Monthly Archives: February 2010

Today I had the chance to speak to the Hand Knitting steward at the Royal Canberra Show. It was most helpful and insightful and, most importantly, it revealed why my Myrtle Leaf Shawl went without a ribbon.

I won’t be able to speak about it properly until I’ve collected it from the Crafts Expo stall tomorrow, but it seems I left a few threads hanging out. Honestly I’m a bit surprised to learn this. I know there was one I had to trim before I submitted it, but that there were others, considering I finished it four months ago and have worn it several times since, I’m honestly surprised. She said that they wondered, they being the judges, if I had forgotten to sew some in (unlikely) or if a couple had popped out after blocking. That’s more likely but not by much. I spent two hours on the floor last week pinning it out and stretching it quite aggressively and didn’t see one. Admittedly, if there had been forgotten threads they were on the reverse side and I was looking at the right side during the blocking process, but still…..

I’m going to have to take her word for it. And I do, because she was extremely complimentary about my shawl. The Steward spoke of how beautiful she thought it was and  how, without that flaw, it would have won. She also encouraged me to fix the flaw and re-enter next year. I will.

We also discussed the category. I entered Myrtle in the Knitted Lace Garment category which to me seemed appropriate given a shawl is a garment and therefore worn. The Steward said it could also have gone in the Article of Knitted Lace category and might have done well there (without said flaw, obviously) but that the lines were a bit blurred. Hmmmm.

She said also that next year there will be a change to some of the categories and that there will be a more reasonable incentive in the prizes. She admitted that a $10 voucher at a local wool shop was not really much of an incentive.

So we shall see!

Here’s how she was displayed in the cabinet alongside other pieces.

You can see her there just towards the foreground, black lace around a headless dummy.

So all in all, not as disappointing an experience as I thought yesterday. And yes, I’ll have a go at entering her in a one or two other local shows over the next month or so.

* * *

The other big event this weekend was Miss Alice’s first birthday. What a lovely, fun way to spend an afternoon, down by the lake, with lots of people, big and small, who want to celebrate a year of knowing someone wonderful. Here’s the party girl in a few key shots, including with her very own cupcake. Note also the incredible cake her mum’s friend made for her. A Mad Hatter’s cake. For Alice. Get it? I didn’t at first because I am thick.

And I gave Elijah to Alice. I think she liked him. Here’s a great photo of cousins, Alice and Willem, who we’ve not seen here for a while, obviously discussing the best way to handle a toy elephant. Note the red scarf I made for him. We all agreed it made him look a little less naked!

Alice’s birthday is actually on Tuesday and I’ll be doing a photo shoot for the Helena cardigan and Elijah then. Stay tuned.

Bells

After I made two of the cotton Mitered Hanging Towels as gifts late last  year, Sean began agitating for one for us. It struck me as odd. He’d never before shown any particular interest the collection of handtowels and dishcloths that adorn sinks and rails around the house.

I always suspected he secretly detested them but knew better than to say. He’s generally quite vocal about the things he loves that I’ve made (he’s currently loving watching Elijah the Elephant emerge from a ball of cotton and some DPNs) but the hanging towels and dishcloths seemed to be not high on his list of knitted items to appreciate.

That said, I have seen him using them many times. The cottons cloths we use as face washers get used all the time. He washes up and wipes benches with the dishcloths, some of which pre-date my knitting life, going back as far back as 2001 when I crocheted them. I’m just so used to him praising my work that when he says nothing, I have no choice but to assume the item doesn’t do it for him.

Then I made the Mitered Hanging Towel from Mason Dixon Knitting Between the Lines and that was when the requests started coming in.

“Is that for us?”

“No.”

“Oh.”

A little while later, “You should make one for us.”

“Yep.”

In the lead up to Christmas, I made another one. It was red and being made for Dr K.

“Is that for us?”

“No.”

“You seem to be making them for everyone else. Why not us?”

“I’ll get to it,” I assured him. I think he didn’t believe me.

Then, sometime in January I cast on a new one. In a bright blue Lionbrand worsted cotton. As soon as my knit-loving husband saw what I was making, I let him know this one was for us. For him.

It turns out what he loves most about them is that they’re more appropriately sized for a man’s hands. The others I’ve made are narrower and a little softer, made from thinner cotton. This one is sturdy, wide and quite a bit heavier. Now when he dries his hands, I can look on with satisfaction knowing there’s room for his hands to get properly dry.

Who says romance is dead?

Bells