Fair Ribbons!

I have had some really crappy stuff happen in the last few weeks but still . . . I didn't realize how long it had been since I've posted. I apologize and if I haven't commented on your blogs lately, I will be back soon. I'm doing better now.

So, the fair!! Mike and I went to a concert at the fair lastnight (The Decemberists, Violent Femmes and Cake- So Good!!) but on our way to the concert pavilion, I made him run through the home arts building, looking for our entries. I couldn't be at the fair and not find out even though we didn't have much time to get to the concert. Out of 5 knitted items, I got 4 1st places and one 3rd! I also got a blue ribbon for my bread but the judge thought my jam was "sticky." At least that's what she wrote on the back of my card. Oh well. Mike got a blue ribbon too! I think I'm more excited than he is. I'm going back next weekend to actually go to the fair so I'll scope it out better and take pictures then.
I finished knitting my ogee tunic and it's really pretty and sems like it'll fit well but I won't know for sure until I block it and sew it all together. I think I've finally cleared enough space in my messy house to block it so hopefully that'll happen soon.

This fine piece of knitting is the trellis scarf from the spring IK. It's Shadow from knitpicks that my fabulous secret pal sent me a while back. The color is called vineyard and it's more of an eggplant color than the picture shows. I started this on the plane back from El Salvador and didn't think I was going to continue knitting it because of the K7tog! But, I got past that and knitting 7 stitches together really isn't that bad. It helps that it makes a pretty pattern.

I hope you all had a great weekend. This is my last weekend ever of having to work both Saturdays and Sundays, so that helped get me through it!

Catching up

Everything is ready to be taken to the fair tomorrow! I'm so excited. I hope I win a ribbon! The only thing missing from my pile of entries is the ogee tunic because all I have finished are the sleeves and this: It's coming out really well and I changed it from a tunic to more of a standard pullover with the addition of some waist shaping. A-lines just don't work for me. Here's a detail of the cabling. It's so pretty! (A while back Anna posted a comment asking about the gauge for the ogee tunic. I don't have her email address so here's the answer to the question she asked. The stated guage deson't seem to match up with the number of stitches you cast on and the measurements you're supposed to get. The math doesn't work out right, but everything turns out fine. The edges of the pieces have a small amount of ribbing, lace and cables, which apparently changes the gauge just enough that you end up with the right measurements even though it seems like you have a lot of extra stitches. So, my advice to Anna, and anyone else who is thinking of knitting this, is that as long as you get the same guage as stated, trust the pattern's stitch numbers and measurements. It works out. )

Backing up a little, here's a picture of me knitting the second sleeve in El Salvador. The cute yellow building is the hotel we stayed at in Apaneca, a little town in the mountains. Rocking chairs and hammocks- what more could a knitter want? Okay, maybe cooler weather so that I actually felt like knitting, but I didn't want to be picky.

Finally, here is a finished picture of the pillow I knitted for my friends that got married. I am still finishing the second, but the 1st one had a special assignment.
As part of the ceremony, they got lassoed together. As my friend Cindy said, "I't like a unity candle but we get lassoed together instead." Yep, those are exactly the same. Anyway, they needed a pretty pillow to kneel on so my gift was very fitting. You can just barely see the corner of my (their) pillow below.I had to fancy up the pillow a little for it's big day. I folded the flap inside and then safey pinned some ribbons to the inside so I could tie it closed. To make it look balanced, I tied some bows and pinned them to the other end as well, keeping the pillow case snug around the pillow. The happy couple loved it!
Last but not least, my secret pal deserves a huge thank-you shout out. I got this great package, along with a stitch pattern book that didn't make it into the photo. I got some soap (I love cute soaps!), pretty needles, felted tweed to make the knucks from the latest knitty, and some really pretty hand-dyed yarn that I've already started swatching.
Thank you, secret pal and good luck to all you knitters who entered things in your local fairs this summer!!

Picture Time

In no particular order, here are some pictures of El Salvador. I know you came here for knitting content but I don't have any pictures of knitting to show you right now. I do have pictures of knitting in El Salvador but those will have to wait for another day. I am making progress on my Ogee Tunic and even (with lots of wishful thinking) entered it in the fair. I really don't think It will be finished by then because I didn't take going on vacation into account when I planned out my state fiar knitting. I have other things to enter, though, don't you worry! As I said, I did knit in El Salvador, just not very much.

This was my 1st (and last) view of El Salvador as it's the view from the airport window. Getting off the plane, it was immediately apparent I wasn't in the US anymore! It was a great feeling. Mayan ruins near the location of my friend's wedding site. It's the rainy season so we were caught in a rainstorm there. The ruins in El Salvador aren't as big as those in Guatemala or Mexico and they're not completely excavated yet, but still interesting to visit. For me, the highlight was learning how they used to make indigo dye. The wedding was fun! That's my soleil tank top that I knitted and the skirt I made. I didn't set out to wear a totally handmade outfit. It just worked out that way.This is Apaneca, the highest town in El Salvador. We spent a few days there and it was really nice. It was cooler and less humid than the city, which was a nice break. If you look closely at the picture, the bright orange house on the left is where we stayed. The hills are covered with coffee trees as it's one of the coffee growing regions in the country. This is Moke and our guide from the hotel taking us on a hike through a coffee plantation and the surroinding beauty. We were on our way to see some old Mayan statues that are on the property. Everything was so green and pretty thanks to the rainy season. It was really fun and I will show what I've been knitting soon.