How did I do?

It's Carolina Fiber Fest this weekend, and I ended up with ten items to enter in the competitions, although I forgot to take a photo of the final one, which is one of the knit-along cowls:

Categories AK7 and AK8, respectively.
Knit from a pattern and design my own pattern.

Category AK6 - Knit from handspun yarn.  This is the back.

Category AC10 - Crocheted from handspun yarn.  I clipped
the leftover bit before entering, of course!

Another Category AK7 - The Giverny Shawl of Junction Fiber
Mills' colourway for 2025 Maryland Sheep & Wool

Hat is Category 12, because I designed the pattern, and the
scarf (which is upside down, oops!) is Category AC13, the
annual crochet-along.

:

Two baby blankets in categories AC11 and AK8 respectively.

And these are the results; I have not read the comments cards:

The other items did not win ribbons.  I am well enough pleased with what I accomplished and actually thought I'd get a couple thirds instead of seconds.  I'm not completely surprised that the baby blankets didn't do better.

I was doing VERY well not buying yarn, although I bought some "box bags", and several flavours of tea, and picked up a few books and a box of oddments in the used equipment sale.  I felt very good that I managed to not buy another spinning wheel.  As I was able to get a couple of breaks, I saw many pretty yarns, but avoided buying - until right at the end, just before closing, when I spotted this at a favourite vendor who was right behind our setup:

  

Luckily they had only one left.  I see hat and mitts in my future!

Back from the Fairies.

As always, appropriate masks, although I took them down when not around crowds.

“Let us do something, while we have
the chance! **** Let us make the most
of it, before it is too late!"

--< Samuel Beckett, "Waiting for Godot

March 8th - International Women's Day

It was a good weekend, not too many photos, mostly video as I livestreamed a song from the bands performing at the stage we were near.  Storms on Saturday almost turned the Fun Run into a dogpaddle, but a break allowed the runners (except a couple who decided the 15+(F)-degree temperature drop after the first wave of storm was too much to tolerate) to head out.

Some of the other volunteers - nice to have them, for once! - with my crocheting on the table at the bottom left.  End result is cute (photo in next post) but why I wanted to do fine work in black??!!!

It's Trad

Off today for the North Texas Irish Festival.  Weather is supposed to be warm and rainy, although now Sunday may be sunny.  Better than the icy years!

Mom is worried because of terrorists and flying in storms and because it's the first time I've traveled away from her since Dad died.  We'll see how we manage.

I've packed a small bag, but overfull of items, including a green WFMT sweatshirt (because the buildings are always chilly) that I forgot to include in this photo:

Three days, three yarn projects - right?  One a hat I am designing to go with the Carolina Fiber Fest Crochet Craft-Along scarf; one the CFF Knit-Along pattern (and I just saw they've posted a second option); and one the Shamrock Cowl from Kelbourne Woolens, because that seems appropriate.

Fiberuary 22-28

22:  Different ballpark, same Sidewinder Hat.

23:  Knitting on the trip home.  Checking size of hat against the length of my book, because the instructions said the hat should be about 8" long before the top decreases and my book is about that size.

24:  Home!  But not quite, stayed at my mother's due to the late hour our flight arrived home.  Busy with helping her unpack, sort mail, and of course work was heavy.  So not too much more knitting.

25:  The Sidewinder Hat is at the point of decreasing.  But it's late so I will do that tomorrow.

26:  All day conference, took a shawl I began out of a skein of handdyed yarn purchased at last year's Carolina Fiber Fest.  It's the Tiny Kerchief pattern but continuing until I run out of yarn.  I didn't have the pattern in the bag (ooops!) so had to hunt as I wasn't sure I remembered it correctly.  Luckily I finally found it, and it's free, so now downloaded to my phone.  A couple people asked what I was doing, and one said it was a "baller move" to bring it - I pointed out it's just a fidget item that helps me focus.  After I returned home I finished the Sidewinder Hat, adding a fluffy pompon purchased at Michaels.  I debated white or black, hope I chose correctly.

27:  I took a garter stitch scarf to a concert at the community center tonight, and got a bit done.  The yarn has long passages of spotted, then a bit of solid, so it feels as if you're not making progress then it goes very quickly.

28:  I worked on the scarf a bit at a community brunch (helps to prevent unnecessary nibbling), then remembered I need to finish a friend's embroidery - begun by her husband, and my friend doesn't stitch.  I did a bit but realized one colour is missing, so I'll have to pick up another skein if possible.

Ending the month by working on the UFO Blanket.  And I finished the February puzzle:

   

Baseball Knitting.

As one does:

Started at Sloan Park - we saw two Cubs games, they lost both.

White Sox winning at Camelback Ranch

The group is scheduled for Cubs games on Friday and Saturday.  Opening Day game is against the White Sox; two years ago the Cubs won, this year the White Sox won.  On Saturday the Cubs lost again.  Sunday the group doesn't have a plan, so people can golf, go to the spa, lie around the pool, or pick up another game.  My tradition is to go to the White Sox home park, which is older and smaller and a very different experience.

I continued working on the Sidewinder Beanie on the way home, measuring progress against the book I am reading, which I'd started on the previous trip two years ago and somehow never finished:

I started the knitting craft-along for this year's Carolina Fiber Fest on the trip out, and made no other progress, so I'll have to work on it in the next week:

A couple non-knitting photos from the parks:

Fiberuary 15-21

15:  I had insomnia so finished the replacement hat and decided to give it to the person who'd flown in for the memorial, and who had commented about it several times over lunch.  Then in the bustle of everything, I forgot.

Second MTI hat, with two braids for Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Replacement hat on the right, Chemknits Creations alpaca yarn.

16:  Busy day at work, despite being a holiday.  I want to start something new but am focusing on finishing items first.  I need to figure out what to take on this week's trip, and I saw that a pattern I've been thinking about is on holiday sale, so I bought it.  I've nearly finished Row 30 on the UFO blanket.

17:  A little more done on the UFO Blanket, but work has been busy, and Mom and I decided to vote before going out of town, so that took up a bit of time.  I had a BOGO at Paris Baguette so we stopped on the way home and the counter clerk apologized that they only had savory items left since it was end of day.  Perfect for supper!

18:  I finally wound yarn for the Carolina Fiber Fest knitting Craft-Along, and packed it along with two other projects.  Because I'll be gone for five days, with three baseball games and two long plane flights.  I'd debated whether to use fingering yarn doubled for the pattern, but in the end selected a thin worsted weight that I think will work up as the DK the pattern requires.  I didn't want to knit the fingering weight alternative!  The yarn is pale, which should show the cabling and other pattern stitches better than a multi that the designer used.

19:  I took the CFF knit CAL pattern and yarn on the plane, and have done most of the starting border.  I need to count the number of repeats but haven't had time - I also had to work on the flight.

20:  Baseball begins!  I knit the border of the Sidewinder Hat, but didn't pull out the pattern to start the sides/top because it was too close to end of game.

21:  I continued knitting on the Sidewinder Hat, having shifted to the body pattern before we left for today's game.

Fiberuary 8-14

8:  I worked on the replacement hat a bit, and finished adding straps and buttons to the sleep sack I bought at The Scrap Exchange.  The straps are long pieces of double crochet with a border of single crochet; the spaces between stitches make a nice snug buttonhole and it can be anywhere on the strip to adjust for the baby growing.  I forgot to take a photo before delivering it.

Then during the Big Football Final (plus a bit of the Winter Olympics) I worked on a baby blanket UFO I'd found whilst looking for the sweater.  I had marked the copy of pattern so knew where I was, and made a slight adjustment to the additional rows on top and bottom to elongate the rectangle a bit.

9:  Back to work!  Very busy day, I did get a bit more done on the ribbing of the replacement hat.  I decided to do a deep ribbing that I can turn up for extra thickness over the ears when wanted.

10:  More work, more ribbing.  I am figuring out yarns for another sweater for me - which pile, which pattern?  Leaning towards the Elizabeth Zimmerman Tomten in some heavy handspun and yarns of similar weight, or thinner handspun held together.  I replied to a question about the Triangle Fiber Guild's participation in the Carolina Fiber Fest; we've been asked to run a community contribution event.  Originally they wanted a relay race but I pointed out that we don't have time (one month) to publicize it properly, so they agreed to a gaming-style event.  Now I have to locate my dice, which are scattered.

11:  Switched to the plain part of the replacement hat just in time to go to the dentist for my annual cleaning and to have a tooth checked.  It will have to be removed.  I've decided the replacement hat is not "me" and will give it away or sell it or donate it once done.  I decided to pull out the UFO baby blanket and get back to it.

12:  Worked on the blanket after my final mini-MBA class.  During class I knit on the current charity scarf, of Lion Brand Fair Isle.  I like the yarn.  Blanket is at a point where I need to keep count so I am adding a safety pin to mark the larger loops on the border, to be sure I can find them.  Then I start working the next row, and the instructions are confusing and the counting isn't quite right, so I'm fudging.

13:  More progress on the blanket.  Now on Row 30 of 35.

14:  Worked on the charity scarf during Torah Study, and the replacement hat (for which I may have found a new owner, if I get it finished by tomorrow) while out on errands and an unexpected lunch date.  I checked out three stores in a chain that was advertising items that people think are from Joann's end of bankruptcy sale, and found some crafts items in two, no fabric, and a little bit of yarn in one.