Judge of 4-H entries knows fine work

Zeda Bashford has a warm heart but a judge's cold eye.

For 32 years, Bashford has served as an arbiter of talent and skill among the children of 4-H, who put their little hands to work painting, sewing, spinning, weaving and carving to make what they hope will be blue-ribbon winners at the N.C. State Fair.

"I've seen a lot like that," Bashford said as another judge passed a tie-dyed T-shirt to her. The three spent most of the day before the fair opened scrutinizing the entries of the 9-to-15-year-old category of 4-H crafters. There were hundreds of items.

Stuffed bears. Pottery. Stenciling. Quilts, beadwork, crochet, hooked rugs, tiled flowerpots. Each one had to be judged and commented on in writing, whether it took a ribbon or not.

"Beautiful work," Bashford wrote on the identifying tag of a stenciling entry.

Bashford, who lives in Garner, knows what's good. In her 91 years, she has done trapunto, a kind of raised quilting; embroidery; crochet; and cross-stitch. She judges the children's work not just on how good it is, but also on how original it is and how much skill it shows for the age of the entrant.

Items are sent to the fair from 4-H Club members across the state, and many of their owners came to Raleigh to see their handiwork in one of the display cases in the Commercial Building.

Bashford hopes they all felt like winners.