San Mateo County Fair Ribbons

I'm back from Ottawa in Canada, where I attended my cousin's wedding. We stayed at a chateau by White Lake, about 45 miles west of Ottawa, the capitol of Canada. During our trip, we missed the opening of the San Mateo County Fair on August 10. I had entered three items:

- Lyra, the large table center designed by Herbert Niebling

- A smaller doily, also designed by Niebling

- Swallowtail shawl, designed by Evelyn Clark

The Fair requires that the items entered have been completed within the last year. This was the first time I had ever entered anything at the County Fair. The fine knitters at IBKC (Itty Bitty Knitty Committee) who meet in San Bruno had entered items at the 2006 Fair, and it sounded like so much fun! I decided to do it this year, even though I wouldn't be around for the majority of the Fair days, August 10-19.

When I got back from Canada, I found a note from Jeannette at IBKC who told me I had "cleaned up" at the Fair. She told me to read Erica's report about the IBKC group's Fair winnings. WOW! I couldn't believe my eyes! So many of us had won ribbons!

We decided to go to the Fair on Thursday, the day after we got back. When I had dropped off my knitting for judging before we left, I was given an envelope with two tickets to the Fair and a free parking pass. One great thing about exhibiting your work is that you can attend the Fair for free. The cost of entering is only $2 per item, so my three items only cost $6 to enter. The Fair tickets cost $9 per adult.

We took 280 South to 92 East and exited on Delaware St. After parking, we walked in the front gate and were greeted by two dandy cowboys on stuffed horses, handing out the daily schedules. The first thing we noticed in the schedule was: "Pig races?"

Okay, we would have to see those.

Then we wandered around looking at the livestock exhibits. The camels and goats were penned outside one of the buildings. Inside another were cows, chickens, ducks, sheep, and turkeys. We almost entered the "guess the weight" of the steer contest, but then wondered where we would put it if we won. Seriously, I don't know what the prize was for that contest. The hogs were pink and black and lying on their sides in the shredded cardboard that covered the pen floors. We read in the San Mateo County Fair brochure that recycled shredded cardboard would be used in the exhibits instead of straw, in an effort to keep the Fair "green" -- but I did see some straw.

Next we walked over to one of the outdoor music areas. The forlorn band that was playing only had a few people sitting in the audience. Of course it was midafternoon on a Thursday, not a peak time for rock audiences. We stood and watched for a little while, even though, out of the corner of my eye, I could see the name of the adjacent building, "Oak Hall." My knitting was inside, and I could hardly wait.

Inside the door was a table hosted by the Peninsula Quilters. These quilters were sponsoring a number of special prizes at the Fair, so quilts were entered in abundance. They literally covered every wall, and a special standing display in the center of Oak Hall. We saw some of the knitting, some baby things and afghans, and then I spotted - Jeannette's Valkyrie hat! I also found Erica's baby afghan which had won a blue ribbon and some other entries by the IBKC group.

We walked up to the Lace Museum table, where two women were working busily on some amazingly intricate Torchon (bobbin) lace. I love intricate lacy things, and these ladies must have infinite patience to work the beautiful edgings with such tiny threads. This is the lace made on a special pillow, using many pins and bobbins to shape the lace.

Then my husband tapped me on the shoulder and whispered, "I found it." He walked me over to the display cases which held the tablecloths, doilies and other laces. There they were!

My small Niebling doily had won a 1st place blue ribbon.

My Swallowtail Shawl had won a 1st place blue ribbon and a Judge's Choice, Special Award rosette.











And my pride and joy, my Lyra table center, had won a 1st place blue ribbon and the "Best In Show" rosette!











Each award has a monetary value, only about $10 to $25 each. But that wasn't my reason to enter. The fun of seeing my work displayed in an exhibit dedicated to earnest amateurs in various arts, is more than enough compensation.

After visiting Oak Hall, we sat down for a traditional carnival lunch of Polish and Italian sausages, fries and lemonades. The Fair is only once a year, okay?

Suddenly, we heard screams and squeals of enjoyment -- the pig races had begun! We quickly ran over to the pig racing area and saw the little pink squealers running for the finish line! I didn't have time to pick a favorite, but it certainly was a highlight of the Fair.

The bucking Mechanical Bull riders were having their share of fun. I have to say that the fellow operating the bucking controller must be a sadistic fellow -- either that, or he just wanted to move the line along a little faster. Young riders began on a slowly rocking steer, and gradually were shook, bucked, and thunked, harder and harder, until they fell off. Hm, not so good for the sciatica.

So, now I'm thinking about what to enter next year.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention, our little pooch Duke was so happy to see us when we got home from Canada. He really is a wonder. He's 12 years old, and still acts like a puppy, jumping up and dancing on his hind legs whenever we come in the door. Here's a photo of our best pal during a quiet moment.

Swallowtail Shawl in Silk - Completed!

The Swallowtail Shawl is completed! I used two colors of Kaalund Enchante 100% silk laceweight, Silky Oak and Nectarine. Kaalund is an Australian brand, and I purchased it from Greenwich Yarn in San Francisco.

The shawl begins at the top center and is worked outward. The main body is in a Budding Lace pattern, followed by two tiers of the Lily of the Valley border and is finished with a Peaked Edging.

I'd have to say that this is a fast knit compared to other lace shawls I have made. It took less than a month to complete, and I was working on other projects as well, so I didn't work on it every day.

My best decision was made before I began. I chose two colors and wanted a subtle transition from one to the other. I wanted to achieve a "sunset" effect, and I'm pleased with the outcome.

The first part in the Budding Lace pattern is all in the color Silky Oak. The color change occurs in the first tier of the Lily of the Valley border. I knitted two rows of Silky Oak and two rows of Nectarine, then two rows of Silky Oak and two rows of Nectarine again. These two dyelots have a common golden color, so the transition was as subtle as I had hoped. I also like the way the nupps in the transition section are multicolored as a result of the color changes.

I've read about the "nupps" on various blogs. The general knitter consensus seems to be: we love how they look, but we hate making them. I think the roundness of the true nupp makes a difference. True nupps are five stitches purled together (p5tog). Slip 2, purl 3 together and pass the slipped stitches over is another way of accomplishing a nupp, but the shape is slightly different and not quite as round. See my previous post to learn how I accomplished these round nupps without going crazy.

The second tier of Lily of the Valley and the Peaked Edging is worked completely in Nectarine.

Blocking was fast and easy. I threaded a 1/16" welding rod through the eyelets at the top edge and secured the rod to my blocking board, making sure the right and left corners were pinned down tightly and placing just a few pins under the rod to keep it straight and even. Then I pulled the bottom point down as far as it would go and pinned it to the board.

After that, I pulled the center point of one side out and pinned it, then switched to the other side and pinned the center point, stretching hard each time to open up the lace. I continued in this manner, pulling out a point on one side and the corresponding point on the other side, taking care to keep the points evenly spaced.

After every point was pinned, I went all the way around making minor adjustments to the pins, because as I stretched the lace, some points pulled a little too much to the left or right and I wanted them to point straight out.

Swallowtail Shawl in Silk

The Swallowtail Shawl from Interweave Knits Fall 2006 issue appears to be everywhere in blogdom. I had decided to make this short, lacy shawl when I first saw it a couple of months ago, before I knew about the knitalong blogs. Yes, there's more than one!

I'm glad I waited to find just the right fiber.

This yarn is Kaalund's Enchante, a 100% silk laceweight. It's a superfine laceweight, but not cobweb. And the colors! I'm using Silky Oak for the first section - a subtly variegated peach and gold - and I'll finish it off with Nectarine (the slightly more peachy-red yarn ball in the photo). I'm hoping it will look something like a sunset, but the proof will be in the lace.

So far, my only qualm about this yarn is that it doesn't "give" or stretch, so knitting the p5tog's in the Lily of the Valley border is a challenge. I choose to knit these nupps with a small crochet hook. The shawl is on a size 4 circular, and the hook is #5 steel.

What works for me is sliding the hook from right to left under five stitches on the lefthand circular needle, hooking the working yarn and pulling a loop through the five stitches. Then I slide the five stitches I just worked off the lefthand needle and put the new loop on the righthand needle.