How to Enter the Lake County Illinois Fair

Melayna asked about the process of entering a piece in the Lake County Illinois Fair, but I have no way of contacting her so please indulge me as I answer here.  You can search for their website, but remember to add the "Illinois" to the search, as there is also a Lake County in Indiana. 

Their Website is: https://lcfair.com  and the dates for the 2019 fair have already been posted, but that is all the information that there is for 2019. The 2019 premium book will not be that much different.  The 2019 book should be up in the late spring.  I usually start checking right around Easter and keep checking until it is posted.  I don't see the 2018 book listed anymore but if you send me your contact information I can e-mail it to you as I have it saved.

Good luck!

Lake County Illinois Fair

 Sunday afternoon I took a ride up to the Lake County Illinois Fair grounds.  Seems like everyone else wanted to go there too!  I had to park in what seems like the next state!  

 

 

 

After lots and lots of walking I finally reached the exhibit hall.  My reason for going to the fair was to check out the needlework entries.  I had planned to enter some pieces but with the events of the past months, I didn't get a chance to get my paperwork in.  I will be entering next year for sure.

 
 
 









I am happy to report that the judging seemed better this year.  I was very disappointed in the
judging last year.  The winner in last year's Needlepoint division was a counted cross stitch piece, beautifully done, but definitely not needlepoint!  The judges should have know the difference and either moved it to the correct division or disqualified the piece.  Instead they had given it a champion's ribbon.  Just shows that they obviously didn't know what they were doing. 

This years entries, although still a bit sparse, were very lovely.  This is my favorite piece!  It is a hardanger  mat designed by Lori Bermingham, one of four seasons of mats that actually fit into a tray.  I have this chart, as well as the other three and the tray that I plan to stitch someday!  The stitcher did a lovely jog and it is well deserving of the grand champion ribbon. 







More pictures from the exhibit.

Most of the pieces were lovely.  In cases, I had to wonder why the piece did or did not get a ribbon.  It would be nice to know what the judges are looking for.











In the upper left corner of this piece is a round frame.  It was Laura Perrin's Christmas wreath.  It was beautifully stitch, but the framing was horrible!  It looked like the canvas was just cut in a round shape and put in the frame.  It was not mounted, it didn't lay flat in the frame, I am sure the poor framing cost this piece a ribbon. 

 

 



I ended the day with a funnel cake and a lemonade shake up to fortify myself for the long trek back to
my car.

WIP Wednesday 7-25-2018

And here we are, Wednesday again, and time to show you all my progress.  This is after 8 1/2 weeks of stitching, and 5 out of 6 pages done.  Not much left to do, and then some backstitching!

A Finishing Finish.....

I stitched this a few years ago, and have had the frame and the mount board cut for a few years, but finally sat down to "finish" it last night. 

 

Maria Kreiling   1929 - 2018

 



Maria Filko Kreiling was born on February 3, 1929, in Denta, Romania, a small rural German community, to Anton Filko and Eva Rischar.   An older brother died in infancy, her younger brother, Franz, is still with us.  She had hoped to become a Kindergarten teacher but the war prevented her from furthering her education.  She was active in the church, and since the town was small, a priest wasn’t always available every Sunday.  When a priest couldn’t come for Sunday Mass, she led the Word Communion Services for the congregation as a young girl. 

When WW2 broke out, her father was conscripted into the German Army, was captured and became a Russian prisoner for 7 years.  Maria, her mother and younger brother decided to leave Romania and made their way to Austria as many of the local Germans were either taken away by the Russians or the partisans and put into work or death camps.  They hitched rides, and walked, stole food from farmers’ fields, and did what they had to do to survive, until they reached a refugee camp in Austria. 

In 1996, my parents, my children and I were part of a trip to Germany, Austria and Hungary with the youth group.  One day while we were in Hungary, we had lunch in a restaurant along the Danube.  Just outside the restaurant was what looked like an area to launch boats.  It was actually a rope ferry to cross the river.  My mother gathered everyone there and described to us how on a very early Sunday morning, they crossed the Danube in place just like this one.  All the bridges had been bombed, so a rope ferry was their only way to cross the river.  She described in vivid detail how they had to keep the horses silent and quietly cross the river at dawn. 

 

We can only imagine all the hardships they had to endure during their refugee journey across Europe.  After a stay in a refugee camp in Austria, they were taken in by a local farmer in exchange for work on the farm.  They found some jobs, my uncle as a field hand, and my mother as a nanny/governess. 

My parents met, they dated with my grandmother along, and were married.  Shortly after that, Onkel Franz left for the USA.   My grandfather was released from the Russian prisoner of war camp and miraculously found his wife and daughter.  By the time I was born, and the entire family decided to immigrate to the United States, where my uncle was preparing an apartment for us.  Sadly, having joined the US Army, he was shipped off to Germany before we arrived. , My parents and I flew to the US on a US troupe transport plane and landed in New York on July 15, 1955, where we were met by relatives and put on the train to Chicago.  My grandparents came by boat. 

Once in Chicago, my parents enrolled in night school at Lane Tech to learn English and got jobs.  They both worked for 3M Revere for a number of years.  In later years, my mother worked at Neumann’s bakery, and then for many years at Schmeisser’s meat market in Niles, where she was responsible for running the front of the shop and making potato salad and gravies, sewing up goose breasts at holiday time and also babysitting the Schmeisser boys.    She never learned to drive but could navigate the entire city and suburbs on the bus better than anyone I know. 

She was very active in the German American Community.  She was the president of the Donauschwaben Women’s Auxiliary for 40 years, and ran the kitchen at the Donauschwaben from 1983 until her retirement not that long ago.  Cooking, baking and feeding people was her life.  She ran the kitchen that fed 500 people at a time, and made potato salad for German fest for thousands!  She cooked for her family too, and often showed up at one of our houses with a ziplock bag of Schnitzel in her purse for someone to take home.  When she couldn’t bake or cook as much anymore, she spent time teaching her granddaughters to bake and cook.  She taught them to be frugal and not waste food and told them “it’s expensive to grow a cow!”

She was so thrilled to become an Oma, and even more thrilled when the great grand children arrived.  You could see her eyes light up whenever these little people were around.  She was so very proud of her grandchildren, and their accomplishments.  They truly were the light of her life.

She had a deep devotion to our blessed mother.  She sang in the Donauschwaben choir.  She picked the hymns for the funeral mass herself many years ago, by telling Viki, “I like that hymn, you should sing it at my funeral.”   20 years ago, she gave Viki a book of Ave Marias and told her that she must sing one at her funeral.  She was always in control.

It has been a long, hard journey for her and for all of us, but she is now at rest.  Our faith tells us we will see each other again.  When you arrive at the pearly gates don’t look for her seated at the heavenly banquet, you won’t find her sitting there.  You will find her in the kitchen, directing the angels, supervising the meal preparation and teaching them to make Wiener Schnitzel. 

WIP Wednesday 7-18-2018

It is Wednesday again, and time for an update.  Here is Dreaming of Tuscany, after 7 1/2 weeks of stitching, almost done with 5 pages. 

WIP 7-11-2018

After 6 1/2 weeks of stitching, 4 out of 6 pages are complete!  Not as much stitching time this week, but there is progress!

WIP Wednesday 7-4-2018

Here we are, Wednesday again and time to show you my progress.  Even though it has been a busy week, I did get some quality stitching time in and I am quite happy with the progress.  I have been stitching on this piece for 5 1/2 weeks now and I feel that the end is in sight. 

Hope your 4th of July was a joyful one.

Another month is over!  I did get a good amount of stitching time this month and am officially more than half finished with Dreaming of Tuscany.  I think I am right on track to get it finished and framed before the Anniversary party. 

June 2018
WISPS:
10 hours on Rocky Mountain Christmas 
Antique Map and Needlebook
Heirloom Christmas Sampler
Oveture II 

In Progress

4 person RR Marguerite’s
Merry Bells #1 
Linen & Threads 2017 Part 5
Dreaming of Tuscany  worked on it
Hardanger Heart 

Maynia starts

1.       #5 (perpetual calendar)
2.       #6 (perpetual calendar)
3.       #7 (perpetual calendar)
4.       #8 (perpetual calendar)
5.       #9 (perpetual calendar)
6.       Candy Corn #2
7.       Ambrosia Honey
8.       Scissors case
9.       May flower of the month
10.   June flower of the month
11.   July flower of the month
12.   French alphabet page
13.   Hardanger runner
14.   Hardanger ornament
15.   Snowman Heart
16.   Marnee Ritter Heart
17.   Gingerbread heart
18.   ANG Blue Tree
19.   journey bag
20.   Snow Sampler
21.   Fox Embellishment square
22.   Foxy Fob

Future New starts

Fob Model for Sue  finished
Alphabet Band model #2 for Sue finished
Diamond City Lights worked on it
Flag pin  finished
Large Bargello Ball #2
Small Bargello Ball #2
Winds of Grace (6 of them)
Towmater x 2
Lightning McQueen x2
Cupcake ornaments:
                Logan
                Natalie
                Owen
                Peter
                Justin
                Nathan
Spring
Summer
Winter
Crystal Violets
Peter’s stocking
Mark & Karen’s wedding sampler
Tony & Melissa’s wedding sampler
Carnival
Walking on Water’s Edge

July 2018

WISPS:
10 hours on Rocky Mountain Christmas 
Antique Map and Needlebook
Heirloom Christmas Sampler
Oveture II 

In Progress

4 person RR Marguerite’s
Merry Bells #1 
Linen & Threads 2017 Part 5
Dreaming of Tuscany  
Hardanger Heart 
Diamond City Lights
 
Maynia starts
1.       #5 (perpetual calendar)
2.       #6 (perpetual calendar)
3.       #7 (perpetual calendar)
4.       #8 (perpetual calendar)
5.       #9 (perpetual calendar)
6.       Candy Corn #2
7.       Ambrosia Honey
8.       Scissors case
9.       May flower of the month
10.   June flower of the month
11.   July flower of the month
12.   French alphabet page
13.   Hardanger runner
14.   Hardanger ornament
15.   Snowman Heart
16.   Marnee Ritter Heart
17.   Gingerbread heart
18.   ANG Blue Tree
19.   journey bag
20.   Snow Sampler
21.   Fox Embellishment square
22.   Foxy Fob

Future New starts

Large Bargello Ball #2
Small Bargello Ball #2
Winds of Grace (6 of them)
Towmater x 2
Lightning McQueen x2
Cupcake ornaments:
                Logan
                Natalie
                Owen
                Peter
                Justin
                Nathan
Spring
Summer
Winter
Crystal Violets
Peter’s stocking
Mark & Karen’s wedding sampler
Tony & Melissa’s wedding sampler
Carnival
Walking on Water’s Edge