Gentle spiders, I'd like to add 2c to the discussion on judging and competitions.
The judging criteria are not very important to me; while it's always fun to win a ribbon, and the rufflier the ribbon the more fun, the real reason I enter is to get handmade lace in front of people. How my piece is judged is interesting, but I'm not put off entering by considerations of how it may be judged. It matters more to me that I'm pleased with the lace; if a judge is also impressed, that's all to the good--but a judge who marked me down for some failure would simply be giving me something to think about, and I might or might not decide I agree. I know it can be difficult for some people to be criticized, especially if they don't agree with the criticism, but if lacemakers can set this aside and simply put their lace out to be appreciated by the public, most of whom don't know or care what the judges are looking for, I think the exposure is advantageous for our cause. Just a few days ago, I had a phone call from a friend who had seen a piece of my lace in the fair this fall. She hadn't known I made lace (!), and was tickled to find she knew someone who did (although I did fail to convince her to give it a try--so far.) She said she always goes to check out the lace at the fair because she's so amazed at it. And that's why I enter, regardless of judging and standards. Love, Julie E. in Seattle [EMAIL PROTECTED] weft.wlonk.com - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
