Our Texas State Fair Winners!

Several ribbons were won by members of our chapter. Here are the pictures and stories they provided.

Jami Roux

Creative Arts Department: Dolls
Category: Handcrafted Dolls
Class: Cloth
Ribbon: 1st Place

My doll is named Abby and she is showing her lamb at the state fair of Texas.  She was inspired by a picture in the Livestock Exhibitors handbook from the fair.  In the picture, she is the first girl in the line of children showing their sheep and was so cute I wanted to create a doll in her image.  The lamb was made using techniques learned from different teachers and classes taken over the years.  In the process I learned about different kinds of sheep and the tags that are placed in their ears.

Judy Nordseth

Creative Arts Department: Needlework and Sewing
Category: Sewing Machine Articles
Class: In the Hoop Embroidery
Ribbon: 1st Place

I made this backpack for my four-year-old granddaughter Chloe for her to use next year in kindergarten. She watched me making it along the way and was very upset that I wouldn’t give it to her when it was done. I told her it had to go to the state fair and get a blue ribbon first and then she could have it back. When I told her last week that I won first prize, she asked, “What’s the prize?”  She was not thrilled when I told her it was a blue ribbon LOL!!! 

This is a Sweet Pea design and had 65 pages of embroidery instructions and 34 pages of assembly instructions. They are very thorough!

Joann Jensen

Creative Arts Department: Needlework and Sewing
Category: Sewing Machine Articles
Class: Wearable Art
Ribbon: 3rd Place

My 3rd place Hovea coat was a labor of love for our National Parks. The outer back of the coat features fabric “postcards” of the NPs I have visited to date. (I have more postcards to add should I visit more parks in the future.) The front pockets feature two places in Capital Reef NP, and I added beading detail as highlights. The sleeves feature Arches NP and Bryce Canyon NP. The inside back is a panel of Four Corners National Monument, where 4 states meet (you can actually stand on that spot, and I did!).  I can’t wait to get my coat back home, so I can actually wear it in the coming colder months.

Creative Arts Department: Needlework and Sewing
Category: Sewing Machine Articles
Class: Adult Apparel
Ribbon: Honorable Mention

I don’t have a photo but my jacket is Vogue 1925 by Marci Tilton sewn up in a gray-grunge ponte knit.

Donna Depue

Creative Arts Department: Needlework and Sewing
Category: Sewing Machine Articles
Class: Adult Apparel
Ribbon: 3rd Place

Quilted blue toile jacket. I was granted the quilted jacket class of Sally Ann Flack by Designing Divas. In planning my jacket I wanted it to live up to the special consideration I was given. I searched my stash and put two of my favorites together in hopes of success! I consulted with Sally Ann and thankfully she had time to quilt the fabrics on her longarm machine.  I hacked my jacket pattern to my preferences from reviews online. I wanted an upscale look, which I am  very happy I accomplished.

Creative Arts Department: Needlework and Sewing
Category: Sewing Machine Articles
Class: Patchwork
Ribbon: 1st Place

As a garment sewer, I researched ideas for patchwork garments. That’s when I came across the idea for a sundress. As a good southern girl, I love a cute sundress. The piecework was designed from ideas I saw online. The dress was hacked from Sew House Seven Sauvie pattern. From Markita’s stash I acquired the bright blue poplin for piecework. Then the sewing began!

Creative Arts Department: Needlework and Sewing
Category: Sewing Machine Articles
Class: Recycled / Reused
Ribbon: Honorable Mention

Coats and jackets made from vintage quilts have become very popular in recent years.  I have a couple of quilts from my grandmother and decided to jump in.  The first cut was scary because this quilt was made in the early 1900’s by my great grandmother’s sewing bee at their farm in Virginia.  The interior pocket mentions my Ma Smith and the approximate time the quilt was sewn.

Sally-Ann Flak

I had never entered a State Fair before, but in 2023, I decided to give it a shot and entered two items on a whim. To my surprise, I walked away with a second-place ribbon and an honorable mention. That little taste of success motivated me to put in more effort this year.

For 2024, I decided to step up my game and entered two garments into the Texas State Fair—one in the Wearable Art category and the other in the Adult Apparel category.

Creative Arts Department: Needlework and Sewing
Category: Sewing Machine Articles
Class: Wearable Art
Ribbon: 1st Place

For the Wearable Art entry, I submitted my Rose Coat, which I made earlier this year as a sample for my Quilted Coat Class. The coat features a stunning rose fabric on the back, with patchwork elements on the sleeves, pockets, and fronts. It’s lined with silk Dupioni and quilted on my longarm. To finish it off, I bound all the seams with bias-cut silk Dupioni and added gold snaps for the front closure. I’m thrilled with how this coat turned out, and even more excited that it won the 1st place ribbon at the fair.

Creative Arts Department: Needlework and Sewing
Category: Sewing Machine Articles
Class: Adult Apparel
Ribbon: Honorable Mention

My second entry, in the Adult Apparel category, was a vest. I crafted it from a woven silk with a subtle houndstooth stripe, adding faux welted pockets, eight buttons, and a tie-back. The interior seams are finished with a mix of binding and Hong Kong finishes, using vintage silk material for all the interior bindings. This garment was a labor of love, with most of the bindings requiring hand-sewn elements. I’m really proud of this vest and can’t wait to wear it this fall and winter. It earned an Honorable Mention ribbon.

Overall, it’s been an incredibly rewarding experience, and I’m excited to keep challenging myself creatively.

Debbie Reid

Creative Arts Department: Needlework and Sewing
Category: Sewing Machine Articles
Class: Tool/Craft Bag
Ribbon: 1st Place

I have taken up a new hobby of making balloon decorations and I’ve gathered enough “stuff” that I needed to organize it. When I noticed that the fair had a new “Tool/Craft Bag” class I knew what to do! I didn’t have a pattern but I looked online at various tool bags to come up with a design. The outer bag came together quickly but I had to take the insert apart and redo it to make it fit smoothly in the bag.