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Hayden — One of Eleanore Larson's quilts is a patchwork of red, blue, purple, orange, yellow and green images of smiley faces, flowers, cats, turkeys, teddy bears and Santas, among others.

But it has a simple consistency throughout.

"It has 3,794 pieces, postage stamp-sized," Larson, a 38-year resident of Steamboat Springs, said Wednesday. "It was a challenge I endeavored to get done. It was fun. I used all my tiny scraps."

Larson's quilt was one of many entered in one of the seemingly endless categories for home arts competitions at the 95th Routt County Fair in Hayden.

People trickled into Exhibition Hall from 1 to 8 p.m. Wednesday with a variety of entries in categories including fruits and vegetables, baked goods, artwork, canned goods, clothing, crafts and hobbies, farm products, flowers and plants, photography, woodworking and wine and beer.

"This stuff is brought in from people's gardens, kitchens and workshops," said Karen Massey, a Colorado State University extension agent in Routt County. "Some people spend the whole year preparing their exhibits. You just never know.

"There's a place for everybody here," she added. "This is all about the pride of creating something special and showing it off."

This year's fair is the 39th for Exhibition Hall Superintendent Linda Long. She said the great thing about home arts competitions is that they show off the talent of entrants from throughout the county.

"It's a great family get-together for the community, to see people you haven't seen in a while," she said. "It's one of the only places where people can show their wares and not be a professional. It's been that way for 95 years."

Amateur artist J-Jay Johnson, who owns Leisure Mountain Studio in Yampa, an art gallery and organic coffee house, entered several of his black and white porcelain pieces Wednesday.

Johnson said he's trying to get more exposure for his artwork to make some money and be able to spend more time on his art and less time as a contractor.

"I could be a more serious artist if I didn't have to be a nail banger," he joked.

The home arts event even attracts those not initially planning on creating something for entry. That was the case for 13-year-old twins Abbey and Rachel Pierce, of Steamboat, and friend Katie Huselton, also 13 and from Steamboat.

The trio created an elaborate, 1-foot tall Lego house, complete with front and side yards, a garage and a roof that could be removed to see the intricately made furniture and appliances inside. Abbey said they initially built the house as a cure for boredom.

"After we started building it, we said, 'This is pretty cool, we should enter it,'" Rachel said. "It would be cool if we won, but we didn't build it to win."

David and Terry Denton, of Steamboat, entered snow peas and turnips Wednesday evening, in addition to a pen-and-ink drawing and black and white photography earlier in the day. In the past five years, they've entered beaded jewelry, jellies and produce.

"We keep trying different categories," Terry Denton said.

Steamboat resident Sureva Towler, a 40-year fair veteran, brought her granddaughter, Rachel Keller, who's visiting from Lawrence, Kan.

"She had never been to a county fair, and I said, 'That's terrible. That's a terrible thing,'" Towler said.

Towler entered a quilt, and she said the two entered some baked goods, including a burnt pineapple upside down cake. About her first fair experience, Keller, 19, said it was cool that everyone could show off their hobbies.

"I've never seen some of this stuff before," she said.

Home arts competitions attracted entrants of all ages. Two-year-old Kyra Wilson, with help from her mother, Robin, entered several art projects this year.

"I made a skier girl," said Kyra, beaming as she displayed the girl made from a toilet paper roll, a face drawn with purple magic marker, and Popsicle sticks for legs.

Robin Wilson, putting her photographs on display, said she has entered items for more than seven years. She appreciated feedback from the judges, who she said helped her photography improve each year. But with her daughter, it was an entirely different experience.

"With Kyra, it's fun," Wilson said. "We can make things together at home and show them and see what other people have done. It's our favorite time."

Massey said there is a lot of declining involvement in county fairs across the country, but Routt County has continued to maintain its annual event.

"In this declining economy, there have been questions about how much the county can support the fair," she said. "People will come down and see how much value this has for the community. I can't think of any other event that pulls such a diverse group of people from all over the county."