2016 Johnson County Fair - It's a Sweep!

Sunday was opening day of the Johnson County Fair. For some reason my butterflies were missing. I didn't have that heart pounding in my stomach, clammy handed excitement as we neared the door of the exhibit hall. Fact was, I wasn't expecting much. I was excited for my daughter though. I SO hoped she had done well! One of the advantages of turning your entries in on the second day is that you can kind of eyeball what has already been turned in. Personally, I thought her flower arrangement was the best looking one on the table when we left. As for her baked goods, her rolls tasted just like the ones I made and that recipe hasn't lost in years...

G made a beeline to the flower arrangements.

She did it! Grand Champion is Junior Floral Arrangements! It may be the mom in me but I thought her arrangement even looked better than the adult grand champion's. So proud of her!

Next was the baked goods table.

Success! Her Loaded Potato Rolls took Grand Champion in Junior Baked Goods. She swept the Grade 7,8, and 9 age group category with the Iced Pineapple Coconut Macadamia cookies taking Second, Chamomile Cookies taking Third, and the Blueberry Pie getting an Honorable Mention.

Then we went looking for my stuff...

Coconut Cream Cake took Second in Other Cakes. Pretty much what I expected. The consistency is weird.

Honey Peanut Butter cookies took First in Honey Cookies. That was a surprise, especially since I saw at check-in that someone else had entered honey peanut butter cookies in the same category and I was sure theirs had more than three ingredients!

Gooey Butter Cake took First in Make It with a Box Mix Cakes and the Peanut Butter Brookies took Third in Make It with a Box Mix Cookies.

Blueberries in Paradise Pie - it was a blueberry pie with crushed pineapple and coconut - took First in Fruit Pies then Class Champion for Pies. Yay!

I was happy to see that the filling stood up and did not ooze out all over the place. There are 7 cups of fruit in this pie.

Toasted Coconut Quinoa Breakfast Cookies took First in Heart Healthy Cookies, then Class Champion for Heart Healthy.

White Chocolate Praline Fudge took First in Make It in the Microwave Candy, the took Class Champion for Make It in the Microwave. This is what I had hoped.

My XL Bakery Style Peanut Butter Cookies took First in Peanut Butter Cookies. That was a nice surprise since they weren't the traditional peanut butter cookies everyone thinks of when you say peanut butter cookies.

Maple Shortbread Cookies took First in Molded, Shaped, or Cut-Out Cookies. I had hoped for this too. BIG surprise was that it took Class Champion for Cookies, then got named the Reserve Grand Champion for Baked Goods!! I knew it was a solidly good cookie but, let's face it, shortbread is not fancy so this was a shocker.

Finally, those green Pesto Rolls... they took First in Fancy Dinner Rolls. Then they were named Class Champion for Yeast Breads, then they won Grand Champion for Baked Goods. I was incredibly pleased. G was rolling her eyes by now...

So...  surprised but happy. I didn't think I could do better than I did last year when I took 5 Class Champions as well as both Reserve Grand Champion and Grand Champion but I placed exactly the same this year. I entered fewer items overall - 10 baked goods in 8 different Classes, but I won 5 of those Classes and got both overall awards again... and I got to sleep!

Clean sweep for the Millers this year!

G got done rolling her eyes and turned to look at the crochet displays. Your shawl is Reserve Grand Champion. I spied my pink lacy shawl on the top of the display table with a pink fluffy ribbon peeking over it. Yes!! I worked really hard on this shawl. I was hoping it would win the Crochet Class. This was even better!

This is the first time I've won anything higher than a Class Champion in Needlecraft. So happy! The Grand Champion went to a cross-stitch picture.

As for my other items...

Lacy Acorn Sweater took First in Crocheted Infant Clothing.
Acorn Sweater took Second in Crocheted Sweaters. First went to an adult size sweater.
Pumpkin Hat took First in Crocheted Hats.
Woodland Pixie Hat and Bootie Set took First in Other Crocheted Item Made with Yarn
Spider Web Doily took First in Crocheted Doily under 12"
My photo took Second in Amateur Color Portraits
Smocked Pillow did not place. I knew it was rough in places since it was the first one I'd ever made so I'm not too upset about it.

Not too bad for only bringing 18 items to the Fair this year!