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Alison Wallace
Another Crook County resident has brought home a winning entry in the wool category — and this time it was in the state-level contest, “Make it With Wool.”
Local contestant, Alison Wallace of Powell Butte, won the 17-24 year-old division (called the senior division) at the event, which was held in Sunriver Dec. 3, and was named the Senior Winner. She will have the opportunity to go to Scottsdale, Ariz. in January to compete in the National Contest at the American Sheep Industry Convention.
Wallace has been sewing since she was very young. She has been working with wool for the past six to seven years.
“I actually like it better than cottons and stuff, it lays a lot nicer,” commented Wallace.
She purchases a lot of her fabric from Pendleton and Washougal, both of which sell the Pendleton fabrics. According to Wallace, it can be difficult to find wool fabric that has a high enough percentage of wool fiber.
“I like being able to go there, and I know what percentage is in their wool.”
For the contest, Wallace said she made a gray and black, vintage-style, fitted dress. She also made a blue plaid garment, but she won the contest with her gray and black dress.
The Make it With Wool Contest is sponsored by the Oregon Sheep Growers Association, and is held each year in association with the Oregon Sheep Growers convention. According to state director for the contest, Maureen Krebs, it happened to be in Sunriver two years in a row, which is unusual.
“Usually we hold it in conjunction with the Sheep Growers annual convention, and it was in Sunriver the last two years,” commented Krebs. She said that the location moves around the state to various locations.
The contest promotes the beauty and versatility of wool fabrics and yarns, while encouraging creativity in sewing, knitting, and crocheting with these fabrics. The contest is divided into four divisions; pre-teen division, which is up to 12 years of age; the junior division, which is 13-16 years-old, a senior division, 17-24 years old; and adults over 24 years of age. The contest stands alone and is completely independent of any organization.
Krebs has been the state director for the contest for 25-30 years. She described the contest as a sewing and fashion contest with wool — which must be at least 60 percent wool to qualify. Specialty wool fibers include mohair, cashmere, alpaca, camel, llama, and vicuna. The entire garment body (back and sleeves) must be wool or wool-blend fabric.
Construction of the garment or item is 40 percent of the contest and style is 60 percent of the judging. Contestants model their garments and then the garment is inspected more closely by the judges. The winners are then selected to go to the national contest in Scottsdale, Ariz.
“There are approximately 34 contestants per year total,” said Krebs. “This will be the 64th national contest.”
Krebs added that Wallace will compete with contestants from approximately 35 other states. The participants will compete for cash and scholarships at the national level, as well as sewing machines, sewing books, and bolts of Pendleton fabric.
“I also give all the contestants at the state level a yardage of Pendleton fabric. Nationally, every contestant gets a yardage, also. The top places receive additional awards.”
Wallace said that she entered the “Make it For Others Category.” All other categories include items that are made by the contestants. She clarified that she doesn’t make her own fabric.
“The contestants in their categories model for the judges, and the judges take each garment and they inspect the construction,” explained Wallace of the judging process.
Later in the evening, the contestants model for the Wool Growers Association and the other sponsors.
“There is going to be some workshops and stuff for us to do, so it is going to be a whole new experience,” said Wallace. “I just have a lot of fun doing it. I really enjoy sewing, so it’s a good way to do that, meet new people, and have fun.”
