Sunday, August 10, 2014

Warren County Fair 2014

This year at the Fair, I entered 18 items and won 17 ribbons - 4 red (2nd place) and 13 blue (1st place) and won $38.25. I had been working on this year's entries since the last fair and spent most of the fall, winter, and spring getting things made. 

Most of my ideas came from Pinterest. I can spend a lot of time browsing through the pages and pages and pages. After finding something interesting, I click on it and WOW - there's another page that leads to another page that leads to another world and then I get lost and find that an hour has passed.  


(If you click on the picture, it will open wider) 

These are the items that I entered this year that earned Blue Ribbons. Kara's scrapbook, the fashion doll bridal dress, the knitted AG doll outfit (she's a painter and has her paint supplies and paint palette), the Trick-or-treat AG doll outfit (she has a mask and a trick-or-treat bag with lots of tiny goodies inside. I found a site where you can download lots of printables for candy wrappers and chip bags. They turned out great!) The plastic canvas tissue box cover was really pretty - it was done in ivory yarn with ivory ribbon and then I glued a tiny ivory pearl in each of the little squares. 

I had a lot of fun knitting the baby layette. I actually managed to learn how to knit cables and the front of the sweater has a cable in the middle of the front. The set includes a car-seat blanket, booties, hat, sweater, and pants. Since I was in a knitting mood, I also knitted a pair of white baby booties and a yellow baby bonnet. I had knitted a blue hat and mittens for Alex last year for the fair, but I already had a hat and mittens to enter so I save them for this year. Unfortunately, I think they are too small for him this year. I think I'll add them to the stash of hats and mittens my church group is making for the pre-K classes at one of the local elementary schools. 

The blue booties that I crocheted with thread turned out nice. We have a great-nephew who's wife is expecting, so I'm pretty sure (if the baby is a girl!) I'll be giving the booties to them along with the baby layette.

I found a pattern on Pinterest (of course!) for the knitted slippers. They turned out great! I love them! Kara, Maggie, and Emma want a pair, too. I have the yarn ready, just have to sit down and make them. The little champaign-colored purse was crocheted with cording that a church friend gave me. It is a little shiny and that makes it so pretty! I lined it with a light colored fabric and added a zippered pocket inside and also a zipper to close the purse. I used bright blue for the bookmark and added blue beads and a little metal disk to the cording. 


My afghan got a red ribbon. I really don't understand that. This thing was beautiful with the popcorn designs. What's wrong with those judges!! Two other red ribbons were for the ecru doily (again - what's up with those judges?), and the blue neck scarf that is for my little cousin in Fairfax. I had knitted hats for her and her little sisters but held the scarf back to enter into the fair. I don't think she'll mind. The last red ribbon was for the pink hot-mat. I crocheted it with pink thread because that's all I had left that was a color. I have a lot of ecru and white, but I wanted the hot-mat to be colorful. I hand-stitched a circular piece of pink felt to the bottom. 

This is my final year for making things to enter in the Fair. I've run out of ideas. Pinterest has millions and millions of ideas, but I think I'm burned out. All my energies went into finishing things. There were a few things that didn't get to the fair. After looking at them, I decided that they weren't "Fair-worthy" !  The ladies slippers are the second pair I made. I unraveled the first pair and re-knitted them. I'm sure I'll still make things, but not for the fair. I'll still be making cards and scrapbooks, too, so I think I'll still be busy.