Needlework

2026 Entry Instructions

ONLINE ENTRY IS REQUIRED. To be an Exhibitor, click on the Online Entry link and follow the instructions. If you have questions, or are unable to complete the online form, please contact the department superintendent.

Entry deadlines are listed on the Entry Deadlines and Delivery Schedule page.

New for 2026

Slow Stitching: This new category in wall hangings and embroidery is about using the needle and thread in the same way you’d use a paintbrush. It’s about creating art, and about enjoying the process rather than worrying about the product.

Needle Felting: Needle felting is a craft that uses specially designed notched needles to sculpt wool into shapes and designs.

Crocheted Amigurumi and Knit Amigurumi: These are cute animals, toys and holiday treasures that are crocheted or knit.

“What Can You Make With a Fat Quarter?” is sponsored by the American Sewing Guild, Connecticut Chapter. What is a fat quarter as it relates to fabric? A “fat quarter” in fabric is a pre-cut piece of fabric that is essentially a quarter yard of material, but cut widthwise to create a larger, more square-like piece, typically measuring around 18 inches by 22 inches; it’s considered “fat” because it’s wider than a standard quarter yard cut which would be much narrower along the width of the fabric. Each of these entries uses at least 1 fat quarter in the project. All entries are judged using the Danish system. The American Sewing Guild will Award the Best in Show for this Class.

Rules

1. Only 1 article may be exhibited in each class/lot designation in a category by an exhibitor, and all articles exhibited must be made by that exhibitor.
2. Professionals are welcome to exhibit in categories other than those in which they earn a living.
3. No article previously exhibited at the Durham Fair can compete again for prizes.
4. Soiled and dirty articles will not be accepted.
5. All pictures and wall hangings must be equipped for hanging.
6. It is recommended that wall hangings be washed, pressed and/or stretched.
7. Heirloom sewing is considered to be sewing that incorporates lace and or embroidered insertions and edgings.
8. All exhibits must remain on display until close of the Fair at 6 PM on Sun. Exhibits may be picked up from 6 to 7:30 PM on Sun., or from 4 to 7 PM on Mon. following the Fair.
9. All items must be completed within the last 3 years.
10. After the Storm Art Bra has specific rules and entry requirements.
    View After the Storm rules here

Judging

Review the Judging Criteria to see both overall review standards, as well as criteria specific to the various categories.

Awards:

• First Place: Blue Ribbon
• Second Place: Red Ribbon
• Third Place: Yellow Ribbon
• Honorable Mention: Light Blue Ribbon
• Special Ribbon: Above and beyond First Place
• Best of Show: Each Category can have one item that is “Best” amongst all Special Awards.

Clif Gastler Memorial Award: A special award will be given for the Best Bed Sized Quilt hand quilted. In memory of Clif Gastler by the Gastler family. The award will be a Special Ribbon, $50 and a Plaque with the winner’s name permanently displayed in the Department’s Court of Honor.

Parsons Family Memorial Award: This award is in memory of all the Parsons Griswold family members that spent countless hours volunteering in the Needlework Department. A special award will be given for the Best Quilt that reminds the Parson’s family and the Needlework Committee of Susan Burtis. Susan was a Needlework Committee member for many years and this award is in Loving Memory for her love of Quilts. A Special Ribbon, and a Memorial Bud Vase will be awarded.

Pogmore/Bastura Award: This award is given in memory of long time Exhibitors Dorothy Pogmore and Shirley Bastura. These sisters have dedicated more than 50 years of entering exhibits in the Needlework Department in crochet and hand knit items. The person who receives this award will demonstrate a love of those two categories.

Needlework Grand Champion Award: A Grand Champion rosette ribbon and a plate will be awarded to the exhibitor with the highest number of points

• Best of Show: 10 points
• Special: 7 points
• First Place: 5 points
• Second Place: 0 points
• Third Place: 0 point
• Honorable Mention: 0 points

After the Storm Art Bra Show Award: A Special Ribbon, and a Memorial Bud Vase will be awarded to the winner in this category. Also the winner will be guaranteed a spot in the Art Bra Runway Show in August 2025 where the bra will be auctioned to raise money for breast cancer survivors.

Community Service Category

The Durham Fair Needlework Department received an Award of Distinction for Competitive Exhibits for this unique class in 2017. This is an International Recognition from the International Association of Fairs and Expositions (IAFE). The IAFE Competitive Exhibits contest provides fairs with a unique collaboration experience, allowing them to critique competitive exhibits while strengthening that vital aspect of fairs, internationally. We have donated hundreds of items through this category to support local charities and we are gracious for your support.

This year we are focusing on Veterans Shawls that will be donated to Middlesex Hospital to be given to veterans who are in hospice/comfort care. Please consider making a patriotic shawl for this charity.

Other donations to charities will be to:

• Center for Children's Advocacy
• St. Vincent DePaul/Amazing Grace Food Pantry
• Twin Maples
• Shepard's Home
• After the Storm
• QOV

The Needlework Department will again feature the “Quilt of Valor Quilt Block.”

• The Quilt of Valor Quilt Block will be used by QOV State Coordinators to help fill outstanding requests for a Quilt of Valor not covered by local groups and will ease the waiting list of requests.
• The 2026 Quilt block square is the Echoes Block Click here for the instructions

In addition, we will continue to collect items for cancer patients, homeless, veterans, and children in crisis. This includes QOV quilt block, art bras, prayer/serenity shawls, lap blankets, hats, mittens, and scarves, socks. Please consider making an item to enter in this year’s fair, or get together with friends, church groups, or community organizations and donate them. We will be collecting them and displaying them at the fair and then distributing them to local charities that support this effort. Although an exhibitor can enter only one item per category, participants in our drive can donate as many items as they want.

Challenge Class

This year’s Challenge Class for each major category is “America the Beautiful”

Association of Connecticut Fairs Quilt Contest

Sponsored by The Association of Connecticut Fairs and the Durham Agricultural Fair Association. Visit the Quilt Contest page at ctagfairs.org for complete categories, rules, prizes, judging criteria and information on the State Quilt Contest.

The Durham Fair doesn’t have a separate entry for the State Quilt Contest. The Durham Fair will choose 1 quilt from each of the 3 categories to send to the State Quilt Contest based on Quilts entered into the Durham Fair that meet the rules of the State Quilt Contest.

Quilt Class Descriptions

Quilt Classes have changed this year. Large Quilt perimeter must measure a minimum of 216", Small quilt perimeter must be less than 216". All quilt perimeters must be at least 120".

• Pieced: Any pieced quilt constructed, pieced quilted by 1 person to finish the project.
• Appliqued: Quilts in this category are constructed by attaching pieces of fabric with thread to a background by either hand and/or machine.
• Mixed Technique: Any quilt that displays a balance of two or more specific quilting techniques (iec. Pieced, applique, etc.)
• Art Quilt Original Design: Any quilt using any technique or combination of techniques or materials in a non-traditional manner:
  • Abstract composition (a non-identifiable subject that stresses mostly color, line, and shape).
  • Naturescape (a quilt that reflects the scenery found in nature, such as land, mountains, forests, gardens, and deserts). Animals and humans may be included but should not be the focus of the piece).
  • Pictorial (a quilt that represents a recognizable image of a person, place, or thing)
• Embellished: Any quilt that displays surface embellished in any manner other than appliquè. This category may include but is not limited to: Crazy Quilts, Hand Embroidery, Redwork, Beading, Fabric Collages, and/or Thread Painting.
• Machine Embroidery: Any construction technique where machine embroidery is integral to one or more of the following: decoration, construction and/or quilting.
• Modern: A quilt that relies on current bold, graphic fabrics and their unusual placement in the creative process. Typical characteristics that may be present: high contrast and graphic areas of solid color; improvisational piecing, minimalism and expansive use of negative space; asymmetry; exaggerated scale and cropping and/or interpretative use of classic quilt designs.
• Quilt from Kit: Quilts made using a kit which provided pattern and fabric packaged by the vendor for sale as one unit. Block of the month quilts would also fall under this category.
• Whole Cloth: A whole cloth quilt is made from one large piece of fabric as its top layer. No patchwork or appliqué is used in the quilt design. Embellishment relies on quilting motifs and quilting stitches which are usually intricate and closely spaced.
• Scrap Quilt: Quilt top must incorporate at least 50 different fabrics.
• Seasonal Quilt: Any quilt reflecting traditional holiday or seasonal motifs.
• Baby Quilt: Quilt perimeter size is at least 144” and uses fabrics appropriate for baby.
• Group Quilt: Any quilt constructed, pieced, quilted by 2 or more people to finish the project.
• Challenge Class: Any quilt that reflects the category of “Home Sweet Home".
• Miscellaneous: Any quilt that doesn’t fit in any other category, or an additional quilt the exhibitor would like to enter.
• Beginner, First time Exhibitor: This class is for your first quilt ever entered into the fair. The entry can be any construction technique, any size, and any finish method.