Here they are.....

It's County Fair time again!  (jeez, I can't believe it's the end of July already though......)  Here are the items this Nature Knitter has completed in the past 12 months for entry into Open Class competition at the 2012 Olmsted County Free Fair.  (Award information has been listed after each picture.)  

 Wool Houndstooth Check Mittens

Blue ribbon (first place)

Glitter Shawl

(knitted from *1 ball* of a wool/alpaca/nylon/metallic blend yarn) 

White Ribbon (third place)

Celeste Shawl

(knitted from Red Heart Stardust yarn - 70% superwash wool, 25% nylon, 5% glitter yarn)

Blue Ribbon (first place) plus Grand Champion Purple Ribbon and Best of Show Award Plaque

Click on the photo to enlarge so you can also see the copper metal beads knitted into this lovely pattern

Basic Knitted Mittens

(knitted from washable acrylic yarn)

White Ribbon (third place)

Wool Cables Hat

Blue Ribbon (first place)

Rainbow Beanie

(crocheted with Brown Sheep Nature Spun sport weight yarn) 

Red Ribbon (second place)

Undergrowth Hat

(knitted with Brown Sheep Nature Spun sport weight yarn)

Blue Ribbon (first place) and Reserve Grand Champion Pink Ribbon

Top view of Undergrowth Hat



I stopped at the fair with these entries shortly after noon last Friday -- I didn't see what any of the other competitors had brought in then, but I'm optimistic some of these items will do well in the judging that was held on Saturday, July 21st.  I'll post results later this week.



Last Day of January

We finally made it to the end of January -- it always seems like a really long month each year. We had a little bit of snow all day and I was able to snap a quick photo of this beautiful male cardinal while I was eating my lunch today. There's nothing like a brilliant red cardinal to brighten up a gray winter day.

Yesterday I finished a little shawl that I started last August. This is the Multnomah Shawl, and you can find the free pattern by clicking here.

I like these little wool shawls because they're nice to dress up any outfit, plus they're actually pretty warm too. An added bonus of this shawl is that the green in this variegated yarn is an exact match to this godawful green blouse I bought on clearance at JCPenney's a few years ago. Now I know I'll be wearing this green blouse much more often (notice my happy face!)

The other neat thing about this shawl is that I got the chance to use one of the new shawl pins I purchased last week from one of my fellow Etsy shop owners. This cute little flower shawl pin is perfect on this shawl. If you're looking for a shawl pin, please check out some of Amy's other cute designs at this link to her website.

A couple months ago, a new yarn shop opened in Winona, Minnesota. It's called Yarnology and I've already made several trips down there where the wonderful shop owners have everything I need to satisfy my knitting addiction. Last weekend they had their grand opening celebration so Mr. Johnson and I made the drive to Winona again so I could take part in the grand opening event and sign up for a drawing. The really nice thing about going to Winona (in addition to Yarnology) is that we have usually have time to drive through the scenic Whitewater WMA and look for birds & wildlife, plus Winona has lots of restaurants and we get a chance to try a new one on each trip. Anyway, getting back on track here, last Sunday afternoon, I got a phone call from Gaby (one of the Yarnology owners) letting me know that I had won a prize in their drawing. Woo-Hoo!! And look at this fabulous prize I won.......

A beautiful lacy shawl pattern and 10 skeins of Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Wool yarn to knit it with (plus a little package of T-pins for blocking). On the way home, I also picked up 2 tubes of glass beads that will look beautiful on this shawl. I was so happy to receive such a wonderful prize and can't wait to get started on this shawl (as soon as I finish a dog sweater for a co-worker and the last Special Olympics scarf). I'll be sure to post pictures of this shawl once I get started on it.

Recently Completed Knitting Projects

I haven't shown you any photos of knitting projects lately, so that's what this post is going to be about. Last year, one of my resolutions was to try an keep an accurate record of knitting projects I started and finished during the year. I printed out worksheets and actually did pretty good until the middle of November when I was just so busy with knitting projects that I didn't take the time to keep track for the last few weeks of the year. However, I was pretty faithful about recording my projects for the rest of the year. In a review of the list, here are the results for 2010: Projects started was 112! Projects completed was 98. Ideally the number of completed projects would be greater than projects started, but only in a perfect world (which also explains why I have so many unfinished projects stashed all over the house!)

I've already decided I won't be keeping track of any knitting projects this year -- at least not officially. However, here are a few of my FOs (finished objects) for 2011.

A co-worker asked if I could make an earflap hat for his wife similar to a hat they saw on the Columbia website. I didn't have a pattern, but drawing on my years of knitting experience and components of several different hat patterns, here's how the hat turned out. It had to be purple and pink with long tails on the earflaps. I knitted it with Vanna's Choice 100% acrylic yarn, so it's machine washable and dryable (plus the yarn is really soft). I really like how this hat turned out.
Here's one of the scarves I'm knitting for the 2011 Special Olympics USA Scarf Project. I found out about this project from another knitting friend's blog. I've pledged to knit 3 scarves in these "official" colors of blue and turquoise. All of the athletes will have a handmade scarf to wear when participating in the 2011 Special Olympics. I'm sure it will be quite a sight to see all of them wearing these beautiful scarves.

I like to try new yarn colors. I picked up this ball of Patons wool a couple weeks ago because I was curious to see how this weird color combination would knit up. I probably will not buy this yarn again, but I'm sure there's someone who will see these half-mitts in my Etsy store and will love them enough to buy them.

Lastly, here's a small shawl I finished last week. I started it on Dec. 24th and the yarn used to knit this was Berroco Sox Metallic. (Ravelry members can download this pattern for free -- it's the Dane Shawl.)

I wore it to work yesterday. I love that it will coordinate with a lot of different colored tops. I know I will wear this shawl often.

Here's the back view. I was going to be just a few yards short to finish up this shawl but then I visited Yarnology (where I originally bought the yarn), the lovely owners there had a partial ball of this yarn in their backroom and graciously loaned it to me so I could finish up my shawl without having to purchase a whole 'nother ball. Now that's what I call "customer service!"

This yarn is beautiful with a silver metallic thread running through it. It was hard to photograph, but if you look real close a the photo below, you might be able to see it.

County Fair FAIL!!

I got to the fair this afternoon with all my beautiful projects only to find out that entry day was last Friday, July 30th! I guess it's been way too long since my last fair entry and I definitely will be reading the fine print a bit closer next year -- when I get these projects out of storage and try re-enter them again. So now, please consider this blog post as a review of my recently completed knitting projects and thank you so much for all your kind comments!

For the first time in many years, I'm going to enter some of my knitting projects for competition at the Olmsted County Fair. Entry day is Monday, August 2nd and judging day is Tuesday, August 3rd. Here are photos of the 4 items I'll be entering. I'll let you know later on this week whether any of these items win any blue ribbons.

Baltic Mittens

Maia Shawl (front view)

Maia Shawl (back view)

Maia Shawl (close-up view of stitch detail with beads)

Swirl Cap (not your standard cables!)

Norwegian Wedding Gloves

Have a good week everybody! Can you believe it's August already??

More Recently Completed Knitting Projects

It looks as though summer has arrived here in Minnesota and with all the fun stuff going on outside, I've been very neglectful of my blog lately. When I was downloading some pictures from my Master Naturalist field trip this past Saturday, I was surprised to find lots of other pictures on the compact flash card that I'd forgotten about. So it looks as though I'll have a few days of blog posts as long as I'm willing to take the time to sit down at the computer and get my thoughts and photos organized.

I decided tonight I would start with an easy one -- recently completed knitting projects. (Some of you may have already seen these on Ravelry or Facebook.) My first item is the "February Lady Sweater" (a free pattern download from Ravelry). This pattern was modified to fit an adult from the original Elizabeth Zimmerman baby sweater pattern. I actually made a couple of these baby sweaters (for gifts) at least 15 years ago during a Community Ed knitting class. Mine is knitted with a nice superwash merino wool from KnitPicks. Needless to say this sweater has been folded up and put in the closet until wool sweater weather returns in a few months.
I did find some really beautiful natural shell buttons at JoAnn Fabrics. The photo doesn't show it, but they have that lovely iridescence you always find with natural shell and they're also machine washable.

Back in March I showed you the Baltic Mitten I had knitted up and wanted to teach as a class at my local yarn shop. I did have that class (for only 1 student - but she enjoyed the private lesson!) After I had posted that mitten, I got an e-mail from my blogging friend Beth out in Maine. She was wondering whether I'd be willing to knit his & hers Baltic Mittens using colors from the Latvian flag. I'm always up to a knitting challenge and the 2 pairs of mittens in the top of this photo now have a new home in Maine. It's really neat for me to know that my knitting projects are keeping people warm in so many different places.

(In case anyone's interested the mittens on the bottom are also for sale and will show up in my Etsy store once the weather gets cooler - unless you're one of those people who really plan ahead and would like to buy them now for next winter!)

This is the Victorian Shoulderette (a pattern from Sivia Harding). I'm also teaching this class at my local yarn shoppe -- starting next Saturday. It was fun to knit and a good introduction to lace knitting for someone who's never tried knitting lace before and are intimidated by starting with one of the larger lace shawl patterns that are usually available.

This shawlette was knitted with Mericash3 - a lovely and soft yarn blend of 80% merino and 20% cashmere.

This is what it looked like while it was being blocked. My students will also learn how to do this as they should be able to finish their shawlette in the 3 class sessions I have planned.

My final project was this cute little doggy sweater. It's the Classic Aran Dog Sweater from a Leisure Arts pattern book called Dog Gone Cute.

This is the small size and it was a perfect fit for Lulu - a Japanese Chin who accompanies Kristen to work every day at Kristen's Knits (my local yarn shoppe). I adore Lulu! She's such a cute little dog and loves to hop up and sit on my lap while I'm teaching knitting classes.

Lulu loves looking right at the camera to have her picture taken so Kristen had her hands full convincing Lulu to stay turned around long enough for me to photograph this sweater from the back. Thanks Kristen and Lulu for your assistance with this photo shoot!

So that's all the knitting I have to show you for now. I've still got little projects going on but once again, my knitting productivity has declined while I take advantage of the beautiful summer weather and all the outdoor activities that I enjoy like birding, biking, gardening, golf, etc. I know there will be plenty of time for knitting once cold weather arrives again next fall.

Some Finished Knitting Projects

Here are a couple of knitting projects I finished recently. First is the Brandywine Shawl designed by Rosemary Hill. I knitted it with 1 skein of Lana Grossa's Meilenweit Multiringel (a sock yarn). It's not a huge shawl -- more to just keep your shoulders warm or drape around your neck like a scarf. It was a pretty quick and easy shawl to knit. If you would like to try this pattern, you can purchase the pattern on-line by clicking this link. The pattern price is $6.50, and Rosemary is very generously donating $5.00 of the purchase price to Doctors Without Borders for Haiti earthquake relief. To date, Rosemary has sent over $7500 from sales of this pattern!
Here's a close-up look at the pattern. I'm donating this shawl to a silent auction for the Minnesota Master Naturalists annual meeting in May.

Next project is this Baltic mitten with a Twined Herringbone Edging on the cuff. I'm going to start teaching some more classes at my local yarn shop and this is one of the classes I'd like to teach, so I thought I'd better knit one up quick and take it in to show the owner and get her opinion on whether she thinks any knitters would be interested in taking this class.

It's feeling like spring here in Minnesota (finally!) Normally my knitting slows down a little bit this time of year, but I'm hoping with teaching more classes, I can keep my knitting mojo going through the summer.....I still have plenty of unfinished projects waiting for me!

Meteorological Spring

According to my friends over at the KTTC Precision Forecast Center, yesterday (March 1st) marked the first day of Meteorological Spring here in Minnesota. And after the winter we've had so far, I'll take spring in any way I can get it! Here's a look at what's left of our woodpile (nothing!)Last fall we had a full cord delivered and there were 4 stacks of wood piled 5 and 1/2 feet high between these poles. I kept the thermostat set at about 65 all winter and with my getting home early in the day from work, was able to start the fireplace most days and keep our house pretty comfortable. I was happy that we never had any gas bills over $100 this past winter and that's the first time for many years. In the end it probably all comes out the same though, because if I remember correctly, that cord of wood delivered last October cost us around $185. Oh well, Sophie and I enjoyed quite a few nice naps on the couch in front of the toasty fireplace. :-)

Even though there's still a lot of snow in the backyard, we can really notice where it's melted quite a bit. However, in the spring, this isn't always a good thing, as you can see by what's starting to show up underneath my birdfeeders. Here's what below where my 2 thistle seed feeders hang on the deck. Yuck!

And here are a couple more feeders in the backyard. Double Yuck!!

I can already see that I've got lots of cleaning up to do this spring (as soon as I can get my wheelbarrow out of this snowbank!)

Melting snow is also revealing quite a large number of Sophie's "deposits" from the long winter. Definitely time to start watching where I'm walking again!

After my last disastrous knitting project, I decided to start a new hat pattern on Sunday afternoon. This is "Quincy" from Jared Flood's "Made in Brooklyn" pattern book.

I really love the way this hat turned out! (keepin' it for myself too!) The main part of the hat is knitted in a strip, then you give it one twist and graft the ends together (so it becomes a tube). Then you pick up stitches around the top edge of the tube and knit the top of the hat. I love the beautiful details of the top and the I-cord edging all the way around.

I really love all of Jared's designs in this pattern book.....the hardest thing is going to be deciding which pattern I want to knit next!

Happy Meteorological Spring Everyone!

Knitting Mission Accomplished!

This afternoon, I finished my last sock and hat for the Afghans for Afghans 2010 Youth Campaign. Here's my final tally: 3 hats, 4 pairs of socks, and 4 pairs of mittens. I got everything washed and right now they're all hanging on the drying rack with a fan blowing on them so they'll be dry enough to pack up and ship tomorrow (since they need to arrive in San Francisco by March 1st).

My reward for finishing this project is that I get to start a new project for the weekend -- this cool Winter Olympics hat will be for me! If you want to try one knitting one too, here's the pattern link.

Finished fiber projects and other stuff

Here's my outside thermometer at 8:00 this morning.....yup, looks like winter has finally arrived and after the second warmest November on record, I don't believe there's a single person in Minnesota who's not complaining about our abrupt return to normal winter weather!

The good thing about this weather is that I'm not feeling the least bit guilty about parking my butt on the couch for hours and knitting my fingers to the bone! In fact this week has been one of my best in recent memory for getting a number of projects finished. Here's a nice afghan I got done on Monday. This is a great time of year to work on afghans because you can keep yourself (and the pets!) warm while the knitting progresses. (watch for this afghan to show up in my Etsy store soon!)

This is a crocheted afghan that I started at least 3 years ago. I decided it was high time I finished it because I finally have a recipient for this afghan. Next week it's going to my adopted son, Kerry, in the US Navy. I adopted Kerry in October through Soldiers' Angels. It's not a huge afghan, but I think there's not much room on a ship for personal belongings anyway. I hope he likes it!

Back-to-back episodes of "Law and Order" plus Netflix movies are great for getting knitting projects done too! This week I finished this cutest ever teddy bear vest for my great-nephew Ethan's Christmas present. I was amazed that I managed to save (and find!) this Leisure Arts pattern brochure that I originally purchased back in the 80's. I think if my sissy looked back in her old photo albums, she would probably find a picture of my niece (Ethan's mom) wearing a similar vest that I knitted for her when she was probably 5 or 6 years old.
Teddy Bear Vest - front view (I even found some googly-eye buttons in my stash)

Teddy Bear Vest - back view (isn't that a cute little stubby tail?)

Last Saturday I got a phone call from my local yarn shop owner about finishing a sweater for one of her customers. The poor woman has been working on this sweater for the past 5 years but is unable to do the finishing herself. Finishing this sweater will involve cutting the front open and cutting holes to insert the sleeves. Apparently I'm one of only a small number of people around here who knows how to do this anymore and it's not a job for a faint-hearted knitter! I quoted her an ungodly amount for finishing this sweater and she agreed to pay it. So my customer will get her sweater finished for Christmas.