Going to the Fair

This year, for the first time, I submitted some pieces to the State Fair. My mother-in-law submits beautiful work every year (and usually wins) but I had never considered it. She talked me into it though, and I submitted two pieces.

The first, my recently completed vest, I submitted in the category for knitted vests. It got a participation ribbon. I don't actually know what that means, since not all the entrants got one.

Vest on display with ribbon

The second piece, my set of trivets, won fourth place in the category of "other handspun item".

Terrible photo of trivets and yarn sample on display with ribbon.

Going to the fair was kind of weird though. It was like there were two fairs: the agricultural and craft fair, displaying the talents of Marylanders, and an amusement park. At the state fair I went to growing up, it had both, but they were on opposite sides of the fairgrounds. Here, they were all mixed together.

The produce competition:

best set of 8 corn cobs

Craft competitions:

Craft competitions, mostly quilts and needlework in this area

 Amusement park:

Stoned penguin and squids?

And it seemed like the two parts of the fair didn't mix that much, except that parents took little kids to see the farm animals.

I did get to see some gorgeous knitting (and other crafts). Maybe it will inspire me to be a little more careful with my next project, so that it holds up to close scrutiny.