At the fair

Saturday was the first ever Fiber Fling at the Allen County Fair. When I organize these knit-weave-spin-tat-whatever events in public, I worry that those who sign up won't show up (half of them did) and/or that no one will come see what we are doing (it was hot, the building we were in was air conditioned, so a good number of families came through). We all had a good time, the home ec club was happy to have us, and they want us back next year.

I learned a few things. We were there from 10am to 2pm, but not very many fair-goers show up until the midway opens at noon. So next year, we will shift to a 12 to 4pm slot. Also, we need signs saying who we are. Hopefully, next time we will have tee shirts advertizing the guilds.

I also want to mix up the fiber arts a bit more. There were four spinners and a spindler, two weavers, a basket weaver, and a tatter. We could use a crocheter, a knitter, and rigid heddle and inkle weavers as well.

A (very) few guild members entered the Open Class competition, and we were basically competing against each other. My sweater won Best in Show! The buttons were purchased and sewed on just in time.

The judges include written comments about each item they rate. In past years, it was obvious that they did not know much about fiber arts. So several of us cobbled together some guidelines, which I delivered just before judging. I included my email and phone number for questions and feedback, but heard nothing. However, I can tell by this year's comments that they used the guidelines.

To get more guild members to enter the Open Class competition, we plan to have a program covering the guidelines and the registration forms. Hopefully, that will prod more fiber artists to enter.

Knitting: The non-matching socks are finished; separate post to follow. The L-Bag is about an inch from the decrease rounds for the bottom.
Sewing: The shorts I used for yardwork lack usable pockets. Using a tutorial from One Hundred Acts of Sewing, I added a patch pocket to each pair so I can at least have my cell phone with me. A learning experience.

Spinning: I got a LOT of spinning done at the fair - hope it is not too kinky, as I tend to spin too fast at spin-ins. I'm almost done with the dark brown roving.

Besides the fair, several of us spun at a local farmers market this past week, in part to raise the profile of the guilds, in part because of a deal the spinning guild has with parks and rec. We were inside a big barn with the vendors, and it was HOT with nary a breeze. On Friday, I tried to purchase some cooling neck gaiters at Dick's Sporting Goods, but they had sold out the day before. You snooze, you lose!

Inspiration

Last weekend, my daughter, granddaughter, and I spent the weekend in Indianapolis shopping. I didn't buy much - at my age, I have almost everything I want/need - but I did get some weaving inspiration in the rug department at Ikea.

Looks like half soumak

Front

Back

Soumak

Texture

Diamonds

Low texture

Colors

Front

Back

Patchwork

Sampler

Wall hanging

Basket and rug

Pillow cover

Knitting: The cowl I'm working on is very portable, so I took it to Indy. However, 10k steps a day, mostly mall strolling, really wears a person out. I made some progress before and after the trip, however. I jotted some notes on the pattern printout to help me not run out of yarn at the end, but now I can't find them.

Weaving: Made a little progress on finishing the waffle weave towels. I also worked a bit on my skyline sample.

The county fair is over. Three of us from the spinning guild entered several projects and we each received a "Best in Show" ribbon for one of our entries. I *know* everyone has some spun yarn they could have entered, plus almost everyone knits, so it seems like more would participate. Those of us who did participate can now lean on the others.

Three of us from the weaving guild met up to plan the tapestry workshop for later this month. We are all about the same level of skill, with different areas of expertise. I'm going to talk about equipment, tools, fiber, etc. The others will cover techniques. Hopefully, everyone will go home with a small sampler for their efforts.

Prepping for the county fair

Sometimes I think I get a bit overly enthusiastic when presented with a new opportunity to do something. Last year I submitted a modest five items to the county fair; this year it is approaching ten. Is that too much? I don't know how many of my fellow spinners, knitters, and weavers are going to join in the fun, so I'd rather there be *something* to display rather than nothing.

A partial pile of projects

Knitting: I finished the Habitation throw! Separate post to follow.
Spinning: All the Shetland yarn that has been spun and 3-plied is now also labeled; I record length, weight, how spun, how plied, etc. There is more yarn to ply, including some heftier singles I spun a while ago.
Weaving: Today I warped the large frame loom, but am still contemplating just what I am going to weave on it. Something with soumak.

And that was the week that was. The landscaping is 100% complete, so now I can focus on other things, like fiber.

Fairly done

I picked up my county fair entries last Sunday. The judge's comments were generous and positive, but the process could use a few tweaks. The protocols for drop-off and pick-up are well organized, and comment sheets were attached to the items. In the display area, each item had a little card identifying the entrant, but nothing else. It would be helpful if the cards included information like the category (there's some overlap) and some detail about the item, i.e. title, content, technique, etc. Or maybe I am spoiled by art museums.

Spinning: Still plugging away on the red Tunis.
Weaving: Managed to get some inkling done this past week. The trick is to stop *before* my shoulders start to hurt.

I have some yarn I tinked from a sweater project that never got finished. In an effort to bust it, I started to crochet an afghan with it. After almost finishing one square, I've come to the conclusion that, one, the pattern is a bit too difficult (and some of the instructions are missing and/or could use better punctuation, and two, the color runs in the variegated yarn are too short for crochet. I'll have to come up with another idea.

An A for Effort

All my fiber arts and needlework entries for the county fair earned blue ribbons, and one a gold "Best in Section" ribbon, but I don't know what that means, or if it is even meaningful in any way since my work was the only entries in most of the sections. Sunday evening I will pick up my pieces and receive the judge's remarks. We'll see if that sheds any light on the results. Since it looks like my fiber friends did not enter anything, maybe I should wear all my ribbons to the next meeting, or would that be too passive aggressive?

We missed the races

Spinning: I accomplished some spinning this week, and that's about all.

My granddaughter wanted to bake and frost cookies, so that is what we did one day. Despite my trying to inculcate a "less is more" mentality, her motto seemed to be "half cookie, half icing". When I suggested they were inedible, she declared, "They're not for eating, they're for decorating."

For pain relief, I take three aspirin in the morning and three in the evening, targeting inflamation, plus I apply emu oil to my shoulders twice a day. Thursday I neglected this regimen in the morning, and by evening, my left arm was nearly useless. The inkle loom is still clamped to the dining room table, but every time I think about weaving on it, I also think about how much it hurts. I want to keep my skills active, in anticipation of the workshop at the end of September, but I may have to practice in ten-minute bursts.

Maybe not the best laid plan

As the cortisone injections wear off, my shoulders remind me why I want/need replacements. I scheduled surgery for the Wednesday following an inkle weaving workshop, forgetting that I will have to cease all pain relieving treatments about two weeks before that. Already I am having difficulty at the inkle loom, can't wait to see how non-functional my left shoulder will be by the end of September. At least I will be able to continue cortisone injections in my right shoulder.

Spinning: At least spinning doesn't hurt my shoulders. Since I decided to call a halt to spinning all the red Tunis, my attitude toward it has improved.
Weaving: I find twenty minutes of weaving at the inkle loom to be my limit before having to rest. Unfortunately, that left me halfway through one motif and I am having trouble picking up (HA) where I left off.

One of the members of the spinning guild has made inroads in recent years to get fiber arts included in the county fair. I've never participated, but decided to this year. And if you are going to enter one thing, you might as well enter several.

There was no fair last year, thanks to the pandemic, so you can submit anything created in the past two years. Unfortunately, many of my handwoven and handknit items were gifts that have already been distributed, but I came up with five to enter. The judges are not very well versed in fiber arts, so I don't expect to win or even get any helpful feedback. But it will be fun to take my granddaughter to the fair and show her my entries.