This year I thought I'd try something new - I made a couple of extra projects that I think are really cool, and entered them in to the Weber County Fair. It was actually a little stressful for me. Your lay person usually doesn't notice the mistakes or flaws that I, as a woodturner do. Woodturners who see my work at the Farmers Market are too polite to be critical of my work. This was really the first time I put my work up to be objectively judged. Turns out I wasn't disappointed - all three of my entries received first place, blue-ribbon awards: The segmented bowl set, segmented Americana pen and letter opener set, and the segmented pepper mill and salt shaker set.
It was a huge honor for me to see my pepper mill and salt shaker figuratively and literally on the same level as a set by Bert Hamblin, a well known and accomplished local turner of pepper and salt mills who I've admired and been inspired by for a long time. See more of his work here.
So, as my sister-in-law and my wife said, I'm an award winning woodturner now. And of course, if you're interested, these award winning items are still for sale. Thanks!
Click on the pictures below to see details.
Update 9-22-10: The State Fair was great too.
Unfortunately the letter opener was stolen at the Farmers Market, but the pen won a blue ribbon, together with my squiggly European pen and letter opener set; the bowl set won a blue ribbon, and the pepper mill and salt shaker won a blue ribbon together with 
my Padauk and Maple Celtic Knot Pepper Mill and Salt Shaker set. Now I just have to decide what to make next year.
