Your Colleagues Take Home Ribbons at the Fair

Holly Simonette's large loom has overtaken one of her bedrooms and was used to make her fair creations.

Sure, the San Diego County Fair is a chance to feast on fried fare, take a spin on the tilt-a-whirl and win that over-sized stuffed animal. But for some County employees, the fair is also a chance to show off their hidden talents and hobbies.

Take Holly Simonette, for example. The Community Services Group Program Manager has been weaving for only three years, but three of her pieces took ribbons this year at the Fair in the Weaving/Spinning category – two second-place ribbons and an honorable mention.

“I was competing with myself in one of the categories!” said Simonette, who spent hours upon hours weaving each item: two shawls and a vest.Holly Simonette's woven shawl earned a second-place ribbon.

Simonette inherited a loom three years ago and took up a weaving apprenticeship with a weaver in Santa Ysabel. Since then, the large loom has taken over one of her bedrooms and weekends are dedicated to the intricate craft that dates back centuries.

“The longest part is dressing the loom,” Simonette said. “I consider myself still a beginner, so it takes about five to seven hours to fully dress it. But I can finish a shawl in two hours. It’s very meditative.”

Before working the loom, Simonette spent her extra time knitting – a craft she passed on to Kelly Duffek, assistant director of Housing and Community Development. Duffek also submitted her own labors of love into the fair this year – nabbing a coveted blue ribbon and a second place win.

“Holly Simonette actually taught me to knit in 2009, when I was expecting my first grandchild, Chloe,” Duffek said. “This year, I entered two baby cardigans, hand-knit for my 1-year-old grandson, Jonah.  They were both entered in the infant sweater category, where they essentially competed against themselves.”

The first place winner was a traditional, natural-colored cabled Irish cardigan knit in a silk blend yarn; the second place winner was a baseball jacket-styled cardigan knit in a cashmere blend yarn, made to be a replica of a full sized official St. Louis Cardinals jacket.  

Kelly Duffek's infant Cardinals jacket won a second-place ribbon at the 2014 San Diego County Fair.“My son-in-law and his father are huge Cardinals fans, so Jonah is the third generation to catch Cardinals fever,” Duffek said. “They don't sell official baby jackets so I made him one instead!”

Another County employee, known for breaking rules and being creative, entered numerous threaded items in the fair and used a type of fabric that’s sure to create conversation.

Shirley Chin, who’s been entering her needlepoint items into the fair for the past 10 years, didn’t win any blue ribbons this year, but she did take home two second place prizes and five honorable mentions.

“A lot of my friends thought I was robbed of the first place ribbon!” said Chin, who works in Agriculture, Weights and Measures. “But it’s just meant to be fun.”

Chin, who’s experimented with fun threads in the past – like 18-karat gold thread – used glow-in-the-dark thread for some of her creations in this year’s competition. She said she’ll continue entering her items into the fair, even if she doesn’t win.

“It’s really cool going and seeing your ribbon. It’s fun to see people like your stuff!” she said. “I would encourage people to submit entries, because the County fair determines what categories to have based on entries.”

Find a full list of winners at the fair’s website.

Did you submit entries into any competition at this year’s County Fair? Tell us in the comments or submit photos of your ribbon-winning piece to communications@sdcounty.ca.gov.