Tulare County Fair - Spoiler Alert

Yesterday was the opening day of the Tulare County Fair. Every year the goal is to put on a terrific quilt display, and this year's edition was quite a knockout. Entries were up 50 quilts from last year. Holy cow, the people of Tulare are quilting like crazy!!! I hear entries in other categories are down, but hey, who has time to do other stuff if we're all quilting, right?

You need to log off right now, if you don't want to know some results. But if you do, stick with me. I've got a few pictures, including the Best of Shows...

First, I thought I'd show you how some of my quilt customers did with their entries. I thought I got them all, but I now know that I missed at least one. It's getting to the point that I've quilted so many quilts, they're beginning to blur...

Lone Star by Denise Sisco

Garden Twist by Phyllis Ogden

Sunbonnet Sue by Glenda Lancaster

A Year in Red by Carletta Emitte

It's often hard to know why one quilt placed and another didn't. At the fair, there are SO many categories, you have no idea which quilts were your competition. I saw Glenda yesterday, who was sad that her quilt had gotten a third. I told her that she should be delighted. Large quilts quilted by someone else is a HUGE category, and she was able to hold her own. Phyllis's quilt is stunning, yet there it hangs, without a ribbon. It HAS to be the competition...

Here are the Best of Show quilts, so you can see the county's cream of the crop...

quilt by Sharon Scholta
Best of Show, Machine Quilted by another

redwork by Kathy Wasnick
Best of Show, Handquilted

quilt by Debbie Van Fossen
Best of Show, Machine-quilted by self
Best of Show, Overall (amateur)

quilt by Ann Hinman
Best of Show, Professional

I have to say that I was thrilled that Ann's Best of Show quilt was hand-quilted. There were very few hand-quilted quilts this year. Rumor has it that there were only three hand-quilted quilts entered in the amateur division. The one that won Best Handquilting is not overly big. Maybe it's 45 x 45"? That's just a guess - it was hanging out of reach...

I've been asked how my entries fared. Two were machine-quilted, two were hand-quilted. The difference between entering as an amateur and as a professional (besides the lack of premiums) is that the amateur division is judged using the American System of Judging. This means that each entry is judged in relation to its peers. In the professional category, they use the Danish System of Judging. That means that each entry is judged on its own merit.

Does that make sense? In a field of 20, using the American System of Judging, there will be one First, one Second, one Third. In a field of 20, using the Danish System of Judging, there could theoretically be 20 First place winners.

So, now that you've got that straight, here are my entries. Yes, I am a professional...

Waving at Tradition
hand-quilted (2006 Hoffman Challenge)
Suzanne Kistler

"It Is Well"

machine-quilted
Suzanne Kistler, 2008

"Psalm 46:10 Be Still"
hand-quilted
Suzanne Kistler, 2008

"Cascading Crystal Kaweah"
machine quilted, hand-beaded
Suzanne Kistler, 2008

And there you go, a taste of what is at the County Fair. There are hundreds of other quilts to see as well. It's well worth the $7 entry fee - there are close to 300 quilts on display. And with that, I'll wish you a good day!!!