It’s been much too long since I have updated my blog, and I thought that getting back into it with a “winning” story would do the trick!
Annd, cue the drum’s “ba-dum-tsh” for my poor pun.
I wish I could say that I spent this summer lounging about the patio, sipping lemonade, in between family actives and horseback riding. Alas, work and grad school did get in the way of that ideal dream. But somehow I still managed to have time for knitting. I entered 8 projects at the state fair this year!
If you have read my post from last year’s fair, I mentioned that the judges provide a scoresheet with comments for each project. This year’s comments were a little sparse and unimaginative. It must have been a long judging day…
I didn’t get a full run of 1st – 5th place ribbons like last year, but I scored awfully close to placing on most. And, I did get 3 ribbons total! My highest-placed project this year was my Monsoon Shawl. I first blogged about this in my series of posts about Malabrigo March – I started and finished this shawl during the month of March!
I received a 2nd out of 13 entries in the “Heavyweight Shawl” category. I was only docked because the judges thought the pattern was hard to see with the variegated yarn. I guess they don’t share the same affinity as I do with Malabrigo Rios…
The next project that did well was my Crosshatch Pullover, also knit within one month and also with Malabrigo Rios. This was a test knit, and I also knit it during Malabrigo Stockpile in the Malabrigo Junkies Ravelry group. It was also the first sweater I knit using Malabrigo!
This sweater was entered in the “Adult Plain Pullover”and received 4th out of 7 entries. All that was left on my scorecard was that this was an “attractive design” and I had “very nice work.”
(You might be getting a kick out of the different class names, so here’s a fun fact: There are 11 different Adult Sweater categories, depending on stitches and textures and single or multiple colors. So things are judged pretty well against other similar projects.)
Last but not least, I received a 5th place on my Vertizontal socks. This was one of my favorite projects to knit, as it drew a lot of attention from other knitters in my knitting group and when I knit in public (I really did get a lot of comments – even non-knitters asked what I was making!). I bought the yarn in April and was waiting for the perfect pattern for it. Although I was predicting a higher placing than 5th (I got 1st in this category last year), I am happy with how I did since there were a few secret, teeny tiny mistakes. 🙄 Oops!
These were entered in the “Plain Socks” class, and out of 21 entries total, I guess 5th isn’t too bad! The judges left “Wow!” on my comment sheet, as well as “very interesting construction.” If you are a knitter, go download this free pattern from Ravelry right now! (Or, after reading the rest of my post!)
The last 5 projects I entered were all pretty close, as I mentioned. My Whakamārie Top was a test knit I did this summer, and received a score of 94 in the “Sleeveless Sweater or Vest” class. That means I was ONE POINT away from placing 5th! There were 10 entries.
Another project that I scored a 94 on was my Happy Hat. I whipped this up as part of Malabrigo March, in just one day! I didn’t think I would do well, since the “Textured Hat” class is very tough and always full of beautiful, intricately cabled hats. However, a score of 94 also means here that I was ONE POINT away (again) from placing! I was pretty excited about this for a last minute project I decided to enter. 🙂 There were 27 entries!
(The hat I entered last year had actual cabling and placed lower, which I find interesting…I guess cabled hats aren’t my forte.)
The next project scored a 93, which I was also ecstatic about. This project was in the “Lightweight-Yarn” Shawl class, and is one of the hardest classes in my opinion. This score meant I was at 6th or 7th place – and there were 42 entries! The judges only judge the top 25 if there are that many projects, so it was great to even have a comment card on this one.
Coming in slightly lower, my Blanca Cable sweater was another test knit. It scored 93, and was in a class of 15 sweaters. This one DID get its own blog post (check it out here), and I wasn’t sure what to expect in the “Adult Texture Pullover” class for my first time. After looking at the winners in this class, I realized I need to step up my cabling game. They had cables going ALL OVER the place and in some crazy directions!
Last but not least was a pair of socks that scored 92 in the “Texture Sock” class out of 18 entries. These were also a test knit that I completed earlier this year. I thought they wouldn’t do as well as others because the cabling wasn’t too difficult, which I was correct on. But I thought they were just too pretty to not enter. 🙂
Overall, I was coming from high expectations with all of the ribbons I won last year. But, after seeing the tough competition and extremely beautiful projects that I was up against, I am very happy with how I did.
So, without further ado, let the 2016 project planning commence!! 😉 (Actually, it already has commenced. As soon as I drop off my projects, I plan for the next year!)
Hopefully the next blog post won’t be as slow as this one was. To keep you satisfied until then, here is a fat-, calorie-, and grease-free photo for you to savor:
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As always, thanks for reading!
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Congrats on all your ribbons. Your projects look great even if you didn’t get all the scores you’d hoped for.
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Thank you so much for the kind comment! The competition was so great this year and provided lots of inspiration for next year! 🙂 I look forward to what you will think of too! (More mittens??)
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