Iowa State Fair

I entered the fair for the first time this year. I have thought about it before but never followed through to get it done. Some of the knitters from the Ames Public Library's Knit and Crochet group were talking about entering so I thought maybe this year should be the year I finally did too. I found that there were lots of categories in knitting. I thought I might be able to enter a few things so I started making a list of what I had and which categories they would fit into. I came up with 15 items!

Click on the picture for a better look.
If you make it to the fair check out the Fiber & Threads, upstairs in the Varied Industries Building.

Charity Knitting

I was given some yarns for charity projects. There was lots of orange Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride worsted yarn so I have been making socks for Afghans 4 Afghans. They will go to the women and children in Kabul. These are about a women's size 7-8.

I have also made mittens for the children of the Pine Ridge reservation. They are sized to fit a 4-5 year old in the Head Start program. I already have another pair started-- in a different yarn though. I was getting a bit tired of the orange! I will have to see if I have something that I can combine with it to make some other mittens that will look a bit different.

Cowls

Cowls seem to be a very popular item with knitters on Ravelry at least. I think they are a great idea. They keep your neck warm without the dangling tails of a scarf. I found a pattern there recently that I wanted to try.

This is the Willow Cowl, a free Ravelry download, if you are a member there. If you aren't a member go to ravelry.com and sign up! It's free. Ravelry is a wonderful resource for knitters and crocheters.I used 2 skeins of Mini Mochi a very soft sock weight yarn. This cowl has a nice flare at the bottom so it lays over the shoulders just a bit to fill in that spot that your shirt leaves open to the chill. Each of the lace sections creates a roll that lays down in nice folds. It is long enough to pull up over your ears if needed. I will be giving this one away so those other 2 skeins are blues and purples that are waiting to be made into another of these cowls for me!

I also had an opportunity to test knit a pattern for another designer. This Tabitha Cowl is the result of that. We were trying to find out what it would look like in a variegated yarn. The yarn is hand dyed sock weight yarn from Knitivity.com. Ray dyes some beautiful yarns! Take a look at what he has and if you order something, tell him Denise's Needleworks sent you!As you can see, the cables disappear in the colors but I think it is very pretty anyway. The designer is also working on fingerless mitts and a hat to match. This is another Ravelry pattern. Sorry, there is no other way to get it.

I look happy here modeling it but you wouldn't believe how hot and humid it was when we went outside to take the pictures!!! I'm sure it will feel good in January when the weather is not so warm here!

Educational Opportunity

I had the chance to set up a booth for Scandinavian Days in the small town of Story City, Iowa at the Son's of Norway lodge last month. It is an annual celebration that brings the whole town and many from surrounding towns out for fun and food.

I brought lots of great Norwegian knitting to show off. It was fun talking with people about their heritage. I heard so many say, "My grandmother(mother, aunt, etc.) has a sweater like this!" Knitting has been such a big part of the Norwegian culture and of course our ancestors brought it with them.