Fall Fair Wrap Up & Judging Thoughts

I am finally finishing up my fall fair postings...thank you to those who had some fun with my fall fair quiz.

The answers to my 2 questions were were 3 and 9:

1) I entered quilts in 3 fall fairs this year: 

Paris, Fergus and Erin.

2) I wanted to enter the 10 quilts in the photo, minus the top 2, which for some reason stayed on the table at home (a quilt block and a quilt top), plus the one quilt I took off my bed = 9 quilts entered!

Congrats to Sandra C who was the closest guesser, with her guess of 3 fall fairs and 8 quilts entered...send me your snail mail address Sandra and I'll get a fabric treat in the mail to you.

And a few thoughts on judging fall fairs...

after a number of years as a quilter submitting quilts to fairs and contests, and as a judge of juried shows and fall fairs, I can secretly admit to you that judging is mostly a matter of personal preference. In a perfect world, trained judges would make the same decisions re: awarding prizes and ribbons, but I know from judging with other trained judges, that it is not usually the case that we all agree.
This year I entered several quilts into my favorite local fall fairs. Each fair has it's own charm, and I love fall fairs, so I can't resist participating. 

I submitted my Dr. Seuss quilt to the three fall fairs.
In one fair it won a first prize and best of show.
And in another fair, it won nothing.
Why is that?
I think it is due to the personal preference of the judges, plus the category it was entered into, plus the competition of the other entries in that particular category. 

I don't enter fairs for the glory, (there is none unless my daughter comes with me and is sweet enough to gush about my quilts that receive ribbons) the ribbons (don't need more of those), or the cash (1st prize is sometimes $5!). I enter quilts because I enjoy this longstanding tradition of community participation. It's a lot of administrative/busy work to check the fair categories and see what quilts I could enter, get the tickets/paperwork all organized, gather the fabric samples to attach for some fair requirements, and to get the quilts to the right place at the right time, then pick them up at the right place at the right time. 
But I love to see quilts hanging at the fall fairs and I want to keep this community tradition alive, so I plan to make it my goal to try to participate every year if possible.
And I want to remind us all not to pin your artist's self esteem on winning ribbons or awards. Just because a judge didn't love your piece or "get" your vision, doesn't mean it's not an amazing piece of art. Keep making the quilts you love and sharing them with those who appreciate your efforts. Just sayin!

And under the category of bad ideas...
a deep fried Mars bar!
It was a new (to me) fall fair treat that I just couldn't wait to try... OMG...it was so gross I can't even tell you! What the heck was I thinking trying that?!?!