Entering a State Fair competition for first-time entrants only and walking away with a blue ribbon is quite an incredible feat. Crafting phenom Kathryn Williams did just that at the 2023 N.C. State Fair, winning the Cross-Stitch on Aida competition in the Adult First-Time Cross-Stitch Entrant division. From embroidery and drawing to flower arranging and costume-making, Kathryn has dabbled in many different art forms throughout her life. Art was her favorite school subject as a child, and some of her childhood pieces were inducted into two children’s museum collections.
“I like anything that has an outlet where the normal rules of society don’t necessarily apply,” said Kathryn. “It’s a way to let yourself go and make something that can either be fantastical or represent the real world. I like that ability because people can use it to be imaginative and think outside the box.”
Originally from New Jersey, Kathryn first came to North Carolina to study graphic design and photography at Elon University, where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She returned to New Jersey after graduating but realized she missed the change of pace she experienced in North Carolina. Kathryn decided to permanently move to the Tar Heel State when a local job opening led to a position at Wegmans Food Markets.
Kathryn was first exposed to the wonders of the N.C. State Fair when a friend brought her along in 2021. She was immediately drawn in by the crowds of people, pig races, lumberjacks and delicious food — specifically the funnel cakes.
“The fair has a distinct smell because there are all the foods you normally wouldn’t have in one place,” said Kathryn. “It brought me back to a lot of my summers at the Jersey Shore. I was sold!”
Not only was Kathryn surprised by the nostalgic connections to her home state, but she was fascinated by the variety of creative opportunities for artists like herself.
“I saw that there were all these competitions available for crafts that I was interested in – crafts I thought no one cared about anymore,” said Kathryn. “You don’t hear many people say they love to cross-stitch often, but after seeing the State Fair’s pieces and knowing I was working on one of my own, I figured competing could be a good thing for me to do. If anything, my artwork would be seen by tons of people.”
Kathryn’s passion for cross-stitch stems from her close-knit relationship with her late mom, Kathleen Williams, who was her biggest idol and a fellow avid crafter.
“I don’t remember a time when she wasn’t making something and her creations always left me in awe,” said Kathryn. “She made a ton of our family’s Halloween decorations and costumes, yearly ornaments for my Girl Scout troop and color guard flags for my sister. Her specialty was cross-stitching.”
Some of Kathryn’s fondest memories include going to fabric stores with her mom and picking out cross-stitching kits of her own. Always the overachiever, Kathryn would want to bring home the most extravagant patterns to try out. Completing these tedious patterns takes a lot of time and practice, but she understood the demand and wanted to take on the challenge anyway.
“Cross-stitch is unique because it’s rooted in more traditional patterns and hasn’t become a mainstream craft as much as crocheting and knitting has,” said Kathryn. “It requires an extremely detail-oriented personality – I can’t multitask cross-stitching and watching a movie because that’s how locked in you have to be.”
Cross-stitch is a type of hand embroidery that involves creating a pattern using X-shaped stitches on fabric. The stitches form tiles that come together to create a picture. Kathryn’s blue-ribbon creation contains 89,000 stitches.
She first got her hands on the pattern over 20 years ago when she was 12 years old. Her mom purchased it after Kathryn fell in love with the kit in a store, promising she’d finish it. Kathryn got started on the cross-stitching right away but only had the base completed at the time of her mom’s passing.
“I just didn’t want to do it anymore,” she said. “I put that kit away and didn’t look at it for two decades. I actually stopped cross-stitching altogether.”
Kathryn found the pattern when packing up to move, discolored and stained with greasy oil marks, and decided it was time to take another stab at it. So, she rebought the thread and started from scratch, finishing the pattern after two years.
Even though Kathryn is an accomplished artist, she was not expecting her cross-stitch to take home the first-place prize. When she went to the fair to find her piece, Kathryn’s focus was mainly on admiring the other art submissions. Her friend, Laura Green, was the first to notice Kathryn’s cross-stitch, which happened to be displayed in a special roped-off section of the exhibit. She called Kathryn over, turned her towards her artwork with the attached blue ribbon and perfectly captured Kathryn’s shock and excitement towards her award.
“My jaw dropped, and I just stood there and stared at it,” she said. “I submitted my artwork for fun so people could see something pretty. It was surreal to see it and know that someone found my cross-stitch as worthy as I had hoped it would be. I credit all of it to my mom.”
Between life milestones like her promotion at work and recently adopting a new puppy, Kathryn can’t dedicate as much time to her ongoing cross-stitch projects as she’d like. However, once she finishes more creations, Kathryn can definitely see herself entering future N.C. State Fair cross-stitch competitions. She encourages all local artists to give the State Fair competitions a try.
“I want people to pursue their passions,” said Kathryn. “It doesn’t matter if it’s the cool, hip thing at the time that will make you go viral. If you love it, you should explore that and have fun with it. Don’t let anything take the joy out of your hobbies!”
The deadline to enter competitions for the 2024 N.C. State Fair is Sept. 15, so now is the time to spread the word to your friends and family. Detailed information on competitions can be found at www.ncstatefair.org. Furthermore, while planning your fair trip, schedule some time to swing by the Kerr Scott Building and Commercial and Education Buildings and view the work of North Carolina’s finest artists.
Anthony Baby Maggie for the first time for the state fair bro