This year, I entered six items into the Missouri State Fair. This is the first time I’ve entered a fair, so it was an educational experience for me and I’ve got some solid insight into what the judges are looking for. Reiner72 and I visited the fair on the final day to pick up the entries. It was pretty cool seeing the long line of people waiting to enter the home ec building. I wasn’t sure what to expect inside, but was really impressed by the level of craftsmanship all around. There were some truly beautiful pieces, including quilts, afghans, clothing, crafts, and yarns. Next year, I’ll probably go earlier so I can have some time to really explore!
I placed in four categories, two color categories and two technical categories.
Notably, we took first place in the woolen category. We worked on this yarn on stream earlier this year. We started with Glacier, the Corriedale ram’s fleece. I horrified viewers by cutting the staple length of this fiber in half. The fiber was too long to work properly for a woolen yarn.
Our options were to cut the staple, choose a different fiber, or fight the fiber while spinning from the rolag. I chose to cut for this particular yarn. At the fair, this yarn was rated 100/100 points. Sometimes it seems crazy to cut the staple. And sometimes it makes sense to get the yarn that you want.