I FREAKING WON!!!!!!!!!

Hello all. Sorry I've been gone so long, but it's been really hectic here in the Land of Enchantment lately. Remember these?
Well, guess what? They look like this now:

Yep, my first try, and I got a blue ribbon! I'm little-kid excited! The orange-striped socks didn't win anything, but that's ok, they hold a special place in my heart - and really? The only interesting thing about them is the yarn. There were socks there that had actual cables and ribbing, and patterns and stuff. So, I'm ok with a BLUE RIBBON for my gauntlets! Not too shabby for a first try, even if I do say so myself. The Best-in-show went to a beautiful knitted afghan that one TWO best-in-shows - one for best hand-knit, and one for best afghan. I'm telling you, it was BEAUTIFUL. I was humbled to stand before it - someone put hours and hours into that blanket, and she deserved BOTH those purple rosettes.
So, my weekend was fun and exciting - the family was here and we all went to the State Fair. Wandered around and looked at all the pretty stuff. I'm always amazed by the work of others. Some of that stuff was just fabulous! There was a crocheted sampler with the Lord's Prayer and a picture of Jesus on it. Crocheted in that teeny, tiny cotton that you make teeny, tiny doilies out of. I haven't crocheted in about 10 years because my hands won't work that way anymore, but it was truly inspirational. I always think of myself as a not-professional knitter - kind of self-deprecatingly pooh-poohing what I do. But I was so happy and proud to have won that ribbon - it's probably one of the coolest things I've done. Now, what will I do for next year?. . . . . . . . . . . .