I watched the judging at my county fair years ago, and saw a lot of unfair judging, so I stopped entering anything. There were several years in a row that some things were stolen, so the entries tapered off. However in the last 10 or 15 years, there are more quilts entered than ever before, but not so many needlework items or things considered crafts. A lot of improvements have been made and I would not hesitate to enter and fear it be stolen. The year I watched, the crafts judge didn't show up, so a county agent from a neighboring county judged. I heard her say she had no interest in the crafts and it looked like she gave ribbons to what she liked--not the quality. I'm not saying that all fairs are that way and maybe it was only the one year at my county's fair.
Just do your best. With the kind of conscience you are displaying in this post, I believe you'll do okay.