I say should. Although I can't expain this.
Or this.
But I was weak in the presence of beauty such as this.
On the whole, I believe the standard of knitting to be higher this year than any other year, it made me very happy to recognise so many patterns - recent ones at that - and far less repetition than in previous years. It was only a few years ago that the same bendigo pattern would be in the aran category and everything was knit in that hideous crepe yarn.
Once again the lace is a standout - although I seriously lament the loss of the separation of wool and plant fibres. That's what you get when you let semantics get in the way of objectives. I really wish there was a category for cellulose based fibres - where silk and cotton and linen knitted lace could sit alone from the hair/fleece fibres. Such a shame that the 'confusion' caused by a 50/50 wool/silk blend and the noisy bleats of people on ravelry who don't even enter the category have led to the amalgamation of the two into one.
Still, it hasn't diminished the quality of the entries.
Speaking of category bunkum - when similar complaints were made about the colourwork categories on ravelry (ie: intarsia/norwegian colourwork/entrelac etc etc don't fit into the category of 'fair isle'), instead of amalgamating the colourwork categories like they did the lace, they separated them into three separate categories - fair isle, 'jacquard', and intarsia.
I haven't mentioned this here yet, but I may as well now. I have joined the executive of the NSW Knitters' Guild. I would really like the guild to form a working party to determine a full and comprehensive set of categories for the knitting and crochet - and submit it to the RAS for consideration. Although the categories have been expanded in some areas to include popular categories such as socks and accessories, and the Guild has certainly been heading in the right direction (except with the lace, they've ruined those categories) - I'm hoping for a more strategic and wholistic approach this year.
Oh dear. I seem to have gotten on my soapbox. Sorry about that.
Won't be around for a week or so - I'm off go Byron Bay!!
A slideshow of the items in the knitting cases can be found here.
A fantastic slideshow made by frogrockr from Canberra - showing the the crochet and standards of excellence case can be foundh here -
(and 12WBT going really well. 9.4 kilos down, only 15 to go ..)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/knitabulous/sets/72157629392726462/show/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/knitabulous/sets/72157629392373666/show/
5 comments:
I have to admit I never understood why there were separate lace categories for wool and plant fibres in the first place. So it would be very interesting to know why you think they should be separate. And if they were separated, where would a 50/50 wool/silk blend go? (these are all genuine questions, from someone who one day would like to enter the lace categories). I think it is a great idea to have a proper look at the show categories though, and good to have you on the Exec.
I certainly agree about the colourwork categories. Why should Fair Isle be distinguished from other stranded colourwork? And as Fair Isle is the category that probably gets the least entries, it would be a good idea to just amalgamate the categories.
Lovely photos. Was it just me or was the crochet just dire? Certainly didn't inspire me to pick up a hook.
And LynS and I have been wondering - why is there a separate class for the over 70's?
Great lace entries & I am glad that entries are less traditional. The scene is also changing here in Perth & younger knitters are beginning to participate. Have a good holiday.
Hi there,
knitabulous
Heck of a cool idea here! I appreciate the work done by the website attendants to make this post happen.
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