The State Fair Countdown! I spent today at the Minnesota State Fair with some very special friends. I’ll elaborate on their “specialness” in more detail later.
I always like to get to the fair on the first day to see if my knitting entries fared well in the judging. This year was a mixed bag, but I am not here to complain! I did better on some things than I expected and not as well on others. This pretty much happens every year. Other peeps I spoke to felt the same way about their items: “Not quite what I was expecting.” The ribbon distribution is based on many variables and luck is just one of them!! I always feel pretty lucky to win anything when I see the other beautiful entries.
I entered eight things this year and received the ribbons listed in the title: 5th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd, first, first, first , first. The sweepstakes went to one of my favorite people: Shelley Monitor, MKG president, for her Large Lace Collar Bohus Cardigan:
Shelley Monitor’s Bohus, Sweepstakes (on a night-of-the-living-dead mannequin!)
Shelley is an excellent knitter and very deserving of the sweepstakes award! Congratulations, Shelley!
I took pictures of my knitted items and very few of them turned out. The glare on the glass coupled with the hopelessly unattractive mannequins made a good shot almost impossible! All of my pictures have a yellow caste which I was unable to adjust. Edited to add: Sivani, bless her heart, fixed several of the pictures for me and removed some of the yellow. Thanks, Sivani!!
Ode to Joy Vest, 2nd Place
Olympic Reindeer Hat — 3rd Place Ribbon
Lace Beret, 4th Place
Whisper Cardigan, 5th Place (my biggest disappointment!)
Sleeping Baby’s Castle Blanket — this was entered in the Garment Category under Afghan less than 42×42
Yes, this is Sally’s design! The color is off white but here it looks VERY OFF white and is not displayed to its full advantage. You cannot tell there is a castle on the blanket, but I was excited to get a blue ribbon for Sally’s wonderful pattern.
Alexandria, First Place
Aeolian Shawl, First place and JRB Associates Award (terrible picture — lots of glare!)
Brage/Dragon Sweater, First Place and Three Kittens Award (OMG, the picture is horrid, plus they covered up the dragon with the ribbon)
I really have to give a shout out to a couple of people: my friend, Kim, entered a gorgeous hat that received a second place ribbon. If I was the judge, she would have gotten a blue, but I’m not so there you go.
Ellen De Silva won the Thursdays at 4 special award for her blue ribbon gloves! I am so happy that it is going to a friend of mine — yay and congratulations (no picture, though 🙁 ).
Speaking of friends, my peeps (Janet, Deb and Martha) really are fantastic people. I have known them since college. We made plans to go to the fair together. As you may recall, I hurt my heel about 4 weeks ago. The “heeling” has been slow and so I have been severely limping for three plus weeks. That in turn caused my bum right knee to flare up in rebellion, due to my crazy gait. I really can’t walk very well right now. I went to the fair knowing that I would not be able to stay long and certainly would not be able to partake in all of the fair festivities.
We arrived early (about 6:30 am) and by 10:30, I was done. I’m out. Time to leave. My dear friends said, “Au contraire, Limpy. We are going to get you a wheelchair.” And they did. They pushed me around the fairgrounds until 5:00 pm. Then they pushed me all the way to my car. No complaining at all — they just acted like they were having the time of their lives, this is no big deal, we will always remember this and laugh…you name it! They are true friends in every sense of the word. I love you guys!!
One of the great things about going to the fair with four people is that you can share food — we got to eat everything and get just the right amount. Yum, yum, yum!
One more thing: Sally has been busy getting her son settled into college and so she has not been doing much blogging of late. She’ll be back this weekend and has a beautiful FO to share. She is now an empty nester. 
First, congratulations on your winnings!
Second, I love that your friends wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Third, can we make a donation to the fair so they’ll retire those weird mannequins? They creep me out!
I went to the fair today too, but I can’t go to the knitting with my family, they do too much whining.
I’ll have to make another trip just for me!
Comment by jess — August 26, 2010 @ 11:37 pm
Congratulations, Susan on all of your ribbons! Love seeing the pictures as my knees make it so I don’t consider heading to the fair! You are blessed to have such dear friends! Hope you “heel” soon!
Comment by Vel — August 27, 2010 @ 12:04 am
Congratulations, Susan! I am so glad to get a peek at the cases – I hope to get there tomorrow. I’m glad you got the royal treatment, clearly you deserved it as knitting royalty!
I’m tickled about my gloves winning your group’s award – it is so much more meaningful! Oddly enough, they were my sleeper project. I knew they were technically quite sound (I designed them myself with gussets for the thumbs and even between the fingers), but they aren’t really flashy. What a thrill that they won! My gansey took a 4th, I think, which kind of surprised me as that was the garment I thought was my best. It will be fun to see what beat it – should be good!
But I’ll make sure to linger over your projects even more.
Comment by twinsetellen — August 27, 2010 @ 12:15 am
Congratulations!!! Wonderful knits and ribbons. I still in awe when I look at the dragon sweater.
Comment by Sue — August 27, 2010 @ 7:20 am
Looking forward to seeing it all. Congratulations. And sorry the heel isn’t heeling. Good buds to push you around. More calories burned = more fair food!
Comment by Mary Lou — August 27, 2010 @ 8:34 am
What a wonderful thing to do for you. ApplauseApplauseApplause.
Your local knitters are so amazing. So many good things. And congratulations on very well deserved placings and wins. Should have been more. Makes me want to visit the State Fair one of these days.
Would it help if we think of the mannequins as antique? Retro?
Comment by Needles — August 27, 2010 @ 9:19 am
Congratulations on both your fair ribbons and good friends!
Comment by Kay - From the Back Yard — August 27, 2010 @ 9:57 am
Congratulations on the fair ribbons! Looking over all the wonderful knitting I am glad that I am not a judge, such pretty inspiring work. I hope your “heeling” moves along quicker, how annoying it must be for you!
Comment by Debbie B — August 27, 2010 @ 12:41 pm
Congratulations on all your ribbons, of course, but especially for having such great friends.
Comment by pd — August 27, 2010 @ 1:25 pm
Friends really ARE the “flowers in the garden of life”. . . aren’t they! What a wonderful way for you to enjoy the fair together. (And I’m sending good “heeling” vibes your way!) Congratulations on your most excellent showing at the fair. So many beautiful projects! I am so pleased that your dragon sweater placed well; it is absolutely stunning (even on the Creepy Mannequin). (I became an empty-nester today, too. Feels good, actually. But quiet. . .)
Comment by Kym — August 27, 2010 @ 6:28 pm
Congrats on your entries!!
I actually enjoy being an empty-nester. Last year at Christmas break I was so ready for them to return to school by their second week underfoot. Love ’em, but love my “me time,” too.
Comment by Denise — August 27, 2010 @ 6:37 pm
Congratulations on your wins. Your state fair has some wonderful entries. I only wish that ours had as many.
It is truly a gift to be blessed with wonderful friends and you have some of the best.
Comment by Beverly — August 28, 2010 @ 12:13 am
Congratulations! Your knitting is always inspiring!
I only had a brief look at the entries on Friday, but am going back next week sans children to enjoy the CA building to its fullest. I am ecstatic to share a hideous mannequin with your Ode to Joy vest.
Comment by Orinda5 — August 28, 2010 @ 1:30 pm
Congratulations – a place for every entry!
The Whisper Cardigan might have been a bit subtle in its complexity (if that makes sense) and your finished objects appear so accomplished that they have no idea of the technical demands that went into it.
I have managed to work a little bit of magic with your images, correcting the yellow cast, although I can’t do anything about the reflection. If you drop me a line with your email address, I can send them back and you can see whether you want to use any of them 🙂
Comment by Sivani — August 28, 2010 @ 6:02 pm
Susan, your work is stunningly beautiful. I am so glad that you were recognized for your work. Here in Virginia where it is “suffering hot” as my girls used to say, there is precious little knitting at the State Fair. Lots of pies though!
Comment by Alice in Richmond — August 28, 2010 @ 8:46 pm
Hey Susan! You continue to amaze me. Your work is unbelievable. I entered six items this year, and got a 3rd place for my scarf, and a 4th for my child’s textured sweater. I was kind of bummed, but got over it quickly. 🙂 Well done, friend!
Comment by Peggy Miller — August 29, 2010 @ 12:17 pm
I’m heading up to the State Fair on Thursday and look forward to seeing your knitting projects in real life. Congratulations on all your awards!
Comment by RuthieJ — August 31, 2010 @ 5:38 pm
I loved finding all your things at the fair today. Was like a find Waldo.
Comment by Robyn Evenstar — September 1, 2010 @ 12:02 am
Well done, Susan! Congratulations!
Comment by Cat — September 2, 2010 @ 9:14 am