I’ve won ribbons from the San Diego county fair multiple times. The San Diego county fair is a large fair, much bigger than a the Indiana state fair. those are the only two fairs I’ve been to.
. While I didn’t enter a Halloween quilt I did enter a set of four Day of the Dead quilts. They won 2nd. Below are two of them. My husband Drew the wedding picture. We often collaborate on quilts. The other two included another sugar skull and ‘ dancing linda’. I believe the judges like originality. I gave the other two away.
All the quilts that I’ve entered have won a prize and none of them have been made from patterns.
good luck!