Kentucky State Fair, 2010

The Kentucky State Fair is over, so hopefully you all got your fill of donut burgers, fried butter, farm animals, and Joan Jett. I didn't bother going. I'm six months pregnant. Which means no beer tent and food poisoning would be even more unpleasant than normal. Not to mention the heat.


The only thing I felt like I missed out on were the textiles, but luckily, some of our customers sent me pictures of some winning entries. The Knit Nook really represented this year!

Suzanne entered Paloma's owl sweater [rav link], but it didn't win anything. Suzanne said that the fair was just lousy with owls this year. (Just do a Ravelry search for "owls" and you'll see that it's true.) But her beautiful alpaca shawl won second place. We think that the colors were just a tad subtle and dark which is why she didn't win first. But she's got a strategy for next year.


Sharri entered three things and won three ribbons. The Bob Dobbs vest she made for her hubby won a ribbon (no, that's not intarsia; crazy lady did the color work in DUPLICATE STITCH!)


Her Piper hat and scarf set (and Sharri made up the scarf pattern herself to match the hat) won a ribbon.

And her Bex socks (no picture--Sharri, if you have a pic, send it!) also won a ribbon. Good job, Sharri!

Mary Beth's Dale of Norway ski sweater won third place. It's an exquisite piece of craftsmanship (she steeked the armholes for crying out loud!), but unfortunately for Mary Beth, craftsmanship doesn't seem to be a requirement for ribbon-winning at the KY state fair. Cute always beats difficult.

Mary Beth's gloves won second place, which I would have said was a travesty, if they hadn't been overlooked all together last year. So at least they were recognized. Finally!

Martha's crochet wedding purse won a blue ribbon. It's absolutely gorgeous. There are beads and everything. This purse is so lovely, that it has actually converted some people to crochet. Seriously. Martha worked on it in the shop and we had two people sign up for Beginning Crochet.

So remember Mary Beth's exquisite Dale of Norway ski sweater with the steeks and the colorwork? This is what won the blue ribbon. Jane's Sheep Yoke Baby Sweater (free pattern on Ravelry). But honestly, it's adorable.

And remember Suzanne's owl sweater that didn't win? This won a ribbon instead. Jane's Top Down Raglan. (Man, it's a wonder Jane can even show her face around this shop! If she wasn't the Mayor, I'd be worried for her safety!)

But Jane wasn't finished winning ribbons. Her Noni purse with the fairy garden needle felting won Honorable Mention.

Of course, there were plenty more Knit Nookers who submitted items to the fair and won ribbons. If you know of anybody else or have any other pictures to share, please email them to me! Congratulations, everybody! I hope you treated yourselves to some deep fried butter because you deserve it!

The Fair, Part 2: Not so fair after all...

(I totally stole the title from Kevin's Facebook post about our trip. And if you belong to Facebook and haven't become a fan of the Knit Nook...well, then you are mean. Or lazy. Go over and do it right now.)

So the main reason for our trip (besides eating junk food and petting animals) was to see how our entries did. Now, before I begin my rant about the messed up judging, I will admit that I won a ribbon--and since my decision to enter was totally last minute--I was pretty happy. I got Third Place for my Odessa Hat and Clapotis.

And Heather's Socktopus won an Honorable Mention. When we turned it in, the ladies at the check in table seriously couldn't contain their excitement. (Okay, I do have a little beef: why isn't there a knitted toy section? Does it make any sense that Heather's Socktopus and Mary Beth's Latvian Gloves compete against one another? That's like comparing apples and socktopuses.)

And speaking of which... Mary Beth's gloves got third. Seriously. All that Fair Isle. Those tiny needles. She knit fingers for crying out loud! On US 1 needles!

Cindy wasn't going to enter anything, so when she decided to enter a pair of lace socks, we were proud. And she won fourth. She was happy because her expectations were so low. But seriously, first place was a pair of stockinette socks knit out of self-striping yarn. I will admit that they were perfectly knit, but how hard is it to get nice and tight stitches when you are only knitting? And furthermore, I had the sneaking suspicion that the judge wasn't aware that the yarn was self-striping. Meanwhile, Cindy has those SAME EXACT SOCKS at home. We're talking same colorway and everything. And furthermore, there was a pair of fair isle socks--and I'm talking REAL fair isle, not the fake isle you so often see--and they didn't even place.

And the Mayor. That beautiful hand knitted, felted, and needle felted purse...got third place. Again, I don't think the judge had a clue about the technique. The Mayor explained the process when she turned in her item, and I think they didn't realize that she designed it all free hand. There weren't any kits or stencils. She used the felted bag as her canvas and painted with roving.

But at least the Mayor got a ribbon. Mary Beth's adorable bag didn't even place. And that's the way it was treated, shoved down in the bottom of the case.


Which is where my wrap sweater ended up too. Maybe if I'd bothered to block it, I would have had a shot. The sweater that won first place was a beautifully blocked lace cardigan.


Another disappointment--and I didn't know anybody who entered in this category--was the crocheted baby sweater. A beautifully executed baby sweater won third. First place? A shell stitch baby cardigan out of Wal-Mart acrylic yarn. A perfectly fine sweater, but it looked like the baby sweater every Mamaw has crocheted for their grandbaby since the dawn of time. I could have done it, and I don't even know how to crochet all that well.

I know we weren't the only ones upset by the judging, but because I'm not actually willing to become involved in the Kentucky State Fair textile judging, I hesitate to file a complaint. I also heard, in the judge's defense, that difficulty of pattern or quality of fiber is not a factor, but rather perfection of execution. I guess I always thought it was like the Olympics, how dives were rated by difficulty and perfection. So again, goes to show how much I know.

Oh well. We got our discounted tickets. We mooed at the cows, petted some rabbits, and ate some ice cream. Overall, we had a great time.