Judging County Fair Entries

Sorry that it's been so long since I've blogged anything. It's very easy (for me) to procrastinate, thinking I'll have more time to do it or will have something more interesting to say later. Months go by, and nothing gets blogged! Shame on me!

This afternoon Jeannine S and I went to the Wayne County (NY)Fairgrounds to judge entries in Crochet, Knitting, and Handspinning. Sadly there were no Handspinning entries, but there were entries in Crochet and Knitting. There were quite a few Crochet doilies, so we spent a great deal of time on them. I have nothing but respect for anyone willing to work with thread! There were some lovely handknit lace shawls - I coveted all of them!

Deciding factors in which items got prizes were the workmanship, finishing and using all the same dyelot for the project. Tragically there was a vest which was knit out of 2 obviously different dyelots.

If you are considering entering one of your handknits in a competition, be careful of how you finish it. Careless finishing can make or break its presentation. Things to watch out for are:

1. Avoid slipping the edge stitch on sweater pieces which will be sewn together, unless it will be part of the design to have a row of faggoting (alternating holes!) going up the seamline. You had better have rows of faggoting in the main part of the project. Otherwise, the seams will detract from the overall effect.

2. When sewing a bound-off edge or knitting up along an edge (sometimes also called picking up and knitting), be sure to go through a whole stitch.

3. Be careful of entering a project that is incomplete. If you planned to make a sweater, but didn't get the sleeves done, some kind of an edging needs to be done around the armholes for it to transition successfully into a vest.

4. An unfelted stuffed toy, either knit or crochet, needs to have the stuffing in a case OR the toy should be lined with a coordinating fabric before being stuffed. Otherwise, polyester fiberfill will "beard," or work its way through the crochet or knit fabric.

5. Bags should be lined. Just a simple fabric pocket tacked down with needle and thread on the inside will do the trick.

6. Sewing embellishments onto a project is far superior to gluing them! What a thing to do to some little bit of crochet or tatting! You spent the time to make that little bit - have respect for it!

7. Be careful of how you block a finished project. For a doily do not iron the life out of it. You may press, but do not iron. By pressing I mean setting the iron down, then lifting it up and setting it down in another place. Do not drag the iron across the doily, nor use so much starch that the doily is as stiff as a board. Let people see those stitch patterns so that they can admire them!

Good luck!