Madison decided to do the “Designed by Me” project for 4-H. This required her to learn about the “total look” and about embellishments. Her final project was to use two types of embellishments on a top. Her personal goal was to complete the project by early judging (July) rather than late judging (August). She met her goal, and she did it almost all by herself. She enjoyed this project the most out of the past four years (cake decorating, scrapbooking, and creative writing), so she was more self-motivated. She did an awesome job selecting a shirt, adding ribbon with Stitch Witchery, and sewing on decorative buttons with embroidery thread. Then, she paired that with jean capris, ballet flats, and bracelets. She was ready for judging.
She did a wonderful job and showed much confidence with the judge (who happened to be my former home ec teacher in high school).
She walked away with an Outstanding ribbon. We ended the night with a trip to Muddy’s restaurant in Wooster to celebrate.
A few weeks later, we learned that she was selected to go to the Ohio State Fair with her project in August. So, we geared up for that – same outfit, same book, same poster. New judges, new format, new experiences.
We registered then headed back to the changing room.
While she and I were in there, we asked some more experience state fairgoers what to expect. She was to be interviewed by a judge first.
Then, do a practice run (but judged) for the Style Review. So, she got to walk the runway. So cool!
Then, the other judges walked through and talked to each person from around the state about their project they had brought. After that, we had a short break to roam around the fair before returning for the Style Review for an audience of many parents, family, etc. (See next post for fair fun).
Ellie had fun exploring the fair with Jeremy and then watching the Style Revue, too.
She did a great job walking the runway. Pretty sure it was her favorite part. She received a participation ribbon. It was an honor to head to State Fair.
Ellie decided to stick with the dogs for her second year. She chose the project “You and Your Dog.” It focused on your dog’s records and medical history. It was not quite as exciting to her as last year’s project (All about dogs). Even so, both projects were more book oriented and less hands on than some of the other projects out there.
One thing she had to do was have Pepper evaluated for the AKC Good Citizen dog. We weren’t able to be officially assessed, but our 4-H advisor took him (and Ellie) through each of the criteria. Pepper did a surprisingly good job. He is getting better with new situations, new people, and and new experiences. It all goes better with treats – which Ann plied him with throughout the testing.
Ellie worked on her poster up until the very last day. It turned out great. She headed to late judging the evening of August 9. She was much more confident this year than last with the process, and it was good to see that growth.
She had a good judge who asked her a few questions and complimented her.
She walked away with an Outstanding ribbon for her hard work.
We ended the night at Red Lobster to celebrate. Which quickly went south when we were seated and getting our food and I realized that my purse did not have my wallet in it. Not kidding. I had zero money, credit cards, ID, nothing. I had taken it out after going to the bank and forgot to put it back in. I told my waitress who got the manager. I was able (thankfully) to get ahold of Jeremy, who was on a flight to California, to give me his credit card info so I could pay. It was a bit embarrassing to say the least.
Ironically, Madison stumbled on a $5 bill when she was in the bathroom, so we had that. She also needed a pair of slides. So, we headed to Old Navy to see if they had slides. They did, but they were $8 – too expensive. Instead, the girls found the clearance rack with some shirts for 97 cents! We walked out with 5 shirts for less than $5. Pretty impressive. It redeemed the night. It was a memorable end to a good night to say the least.
