They ranged from magnificent to

"this is the first time I've tried" and "not good enough".
I spent yesterday at our state show grounds helping to prepare for the annual state show. I will spend tomorrow there as well, working more in the area of greatest interest to me.
Yesterday was more embroidery, millinery, dressmaking, and so on.
Tomorrow there will be knitting and crochet. Some of those things have already arrived - there are always a few entries from interstate.
Yes, as usual, people forgot their paper work. That pad and pen came in very useful. I must not forget it tomorrow. We will need it again. 
But people brought in extraordinary things. One woman brought in eight - yes, eight - magnificent smocked dresses. They were made by her mother. One of those won "best in show" for that section and it truly deserved it. The workmanship was exquisite. I asked who would be the lucky one to wear them and yes, the woman's granddaughter will get at least one of them. I think some of the others will be charitable donations. 
At the other end of the artistic scale a young girl brought in a costume - a dress she had designed made out of keys of all sorts of shapes and sizes. It looked heavy. I am sure it is.
A woman of 87 came in with her son carrying her entries. She has entered an extraordinary piece of tatting - which she designed herself. There was some embroidery as well but the tatting had me almost drooling. I can't tat. It is beyond the abilities of my paws. I can however appreciate it.
There were some things for our state's women's and children's hospital...chemo caps, memory boxes, cuddly toys. One chemo cap was particularly soft, just right for a sensitive scalp. Another was beautifully felted but also surprisingly soft. One of the memory boxes had been covered in embroidery - in such a way that I wondered if the person who had made it had also lost a baby. And the toys? There was an exquisitely made doll, not too big and definitely cuddly...and that teddy bear got quite a few hugs as the stewards went about their work.
More will come in tomorrow. We stewards will stand there waiting for the decisions of the judges. Will they or won't they choose the items we have, ever so briefly, fallen in love with or will they choose something else? 
I know some people will be disappointed because they have not won prizes. Others will be genuinely surprised. Some will have a fair idea that, unless something else of a similar standard turns up, they will get something.
And I think of all the people I know who could have entered something and simply couldn't be bothered. They are missing out on a lot of pleasure, pleasure at seeing their work displayed and the possibility of a ribbon to keep for ever after.