2014 Show Stuff and the RG14 Games

Well now, I know that I should have posted this one a while ago, but better late than never. It's showtime in the first half of the year here on the east coast. Canberra first, then Sydney and all the local suburban shows around Sydney suburbs.

For Canberra I've put in a tuck stitch baby blanket and bubble scarf.

 Sydney circuit is a little different for me this year, I've decided to bit the bullet and put in the Sydney Royal. I decided they need a Kate shawl, one of the lace cotton tops from last year, some socks and something from Carl Boyd's lecture from Dream week

I've combined the socks, Kate shawl and Carl's idea-ish in with the Ravellenic Ravelry 2014 KAL while the Olympics are on the tele.

Pretty Ribbons II aka Putting Stuff in Shows

 I have been banging a drum lately on changing people's attitudes into entering stuff into shows. Trying to convince people to stop worrying about being judged, and submit eyecatching stuff to appeal to the public. Let the judges have the worry of picking out one instead. Anyways here is my story

Last year I decided to put a few things into the local regional shows around the Sydney Area, Blacktown, Castle Hill and Hawkesbury. I got some ribbons.

This year I decided to put a few things into the same shows plus try my hand at a bigger show - so I decided to enter the Royal Canberra Show. I was intending to put something into Sydney, but they moved their date forward and I wasn't confident that what I had planned to do would turn out. Sometimes it doesn't. Next year I will do better.

So.. onto Canberra. It has just had it's 100th celebration, and they had the Great Scarf Competition. You had to put in why it was relevant to the centenary. I decided to combine a method popular in the late 1890s to early 1900s - pre threading beads/pearls onto the yarn and knitting it into the fabric, which I did both ends by hand, then did the middle bit by the KX350. Mixed methods were permitted. And it won first place.

Alpaca Storm Scarf

Next was a baby jacket I made as part of our Passap Model book challenge in the Passap Ravelry group, one of the girls made the baby jacket out of book 19. And it won first prize.

Passap Baby Jacket

Lastly comes another Kate Shawl, It won First prize, Non Professional Champion more than 2 yrs experience and Overall Reserve Champion which is what the two rosettes are. (I know I thought of the cows too!!) This was apparently put on and paraded around the judging area (I did say this was OK). They loved it. And it took them a while to figure out how I did it. This is exactly why people should be putting things into shows. This is a relatively new technique, but this isn't the first time they should have seen it. I do not expect to be so honoured in the future. I'm just thrilled I got this result this time.

Kate Shawl

Lastly I'll show you what DIDN'T win at Canberra, zilch, nil, nada nothing, there must have been a few things to choose from in this category - my Passap hand manipulated socks that took me a week to make! And were in cotton and I thought were brilliant - just goes to show - you just never, never know...

Passap socks

I've also put in Diana's Beret, which one a first prize in the Blacktown show, and a First for the Mohair Scarf in Castle Hill. No photos of these yet, they still have to go to into Hawkesbury and St Ives, then I'll put their photo in.

And the most wonderful feedback I got was from a brand spanking new machine knitter who saw my Kate Shawl at the Canberra show and was inspired to get herself a machine! How Good Is That?

So my fellow machine knitters - These things I have I learnt:

• have the article made well before the closing date, so there's no pressure,
• baby items can be donated to charity if you don't have babies to knit for
• keep your labels - some of the big shows like them
• don't worry about being judged
• give the judges something to worry about instead
• pick something that looks good to the public
• you will always win if you are the only entry

And good luck in promoting machine knitting as a wonderful craft that's still alive and kicking..

Pretty Ribbons: aka Putting Stuff in Shows

In January, yet again Eleanor stood in front of us begging and pleading for us to enter some of the shows around Sydney. So this year I took pity on her pleading self and asked if she would like one of the Kate machine knit shawls I've made - yes she would, so I gave her the shawl and some money to spend on entries. The idea is to promote machine knitting, a cabinet filler, and Wildhoney's (Natalia from Russia) Kate Machine Knit shawl is lovely, it's what all the girls in the family got for Christmas.

Anyways, Eleanor entered it in, along with her stuff - some shows it did what I though - made a nice display and in two of them I got pretty ribbons, a FIRST in the Castle Hill Show and a SECOND (and $3.00 - yes that's correct three dollars) from Hawkesbury Show, now isn't that nice?

It's next excursion is to the Sydney Craft and Quilt Show Macknit display- however I'm not going to hold my breath for pretty ribbons in that one - we get a lot of entries and the general public votes for their favourite item. A nice filler it will be too, I'm pretty sure they won't let me put the pretty ribbons on it! No.