Zarn earns top prize at Nobles County Fair

WORTHINGTON — Roger Zarn estimates he has completed more than 70 counted cross-stitch pieces in the last 20-plus years, and he has the brag book — and a growing collection of ribbons — to prove it.

In his fourth year of exhibiting in the open class show at the Nobles County Fair in Worthington, the retired Zarn earned champion honors in the fine arts division for a cross-stitch nativity scene he made from a Stoney Creek pattern. A second piece, featuring a school house quilt pattern designed by Paula Vaughan, earned a blue ribbon.

The two works of art, on display through Sunday at the fair, are among six pieces Zarn has cross-stitched just since early January.

“You’ve got to make sure you’ve got one (project) ready for him when he finishes one, otherwise he’s lost,” said Zarn’s wife, Marge.

Though not a cross-stitcher herself, she said they both benefit from her husband’s crafty hobby. Their Worthington home is filled with beautifully framed pieces that show off their love of patriotism, teddy bears, flowers, birds and the seasons.

“I wouldn’t get rid of any of them,” said Marge.

“There’s that old saying — they’re all like my children, I love them all,” added Zarn.

A native of Worthington, Zarn was drafted into the Navy and made a career in the military, working on nuclear submarines for 23 years. He received a medical retirement in 1986 after being diagnosed with Krohn’s Disease. The following year he had surgery, and was forced to take a six-week restful recovery. Needing something to occupy his time, he picked up a needle and thread and taught himself how to cross-stitch.

“I did it off and on for a few years until about 1990,” said Zarn.

He picked up the hobby once again in 2004, after retiring from his job at a Connecticut shipyard. When the couple moved to Worthington in November 2005, it was cross-stitching that kept him occupied through the long Minnesota winter.

“I don’t watch daytime TV,” he said, adding that he prefers to stitch during the day with natural light and then watch sports or other shows on TV at night.

“Being retired you can do that,” he said.

Back when they lived in Connecticut, Marge said they didn’t have a lot of open wall space for decorating.

“Now I say, ‘I need something on this cupboard,’” she said, and they find a project he can stitch to fill the space.

The Zarns are always on the lookout for new ideas and patterns to stitch for themselves or family. While they do a lot of their searching on the Internet, they also like to visit needlework shops during their travels.

Zarn has about three or four cross-stitch projects waiting in his stash, and has finished 10 of the 12 patterns in Paula Vaughan’s Quilts for All Seasons book, which features one design for each month of the year. Right now, he is working on projects that will be Christmas gifts.

Zarn’s father, Ray “Zip” Zarn, also enjoyed needle arts, although his forte was crochet.

“Back in the ’50s, he crocheted a full-size bedspread,” said Zarn, adding that his dad earned a champion ribbon at the Nobles County Fair for the project.

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