State Fair Entry Day

We took all our "Home Arts" and "Creative Arts" items to enter in the State Fair today.  (Sounds better than saying all our stuff.)  I had a 2.5 hour lunch because it took so long to get them entered.  They write all the tags by hand and some of them write really slowly.  I looked around at the other entries while I was waiting -- okay, not looked around, peered over the barrier of tables to see what might be visible.  I think there are a couple of things I entered I should have just left home.  I dunno 'bout y'all, but my mind gets weird at 3:00 in the morning and thinks things look lots better than they do! 
I entered eleven home arts items, 10 tatted and one crocheted.  There are a few I entered in the State that I didn't enter in the County Fair (those 3:00 in the morning ones, and a couple of others).  I don't have any pictures to show -- that'll have to wait until the 8th when I go to the Fair and see the results.  This is just a little panic blurb...gaaakkkk-- what if they're all really bad?  This is the first year I've entered as Advanced Amature (the next step is professional and I don't make a living on this stuff!).  What's the standard?  Is it that much higher than Amature?  I don't know.  It just seemed silly to not use the Advanced when at least three of the things I entered were my own patterns, ya know?

Again with the Split Chains

Another bit of a doily from all that split chain practice I've been doing.  As you can see -- I've got a center I really like.  This one has some picots all connected together in the center, which makes it appear a bit ...well... off-center.  It's made with two strands of a blue ombre hand-quilting thread wound together on the shuttles.  This one has been done for a while.  I was going to enter it in the State Fair, but it is an inch over the size for a coaster (5 inches) so I had to choose between this one and the purple one.  I think the purple one looks more finished (even though I can't find the light purple to edge it).  The last time I entered something done with an ombre thread the judges said the color made it look fuzzy or out of focus or something. 

Anyway, my aunt admired this when I was working on it.  I told her she could have it when it was done -- after the fair.  Now that it's not going in the fair, I think I will send it off to her.

Hmmmmm...perhaps I should make some pattern notes first, eh?  This is another that did whatever the shuttles thought they could manage, and I didn't write any of it down.  If I send it away, I'll never be able to make another.