Country Fair

This year, I entered into 3 categories: Knitting, Photography & Scrapbooking. All in all, I had 10 Firsts, 6 Seconds and 1 Third. Not too shabby!

Above is a cardigan I knit previously, using Paton's Katrina yarn, corresponding pattern and many, tiny pearl buttons. This yarn is no longer available, likely because it pilled and snagged if you even breathed near it!

There was only one, open category for knitting this year and I had a tough time narrowing down what my submission would be. I showed up at the drop off with 3 projects and made a decision on the spot.

In the second year that you enter the photography competition, you are no longer considered "Novice", which means you can be competing with someone who may earn up to 50% of their salary from photography. I was pretty excited to see that I'd earned a few firsts, seconds and even a third in this division!

The above photo was submitted in the "Seasonal" category and was taken down the road from my home.

This is my photo from the "Olympic Memories" category -- I thought it was such a dichotomy -- Winter Olympics ... no snow ... February ... and the cherry trees blooming at least a month early!

This is the "Series" category. Photos taken at Minter Gardens in the Fraser Valley, last summer.

The photo in the middle was also entered separately in the "Flower Power" category and took 1st place.

These are actually 2-page layouts, with the 2nd page hidden under the 1st, to save space, so it looks a bit odd to me. This page is for the "People" category and showcases my Scottish aunts and cousins from my trip 2 years ago.

The top 3 hanging pages are all mine. This is the 1 page division in (L-R) categories: "People", "Pets & Animals", "Seasonal. The left one is our grandson, Josh, celebrating his 13th birthday, the middle, our former dog, "Brinkley" and the last, our B-I-L, nephew and great niece ice fishing on the lake in Alberta. It was tough to take photos in the barn, as it was so dark, but couldn't really use a flash, either, as it bounced off the plastic covers ... grrrr!

2-page division: "Pets & Animals" - our great nieces, with Brinkley

2 page division: "Seasonal" This is our house in the freak snowstorm we had 2 years ago. This was the first time all of Canada experiences a "White Christmas" in something like 40 years!

2 page ... can't remember the division!

The crowning glory ... I couldn't believe it when this page won "Best in Show"!!! It's of my parents, sister & I, plus husbands, celebrating my folks 50th anniversary last summer.

All in all, I was very happy with the results and made a little extra cash, so not too shabby!