Adults creating exhibits for Columbia County fair

Dorthey Siens quilts by hand, "the old-fashioned way," she calls it.

Siens, of Evans, entered seven or eight items inadult exhibits at last year's Columbia County Merchants Association Fall Fair and Augusta-Richmond County's fair. Between her quilted items and counted cross-stitch entered into Columbia County's first adult exhibits, she brought home an assortment of ribbons including a few blue and a Best of Class.

But she is not an experienced shower or competitor.

"The only other time I have entered anything was in a quilt show and that was just to get my quilting critiqued," Siens said.

Siens is a member of Pieceful Hearts Quilting Guild, North Augusta, aims for completing two quilts a month for Project Linus, which makes quilts for ill, abused or hospitalized children, and hand quilts for others.

She admits she did enjoy the little prize money that came with the ribbons as a way to help fund her addiction.

"Anything I win goes to buy more fabric," Siens said. "We quilters are known as fabriholics. We never have too much."

Of more than 200 adult entries last year, the category with the largest number was quilting. Siens thinks she won so many ribbons last year because she did not have much competition. It was the first year for adults, but she can look forward to more this year.

"We want it to be a growing thing because it is part of the community and we want to reflect the talent and the hobbies of the residents of Columbia County and the surrounding areas," said Betty English, adult exhibit coordinator and family and consumer sciences county extension agent for Columbia and Richmond counties.

Adults can enter only one item per lot, which are very specific. General categories, with more specific lots, include canned fruits and vegetables, pickles, preserves, jellies, jams and sauces, pictures of almost any medium, articles including jewelry, ceramics, wall hangings and basketry, Christmas and other holiday items, photography, household linens and articles, crocheted, quilted or knitted items and worn apparel.

"If you bring something that is not necessarily on the guidelines, we will make a category for it," English said. "I do not want to refuse anybody anything because, like I said, it is a display of the talent of Columbia County."

Any item to be entered can be brought to the Columbia County Fairgrounds on Columbia Road across from Patriots Park between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday. This is the only time entries will be accepted and tagged since they will be judged by professionals that same evening. Only amateurs, people not paid for their work as a full-time occupation, may compete.

Cash prizes will be awarded for individual lot winners, with first place taking $7, second getting $5 and third winning $3. Best of Class award winners will receive $25 and the Best of Show winner will be awarded $50.

Siens has no idea if her pieces will bring the awards she received last year, but is anxious to get more fabric money.

"I do not know," she said. "We will see."

The exhibits will be on display through the duration of the fair - through Oct. 5 and can be picked up between 2 and 4 p.m. Oct. 6.

"It is an opportunity to show off someone's talent," English said. "The Merchants Association (fair) is a growing activity in the fall that people can look forward to. It is an agricultural fair that people can go and see a lot of variety of things in the exhibits and entries people will display not only from Columbia County, but from the surrounding areas as well."

For more information or to pick up tags in advance for multiple entries, call English at 868-3413, 821-2356 or via e-mail at benglish@uga.edu.