Hubba and I went to the County Fair last weekend.
My Results
Neither of my wools placed but my Tibetan Mastiff yarns received second and third place behind a beautifully spun skein of yak.
This is expected since both of the wools had quite a bit of vegetable matter (VM) in the roving, and therefore so does the yarn. Though the judge only mentioned it on one of them.
The judge recommended a figure-eight for tying all of the skeins, which I've not done but will start.
It's interesting that the judge thought both of the wools were harsh for the intended purpose (a blanket) and recommended long-draw over short-draw as the spinning technique.... I had already decided that I want to practice the long-draw technique over the next year because it should produce a loftier yarn. So now I have a new goal of entering a long-drawn yarn into next year's fair. :-)
The judge also mentioned guard hair in the Tibetan Mastiff skeins as well as over/under-spun areas in each yarn.
I agree with all of the workmanship comments and I always find it interesting to see what each judge tends to focus on.
The county fair is a place where consistency and the following of best practices is rewarded. Therefore, I believe it's an excellent place to test your skills.
Other Entries
There were a lot of beautiful yarns this year, all of which were displayed behind glass... None of these photos turned out well... I guess I should practice taking photos of things behind glass. :-/
The grand champion was a hand-spun, hand-knit cardigan-vest with lots of cables.... really quite striking.
As always, the Quilt entries are awe-inspiring for me. One day, I may attempt to make a quilt. ;-)
There was a mini-Ninja Warrior course at the entrance to the Fairgrounds. They had a big-buff dude helping kids thru the course. It was fun to see dreams looking possible in the kids' eyes.
There was also this phone charging station. It was set up with a variety of cables. All you had to do was plug in and start pedaling. Fun!
A Sign of the Times
Since Hubba and I both have first-hand knowledge of non-vaccinated people not wearing masks, and the fact that enforcement of the public health policy is not occurring, Hubba and I continue to wear masks in public... especially now with the Delta Variant surging.
AND...
Since most people were not wearing masks, and a large thunderstorm was brewing, Hubba and I decided not to stay.... so we did not visit any of the other exhibits, animals, or midway.
All of that being said, there were fewer people than we typically see at the fairgrounds while we were there.
Happy Fiber Arts Friday!
No comments:
Post a Comment