Twisp of Fate

The Okanogan County Fair was held last weekend (Thursday through Sunday, actually).  I had filed my entries online before I left on the road trip, but one of them wasn’t finished before I left – namely, in the category “fleece to finished item”.  This must be something you made in the last year, starting with a fleece, so it could be a felted item or something made from yarn spun after preparing the fleece for spinning.

So anyway, last week I was seized with the determination to pull this off!  I was working from a Corriedale/Shetland fleece that I had washed and carded into batts.  I decided to spin up enough of it, and then make a 3-ply yarn, to knit a hat.  I only got to the knitting stage 2 nights before I had to take my entries over to the fairgrounds, but with one very late night I managed to get it done:

Temptation’s fleece as a finished knitted hat

I picked up my entries on Sunday afternoon and here they are after judging:

handspun yarn – blue ribbon

woven scarf – Blue & Grand Champion

woven shawl – Blue, Grand Champion & “Special Award”

woven throw – Blue & Grand Champion

Fleece to Finished Item – Blue & Special Award

I am not quite sure what the “Special Awards” are all about – there isn’t any mention of them in the fair premium book that lists all the departments and categories and how to enter, etc.  I’ll have to ask at our guild meeting this week – maybe someone knows!

I have been working on some of my “Mosaic Mojo” hats as a simple carry-around project.  Here are the two that I finished in the last couple of weeks (one on the road trip, and the other going to and from Seattle last week).

Noro “Silver Thaw” and gray Rowan “Kid Classic”

Noro “Silk Garden” and blue Rowan “Kid Classic”