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I went to the York Fair today for the first time in six or eight years. In past years, I’ve been more interested in the food and the rides. This year, I was pretty interested in the horticultural exhibits and, of course, the craft exhibits.
Fellow blogger, Joan Concilio, won a blue ribbon for her mosaic this year, and an honorable mention for a scrapbook she did. I’ve been wondering for a while if my knitting was good enough to submit to the York Fair for judging (and actually win.)
One of the ladies monitoring the exhibits today asked if I did any needlework. I told her I knitted, and she pointed out the York Fair’s Premium Book. She had a physical copy with her, but it’s available online.
Here’s the PDF link to this year’s premium book.
And here’s the link to the website that houses the premium book links, along with entry forms. Everything, down to what time you need to remove your exhibits, is in the premium book.
The premium book includes all of the categories that are judged. There are hundreds of things you can submit for ribbons. For every blue ribbon, you win $4. Red ribbons get $3 and white ribbons get $2. Grand prizes are $15. Also, you get bragging rights. And a really snazzy-looking ribbon.
The needlework exhibits, according to the premium book, are judged “with regard to beauty, degree of perfection, amount of work and suitability for the purpose for which it is intended.” Needlework has 172 categories for submissions, split among sewing, embroidery, knitting and crocheting. But it doesn’t include afghans or quilts. “Afghans and quilts” is its own separate division, with another 40 categories within that.
I’ll probably get cracking on a sweater or something else awesome to submit to the York Fair next year. Even my husband (who also knits) was inspired to try to compete at the York Fair. The submission process seems pretty easy. It’s just a matter of taking the many, many hours to make something fair-worthy.
I hope to see you submit something too!
In June I tried to finish a pair of white socks I was working on.
By mid-July, they were finished.
There was only one problem: they were too big. They were way too big for my feet or my mom’s feet or my grandmother’s feet.
They were too big for anyone’s feet. I guess I just don’t know anyone with big feet.
The socks were accidentally made to fit a woman’s size 9 or 10 foot. Really, they were probably closer to a size 10.
That wouldn’t have been so bad if they weren’t so skinny.
Instead of unraveling all of my work, I went on Ravelry and participated in my first knitting swap ever. I joined a group called “Will Work For Yarn” and made a post about my disastrously large socks.
Ravelry has hundreds of thousands of users from all over the world. I figured I’d be able to find someone who would be willing to trade socks for yarn. The yarn for the white socks was $26, and I at least wanted to barter for a skein of yarn of equal value to the yarn I had used for the socks.
A woman in Oregon named Meg found my post and told me to pick some yarn from her “stash.” Ravelry members sometimes post the yarn they have in their house, just to keep track of it all. Meg had hundreds of skeins to choose from. It really put my yarn stash to shame.
Anyway, Meg and I swapped addresses and I happily shipped the white socks off to Oregon. A few days later:
I got my yarn.
I had a really good experience trading with Meg. However, there ARE some shady people out there who will take money or products and not complete the swap. Many groups on Ravelry have “naughty swappers” lists, so swap with a reputable group and make sure the person isn’t a naughty swapper. If you’re going through Craigslist you also should be wary of scams or fraud.
If you have a craft you’ve just completed that you don’t plan to keep, consider bartering. It’s much more fun than having someone pay you for something you’ve made!
Last night I was stuck on the west end of town at the York Daily Record/Sunday News offices, and I had to stay at the Holiday Inn down the street from the YDR. I live on the east end of town. Route 30 was closed, so I couldn’t go anywhere and no one could come get me.
After checking in to my room, I made a list of things I wanted to pick up at Walmart. You know, the things you don’t expect to have when you unexpectedly spend a night at a hotel: underwear, makeup remover, pajamas…
Also yarn and knitting needles.
Fortunately I was able to get back across Route 30 later in the morning, but if I would have been stuck on the west end of town, I probably would have spent the day knitting dishcloths at Panera while sipping a cup of hot coffee.
I usually reach for my knitting when the power goes out or when I can’t go anywhere. My emergency craft is knitted dishcloths because all I have to buy are size 8 needles and cotton yarn.
Do you have a craft to do in case of emergencies? Do you reach for your crochet on a snow day or quilt when it’s raining?
Tell about your rainy day crafting!
Carolyn Greenplate of Codorus Township submitted this photo to one of the YDR’s many photo galleries. She wrote, ‘I had my granddaughter learn some embroidery by stitching the butterfly bodies on this quilt. We copied the design from a quilt my mother made for her hope chest in the early 1940′s. I used some fabric scraps from clothes and projects sewn for Lydia over the past few years.’
While children would probably rather be at the pool, playing outside or playing video games in front of the TV, crafts can be good for some down time over the summer. When I was 9 years old, I remember my mother taught me how to sew on a sewing machine. I made a quilted pillow, which still exists and lives on my sofa at my apartment.
Keep quilting, Carolyn and granddaughter!
I took two painting classes from my Aunt Sharon at my church a while ago.
In the first one, I painted a snowman on a piece of slate.
In the second one, I painted a slightly more complicated landscape, where the river looked like it was pouring out of the sky.
My mom ended up getting the snowman, and I gave the landscape to my mother-in-law.
Well my Aunt Sharon is holding more painting classes, and she’s been scouring Craigslist for more stuff to paint on.
The classes are Sept. 23, Oct. 21, Nov. 18, Dec. 16, Jan. 13, Feb. 17, Mar. 23, Apr. 13 and May 4 at Mount Zion UCC in Springettsbury Township. They’re usually in the afternoon.
The classes are $15 to attend. If you want your own set of brushes and a book, they cost extra.
Sharon also wrote, ‘I will always have slate available for free, however, if you wish to bring a different surface you will need to let me know about two weeks ahead of time so I can tell you how to prepare it. If your surface is not prepped the right way your painting could be ruined down the road or the paint will not adhere to the surface.’
If you want to know more about the painting classes, you can email her at sebaines@comcast.net. I highly recommend attending one if you’re interested in painting. It’s rare to get such a good deal on painting classes, and proceeds from the class go to the church.
The Quilting Friends of the Dillsburg Area Public Library are sponsoring a community quilt challenge for the library’s 2011 quilt and craft raffle.
The quilters invite all interested individuals to visit the library and pick up a package of fabrics to be used to create a quilt block. A deposit of $5 for each package is required, but the money will be reimbursed when the completed blocks are returned to the library.
The library is at 17 S. Baltimore St. in Dillsburg.
Dichroic glass jewelry-making classes are offered at 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. the second Monday of each month at Covenant Moravian Church, 901 Cape Horn Road, Windsor Township.
A $5 donation for the church is suggested before each class. Materials cost extra.
For details, visit www.covenantmoravianyork.org, or call the church office at 755-3269 or Deb Holtzinger at 755-7290.
An exhibition featuring the artwork of Jennifer Pahl will open with an artist’s reception 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 9 at the Mason-Dixon Public Library, 250 Bailey Drive.
Pahl uses watercolors to paint the things she loves in life: her family and friends, her travels and her gardens.
Pahl lives in Shrewsbury Township and is a member of the York Art Association.
This solo exhibit will be in place in the library’s quiet reading room until Sept. 30. For details, call 993-2404.
New Freedom Fest will be Sept. 17 in New Freedom. There will be music, arts and crafts, animals, food, games, dunking booths, a pie-eating contest and more.
Artists and craftsmen will sell their work from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be kids’ games ($5 lets you play all day), a pet parade and live entertainment at the Freedom Green park.
Parking and admission are free.
Do you like cross-stitching? Scrapbooking? Beading? Carving mammals into a tree stump with a chainsaw? Chances are, you're not the only one. Here, you can share pictures of your latest queen-size quilt or 12-hour scrapbooking session with the rest of the crafty people in York.
We'll also point you toward events and meeting places that feature your craft of choice, such as craft shows, group meetings and charity events. If you're having trouble with your homemade hobby, we can give you links to blogs and other useful sites to get help.
We encourage you to send in your crafting news and pictures. Just e-mail Caryn Rupert at crupert@ydr.com. We look forward to hearing from you!