Our local County Fair....

...is now over and at the last minute I decided to enter a couple of items.
This was last years entry.  I felt very blessed when I was awarded all the top honors.  Sooooo this year I wasn't sure I would even enter anything .... how could I top that huh?  ;-)
But then I was asked if I would be willing to help the judge again this year by writing down her comments.   Of course I said "Yes!"   That's a lot of fun and I learn a lot.
And ...... if I'm going to be there anyway..... might as well enter something.  
This is how my Bento Box did:  

 Yes I did win a clean sweep again this year.  WooHoo!!
Blue ribbon: Machine pieced/prof quilted
Best Pieced Quilt:  no ribbon
Best Quilt:  no ribbon

And for the second year in a row the award for the Best Quilt
was ..... a pair of Gingher scissors. (???)
Wow!  That makes TWO gingher's that I have now won.
And I'm not even a seamstress.  I'm a quilter!  hahaha
I definitely appreciate the Shopping Voucher.  That will be put to very good use.

And just for fun I grabbed this table topper to enter.
It did manage to place second even though it is not my best work.
The pinwheels in the corners were cut off by the binding and I missed the 'ditch' in a few places when quilting but.... I'm still very pleased with the ribbon.  

I will, however rethink about entering anything again next year.  I just feel that the object of entering something in a county fair is to hopefully come home with a ribbon or two or three that you can hang up and enjoy.  It definitely isn't for the prize money for sure.   Nor is it for a piece of paper.  It's about the ribbons.
I think our local fair board could do a better job for everyone who takes the time to place an entry....no matter the category.   :-(

I hope you're having a great day. Glad you stopped by.....Linda

Did you see that block in the corner?

The one that had the outside blue round right up against the blue border.
<<<This one.

Well it just drove me crazy!!
I have no idea why I got it twisted around like I did.   But there it was and I didn't like it one bit!
So I fixed it today.


This is much better don't you think?

NOW the top is finished and as soon as I clean up the strings and give it a good press I can get it to my quilter.

Last night was our quilt guild meeting and I was able to share my CherryLime Mash  quilt that won at the Fair.   We talked a bit about some of the things the judge looked for.  She commented a bit about the piecing and the importance of matching seams and points.  Some quilts had beautiful fabrics and a lovely pattern and had been quilted nicely... but the quilter hadn't paid attention to matching some of the seams.  
     I'd have to say that the one thing that kept coming up over and over again was the binding and how it should be full and well sewn.  She stressed that not only did it look and feel better but a full binding doesn't wear as badly as one that is too empty.  She also commented about sewing the binding by hand or by machine.  In her opinion she said as long as either are done well it makes no difference to her.  She prefers hand sewn but wouldn't mark down a machine bound quilt.  She also laughed and said not every judge would feel that way.   I'm so glad I was able to help that day and I feel confident now about my quilting abilities.  I do need to consciously work on matching edges, points and seams a bit better sometimes but I do feel like I'm on the right track and have learned some lessons well.   I'm looking forward to next year and starting to think about my next fair entrie(s).  Hummmm....

Thanks for stopping by....Linda

My County Fair entry

Our County Fair was held this last weekend and our quilt guild helped check in the Open Class quilts and other items.  I offered to help write down the judges comments as she went over each entry.  I enjoyed it so much and it was very informative.
This is the first time I've ever entered one of my quilts at the Fair so I really didn't know what to expect.
Soooo after she had judged all the machine pieced quilts she narrowed down the Blue, Red and White winners.

My CherryLime Mash won a Blue Ribbon!

WOOHOO!!
My first County Fair entry and my first ribbon.
But.... that's not all!!  
I also won Best Pieced Quilt
&  Best Overall Quilt

Needles to say..... I am beyond proud.

 See the 'two' Gingher scissors?  I guess the gal in charge of providing the awards wasn't expecting one person to win both awards.  haha 
Thanks for stopping by....Linda