What the Judge👩🏼‍⚖️ Said, 2024

We just had our county fair, August 5th through 11th! Having grown up in 4-H, I still get the urge to enter my latest projects in the county fair!!!🎡

This year I entered 5 quilts and 3 other fiber entries, 8 items total. It was the same quilt judge as the last two years, and once again, she had a lot of comments. I received: 1 Award of Excellence, 4 Blues/1st Place, 2 Reds/2nd Place, 1 White/3rd Place and 1 Pink/4th Place.

Below I have photos of the items I entered, the category it was entered in, the ribbon it received, the judge's comments in quotes, and my response below that. We don't get to talk with the judge personally and we don't see the comments until we pick up our items at the end of the fair.

1. Rugs--Crocheted--Blue Ribbon/1st Place: No comments. This was a different judge from the quilt judge.

It takes me one year to collect and make these fabric selvage rugs. This year I made TWO, thanks to my friend, Lynn, who has made 300 charity quilts this year! She removes the selvages at 1" and gives me a whole mountain of selvages at once. Combined with my own selvages, I was able to make a larger rug, plus get a better Roy G. Biv gradation on this rug. The finished size is 28" x 50". 

I've made 8 of these selvage rugs so far and this one is my best to date, thanks to the colors and perfecting the design. Here's a photo of this rug open all the way, since you could only see a small bit in the counter at the fair.⤵️ Here's a link to how I make these rugs and the no-knot joins: Crocheted Selvage Rug.

2. 60" x 80" Quilt or Larger, Pieced & Machine Quilted by Entrant--Pink/4th Place: "Intriguing color palette is well balanced. All intersections and points should align. Quilting design is well done and unifies the theme. Excellent binding."

I was disappointed to get a pink ribbon on this one.🫢 Pink is scraping the bottom! It's true, some of the points don't match perfectly. Sandi, the needlecraft superintendent, said all the quilters setting up were loving this one in particular that "even had strawberries in the quilting", which made me feel better!

3.  60" x 80" or Larger, Scrap Quilt, Using at Least 40 Different Fabrics--White Ribbon/3rd Place: "The choice of fabric colors in this polychromatic piece creates a diagonal design that is very effective. Excellent binding. Long seams are straight. Variegated thread color is a good choice in the curved quilting."

Not sure why it got a 3rd place other than it was a big category and there was a lot of competition. This is one of my Rainbow Scrap Challenge finishes from 2023.

4. Quilt Less Than 60" x 80", Machine Quilted by Entrant--Award of Excellence/Blue/1st Place: "Bold monochromatic piece. Change in value with the cornerstones adds interest. Quilting is well done and dynamic. Excellent binding."

This was a big category again, which included all quilt sizes from baby to throw quilts. I debated between entering a baby quilt or this quilt. On advice from family, I went with this quilt at the last minute. The visual impact was a plus. 

5. Wall Quilts 249" Perimeter and Smaller, Pieced and Machine Quilted by Entrant--Red/2nd Place: "Vibrant color palette. Contrasts well on the light background. Try to reduce bulk at intersections. Piecing is well done! Excellent binding!" 

I spun the seams at the intersections. I quilted this wall hanging fairly dense, which flattens out any natural bulk.🤷🏻‍♀️I do all my bindings by machine nowadays, and this judge said excellent binding on several of my quilts, so I guess she's okay with machine finished bindings!

6. Table Runner or Two Placemats--Blue/1st Place: "Excellent Piecing! Mitered corners are handled well. Color placement is well balanced."

This was made from fabric I won on Michelle's blog, From Bolt To Beauty, and is a quilt pattern from the book, Master Your Stripology Rulers. 

7. Sewing Other Than Garments, Purse/Tote--Red/2nd Place: "Nice colors and choice of fabrics. Zipper well done, top stitching excellent. Great job!"

My DH said--she must've given the blue to someone else.🤷🏻‍♀️

8. Hand Spinning, Not Otherwise Listed--Blue/1st Place: No comments. This was a different judge than the quilt judge.

I wasn't sure what category to enter this "fabric twine" in--it didn't involve sewing and it wasn't macrame, so I went with "Hand Spinning/Not Otherwise Listed". I guess the judge was okay with that!

My niece entered a loom knit hat and matching cowl this year and was very happy to get a Blue Ribbon/1st Place! She started loom knitting baby hats during the shut down in 2020 and has now knit over 1,500 hats! She donates them to Jack's Basket, where they give baskets of baby goodies to newborns with Down syndrome, and the Neo-natal section at the hospital. Gretchen is a young adult with Down syndrome and is passionate about knitting these hats, praying for others, and working at Chick-Fil-A!

Now, a few more photos of the quilts on display at our county fair last week. Stick around to the very end to see the 4 Champion winners, two of them made by my co-workers at the quilt shop!

These are the Grand Champion, below right,⤵️ and Reserve Grand Champion, below left.⤵️ The Grand Champion is appliquéd dresses made from handkerchiefs. This one would've gone to the state fair to represent our county, but it was made by a quilter from an adjacent county, which is legit to enter in our county fair but can not represent our county at the state fair. 

The Reserve Grand Champion below, left, ⤵️ was made by Sandi who works at the LQS with me. It is her own design. The judge was especially taken by the spikey border, of which I agree! Sandi's patterns are all made from her template, Quilted Jewel. Her website is Irish Chain.

These are the "Over 65" Champion quilts. Not sure why they differentiate between over 65 and under 65!!! Below left⤵️ is the Over 65 Grand Champion, made by Barb who also works at the LQS with me and custom quilted by Sandi, the winner from above and also works at our LQS! This one will represent our county at the state fair. And below right⤵️ is the Over 65 Reserve Grand Champion.

And by the way, my premium check was $24. Did you go to the county fair this year? Did you enter anything?

Grace and peace!!! ~Nancy

Check out the quilt parties at Midweek Makers, Wednesday Wait Loss, Needle & Thread Thursday, Put Your Foot Down, TGIFF, Finished Or Not Friday, Off the Wall Friday, From Bolt To Beauty, Patchwork & Quilts, Oh Scrap, Handmade Monday, Sew & Tell, Design Wall Monday, Monday Musings.