2013 County Fair

According to my to-do list, I meant to do this post on August 9th. I didn't get the photos taken, and then on the 12th I landed in an immobilization brace on my right wrist and thumb. I was in that thing for 5 full weeks, and it made doing everything difficult, with working on the computer being one of the most difficult. What little computer stamina I had went towards completing work so that I could get paid.

I've been out of the brace for a few weeks now, but not out of pain or danger of relapse. Working on the computer is unappealing because it invariably leads to an increase in my pain level unless I'm very, very careful of hand placement.

The only thing that consistently did not and does not cause pain is knitting. Go figure. In the brace I could work on large gauge simple projects, now I'm back to working on anything I want. I'll post about my knitting progress later. For now, I'm going to catch up on what happened this summer.

I entered 9 fiber items in the 2013 county fair: 1 crochet, 2 spinning, and the balance knitting. Everything placed, (though some things not as well as I'd have liked), and for once there were judges notes on every tag, which I'm going to include with the photos.

Category: Spinning Scarf/Cowl

Yarn: BFL Dicentra 2ply

Pattern: Looped Loop

"Love the colors! Nice workmanship."

Category: Hand Knitting Hats

Yarn: Handspun BohoKnitterChic Smoothy Batt 2ply (yarn 1st place in previous fair)

Pattern: Toorie

"Beautiful yarn ~ interesting design"

Category: Hand Knitting Gloves/Mittens

Yarn: Abstract Fibers SuperSock in Koi Pond

Pattern: Foxtrot Gloves

"That diagonal stitching and the fingers are just beautiful! So nice."

Category: Hand Knitting Women's Sweater Plain

Yarn: Anzula Wash My Lace in Madam

Pattern: Haussman

"Very nice. Beautiful colors and the ribbon attachment are impressive."

Category: Hand Knitting Shawls

Yarn: 100% BFL Dicentra Navajo-3ply (yarn 1st place in previous fair)

Pattern: Ishebel

"Great yarns and colors. Nice work!"

Category: Spinning Blended Fibers, Plied, Dyed

85/15 Polworth/Silk, 320 yards, 8 oz., Aran Navajo-3ply

"Nice colors!"

Category: Spinning Art Yarn

Mixed Mystery Fibers, 53 yards, 1 oz., 2-ply (spindle spun)

"Nice colors."

Category: Crochet Toy

Yarn: Knit Picks Shine and Comfy Sport

Pattern: Zork the Alien

"Cute! Love his eyes."

Category: Hand Knitting Women's Sweater

Yarn: Cozette

Pattern: Eva's Blouse

"Beautiful job - you might want to check button placement."

(My button placement is perfect.)

I also submitted 4 photographs this year, which I usually don't. One of them was a last minute addition that I stumbled across while printing the others at Kinko's. It was a shot that I took at the Pacific Science Center when I was in Seattle. I was walking around the outdoor sculpture "garden" when I looked up and was struck by the architectural details of the ceiling of the outdoor porticos.

Category: Photography Pattern/Texture

I never thought I'd ever be an award winning photographer :-).