County Fair Quilt Show
 

This week was our county fair. I live in a small rural area. There are around 5000 people in our county. We had a very nice turn out in the 4-H and FF livestock shows. Approximately 130 animals were sold including beef, swine, sheep, and goats for just over $218,000. The youth had a lot of participants but about 50 less than last year.
As I walked through the exhibits buildings I noticed there were only 7 (yes 7) quilts entered this year in the open class. There were 15 in the 4-H and FFA category. I was so surprised by how few were entered. I saw that at least 3 of the 7 entries were from the same person. This is so sad. I never enter my own work as I usually run out of time or I forget the deadline. I am not sure if that happens to everyone or if this art is really dying in our area. Maybe I will get. something finished to enter next year.

That's too bad. I'm sure there are more people quilting than had the courage to enter their quilts. Maybe there will be more next year as people saw that there were so few entries. You're going to enter one of the quilts you make in the coming year, right?

the last show I went to in Denver, they had quilts hanging ceiling height. couldn't see them. I stopped going to that show. they had plenty of quilts though, I just couldn't enjoy them much less vote on any.

Our local fair had about 2/3 as many quilts as last year and the year before. It was really sad, having so much space and not enough quilts to fill it.

I don't enter quilts in our fairs because they all vear towards traditional bed quilts, and I don't make those. Most of the fairs also display the quilts folded, and my largest quilt (60 x 60) can't be folded. My other quilts are all smaller.

The bed quilts that I do have are being used. They have stains, wear, dog hair, and maybe some bleeding from the washing machine. It is more important for me to use and love the quilts I make than to keep them pristine all year waiting for the fair.

After a guild meeting where we were encouraged to show our quilts, I did enter the AQS Grand Rapids show. I'll have a quilt hanging there. I'm very proud of that! If the local or state fair creates a category where my type of quilt would make sense, I'd enter it there too.

I would not enter a quilt in our local fair. They don't display them in full, only folded up so you don't get to see the whole quilt. While the quilts are hung behind barriers and in no danger of being handled, the building that houses the display is questionable as far as cleanliness and security. I have entered other arts and crafts and canning entries but I won't enter a quilt. I will save that for an actual quilt show where the quilts are hung to fully display them and people can get the full impact.

You should enter some of yours!!!!

I used to enter all kinds of things over the years. There was a 'homemaker of the year' award that was given every year at our local fair and the same lady got it year after year. Blue ribbons counted a certain amount of points, red ribbons less and so on. The award was an addition of certain categories. I'm a little competitive and decided that I'd try to win it one year. I started working on things when the fair was over and entered a ton of stuff. I won the homemaker of the year award and they told me I had way more points than anyone had ever had in the past. That was 33 years ago. I had a box full of ribbons and decided that I really didn't want to go to all that bother any more. I'm very happy enjoying the quilts I make and all the other things, too. It's a good thing to let the younger gals get excited to win those ribbons and collect that prize money. I still enjoy going to the fair and seeing all the entries. I just don't enter anything..... but without entries, there wouldn't be a fair.

Sounds like our Fair set up. I guess the judges just need to see them....sad.

Sandy

I used to enter apparel just to get a free fair pass. With 5 children, it was worth it to able to come and go without paying. I always won enough to buy at least one pair of school shoes. Over time the judges got more picky - I was marked down for serging an inside seam in a shade of green thread that wasn't the same as the rest. It was very similar and didn't show, for Heaven's sake.

I'll have to stop out the fair to see what's being entered.

You should enter!! Our fair doesn't have quilt categories, just livestock I believe...

I had cousins who were in the 4H and FFA. They worked hard all year long on their projects from needlework and cooking and quilts to animal husbandry and woodwork. They displayed a lot of projects. Some of their displays either came up missing or damaged and they also lost a couple of animals. One breeding rabbit ended up dead along with a couple of her babies. They had a hunch on who was committing these vicious acts but could never prove it. Then one year one of the kids had an electronics display. It was a surveillance that he said it wasn't working right. So no one messed with it. No ribbon or honorable mention. Well he lied! His camera caught the culprit on tape. It was a couple of judges who were related to a couple of the winners. These were prominent people who were banned from all competition for 5 years and their relatives including in-laws. I'm told by my cousins wife that all quilts have a very large area of their own. A separate room that can be locked and with a guard posted at all entrances to the fairgrounds. nothing has come up missing or damaged for the last 15 years. This is in Indiana.