A Fair Showing

Day 349: The results are in. I am pleased to announce that I took a second-place ribbon in "Weaving - Shawl, Stole or Shrug" and a FIRST PLACE in "Lace Openwork - Crochet Garments, Thread" in the Washington State Fair (Puyallup Fair). I had my doubts about the McLeod shawl taking a ribbon, knowing that I had not beaten the weft to be perfectly square in the yellow sections and, in fact, that was where I lost points although I still scored high enough to earn the second place in the category. The first place for the apron was a pleasant surprise, and when I went in to pick it up, two of the Fair officials came up to me to offer their compliments. A comment on the judges' score card said, "This is very eye-catching!" These were my only two submissions this year, and I'd say I put up a pretty Fair showing!

Results Are In

Day 328: Today was my first day of duty at the Washington State Fair (Puyallup Fair) for 2018, and I was finally able to find out if I'd taken any prizes for the two pieces of weaving and a bobbin-lace edged handkerchief I'd entered. I've never participated in Home Arts before, although I did take "Honorable Mention" in an annual national-level hardanger contest three times. Last year, I noticed that the Fair was chronically short of bobbin lace, so after talking to one of the docents, I resolved to put in an entry. The process was a little confusing, having to select a "division" and a "class" without a clear idea of what those terms meant, but I got it figured out. I delivered the works to the Fair office last month and settled in to wait, not really expecting to receive any awards. The Fair does not post results on line, so today was the first chance I'd had to find out. I located the green overshot weaving first and squealed like a piglet when I saw a "Second Prize" ribbon hanging from it, but I was having trouble finding the other two pieces. A docent came to my rescue, and to my great delight, I found another "Second Prize" ribbon on the second weaving and a "First Prize" on the bobbin lace. I will definitely be entering again next year!