A Fair Update - Mixed Results

Well, I have to start by saying that I am a little bit disappointed in the results at the fair. Fire Flower was my main piece, and it got nothing. After looking at the other needlework entered this year - and I think there was substantially less than last year - I am pretty sure it was so far out of class for the entries, that the judges had no idea what to make of it - so they ignored it. There are only 3 categories for cross stitch at this fair - 14ct or less, 16-18ct, and 19ct or greater, and I saw all three 1st place pieces. One was Fish City, and I assume it was in the 19ct or Greater category - it was a huge piece, so I could be wrong, but at any rate, it was pretty awesome:
Another 1st place winner was a rendition of one of Van Gogh's Starry Night's. Now, the work was very nicely done, well framed, but the conversion itself was really, really not very nice - the yellows were all green, and it was very, very blocky and cartoony. So I'm not sure what the judges were going for on this piece, unless sheer size is what won the category? I think it was in the 16-18 category, with my FF (32ct over/2). I didn't take a picture of it - I was getting left behind. It's finished size was about half of Fish City, slightly bigger than FF, with matting and framing. I would guess the stitch count to be a bit less than my FF, if that had anything to do with it....

But I do have to wonder who was doing the judging by the 3rd category 1st place winner (which I also did not take a picture of). It was a very small piece, maybe 4x5, on 14 or 11ct aida. It was a very simple piece, some religious piece that I didn't fully grasp, something with a cross and I assume a piece of scripture. It was cartoonish, too - not primitive, just kind of crude and back-woods-ish, if you know what I mean - like a $2 kit from the Dollar Store, made in China. But what absolutely kills me is the condition of the piece; it was chock full of creases, from hoop or in hand, I don't know, and the dollar-store frame it was in, it was not even centered or stretched - I think they just laid it on the frame, and put the back whatever on, and called it good. And it won 1st place???? We were all stumped - the boys both just looked at me and said "You didn't win anything? With that? How can that be?" Which I took to be quite shocking to them, since they pretty much ignore my works. So I am going to ease my bruised ego with the fact that I must have exceeded the sophistication level of the N. GA Fair with my piece, which with the positive/negative idea alone, made it at least as difficult a work as Fish City, even if it was only 1 color. Personally, I'm stumped...

As for my other 7 entries, I did place 5 - my jewelry, my sister's 2006 Christmas present (long story) took 1st in the Jewelry category. I wasn't that pleased with this piece, to be quite honest, and may actually modify it again before I send it to my sister - but another thing I didn't get - there was only 1 jewelry category, and there were 2 First Place pieces, as well as a second & third. Mine this year and this other 1st place were definitely not on par with last year's entries - I'm wondering if the gas & economy issues kept a lot of participants away? Anyway, 1 of my 3 pics got a 3rd place, and I thought for sure my dragonfly would have placed, too, but it didn't. My set of 4 Dragon Dreams ornies placed 2nd in the 4-ornie Category, and my single Wiehenberg ornie placed 3rd in the 1-ornie category - they both were the only stitched ornaments. My little purple Grumpy Dragon flatfold won 3rd in the 14ct Category (losing to that wrinkled mess???). I have an album set up with all the pictures I took last night - exhibits and attractions - here: http://rifestitch.multiply.com/photos/album/54/N._GA_Fair_2008

So, I placed 5 out of 8 entries, but wow, the competition, from my biased view, was not what it was last year, and neither was the judging, from what I saw. If only my FF had fit the size limitation for the more-local fair (which is a much more affluent part of town) - I think I could have done much better there, but FF was 1/8" too big to go there :( So I will do some rethinking about next year and see if I can't get some stuff framed to fit in the other fair's size requirements. And if nothing else, I will have several entries into Silkweaver's Showcase this year, since I WILL FINISH Bouquet for Cheryl and The Castle and Halloween Fairy. I will also have a Long Dog finish not too far off, though I suspect not in time for this year's showcase. And suddenly, I've become a glory hound - how did that happen?? I don't mean to come off that way, but I guess it does sound like that, doesn't it? I am really just amazed that the works entered this year, aside from Fish City, were so 1990's; it's like the shrinkage we've seen in needlework stores and supplies has also affected the quality of work being done around here - something I am NOT in favor of, as you might imagine. At the very least, I have hoped that the last couple of years' exhibits have exposed more people to this craft, in an attempt to keep it from dying; I think I missed the mark this year - or I'm too late here....

Talk Like A Pirate Day - Be A Pirate

You Are:
Ugly Louise Lofton
(formerly known as Karen)

You have X-Ray vision and look good in Spandex, but you can't fly worth a damn or scramble an egg to save your life. You never sweat even when you use your super strength. If you could cloud men's minds we'd all be in trouble. You also use your X-Ray vision to ogle guy's bodies in the grocery store. You can travel in time, but you only do it to cheat at horse racing. Your super-boobs are every man's dream and you are without a doubt the kinkiest Superhero of them all.

Here's lots of fun Pirate Stuff:
http://www.talklikeapirate.com/links.html#piratename
I found this Pirate Generator here:
http://stupidstuff.org/main/piratemaker.htm

So get off yer duffs an' talk like a gentleman o' fortune!

Never Forget

Some may say it's opening old wounds, but I say, better that than forgetting, because someday, someone will try to get you to believe it never happened...

http://911.navexpress.com/

In Remembrance - to all those lost on that day and since, helping to restore and fighting to keep freedom.... It may not mean anything to you, but it means the world to me.

Picture Perfect ~*~WET~*~

I just haven't been coordinated enough lately to participate in PPF - new computers, moving pics around, some on CD, some on other machines, and mainly, no time!! But when I saw this week's, I thought for sure I could come up with something pretty easily... Well, I had the perfect shot in mind, from a soccer game last February, when all of the boys were just drenched, with sleet & drizzle, actually, not just rain, the refs were soaked, we had puddles on the field - the look on the face of my son, with his hair plastered to his face as he went up to head the ball was the epitome of *WET*. And I can't find it.

So, for Plan B, I thought, gee, maybe something in the pictures I've taken outside this year - the creek, the wet dog who plays in the creek, and then I thought of this one:

Click picture to go to the original full size...

This was taken after a thunderstorm had passed through in June, and the sky was golden and looked as if it was lit with fire. So I took the camera outside to get shots of the sky. I turned to see these normally bright white lilies had taken on the color of the sky, still dripping from the brief downpour our drought-stricken area received. Additional pictures in the series are here.

*WET* has taken on a whole new idea here north of Atlanta; we are currently standing at 16" below the normal rainfall we should have by this time of the year, even with the 5" we managed to get out of Tropical Storm Fay almost 2 weeks ago. And that does not take into account the 20" or so we were short last year. Other areas have gotten considerably more than we have - even Atlanta itself is not quite as bad as we are, just 40 miles north. But we have Hannah, Ike, and Josephine lining up out there in the Atlantic - we definitely don't need any of the destruction those storms are likely to produce (like the tornadoes we got from Fay), but could we ever use a bit of rain....

Welcome to

P I C T U R E P E R F E C T

Each week a new theme will be posted here on Friday morning. You are invited to put up your best picture on your own blog with that theme in mind, and you do have the whole weekend to post your picture, so there is no rush

Remember it should be just ONE and ORIGINAL, taken by YOU,and not off the internet,

Then come back and leave a comment on this page in the comment box so that everyone can link to your blog and see your photo. Don't forget to OPEN your page to EVERYONE for that day.

By all means mention your camera and lens used, and if the picture has been altered or enhanced in any way, so we can all learn and improve our techniques.

Try and post a decent size picture on your blog page for an increased WOW factor. Often so much is lost or distorted if the size is too big or too small.

Remember this is NOT a competition, this about being creative having fun and being supportive of one another.

Out of the box thinking is encouraged.

~ Have FUN out there! ~

...oOo...

The theme this week is

~*~WET~*~