All's Fair at the Fair
I went to the Green County Fair and came back victorious!!
For a graduation present in June, I made an ugly sweater that, on my baby sis, is transformed into a thing of beauty. Go figure. I used Lion Band Wool-Ease in a blend of colors guaranteed to camouflage anything she spilled on it, machine washable, and oh-so-quick to knit! First time I ever made a sweater, and I learned a couple new things along the way, like twists!
Here's the thing: I slapped it together in a couple weeks, sewed the seams using the ends of the yarn, and didn't even bother weaving in my ends. I didn't follow the neck pattern and fiddled with it to make it a little bigger so it wouldn't smoosh her hair which I should NOT have been doing because I don't know what I'm doing. I also ignored the gauge (which I should not have done) and knit it tighter so it was warmer. When I dropped it off for judging I found a lose bit of yarn I forgot and I had to take apart a child's first aid kit to find scissors to snip it with.
And you know what? That stupid sweater got a blue ribbon and it got best in show--out of all the crocheted and knit projects. The doily some lady made didn't win. The very large crocheted afghan patterned with dragonflies didn't win. My absolutely every-bit-perfect-ends-woven-in-took-fifteen-years-and-blood-sweat-and-tears knit afghan didn't win. But it was the vomit-colored sweater that took home the trophy. Clearly I don't know what quality is.
I asked for feedback, and they said they liked my stretchy cuffs, the seams, my even tension, and how thick and warm it was. "There's just not a thing wrong with it!" Maybe my shock showed in my face.When I got the tag home, on the back someone wrote "perfect yarn for this project!" LOL
The same thing happened last time I entered in the fair. I entered an embroidered tea towel with colors matched to actual pictures of peaches, with embroidery floss colors combined for a custom shade of peachy-pink....and a knit hat made with scraps over a weekend. Guess which one got best in show?
All in all, I had three entries in the fair. Two of the three were alone in their category, so I was kind of disappointed. Blue ribbons are fun, but only if there's somebody to compete with! I'd rather have had a red ribbon in a class of 15 afghans than a blue ribbon where I'm the only one.
I'm trying really hard to get more people involved in the Open Class of the Green County Fair--it's a cost effective, fun way to show off your talent. To that end, I really have been pursuing easier entry methods for the fair and I started a Facebook group. I got exactly one new person involved: my grandmother. But she's doing it again next year so hurray!!
For a graduation present in June, I made an ugly sweater that, on my baby sis, is transformed into a thing of beauty. Go figure. I used Lion Band Wool-Ease in a blend of colors guaranteed to camouflage anything she spilled on it, machine washable, and oh-so-quick to knit! First time I ever made a sweater, and I learned a couple new things along the way, like twists!
Here's the thing: I slapped it together in a couple weeks, sewed the seams using the ends of the yarn, and didn't even bother weaving in my ends. I didn't follow the neck pattern and fiddled with it to make it a little bigger so it wouldn't smoosh her hair which I should NOT have been doing because I don't know what I'm doing. I also ignored the gauge (which I should not have done) and knit it tighter so it was warmer. When I dropped it off for judging I found a lose bit of yarn I forgot and I had to take apart a child's first aid kit to find scissors to snip it with.
And you know what? That stupid sweater got a blue ribbon and it got best in show--out of all the crocheted and knit projects. The doily some lady made didn't win. The very large crocheted afghan patterned with dragonflies didn't win. My absolutely every-bit-perfect-ends-woven-in-took-fifteen-years-and-blood-sweat-and-tears knit afghan didn't win. But it was the vomit-colored sweater that took home the trophy. Clearly I don't know what quality is.
I asked for feedback, and they said they liked my stretchy cuffs, the seams, my even tension, and how thick and warm it was. "There's just not a thing wrong with it!" Maybe my shock showed in my face.When I got the tag home, on the back someone wrote "perfect yarn for this project!" LOL
The same thing happened last time I entered in the fair. I entered an embroidered tea towel with colors matched to actual pictures of peaches, with embroidery floss colors combined for a custom shade of peachy-pink....and a knit hat made with scraps over a weekend. Guess which one got best in show?
All in all, I had three entries in the fair. Two of the three were alone in their category, so I was kind of disappointed. Blue ribbons are fun, but only if there's somebody to compete with! I'd rather have had a red ribbon in a class of 15 afghans than a blue ribbon where I'm the only one.
I'm trying really hard to get more people involved in the Open Class of the Green County Fair--it's a cost effective, fun way to show off your talent. To that end, I really have been pursuing easier entry methods for the fair and I started a Facebook group. I got exactly one new person involved: my grandmother. But she's doing it again next year so hurray!!
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