Closing the chapter

The CA State Fair closed at the end of July and my entry was returned this week. I tore open the box and pulled out an envelope that contained the ribbon and judge's scoresheet.





The judge's comments are,

Wow! This is a wonderful piece of double knitting. I'm amazed at how well you maintained your tension with so much going on! Good job!

I had to read it twice because I thought if anything was going to knock me down a few notches, it was going to be the tension. I guess not. And it was good to hear that she recognized the technique and the level of difficulty. So, that closes the the chapter on this year's entry. As I'm working on next year's entry, I'm thinking, "Why do I put myself through this?" lol

Here are the rest of the photos I took at the fair. Enjoy the amazing work by these talented makers and other sights from the fair!


Lunch on a stick


Kabobs


Meat on the grill


Cow wash


Best of Show
Decorated Cake, Tiered Cake
Wine Country Vines and Flowers
Shay Weisbrich


Best of Class
Decorated Cupcakes, Uniform Cupcakes
Hamburger
Joana Rodriguez


Winners in Leavened Bread, Non-Leavened Bread, and Quick Bread


Best of Division
Decorated Cookies, Themed Cookie Set
Golden State Sweets
Cynthia Torres


First Place
Decorated Cookies, Themed Cookie Set
Sunshine & Summertime
Kimberly Vadenais


Best of Class
Youth Decorated Cake, Age 16-18
Chess Cake
Sara Cheng


King Arthur Flour gluten free baking contest
First Place
Mexican Corn Stick
Jennine Quiring

Second Place
Strawberry Cabernet Cake
Rachael Ryen

Third Place
Brown Butter & Mixed Berries Mini Cakes
Peggy Linberg


Second Place
Models, Buildings and Rooms
Fallingwater
Bill Reese
Sacramento


Third Place
Models, Buildings and Rooms
Caveman Camping
Kevin Knight
Sacramento


Best of Division, Embroidery (Counted Techniques)
Judge's Choice
First Place
Mother of Winter
Lona Bradford
Sacramento








Award of Excellence
3-D Artworks
Patience
Molly Brown
Sacramento


First Place
Handspun Yarn, Wool
Sock Yarn
Melissa Plummer
Amador


Second Place
Handspun Yarn, Wool
Derby Girl
Rachel Coffman
Placer


First Place
Handspun Yarn, Art/Textured Yarn
Christmas!
Betty Henderson-Sparks
Sacramento


Second Place
Handspun Yarn, Art/Textured Yarn
Fairy Queen
Ha Dang
Sacramento


Honorable Mention
Handspun Yarn, Luxury Fibers
Sunset Silk
Tabitha Warren
Marin


Honorable Mention
Other Fiber Art, Weaving
Amethyst in the sunshine
Pamela McSmith
Riverside


Honorable Mention
Other Fiber Art, Weaving
Color: I can't help myself!
Roberta Valdez
Santa Cruz


First Place
Modern Quilts, Two or More People -Medium/Large
Alissa McBain
Sacramento


Honorable Mention
Crochet, Crocheted Afghans
2017 Temperature Blanket
Josephine Salazar
San Joaquin


First Place
Crochet, Any Other Crocheted Item
Bed Doily
Suzanne Sullivan
Sacramento


First Place
Crochet, Crocheted Wearing Apparel
Judge's Choice
Forest Fairy
Suzanne Sullivan
Sacramento


Second Place
Crochet, Crocheted Wearing Apparel
Summer Vest
Suzanne Sullivan
Sacramento


Honorable Mention
Crochet, Crocheted Wearing Apparel
Sacramento Crochet Guild Award
Royal Baby
Noelia Briones
Sacramento


First Place
Dolls and Toys, Amigurumi
Wakanda Forever
Adwoa Cooper
Solano


First Place & Third Place
Crafting a Brighter Future, Newborns in Need: Any Baby Hat or Booties
Melinda Wong
Sacramento

Late to the Instant Pot Party

I saw that the Instant Pot 6-in-1 was 30% off on Amazon, so I asked for input on FB and was amazed at how much positive feedback my friends had. No one had anything bad to say about it, so I placed my order.

For those who are not familiar with this appliance, you can use it to saute and brown, and it also is a pressure cooker, rice cooker, slow cooker, steamer, and warmer. I have 2 Fagor stove top pressure cookers, as well as cookware and/or appliances to handle everything else, so I wasn't sure if I wanted to buy the Instant Pot. But we recently replaced our electric coil stove which wasn't ideal for pressure cooking, with a glass cook top which is even worse for pressure cooking because the cooking surface doesn't change temperature quickly. Also, babysitting a pressure cooker was kind of annoying--is it too hot, is it too cool, did it lose pressure, should I add an extra minute or two, etc., etc.. I know, it all sounds pretty trivial. But automating pressure cooking, replacing the rice cooker that has a plastic coated insert, and getting a larger slow cooker were all positives.

It arrived today. The unit is a little bigger than our rice cooker, which is what I expected. The cooking vessel is stainless steel, so that's a plus.



I made Broccoli Soup using this recipe, omitting the cream and cheese and adding celery. It took longer to chop the vegetables and blend it than the 5 minutes it took to cook. So far, so good. My friends were right on the money.

In the garden

I'm a little sad. Our fruit cocktail tree is nearly finished producing for the year. On the positive side, the fruit has been delicious and we're still enjoying it.

The first to ripen was the Blenheim apricots. What we didn't eat fresh, we dried and froze.


Blenheim apricots

The Independence nectarines were next and they ripened about a week earlier than expected. That's okay, we were ready for them. I turned a bunch of them into a cobbler.


Nectarine Cobbler

The Santa Rosa plums are the last to ripen and they're really delicious. They're so juicy, I have to eat them over the sink. Seriously.


Santa Rosa plums and one nectarine

I used the cobbler recipe above and made plum compote. We've been spooning it over pound cake and also mixing it with yogurt. This weekend I used it to make a Red, White, and Blueberries dessert.


Red, white, and blueberries

I picked most of the remaining plums tonight, saving them from the pesky birds and furry varmints.


Santa Rosa Plums

In other garden news, we picked the first tomato of the season today, an Amish Paste tomato. This plant was a surprise as it was self-seeded from last year's crop.


First tomato of 2014

The heirloom tomato plants are doing really well. It seems like they're growing 2 inches per day. We need to corral them into the cages about every other day. Each plant has flowers, so the heirlooms are weeks away.


Heirloom Tomato Plants

7 is a good number

In the blink of an eye (or so it seemed) more artichokes are ready. They're small and tender. Get the steamer going!


7 Artichokes

I'm trying not to get too excited, but the Bartlett pears look good. Last year we had high hopes and they all fell off. Fingers crossed.


Bartlett Pears

The first of many

They don't look like they all came from the same seed packet. Where'd that globe-y guy in the back come from?


Artichokes

Let's eat!

Artichokes are popping up like crazy. We counted 6 on one plant! The good thing is they're not going to be ready to eat all at once, but it won't be long before we have them a few times a week.

This one is ready to be picked.


Ready for the pot

These need a little more time in the sun.


Backyard artichoke


A trio of artichokes

Let's not forget about the apricots. I'm sure the squirrels haven't.


Blenheim Apricot