Friday, September 08, 2017

Fall Fair Season

The temperatures are cooler at night, it's getting darker earlier each evening, and the leaves are changing from green to gold, red, and orange. And you know what that means... it's time for Fall Fairs to start!

This photo of my trunk of my car is a good snapshot of my life this week. I have camping gear for the weekend, a bag of quilts for fall fair entry, my briefcase for work, and 3 dog pillows to drop off at the Humane Society on my way to work. That is a lot of details to manage in one day!
I have entered two fairs so far this month and have won a couple of photography ribbons and some quilting ribbons. The financial rewards are tiny and don't even cover the cost of the gas you need to drive yourself and your entries to the fair! 
But I really enjoy these community events and if I want to see them continue, I have to be ready to contribute. I like getting out in the fresh air, seeing friends, and being inspired by the creativity of talented people.
Next week I will be judging at 3 different fairs and it's a challenging job. For example, look at this photography category. I didn't judge or enter this category but want to show you what an impossible task it is sometimes when you have amazing entries. 
This category is... minimum 5" x 7" photos with a theme of "Dominant red". Some photos will be eliminated for being too small for the specifications of the category, and the rest of the photos are judged according to the theme. That cardinal photo is incredible, but it doesn't read as "dominant" red. It's mostly blue. So it didn't win a prize in this category, but would likely be a winner in other categories such as "Up in the sky", "Canadian wildlife" or "Birding".
As with all competitions, a win/ribbon is relative to all the other entries and the preferences of the judges.
Do you have fall fairs in your community? Do you enter your quilts?

6 comments:

SandraC said...

I love Fair time, also. For me, at the moment, as a longarm quilter, I have a busy couple of weeks to get clients' quilts completed before the Fair....and I hope to have time to squeeze one of my own in! Pressure!

Carole @ From My Carolina Home said...

Yes! Congratulations on your ribbons! Your fair ribbons are so much nicer than ours. I have entered 17 fair competitions this year in photography, quilting, crafting, clothing and Senior Citizen categories. It is fun to enter, just for the fun of it and to support the fair so there are lots of entries for fair-goers to view. The more entered the better the fair, and more people are encouraged to enter.

Janet O. said...

You looked all set for a busy week!
Congrats on your ribbons!
We have a county fair in August. I volunteer in the Home Arts and/or Fine Arts buildings. I entered one mini quilt a few years ago. I have entered soap and I used to enter a lot of baked goods before I was diagnosed with celiac disease. Have received a sweepstakes ribbon for soap and a pie. I also entered clothing when I was an historic re-enactor. The costumes were incredibly detailed and I won sweepstakes one year with an 1860s dress ensemble.
Wish our fair had photo categories like that. Have considered entering photography, but haven't actually tried it, yet.
In my neck of the woods we only have one county fair each year and you have to live in that county to enter, so you can only enter one fair.

Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow said...

That's a slice of productive life in your trunk for sure! :)

I don't enter though we do have a local fair. I always want to see the baby goats first, lol !

Jackie J said...

Congratulations on all the ribbons you received at the Aberfoyle Fair. Your quilts were beautiful!

Kate said...

Congrats on the fair ribbons. I entered our county fair once, both with a quilt and with some photos. I did better with the photos. Unfortunately, due to recent budget cuts, they've limited our county fair to just the FFA kids.