The second half of the 2012 Indiana State Fair Sheep to Shawl competition starts with each of the team cutting their scarf off of their loom.  I managed to get pictures of the first three, but not the last one because I was in the middle of judging the first scarf at that time.

The first scarf turned into us was from the Legends of the Loom and they were done at 3 hours and about 23 minutes, I’m not exactly sure on the minutes at this point.  Anyway, none were down to the wire like last year, so that made for less stress all the way around.

Mindy, the other judge, and I dove in and began checking the scarves out, measuring, trying them on, and writing down comments and points for each section.  The following pictures are in the order they were turned in to us.

Once we were done examining each scarf, we conferred, added up the scores, checked each other’s math and finished up our part.

And here are the four scarves from this year’s competition.

They are: The Pirates of the Treadle, The Neverlanders, Spinning Through Time and Legends of the Loom.

Close up of the Neverlanders’ scarf.

Close up of The Pirates of the Treadle’s scarf.

Close up of Spinning Through Time’s scarf

And a close up of the Legends of the Loom’s scarf.

Anticipation is so hard!

And the winners were, in reverse order:

4^th place went to The Pirates of the Treadle!

3^rd place went to Legends of the Loom!

2^nd place went to The Neverlanders!

And the Grand Champions were Spinning Through Time!!

They all did terrific jobs, and the differences between the 2^nd and 1^st place winners were very small.  It was a tough choice for Mindy and I.  The only thing that kept The Neverlanders from winning was the fact their sett was too tight and their weaving was too tight.  It looked like a wet finished scarf straight from the loom.  I explained this to the weaver and to the person who ultimately purchased it in the auction.  I recommended washing it in cold water very gently to keep it from fulling any more and becoming too stiff.

After the ribbons were passed out, the auction began.

The auctioneer was good and funny.  He did a great job cajoling more money from the audience.

The first place scarf sold for $300.

The second place scarf sold for $275.

The 3^rd place scarf sold for $400!

And the 4^th place scarf sold for $375.  And it this pirate looks like he’s a character, you’d be right.  Watching him “model” the scarf was a hoot!

The total amount raised came to $1,350 and will be used for the youth program at Conner Prairie, which is where all four teams came from.

And here is everyone showing off their ribbons.  The lady at the far right in the blue shirt is Sue Payne, who taught and guided these teams to where they are today.  And you can tell ell the kids love her.  When her name was announced, they cheered so loud they could have been heard at the Midway.

And the little pin that Mindy and I were wearing?

They proclaimed us as judges.  I am keeping my pin in my little Lane cedar chest with all my other treasures.

I have already let them know that I would be happy to judge again next year.  I love being a part of this and getting to see firsthand how well these youth teams spin, weave and hold up under pressure.  I can’t wait until next year.