State Fair Knitting: Done!

So I've completed my Kentucky State Fair knitting! It's been done for more than a week or so, and last Thursday I gave it to my friend, Karen, so that she can turn it in for me (I'll be out of town for the submission times, so she's kindly taking it for me.) I entered four items, most of which I've documented here, but one which I was determined to keep secret until the very last minute.

The secret project was my entry in the sock category. I won the blue ribbon in this category the last two times I entered, and I wanted to keep my competition in the dark about what I was knitting. I don't think anyone I'll be up against really reads this blog (except Karen, but I don't mind that she knows what I'm working on - we see each other at knit night anyway), but it's just one of those things. Maybe I'm just a little superstitious. Or just competitive. Actually, it's probably the competitive thing. My husband laughs about it and says that I should just go out and break their fingers, but I don't think that's very sporting.

Anyway, the sock pattern is CookieA's Gothic Spire socks and I knit them with Dream in Color Smooshy Sock in the Melon Bomb color. For whatever reason, I can knit Cookie's sock patterns, the tessellated ones especially, effortlessly. This pattern looks really complicated knit up, and I think a lot of people might find it to be challenging work, but the best thing about it is I think it will impress the judges. I was very careful, too, about the color choice. In past years, it seems that light, bright colors have earned more ribbons than dark, sombre colors, so this bright melon-y orange was just the ticket.

According to my Ravelry notes, I knit the socks in a mere eleven days, which, even by my standards, is pretty darned fast. I generally allow for up to 21 days for complicated fingering-weight socks, but these practically flew off my needles. Almost before I knew it, they were done! They are fabulously comfortable socks, due in large part to the yarn. It's a nice, squishy yarn, that knits into nice, squishy socks. I need more of this in my stash. Soon.

Once the Fair opens next week (on August 15, I think) I'll go check everything out. I'm very hopeful that the socks will win me another blue ribbon. I'm also submitting my Hanami stole (in the lace category), my Cypri shawl (in the shawl category), and my Rafters cardigan (in the Aran-stitch sweater category). I think the Hanami has a pretty good chance for a third-place ribbon, although the delicacy of the beadwork could get it a second place. The lace category is very competitive, and my friend Holly pretty much owns this category. I know that she's entering an epic beaded shawl and I expect she'll get the blue ribbon here. She should've had Best of Show for the beaded shawl she made last year, but she was robbed. I'm hopeful it doesn't happen twice. As for the Cypri shawl, I'm not sure how it will do, because I haven't paid much attention to this category the last few years. I think it's pretty good - maybe a second-place here - though I can't say for sure. I have no idea whatsoever how the Rafters cardigan will do. I think it shows a great deal of skill, so it should score well there, but I did wear it all last winter, and it's gotten slightly felted from several washings. The stitch definition isn't as crisp as I'd like it to be, but I don't know what it will be up against. I used a high-quality yarn, and the sweaters I remember from past years appeared to have been knit from acrylic, but I really don't know how it'll do. I guess I could live with an honorable mention, but I'd prefer to place.

Well, that's it for now. The Fair stuff is now out of my hands, and it's no good worrying about the judging, anyway. I've done my best, and now I'll have to wait it out. I'm at the lake this week, and I hope to put up another post while I'm here. It's amazing how easy the writing is when you're on vacation! So, until next time, Friends.

WIP it good.

All my WIPs continue apace. I seem to be a little all over the place lately with my projects, but somehow, bit by bit, they're progressing.

This week I managed to get to the halfway point in the Hanami stole. I'm really happy with how it's coming along. I like that the beads have given it some heft (as hefty as seed beads can be on an alpaca/silk lace stole) and I think it's going to drape beautifully once it's finished. I hope I have some occasion to wear it. Maybe I'll get invited to a wedding. Or maybe we'll go to the ballet. Or something. Of course, I'm not sure I have anything to wear with it, so I'll have to get on that.

Knitting. Tasty, tasty, knitting.

I've also made progress on my Rafters cardigan. Just this morning I completed the front shaping and now I'm ready to get everything all joined up for some progress on the body. It looks a little small right now, but I think that's because so many of the sweaters I've made for myself have turned out too big. Even if it's a bit small now, I'm pretty sure that blocking will relax some of the tightness in the cables. So long as I get gauge on the sweater as a whole, I'll have about an inch of ease.

Since my last couple posts I've frogged the blue socks for my friend, Dan, and started a new pair for him. I'm doing the Scylla pattern again, this time with a skein of Mountain Colors Crazyfoot I've had in my stash for awhile. In the skein, the yarn looked a lot more brown than it's knitting up. In the socks, I'm seeing more jewel tones, but I think it's still masculine. I hope he'll be cool with it. This is my commuting-and-waiting-in-line knitting and it's moving right along. I've probably got another two weeks with it before it's finished.

Of course, with three projects on the needles (four, if you count my unfinished Halloween costume), it looks like I'm not going to be doing any Christmas knitting. There just won't be any time. I have a feeling I'm still going to be baking up a storm, but it's already too late to be in time for Christmas. I will, however, be scouring my house for just the right contribution to our family's Dirty Santa exchange.

On that note, I'll sign off for now. Until next time, Friends.

Too many things on the needles!

It finally feels like fall here in Kentucky, and with the change in the temperatures, I've found myself casting on lots of projects. Since I last posted, I've swatched for and cast on Rafters, made one bad "chain mail" hood/cowl, and completed an acceptable "chain mail" hood/cowl.

I've been making good progress on my husband's Java socks, with just about an inch or so to go before I can do the toe decreases and sew the ends shut. I'm still very happy about the colors - they're gorgeous -and I like how the variations in the colors are distributing themselves around the feet. I can't wait for my husband to have another pair of toasty hand knit socks!

As for the Hanami stole, the progress is a lot slower. Here, I've been plodding along, doing a few rows here, a few there, generally trying to get through a set of beading or two before I set it down. The stole is beginning to look more like the pattern and I like how the beads are giving a little weight to the fabric. I'll be glad to get though this section though, and move on to a zippy stretch of stockinette.

My new sweater project, Rafters, is from the current issue of Twist Collective. I'm using the yarn I bought while I was in Michigan this summer, and I love what I've knit up so far. I had to go down a needle size to achieve the required stitch gauge, and though my row gauge is a little bit off, the designer has kindly written the pattern to specify lengths, rather than numbers of rows, so I should be just fine. I'm probably not going to use this project as commuting or meeting knitting, as the cables will require my close attention, especially since I'm doing the first two charts at the same time.

Lastly, now that it's October, I've been thinking about Halloween, and what I should do for a costume. In years past I've been Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas and Buttercup from The Powerpuff Girls, making both costumes myself. I hadn't really planned on dressing up this year, but since I was invited to a party, I thought it would be fun to have something new. One of my favorite movies of all time is Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and my favorite Python is Michael Palin, so I decided that this year I would dress up as Sir Galahad the Chaste, complete with chain mail, tunic, sword, and shield.

So far I've only gotten the hood/cowl completed, and only after having made a really bad one out of a too-bulky acrylic. I used the Utah Shakespearean Festival pattern that I found on Ravelry. For the first one I followed the pattern closely, knitting it flatas directed, but I used a yarn much too bulky to look like it could be chain mail. It's pretty lame. For the second one, I used a cotton worsted-weight yarn (Bernat Handicrafter Cotton DeLux) generally intended for washcloths, but which I thought might drape a little more like metal than an acrylic or wool would. Using a thinner yarn made such a difference! The fabric is much more open, and if I can add just a hint of metallic color on top of it, it could look a little like tarnished metal. At least from a distance, anyway.


Well, that about catches us up for now. I still have to make myself a tunic, shield and sword in addition to some chain mail sleeves in time for Halloween, but it should be simple knitting and simple sewing, so I'm not all that worried. The shield and sword will take a little more doing, but I have access to lots of cardboard at work, so I just hope to be able to make those without too much trial and error. I'll post as I have more progress. Until next time, Friends.