Claire was almost mostly done with everything- as a Cloverbud, she didn't need to do any kind of record books or anything. She just needed to bring something- anything- to show the judges. She chose to bring the skirt that she made, so we ironed that and were done. However, she was the club historian, which means she was in charge of the yearly scrapbook. So, she got to finish that up, which took quite a bit of time.
Audra, however, had much more than just ironing and a scrapbook. She had 5 projects she was turning in, which meant she had 5 record books. Each record book takes a couple of hours to complete- she has to write an essay, list everything she did for that project for the year, include labeled pictures of her working on the project, and more. It is pretty intense. Then, she had to make sure each of her projects was perfect- ironing, cutting loose threads, and putting them on hangers so they display nicely.
Because scones are much better fresh, she had to get up early on Saturday to make her scones in the morning before judging.
Audra worked incredibly hard, and by the end of the week she was quite exhausted. But, she also did awesome. I really couldn't be more proud of her.
Five projects also meant five interviews for her. Claire had one. They were both nervous- but Audra was really, really scared.
In truth, because of all the stress of the week of getting everything ready, we did not prepare for the interviews, and it showed. Audra said there were a lot of questions she couldn't answer or got wrong. It isn't the end of the world, but it does show that she didn't prepare as well as she should have.
Then, we really got unlucky with the scones, which is a huge bummer because Audra worked so hard all year on scones! She must have made over 20 batches of different types of scones. She modified the recipe to be lemon scones instead of vanilla scones because she liked the taste better (judges like it when kids take a recipe and make it more to their liking). She tried different ways to cut and to cook scones to determine which was best.
But, unfortunately, on the ride down two of the four scones (you have to turn four scones in) crumbled a little bit so they didn't show well. Then, the judge only takes one bite, and she happened to take a bite that had baking powder that wasn't all the way mixed in.
At least we got to enjoy the rest of the batch- and we thought they were amazing.
The pillow that she made was overstuffed. I knew that it would be- she made the pillow form and then the outside cover, and the cover was too small for the pillow. But, she was so tired of sewing that she refused to make another pillow so we stuffed that too big pillow into the cover, and the judge was not impressed. It really is a bummer, because the pillow cover is so cute and she did a fabulous job of matching the corners of the pattern up perfectly. If by some chance she makes it to state with her pillow, she will need to make another pillow that fits better.
Her doll dress did turn out fabulous. She said the judge for her doll dress was the nicest and was very encouraging. Audra was most excited about making the doll dress, and very sad that she didn't get to bring it home (all the projects will go on display for the week of fair). Hopefully the judge liked the dress as well.
Even though Audra made the above outfit she is wearing, she did not turn the shirt and skirt she is wearing into fair. Those were her practice items. I didn't take pictures of the final skirt she made or the pillowcase she made (she didn't make a second shirt to turn in- she was too exhausted from all of her other projects).
It was a long day on Saturday as both girls went through their interviews. Audra was frustrated, and unfortunately disappointed that she didn't do better. But, both girls have worked incredibly hard, and both greatly improved their sewing skills. They both can make their own clothes now! WOW! How many 8 and 10 year olds can say that? Plus, Audra can read a recipe and made basic foods.
I love that 4H teaches very practical skills that they will use the rest of their lives. We won't know how they did until the actual fair starts in 2 weeks, but I couldn't be more proud of these girls! Even if they didn't win any ribbons, they did learn a ton, and that is priceless.
1 comment:
Wow, that is intense! They both sew better than I do. That is really awesome!
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