Closing the chapter

The CA State Fair closed at the end of July and my entry was returned this week. I tore open the box and pulled out an envelope that contained the ribbon and judge's scoresheet.





The judge's comments are,

Wow! This is a wonderful piece of double knitting. I'm amazed at how well you maintained your tension with so much going on! Good job!

I had to read it twice because I thought if anything was going to knock me down a few notches, it was going to be the tension. I guess not. And it was good to hear that she recognized the technique and the level of difficulty. So, that closes the the chapter on this year's entry. As I'm working on next year's entry, I'm thinking, "Why do I put myself through this?" lol

Here are the rest of the photos I took at the fair. Enjoy the amazing work by these talented makers and other sights from the fair!


Lunch on a stick


Kabobs


Meat on the grill


Cow wash


Best of Show
Decorated Cake, Tiered Cake
Wine Country Vines and Flowers
Shay Weisbrich


Best of Class
Decorated Cupcakes, Uniform Cupcakes
Hamburger
Joana Rodriguez


Winners in Leavened Bread, Non-Leavened Bread, and Quick Bread


Best of Division
Decorated Cookies, Themed Cookie Set
Golden State Sweets
Cynthia Torres


First Place
Decorated Cookies, Themed Cookie Set
Sunshine & Summertime
Kimberly Vadenais


Best of Class
Youth Decorated Cake, Age 16-18
Chess Cake
Sara Cheng


King Arthur Flour gluten free baking contest
First Place
Mexican Corn Stick
Jennine Quiring

Second Place
Strawberry Cabernet Cake
Rachael Ryen

Third Place
Brown Butter & Mixed Berries Mini Cakes
Peggy Linberg


Second Place
Models, Buildings and Rooms
Fallingwater
Bill Reese
Sacramento


Third Place
Models, Buildings and Rooms
Caveman Camping
Kevin Knight
Sacramento


Best of Division, Embroidery (Counted Techniques)
Judge's Choice
First Place
Mother of Winter
Lona Bradford
Sacramento








Award of Excellence
3-D Artworks
Patience
Molly Brown
Sacramento


First Place
Handspun Yarn, Wool
Sock Yarn
Melissa Plummer
Amador


Second Place
Handspun Yarn, Wool
Derby Girl
Rachel Coffman
Placer


First Place
Handspun Yarn, Art/Textured Yarn
Christmas!
Betty Henderson-Sparks
Sacramento


Second Place
Handspun Yarn, Art/Textured Yarn
Fairy Queen
Ha Dang
Sacramento


Honorable Mention
Handspun Yarn, Luxury Fibers
Sunset Silk
Tabitha Warren
Marin


Honorable Mention
Other Fiber Art, Weaving
Amethyst in the sunshine
Pamela McSmith
Riverside


Honorable Mention
Other Fiber Art, Weaving
Color: I can't help myself!
Roberta Valdez
Santa Cruz


First Place
Modern Quilts, Two or More People -Medium/Large
Alissa McBain
Sacramento


Honorable Mention
Crochet, Crocheted Afghans
2017 Temperature Blanket
Josephine Salazar
San Joaquin


First Place
Crochet, Any Other Crocheted Item
Bed Doily
Suzanne Sullivan
Sacramento


First Place
Crochet, Crocheted Wearing Apparel
Judge's Choice
Forest Fairy
Suzanne Sullivan
Sacramento


Second Place
Crochet, Crocheted Wearing Apparel
Summer Vest
Suzanne Sullivan
Sacramento


Honorable Mention
Crochet, Crocheted Wearing Apparel
Sacramento Crochet Guild Award
Royal Baby
Noelia Briones
Sacramento


First Place
Dolls and Toys, Amigurumi
Wakanda Forever
Adwoa Cooper
Solano


First Place & Third Place
Crafting a Brighter Future, Newborns in Need: Any Baby Hat or Booties
Melinda Wong
Sacramento

OMGurumi Simon / Simone

Last month I made Bridget the Elephant for North Tahoe Knits and received a Simon the Sheep kit in return.



Making the pieces didn't take much time at all, but then they all went into a bag. You see, I really, really don't like sewing up stuffed animals. I'd rather set in sleeves and weave in ends than sew an animal together. But this weekend I decided that Simon waited long enough, so I dumped out the pieces and brought up the TOFT UK videos for guidance.



While I was laying out the pieces, I wondered why I made 3 ears. I had to read the pattern again to before I realized that one of the bits was a tail. Oops. I guess it was quite a while since I put Simon away. The sewing didn't take too long. The head, body, and legs all went together like the elephant so that was a repeat of what I had already done. Positioning the ears was key to making Simon look like a lamb and the pattern photo helped with that.

Before too long Simon was assembled, albeit naked and blind.



Next came the fleece. Ugh. It was easy in theory--*chain 8, sl st to body 2 sts away, repeat from *--but in practice it was slow going. The yarn is DK and the hook is 3mm for a firm fabric, but that meant the "sl st to the body" was a pain. Then, the fleece pattern should be somewhat random. Yeah, I don't do random well. Anyway, the fleece took a while and after that was finished I let Simon rest for the night.

It was a conscious decision to not put the eyes on until morning. I think the eyes alone determine how a friendly or cute stuffed animal looks. It's so easy to get the eyes wrong--too high, too low, too slanted, too far apart, or too close together can make a stuffed animal look mean, rat-like, or just plain goofy. As it was, I had to do Simon's eyes twice to get a look that I was happy with.



Overall I thought the project was a success... except... except for one thing. Simon? No. This is not a Simon, this is a Simone. Yes, that's the finishing touch, Simone.

Apparently she likes it too.

HMF

It's Hand Made Friday! What hand made pieces are you wearing today? Bridget the Elephant is sitting on a coaster from Handmade At The Lake and modeling a Beadlemania necklace I'll be wearing today. Thank you Bridget, you're very photogenic.

Raising Junior

We witnessed a little miracle on our front porch this spring. I noticed an Anna's Hummingbird hovering around a plant that didn't have blossoms on it so I wasn't sure what the interest was all about. Well, it turns out she was building a nest in spot that was visible from a front window. She used leaves, feathers, twigs, and spiderweb. Exciting!

Once it was finished, she sat on the nest and only left the area to feed. On April 1 I peeked inside and saw this:



Two days later, there was a second egg. Each was a little larger than a Tic Tac mint.

By now, we named the momma Ethyl. I don't remember exactly why, but I think it had something to do with how much energy she used flying around and her need to refuel constantly.

By day she sat on the eggs, turning them with her feet and leaving when she needed to eat. The nest was illuminated by our porch light at night and I noticed something I didn't expect--she left the nest unoccupied at night. It seemed like the eggs would get too cold unattended, but strangely enough, worrying didn't bring her back. We had to trust her instincts.

About a week into the egg watch, I peeked in the nest and only saw one egg. I searched the ground for bits of broken shell, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. We never figured out what happened. The potential yield was reduced by 50%.

So it went like this day after day--I looked at Ethyl through the window in the morning and checked to see if everything looked normal. When I got home from work, I'd wait until she left to feed and take a peek in the nest. A couple of times she didn't leave the area and chased me off when I got close. I started to think that my curiosity would cause her to abandon her little one, so didn't look in as often.

3 weeks into egg-watch, I thought we were probably close to the big event so I waited for what seemed like forever for Ethyl to leave. I rushed out the door but when I looked in the nest, I couldn't figure out what I was looking at. There was broken shell, a blob of black goo, and yellow & pink bits. My first thought was that some invader came in and destroyed the egg, but then I noticed the goo was moving--it was the baby!

The little guy looked more like an alien than a bird, but given he just busted out of a Tic Tac, how was he supposed to look? In a few days, he was much much bigger than the egg he hatched from.


April 25, 2015

He grew quickly and before long, Junior looked like a real hummingbird. lol. There was drama one day when neither of us had seen Ethyl for a day. I thought something happened to her, so I contacted my birding friend Spinnity. I was in a tizzy. She contacted resources on her side and found a nearby wildlife rescue where I could take Junior in the morning. As I was texting Spinnity, I heard a hummer chirping nearby. She landed on the nest and I stopped breathing in anticipation. Junior held his beak open, ready to be fed. Then the bird flew away. I was crushed! I stayed on watch, determined not to leave until I witnessed a feeding. Minutes later, Ethyl came back, fed Junior, and left in a blur. Crisis averted.

Here's Junior's weekly progress:


May 3, 2015


May 9, 2015


May 15, 2015

May 19 was a happy and sad day. It was the day that Junior fledged and left the nest. It was amazing to watch a new life begin. The nest has been empty ever since.



The hummingbirds have been flitting around the front and backyard as usual, but I can't tell which ones (if any) might be Ethyl or Junior. On May 27, a hummingbird flew up against a window in the back of the house. He hit hard and then landed in the nearby apricot tree to gather his wits. He flew away about 20 minutes later.



I wonder if it was Junior? The bird might be a juvenile, the beak looks a bit short. And perhaps it was due to inexperience that the bird flew into the window? Well, if it was you Junior, take care and watch out for glass and other dangers in the real world.

Where's Waldo?

Where's Waldo?


Where's Waldo?

Ahhh there he is, eating grass under the branch.


Waldo Cottontail