Entering A Long Distance "Challenge"

Part of the fun behind entering any kind of long-distance challenge is that you are sending the piece far, far away and so it is different from any experience you may have had entering a local quilt show. (Since I don't belong to a guild it is the only chance I have to enter any kind of "show".)

Plus it is a chance to try something new and different, something experimental, something "dangerous" or "risky" where you just might make a fool of yourself but since you don't personally know anyone who will be viewing it who cares? You might discover something new about yourself in the process of experimenting with dyeing silk yardage or experimenting with trapunto or gluing buttons on wool or whatever you experiment with in the creation of a small wallhanging.

I participated in the Hoffman Challenge every year for six or seven years running but I eventually got fed up with that because the judges were not following their rules (to my way of thinking). They seemed to award prizes to wallhangings that used mighty small amounts of the theme fabrics, almost microscopic pieces of the theme fabric. I felt I wasted too much time on the Hoffman and I think my last entry was in 1999 or 2000 ... my previous entries had been chosen to travel in their shows but that year it was flat out rejected and sent home and I said "Oh, fiddle-dee-dee" and gave up.

Now I look for challenges that don't require a specific company's specific fabrics. LOL And exploding colors sounds very, very tempting ... whoops, exploding colours.

Judy