Twin Willows Farm - Skein
Competitions
Why on
earth would anyone want to enter a handspun skein in a
contest?!? Some people turn green at the very thought of
having their work judged
by a complete stranger. Others are more adventuresome and
enjoy the
challenge of putting their best up against the best of other fiber
artists.
Are you at one end or the other, or somewhere in between?
There are several different types of competitions to enter, but they
all have one thing in common, the rules. Be sure to have a
complete
list of rules for the competition before you enter any
skeins. There
may be yardage, weight, skein type, fiber content, presentation
requirements, etc. The contest may be broken into categories
and you need to be
sure that your skein is properly entered. Nothing is more
discouraging
that finding your skein didn’t get judged because that gorgeous two ply
merino wool was entered in the single ply category. So read
the rules
first!
County Fairs
Most skein contests are offered at local county fairs. The
skeins are put on display for the entire time the fair is open to the
public. People who have no idea “that people still do that
sort of thing” can come through and see that the art of handspinning is
alive and well. Youth who are at the fair all week exhibiting
their projects and livestock will also see them. You never
know who you may influence or educate by
having your skein available on display.
These local competitions are usually a lot of fun and consist of
entries by people in your local guilds. You may even meet a
few new spinning friends by entering! Most of these local
events should be approached as something fun and not as a high value
critique on your work. The county fairs have a hard time
getting good quality judges for all their
events and it’s not uncommon for a non-spinner to be judging the
skeins.
So take the ribbon with a grain of salt. This is a great
place for
the nervous first time competition to enter a skein.
Fiber Festivals
Many fiber festivals hold skein and garment contests. Each
runs by its own set of rules and they can be much more complex than a
simple county fair. The judges will be experts with years of
spinning experience to draw on. The competition is tough and
any ribbon earned is an honor. But the best part of entering
these types of competitions is the comments and feedback from the
judges. Even if you don’t come home with a
ribbon, if you come home with insights and information to help improve
your yarn… then it was worth the effort. So don’t wait until
you’ve
been spinning “forever” to enter this type of contest. Jump
in and
see what an expert judge can tell you about your work and how to
improve
it. You may be surprised by how well your yarn does!
Specialty Shows
It seems that these are getting fewer and fewer in the last few years,
but some specialty animal shows still offer them, usually a national
show instead of local. These contests would have skeins
featuring the
fiber produced by the animal being shown. For example, an
angora
rabbit show would have categories only for angora and angora blend
yarns.
So whether you’re in it for the fun or hoping for expert comments on
your skeins, don’t be afraid to take that first step and enter a
contest. What do you have to lose?
All articles are copyright
protected and may not be copied for any use without the author's
written permission.
Contact Pegg
Thomas at twinwillowsfarm@gmail.com.
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Twin
Willows Farm
