Plano ASG Entries for the State Fair Creative Arts Contests

I am excited to report that several ASG members entered contests! Take a look at some of the entries below.

It is possible that entries could end up in different departments and categories. If you are not sure of the right category for your item(s) you can ask the people taking the entries at Fair Park and at that point the category can be changed. They are very helpful. Sometimes items will fit into more than one category and they can help you choose.

Holiday Corner – Halloween

Marie Barrese made these three towels that will be one entry. She said, “I’m always looking for other ideas for towels.  Last year I saw something like this at a department store in Chicago.  Obviously I was visiting around the Fall.  And for some reason Halloween is one of my favorite holidays to decorate for.  I made the three towels and added my own spin.  Since there is only one entry per category I pinned them to a wooden crate and entered them under Halloween decorations, miscellaneous.  Even though they started out as kitchen towels, don’t think they will ever see wet hands!”

Dolls – Handcrafted Dolls

Jami Roux created this doll she named Dorothy. Dorothy was inspired by the cover picture of the Creative Arts entry information (picture above left).  It was a picture of rows of jams, jellies, canned fruit, etc.  She could just see someone’s grandmother dancing in her kitchen with the joy of winning every category she had entered with her prize recipes.

Designer Craftsman – Miscellaneous Crafts

Marcia Moore created these artistic items. Her collage, “Texas Heat in August”
measures 10X10” and consists of fabric wrapped cord, beads, wire work, and needle felted embellishments mounted on a collaged canvas. She said, “When I started this piece last winter I had no idea of the prediction I was making!” The two greeting cards are a group entry and they have fabric collages of tiny bits of lace, cord and decorative stitches.

Needlework and Sewing –
Sewing Machine Articles

Joanne Jensen is entering the items above. The first entry is a blue & white searsucker jacket. The pattern is a Chicago Jacket from Sewing Workshop. Perfect for spring.
In the center, a tote bag that is an homage to Route 66 (Paul and I were married and lived in Kingman, AZ, which is on Route 66). The pattern is Ultimate Travel Bag 2.0 from byAnnie.com
Lastly, my embellished vest was our ASG challenge winner, but I added a lining and a more finished hem. The pattern is One Hour Vest from McCall’s.

Virginia Stein is entering this Santa and the following mermaid item.

Santa Face is a Design from MySewNet using the specialty ribbon attachment that works with the Pfaff Icon or Viking Epic embroidery machine.

Santa’s face is machine embroidered in the hoop. Glitterflex was used for a section of his hat. Two different widths (⅜” and ¼”) and two different colors of white satin ribbons were used in his beard, mustache and hat.  

Ariella Mermaid is a Design by Zandra Shaw – EmbroiderShoppe.com – It has a new “jump stitch” technique to create 3 dimensional hair using machine embroidery.

The design is stitched in the hoop using 40wt polyester embroidery thread. Hair is stitched using 30wt cotton thread which is then dampened and styled. For her body and tail she used printed fake leather from Hobby Lobby. For the rock she is sitting on, she used vinyl from Your Vinyl Source. 

Margaret Montgomery created the vest shown above. Here’s how she did it:

My entry for the Texas State Fair started as a “sample” from a workshop I took at the Contemporary Handweavers of Texas  Conference in Sugar Land, TX at the beginning of June. Katherine Weber was teaching, “Focus on the Warp: Controlling Creative Chaos.” By combining hand dyed warps of yarn she creates incredible fabric. I could not wait to take this class. Over 2 and a half days she shared the techniques for combining multiple warps on the loom while taming the chaos that can be created. One thing that struck a chord with me is that she called the fabric we created, “samples.” I did not want a “sampler” of newly learned techniques; I wanted to create a garment.

Within 2 weeks of returning from the conference I finished weaving the cloth (4 shaft loom) and sewing the vest. Above is the result of the “samples.” The vest incorporates the weave structures demonstrated in the class. I purchased black cotton fabric which was used for lining and to supplement the needed width for the woven fabric.

Pattern: Tabula Rosa by Fit for Art Patterns

Donna Depue said “I constructed a jacket using 2 pair of my husband’s motorcycle jeans.  These were his 2 least worn jeans of the bunch.  They were totally deconstructed with the stitching removed prior to cutting.  I partially assembled the pieces and then began the embroidery at different stages.  It was a puzzle but once I started it flowed together.  The embroidery is a collection from OESD Designs, and I edited them some prior to stitching.   The pants waistbands are the front zipper plackets and sleeve cuffs.  The seam foldlines were used on many of the jacket seams, with all new stitching.  Coin pockets are on the front and back, along with belt loops. I think it is a worthy State Fair jacket!  For those who are curious as to if he wanted his jeans cut to pieces, we don’t ride anymore!  C’est la vie!”

Judy Nordseth said, “This backpack is one of my most favorite things I’ve ever made in the hoop, so when I heard that ASG was looking for more of us to enter the State Fair, I knew immediately that this is what I wanted to make. I’d had already made three, and still needed to carefully follow all 64 pages of directions this time!  I love it because it looks so professional and perfect when it’s done, and everyone is surprised when I tell them I made it. This one is a full-sized backpack, but I’ve also made the smaller size with the same SweetPea pattern. I’ve made all four from batik fabrics Since I LOVE batiks so much!” 

These are my entries. The left and middle pictures are of a single-layer reversible jacket with a magnetic closure. I bought the fabric at Illumination in Ft. Worth and I converted a basic jacket pattern to princess style so that I could make flat-felled seams which look good on both sides. The picture on the right is a jacket I made from curtains I bought at a thrift shop.

Here’s hoping that we will see many ribbons resulting from all this work!