A Blue Ribbon Sweep

Well, THIS year, I had great results at the Gwinnett County Fair with my Needlework. Of the 5 entries I submitted, I won FIVE Blue Ribbons!!!! And no snubs, like I have gotten, for unknown reasons, at the N. Georgia State Fair that I have gone to in the past. I also got one Red Ribbon on one of the 3 photos I submitted :D


All that being said, it may not be nearly as spectacular as it sounds; there was almost NO competition, and I am pretty sure that in at least 2 classes, maybe 3, I was the ONLY entrant. The other fair, which I did not enter purely because it is such a long haul to get over there (70 miles from my door to it), has had a TON of entries in the various needlework categories (and photos, as well) in the years I have gone, and despite a couple of controversial (IMO) results, has a pretty good turn out. So maybe I was lured by the Bigger Cash Prizes, and not wanting to drive 150 miles 3 times, into staying closer to home, but I have to say, the competition - and thus the exposure of this art form - was very limited, and kind of anti-climactic :(

So anyway, here are some photos of the exhibits - please excuse the less-than-stellar shots, as everything is behind plexiglass, and lit with overhead fluorescent lights from behind me....

First, my winners, in the order I found them:

 
Starry Nights in the frame we were forced to make out of something else, due to the inability of a certain frame shop to cut a metal frame correctly - twice. Pretty sure this was the ONLY Needlepoint anything - and I was worried it would be DQ'd for being counted canvas instead...

 
Dream - this might have had competition with the Butterfly piece, unless that was an Embellished or Stamped XS piece....

 
6 Bats & A WItches Hat - I KNOW this is the only entrant in the high count category (18-22 ct, this is 40/20).

 
Christmas Mandala - Holiday House Other. AND if you look real close, you can see they have it displayed ON ITS SIDE! It's a freakin' TRIANGLE, people - this is NOT a hard concept to figure out. Or so I thought.

 
My White Lily photo... The Coonhound & The Snake probably freaked too many people out - and the Water Drop was probably too obscure...

And lastly, my Halloween Tree Pinkeep Accessory - I am pretty sure this, too, was the only entrant in the Accessory category.

And then a few other photos of things that I thought were cool, after I had a chance to go back through and really look again - more can be found in the Fair album here.

How cool is this? A Mill Hill Halloween piece, the Haunted Hotel - which is one I DON'T have :(

 
You KNOW my MH Halloween Trio is going next year, right? :)

A very cool drawing - I THINK it was colored pencil, in the Adult series.

A small piece of Embellished Stitching - lace, ribbon, other kinds of things on it; I couldn't tell what was stitched and what was printed on the base fabric...

 
LOVE this Frog Picture - don't know if that was taken locally, or not...

I should have whipped up a quickie piece of jewelry, too - they had MAYBE 3 entries in the adult classes, and they have 5-6 classes, unlike the other fair that only has 1, which I have placed 1st or 2nd every time. I'll know next time...


And what's a fair entry from me without a tinge of controversy? At this particular fair, unlike the other one I have entered, there is an Overall Award, based on points - 3 for a Blue, 2 for a Red, 1 for a White. You have to enter at least 3 different divisions (1 entry per, maximum of 10 per person), and accumulate 14 points minimum - 30 is the max if you take the Red in all 10 that you enter. So I took 5 Blues and one Red - 17 points total. EXCEPT - on the tally sheets they have posted, they only have 3 of my Blues and my Red accounted - 11 total.


Now, besides shorting me the rest of the prize money (hey, it's $14!!), it left me 3 points shy of the required for consideration in Overall, so I wasn't included. Which is okay, because I wasn't anywhere near the top with my 17 correct points, UNLESS they accounted for all ribbons awarded, but have my two missing ones attributed to someone else, pushing them past me. I have no idea how it's done. And I called the Extension Office this morning, and got attitude from whoever answered the phone as soon as I said I needed to ask someone about reconciling; I have to deal with that AFTER the Fair is closed and I pick up my entries on Monday. Gee, does that sound like a government office to you??? LOL - not. SO we'll see what happens on Monday when I go to pick stuff up. Way to take an INTEREST in what you "PLAN".

And the bar-b-que & Brunswick Stew were pretty good; a little bland, but filling :) As usual, I opted to avoid all the FRIED STUFF, unlike the majority of the fair goers we witnessed. And this was the first time we've gone and NOT absolutely sweltered - so that was nice :) Until next year - IF I decide to put myself through all of this yet again...