‘I judge each individual thing on its own merit’: Judging begins at Spokane’s Interstate Fair

Rows of crafts, stacks of quilts and dress forms with brightly colored attire filled a large bay at the Spokane County Fairgrounds on Wednesday afternoon for the first day of judging entries in the 2019 Interstate Fair.
Wendy Sienknecht has been judging at fairs since 1998. She judges at about five fairs of various size across the region.
Sienknecht has been attending fairs her whole life with her father, who was a long time 4-H county agent. She participated in 4-H for years herself and with her children. Now, she judges quilting.
She created a judging sheet that uses five categories – originality and creativity, construction, presentation, quilting and finishing – to evaluate the entries.
“I give myself an ‘F’ all the time,” fellow judge Donna Gibson said.
Both women are involved in the Washington State Quilters Spokane Chapter, and Sienknecht was on the board for more than 20 years. Both say judging the quilts motivates them to become better quilters themselves.
“If I’m going to ask them to have a smooth binding, then I better have a smooth binding,” Gibson said.
Jan Beier works at the fair helping to organize the entries and helps judges keep track of what they’ve judged. This year she’s working in the youth sewing section.
“The judge touches every one of these things and decides what ribbon they get,” Beier said as she gestured to the section. “These kids are so excited when they bring in their stuff.”
Beier also helps with drop-off, pick-up and setup for the displays that fairgoers can walk through. This year she is working with Dianne Hose, the judge who evaluated the youth sewing section.
“It’s kind of daunting, because you want to encourage the kids,” Hose said.
It’s her first year as a judge, but Hose is a veteran in the Spokane sewing community. Hose used to manage a fabric store and “knows lots of ladies who sew.”
Hose sees judging as a way to connect to the younger sewing community.
“To keep the kids involved is really important,” she said.
The miscellaneous category at the fair is a catch all for things that don’t have enough entries to make their own category, said Treva Norris, who judges the category.
“I judge each individual thing on its own merit,” Norris said.
She has been a part of the fair scene for decades and has been judging for 45 years.
“It kinda gets in your blood,” Norris said. “I’ve just done it for so long, I feel like I’m part of the fair scene.”
The 83-year-old judges multiple fairs each year, and “this is one of the larger ones.”
The items in miscellaneous have changed over the years, Norris said.
“Things that are in style – you know, fads, that kind of thing,” she said.
Norris loves judging but has seen the group draw criticism over the years.
“Some people are very critical of judges, but it’s just what I see on this day, and it doesn’t really mean anything,” Norris said.
She always makes sure to note on her judging sheets specific areas where a contestant can improve.
Fair entries aren’t just limited to the home arts section that was judged Wednesday.
Judging continues throughout the fair, which is open to the public from Friday through Sept. 15.