My First Sweater!

So, this is actually the second sweater I started, but the first sweater that I have completed! This is for my Big girl. It is based on Elizabeth Zimmerman's Elizabeth's Percentage Sweater. I was using her book, the Knitting Workshop. I am using Cascade 220 Superwash. It is 100% machine-washable wool. I started with the body, and then made the sleeves and attached them at the underarm. This is seen here.

I then did a stranded fair-isle yoke as she instructs. I only used one contrast color in my yoke, and I charted the big snowflake pattern myself. The other patterns come from various parts within the book
It blocked out beautifully!
And it fit her even better! She loves it, and I am so thrilled with how it turned out.

Next stop ... Mittens, and socks, always socks, and maybe a hat or two...

Would have been FIRST...

A very dear young friend of mine is very involved in 4-H, and was getting ready for the Sedgwick county fair. She asked me if I had any knitting that I would like to enter. She is working very hard to keep the art form available at the fair, and wants to promote knitters in the area! I was getting ready for a trip, so she took care of everything, I just provided the knitting. I got blue ribbons, more knitting was entered, and life was good. I was not particularly heavily invested, but it was still kind of fun allowing others to see my work, which I have worked hard on. Next came time for state fair. I was fully immersed in football two-a-days, and just thinking about adding anything extra in made my toes curl, but once again, Grace made it easy for me. I entered the same things below:

This is my bad hair day hat. It got a white (3rd place) ribbon and said good job. Not really all that much of a big deal! I like the hat, I'm happy, move on.

I also entered my rambler socks. This is a sock of my own design, out of beautiful yarn that mom bought me for my birthday. I am very invested in this pair of socks. I love them, I love how they feel and fit. I am very proud of them. This is what they look like:

The yarn changes colors in magical ways, and the two balls were not identical, but marry very nicely, and I love them. I am not hung up on having matchy-matchy socks. This yarn makes it impossible to know how they will turn out until you are done. That is the nature of the yarn, and I love that. My self-striping socks do just that, self-stripe. I love that, and I don't care if the stripes line up exactly, fraternal socks are just fine by me. They are still beautiful, and created by my own hands. That being said, this is the comment that I got from the State Fair judge:

Click on it, blow it up, it says "Would have been first but not a pair...

I did have one person ask if I left the second sock at home, but I did not! I take no offense what so ever to the people who did place and get ribbons. From the pictures I have seen (Football season - did not make it there in person) there was a lot of lovely work. I am glad to see that so many people entered. That is what makes the state fair wonderful. That said, quilters have no business judging knitting. The socks turned out the way that they did, because that is the nature of the yarn. They most definitely are a PAIR. And then to tell me that I would have gotten first, but instead did not even get a participation ribbon (not sure if they did that this year or not) is nothing short of frustrating.

I worked hard on my socks, and I am very proud of them. In fact, I am going to work on writing up the pattern after having so many ask about it. It may end up being a sock of the month at Twist at some point in time, but I am going to write up the pattern (not sure how to fit it all into my schedule - that is why I am starting now). This judge will certainly not deter me, or change how I want to make my socks, but it just stands to show, quilters are perfect to judge quilters, but only knitters should be allowed to judge other knitting work.

It is one of the reasons that I am working on this pattern, because other knitters like it, and have asked for it. Okay, I will get off my soap box now.