads on embroidered pillowcases and places their meals on hand-embellished tablecloths.

Rowe learned her craft at her grandfather's knee, when she was five years old. He embroidered as a pastime, for something to do during the long Colorado winters. He entered his work in their local fair in Pueblo, Colorado.

The Rowe family - Ruth, her late husband, Ray, and their six children - moved to Sisters in 1968. Living first in the Brooks-Scanlon camp, the family eventually moved into Sisters. Wherever she lives, Rowe keeps her hoop close by.

"If I've got troubles, I can do this (the embroidery). I just lose myself in it," she said.

All of her children, even her two sons, learned to embroider. Daughter Diana Pepperling admits none of them are as skilled as their mother.

Her eyes are sharp, and though her fingers are marred by the arthritis, they are nimble and move quickly. Rowe credits her hobby with keeping those parts of her body fit.

One of her finest projects, a lavishly satin-stitched tablecloth, took Best of Show the year it was entered, and now graces the linen cupboard of Rowe's daughter, Lee Warfield. Every year, at least one of Rowe's entries captures a blue ribbon. When the exhibits are brought home from the show and passed on to family, the ribbons go with the item.

This year, her entry was a cloth book of inspirational Bible verses.

Rowe's children tease her about her tendency to fret that she won't bring home a ribbon from the fair. It hasn't happened yet, and doesn't look likely to happen anytime soon.