Going public with your projects

It’s that time of year again. Funnel cakes, giros, space burgers, cows, rodeos, demo cars, kiddy rides and the smells of fair.

There is an area at the fair that many of my readers know about.

Let us imagine together. You walk in and the first thing you notice is the colors. Actually, you may notice the cooler air, then the colors.

Pinks and purples. Browns, blues and blacks. Lets not forget the whites, yellows, greens and every color in between.

All colors in various combinations and patterns. Welcome to the Craft Barn at the county fair.

Someone has to create these lovely pieces of art, but who? Well, you, of course. Each year, just before fair, you are able to enter your projects into categories. They have to be created in that year between fairs.

Many county fairs now have web pages you can visit to see their fair books, exhibitor guides or whatever it is they call them. These guides tell you about the categories you can enter items into the fair.

First off, you have to find the department and section you are going to enter your project(s) into. Second, you find within that department a class your project applies to. Then, it is as simple as filling out the exhibitor’s form for that fair.

These are placed around the Craft Barn and displayed for visitors during the fair.

So maybe you don’t want to enter into the fair. Don’t worry, there are other places you can enter you projects.

Many of the craft magazines and web sites offer contests you can enter. Not to mention if you have a guild in the area. For the “tech savvy” readers, there are also podcasts and blogs that hold contests.

There are many different kinds of yarn craft-related contests. You can design your own pattern. Name someone else’s pattern. You can knit-crochet along with a pattern that is revealed in parts. And many, many more.

I encourage you to have fun in whichever contest or fair you are comfortable with. Part of the excitement of knitting and crocheting is being able to share your work with others.

Since I am encouraging you to enter the local county fairs, I thought I would share the project I intend to enter this fall. I knit an afghan.

The pattern is a second-place contest winner from Mary Maxim. The pattern is called “Twin Trees Afghan” and was designed by Shirley Rhyne.

I chose to knit this pattern using Bernat Satin Solid yarn in the Star Dust colorway. The finished afghan measures 44 inches by 53 inches and is knit with almost 2,500 yards of yarn.

This afghan was a big project for me.

When I first got the pattern, I was wondering what I had got myself into — it was overwhelming.

There were four solid pages of small print detailing each panel to be knit. The two side panels were to be repeated on the other side of the blanket, two sets of the smaller twin trees and then the two larger trees in the center.

The intricate design of the twin trees and the side panels made for quite an interesting project. I enjoyed working on the afghan as much as I enjoyed watching the pattern unfold.

While I have dreams of winning a ribbon, my fondest hope is to garner feedback that will help me become a better knitter.

You can contact me by e-mail at wovenpixel@yahoo.com or visit my blog at wovenpixel.blogspot.com. I enjoy discussing my yarn habit, sharing local and Internet resources and meeting fellow yarnsters.

Blanket your neighbors in kindness

When someone says the words “Charity Knitting,” what comes to your mind?

I think of little old ladies, sitting around, knitting mittens, hats and socks for orphans in some cold distant country.

Well, that may be true, but there are other groups that serve people right here in the United States. One of those charities is Warm Up America!

Warm Up America! (warmupamerica.com) was the yarn child of Evie Rosen from Wisconsin. She wanted to help people in need here in the U.S.

Rosen started by asking people she knew, customers of her yarn store and her community, to knit or crochet 7-by-9 inch squares that would later be joined into afghans and donated.

Countless volunteers from all over the U.S. help to keep this charity going. These volunteers donate their time to knit or crochet the original squares, join these squares to make afghans and either donate them locally or send them off to the Foundation Headquarters, which will also join the squares and distribute them.

Each afghan resembles a patchwork quilt and also represents the different people who make each square their own.

Warm Up America! afghans are given to people in need.

The American Red Cross, women’s shelters, children’s hospitals and others are recipients of these afghans of love. Many communities complete afghans in the spirit of “neighbor helping neighbor.”

The Columbia Basin Farmer-The Othello Outlook has a basket for donation of squares, yarn, needles or even completed afghans. These supplies are then passed on to a group in the Tri-Cities that is working with Warm Up America! Pictured in the upper right corner is the basket with supplies that were donated last September.

Another charity to look at is Project Linus (projectlinus.org). Project Linus’ mission is to provide blankets or quilts to children in need. They are comprised of local chapters and many volunteers, “blanketeers,” across the U.S.

Project Linus accepts all styles of blankets that will then be given as gifts to seriously ill or traumatized children (0 to 18 years old).

For Project Linus, the blankets need to be homemade, washable, free of pins and come from a smoke-free environment (due to allergy reasons).

Project Linus has a few chapters in the Columbia Basin. By going to the Project Linus Web site and clicking on “Chapter Listings,” you will be able to get in contact with someone in your area who can help you find where to donate blankets.

Don’t forget your community also has people in need. If you want to do some charity knitting or crocheting there are many ways to help. Go to any church, hospital, nursing home or shelter.

Please remember, there are many people in the U.S. who are in need of the loving care that goes into charity knitting and crocheting. The care and compassion that goes into the making of your project(s) offers a message of hope and compassion to whomever the lucky recipient may be.

You can contact me by e-mail at wovenpixel@yahoo.com, visit my blog at wovenpixel.blogspot.com or on Ravelry.com as WovenPixel. I enjoy discussing my yarn habit, sharing local and Internet resources and meeting fellow yarnsters.

*Published in The Columbia Basin Farmer, May/June 2009 Edition.

Knit-along: Spring tulip scarf with Cathy Glaesemann

I have asked Cathy Glaesemann, owner of the Country Yarn Boutique in Moses Lake, to be my surrogate knitter for this column. I recently sat down with Cathy to learn about her knitting life and her store.

Glaesemann has crocheted since she can remember; one of her granddaughters requested her first knitting project, a ballerina sweater from a Mary Maxim catalog.

“It was the first thing I ever knit,” Glaesemann said. “One of these days, I am going to make another one, because it was my first one and it wasn’t perfect.”

Her granddaughter still has the sweater to this day.

While at market to find yarns for her store, she has met many wonderful people, including writers and designers we see in magazines and books.

Glaesemann started a gift shop in 2003 and enjoyed the experience the store brought her. Being an avid knitter, no yarns to be found and the encouragement from friends, she started carrying yarn in her gift shop.

“Pretty soon there was more yarn than there were gifts,” she said. This is how Country Yarn Boutique was created.

Glaesemann offers a variety of services at the yarn store. The store is open Wednesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

However, with a request in advanced, she is willing to open the store on the weekends. There are knitting and crochet classes, private lessons with Glaesemann, tea, coffee and various goodies to enjoy.

There is also a Sit & Knit on Thursday afternoons with other knitters.

Plus, all the beautiful yarns and notions you could ever want.

The Sit & Knit group and Glaesemann would love to extend an invitation to you too.

“Come feel and touch and enjoy the yarn shop,” she said. “Enjoy the aromas, the company and have a cup of coffee or tea.”

Find the full pattern download here.

E-mail me at wovenpixel@yahoo.com, visit my blog at wovenpixel.blogspot.com, or on Ravelry.com as WovenPixel.

*Published in The Columbia Basin Farmer, March/April 2009 Edition.