Back to the Fair

Usually, people (who aren't doing it for a living) do crafts for just themselves, their friends, and their families. The greatest reward is to see someone wearing or using what you made. But sometimes, people get together to show off what they have created, and hope for accolades beyond the usual. For instance, I submitted two pieces this year to the Maryland State Fair.

Last year, I submitted two pieces to the fair and got one 3rd place ribbon and one participation ribbon. This year...

First place and president's award

For my hat-neckwarmer combo, I got first place in category (hat/scarf combos) and a president's award! For my skirt, no award (but they only awarded one ribbon for the category of original item of clothing anyway).

No ribbons. But I like the way they displayed the piece.

Of course, the other great thing about going to the fair (besides the accolades) is seeing what other people have made. Let's look at a few of the ones that I particularly noticed (apologies for the terrible photos, most of these were behind plastic wrap).

First, we have a really nice little example of entrelac. I am a big fan of the technique, and have been meaning to do a post on it for a while. I love how the knitting looks like a woven basket.

Hat (not mine, obviously)

Next, a really pretty scarf with a cabled center. When I was a kid, and first learning to knit, my grandmother told me that she would teach me cabling when I had gotten a bit better at knitting. Somehow, this convinced me that cabling was this incredibly difficult thing, and was the pinnacle of knitting skill. Truthfully, cabling is pretty simple as a technique. But it makes it very hard to fix mistakes, and can make charting or describing patterns nearly impossible. I like this simple cable though, and would totally wear the scarf:

A scarf with a cabled center

Next up, a few pieces with really nice colors

I don't really do stranded knitting or intarsia, because I like the backs of my pieces to look as good as the fronts. But I have to say, these are some gorgeous projects.

There were also some skeins of handspun. I could have submitted, but I am a lot less confident in my spinning skill than my knitting, since I have only been doing it a few years.

Prize-winning handspun skeins

There were some great pieces in the other arts categories too (basket-weaving, costumes, needlepoint, etc.) but I think that is enough for now. I do want to leave you with the other great part of going to the fair: meeting your fiber animals up close and personal.

4-H Alpacas, recently sheared

A goat, deciding to check out what her neighbor has.