Hello, readers! I hope everyone has been up to fun things since my last update. It's October here in Massachusetts, which means it's time for the Topsfield Fair! This is the oldest fair in America, and it's in it's 199th year. I had never entered a fair before this year, so I was pretty happy with my finishes! Here's how I did.
This first piece is the Whiteout shawl by Melanie Berg. Mine is knitted in Shibui Knits Lunar in Ash, Fjord, and Blueprint. It's a deliciously soft, sheeny, lofty extra fine merino and mulberry silk blend. I was very happy with a second place finish.
My second entry was an adaptation of the Sunny Days Tank by Patons (free pattern!). This pattern is written to be knitted as a front and a back piece and then seamed together. I knitted two separate pieces for about 3-4" so the bottom edge is notched at each side for a little bit of movement, then I joined them in the round to avoid side seams and kitchenered the shoulders together. I used about 5 balls of Knit Picks Lindy Chain yarn in Bluebell, which is a cool-to-the-touch, summery linen-cotton blend. This one brought another red ribbon home.
My third and final piece was the Snowflake Fingerless Gloves by Cailyn Meyer. Originally, this pattern is written to use a dark background color and a gradient of contrast colors. Instead, I cut out all of those color changes and used Knit Picks Chroma Fingering yarn in Black and Lupine. Lupine has a very long color change gradient that fades from blue to purple to hot pink. I think they turned out pretty well, and the judges must have agreed, because these mittens won a blue ribbon!
I have some room for improvements next year, and I took in some inspiration from the dozens of other beautiful pieces on display. All in all, I'd call it a success!
Before I go, I have one other thing I'd like to share with you - I adapted one of my embroidery patterns to be a simple cross stitch, because I thought it might be easier to read than the teeny-tiny stitches over a single thread on 28-count linen. If you'd like to purchase a copy, head over to my Etsy store!
That's all of the updates I have for today. Happy Stitching!
-Erin
My second entry was an adaptation of the Sunny Days Tank by Patons (free pattern!). This pattern is written to be knitted as a front and a back piece and then seamed together. I knitted two separate pieces for about 3-4" so the bottom edge is notched at each side for a little bit of movement, then I joined them in the round to avoid side seams and kitchenered the shoulders together. I used about 5 balls of Knit Picks Lindy Chain yarn in Bluebell, which is a cool-to-the-touch, summery linen-cotton blend. This one brought another red ribbon home.
My third and final piece was the Snowflake Fingerless Gloves by Cailyn Meyer. Originally, this pattern is written to use a dark background color and a gradient of contrast colors. Instead, I cut out all of those color changes and used Knit Picks Chroma Fingering yarn in Black and Lupine. Lupine has a very long color change gradient that fades from blue to purple to hot pink. I think they turned out pretty well, and the judges must have agreed, because these mittens won a blue ribbon!
I have some room for improvements next year, and I took in some inspiration from the dozens of other beautiful pieces on display. All in all, I'd call it a success!
 |
| "All Things Bright and Beautiful" Cross Stitch Pattern - adapted from my original embroidery pattern |
That's all of the updates I have for today. Happy Stitching!
-Erin
.jpg "Quincy Bay in cross stitches (computer-generated)")
.jpg "Quincy Bay - detail of cross stitch pattern")