There: I fixed it.

Oh, Friends, I fixed that damned sock! I undid the messed up part, re-did it, undid it again, and finally re-did it correctly. Once I took a good look at the photos of the sample and wrapped my head around how the foot of the sock would come together, the knitting went pretty quickly.

I think I might have gotten back on the right track on Friday or Saturday, and by yesterday afternoon I'd finished the toe. The foot section ended up being a little longer than I'd expected, so I had to graft the toe closed a little sooner than I would usually have done. It's not a big deal though; I have a pretty wide foot.

There were what felt like a million ends to weave in, as the sock is constructed from 12 triangles that are knit from the outside in to the center. So that's 27 ends, if you're counting the cuff and the toe in that number, and that's before you close up all the gaps where the corners of the triangles meet.

Now, the thing is, right now I've only got one complete sock. I'm not going to start its mate just yet because the yarn for my State Fair socks just arrived, and I've been dying to start these. I took last year off from Fair knitting, as I'd won the points total the year before. Last year, my thinking was that it wouldn't be as much fun entering if I couldn't win the big prize again. This year, I've decided that I like seeing how my work does compared to my peers across the state. I have a couple friends who have a category that they consistently win, and I kind of feel that the socks category is mine. I don't want to get a big head or anything (maybe it's too late?), but I did win the last two times I entered and the socks that won last year placed behind mine the two previous years. I want my ribbon back, y'all.

I'm not going to reveal the pattern until I've submitted the socks to the Fair, so this might be the last time I mention them for a couple months. I will, however, show you the yarn, which is freaking gorgeous. It's Dream in Color Smooshy, in the Melon Bomb colorway. I think it a little more coral in real life, rather than the slightly muted hue in the photo. I only ordered it on Friday, so I'm really pleased that it was waiting for me when I got home from work today.

So that's it for this evening, Friends. I have new socks to start! Until next time, then.

My best showing at the Fair!

Holy Crap! That's my name with that yarn & rosette!

I can't believe how well I did at the State Fair this year! I only entered four items and I won four ribbons. In addition to the ribbons, I also won the rosette for the knitting category, which just blows my mind completely. What's really exciting about winning the rosette, aside from the recognition and the big, shiny blue ribbon, is that it comes with eight skeins of Shetland wool yarn from Littledove Farms, which happens to be local to me. The yarn is all undyed, in a variety of Shetland colors: musket, moiget, moorit and white. I have to wait until next Monday to get my hands on it, and it'll be just about all I can do to keep from squealing every time I think about it.

I swear, it was the horse patch that won the ribbon.

As for the ribbon count, my Lotus socks and Lilleput cardigan both received blue ribbons. I was pretty confident about the socks, but I wasn't sure how the cardigan was going to do. My impression from past Fairs was that the judges seemed to prefer the super-cute over regular-cute and I wasn't sure my Lilleput was cute enough. Turns out I needn't have worried. It did just fine. My glacier gloves came in second place to a Fair Isle hat, which I'm fine with. I only wish it had been displayed better - viewers couldn't see all the detail of the cabling. My Raindance sweater got an Honorable Mention ribbon, which much more than I expected for it, as it was nearly all stockinette. Its unusual construction must have been what earned it the ribbon. The sweaters that placed higher had lots of intricate cabling on them, so I'm happy with the ribbon I got.


Once I got done freaking out about how well I did, I looked around at the other textiles that were on display. There was plenty of great crochet and needlepoint, as well as cross stitch and quilting. One of my favorite quilt categories is the "Made from Old," which is just like it sounds: quilts made from old blocks, but only recently finished. I particularly liked the second place quilt in this category because of the handwritten note the submitter included:

"Blocks originally made to be two twin or lap sized quilts sometime in the 1960s or 1970s. All the blocks were combined to create a double size to fit an antique four post bed. Some blocks have yellowed due to the storage method. Its nice to see the blocks in a finished quilt. Done is good."

As a matter of fact, done IS good.

Once I'd had my fill of the textiles, I went over to a different building to check out the 4-H stuff, which I love looking at. I was in 4-H when I was a kid, but I don't remember having entered anything in the Fair (I'll have to check with my Mom. She remembers this kind of thing.). Every year I'm impressed at quality of the submissions and how hard these kids have had to work. There were all kinds of agricultural products: sorghum, corn, tobacco, soybeans. There was also honey and fudge and pies. (There was also honey for sale, so I bought some.) I was impressed by the Landscape Design entries, because those kids not only had to draft a landscape plan identifying the species of plants they intended to use, but they also had to build a model that matched the plan. Those models were no joke!

I love watching the ducklings climb up and slide down.

Well, I think that's about all I can write about this year's Fair. Next time, I promise an update on Zori. Until then, Friends!