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Knitters and crocheters challenge themselves while helping a worthy cause
Meet the Winners of our Patternworks™ Combination
Knit & Crochet Challenge
"I like them all so far!" exclaimed Susan Mills as, one by one, the blanket entries in the Patternworks challenge were paraded in front of her and her fellow judges. Susan, who is creative director of Nashua Handknits for Westminster Fibers Inc., asked herself, "What would I do if I received those colors?" referring to the exceptionally challenging mix of colors in the Patternworks Combination Knit & Crochet Challenge Pack.
Knitting judge and knitting-guild founder Carla Eaton, and former shop owner and free-lance knitter and designer Margaret Maney joined Susan in the difficult task of selecting prizewinners from the amazing array of entries. They all agreed that there was creativity in abundance in this, our second, challenge contest. They also had high praise for the overall quality of the workmanship.
The contest was challenging on many levels. The blankets had to have both knit and crochet stitches. They needed to include all of the five colors of Encore Worsted in the Challenge Pack (other Encore Worsted colors could be added) and had to be made entirely of 7" x 9" blocks. The contest gave knitters and crocheters a chance to display their skills, and also gave them an opportunity to help a worthy cause. Entrants had the option of donating their projects to Warm Up America! Afghans donated to this organization provide warmth and comfort to people who have lost their homes or are being cared for in hospices, hospitals or nursing homes. The gift of a hand-knit and crocheted afghan is like receiving a special hug when it’s needed most.
Meet the Winners
When first-place winner, Carol Banahan of Harrison, New York, saw the bright colors in the Challenge Pack, she imagined an exuberant bouquet of flowers spilling from a flowerpot. How lucky for us that this talented lady, who works as a children's clothing designer, was able to masterfully transform a mere picture in her mind into a beautiful piece of fiber art.
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The judges loved Carol’s choice of a shaded blue yarn
for the staggered-leaves blocks, which act as a knitted backdrop for
the three-dimensional flowers that bloom from her afghan. To create her
award-winning design, she sketched it out, then knit and crocheted
different flowers until she found five or six styles that pleased her.“The fun of it,” Carol told us, “was playing around with a variety of techniques.”
She combined different versions of crocheted multi-layered flowers with
knitted and gathered roses, and three-dimensional leaves, which she
stitched to the background. She then bordered her blanket with
alternating knitted and crocheted blocks in the colorful variegated
yarn. A lacy knitted edging provided the perfect finishing touch.
Carol, who is self-taught, told us she’s very
comfortable with both knitting and crochet, and it certainly shows. She
said that the Patternworks challenge was a nice change for her, since
she rarely combines the two techniques in one project. She surely couldn’t
have combined them more beautifully. Her artistic flair, color sense,
creativity and superb workmanship wowed the judges and earned her top
honors. |
”"It shows that the challenge colors really do work together," exclaimed Carla when she saw the Harlequin Cables blanket made by second-place winner Ann Rappaport of Wellesley,
Massachusetts. Ann admitted that the colors were truly a challenge,
especially the orange, which she tucked in along the border. The judges
agreed that she did a marvelous job of blending the colors, especially
since she limited herself to using only the yarns in the Challenge
Pack.
“’‘
Ann decided she liked the dramatic look of a large cable against a
moss-stitch background and tried various settings before deciding to do
the blocks on the diagonal, a great choice in the eyes of the judges.
Knitting on the diagonal gave the variegated yarn a pleasing confetti
effect. To follow the knit-and-crochet rules, she did a granny-stitch
crocheted border around each knitted block and along the outside of the
afghan. Ann told us,Im really not a crocheter at all; Im really a knitter." |
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"That knitting expertise has been passed down through the generations.
Although my mother taught me to knit when I was six years old," said
Ann, "it was my grandfather who taught me to purl. He was a, skilled
knitter, who loved to make pale yellow Aran vests in dk-weight yarn.
(He didn't like bothering with sleeves!) "The beautiful art of knitting
has now been passed down to Ann's daughter, the fourth generation. Ann
only used the five yarn colors from the Challenge Pack, but our
third-place winner, Madelyn Parker of Denver, Colorado, figured the
more colors the merrier as she combined 21 different colors to create
her Joseph's Amazing Technicolor Dream Sampler. Surprisingly, she only
used two different blocks for her stunning sampler, yet every single
block looks different. Madelyn says she prefers doing crochet. "It's
more relaxing for me." We certainly applaud her for challenging herself
to make knitted blocks, which she edged with her crochet stitches. On
ten of the blocks she created a wonderfully nubby effect using a mosaic
technique that she just learned this past year. The other 30 blocks
were knit in a zigzag pattern in a fabulous mix of hues worthy of
Joseph's coat.
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The colorful afghan was named after the musical production, and also to recognize her grandson Joseph, who loved the musical. Joseph turned 13 on November 16th (the day the challenge was due). He has autism and attended the Havern School in Denver, which teaches students with special needs. Madelyn told us she plans to donate her afghan to Havern’s spring fund-raising auction. Because so many children are being diagnosed with autism, we think Madelyn has chosen to support a most worthy cause.
’“”’
The members of the Patternworks staff proved themselves to be great
judges of fine workmanship and outstanding design-both qualities
readily apparent in the eye-catching star-burst design by Georgia
Vincent of Pittsfield, New Hampshire. When we asked our staff's-choice
winner how she arrived at her design, Georgia said, "Well, it took about
40 swatches." That's how many samples she made before she was satisfied
with the shading of her colors from light to dark. To show her
star-burst pattern to its best advantage, she stitched the shaded,
knitted diamonds to a forest green backdrop made up of 7" x 9" blocks
in alternating knitted and crocheted patterns, which due to the
textured stitches she chose look remarkably alike. The border is joined
to the center panel with a knitted cable.
Georgia is a prolific knitter with years of experience, so it surprised us when she said, "This blanket was the biggest challenge I've ever had because of the parameters. It made me work harder, which was good for me. I tend to take the easy road." It certainly didn't
look like Georgia took the easy road on this prize-winning blanket,
which will be donated to Warm Up America! She has donated projects to
both Project Linus (the recipient of our last challenge) and Warm Up
America! in the past, and added, "It's kind of fun to have the challenge to go along with it."
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Two entrants won well-deserved honorable-mention awards for their fine work:
Amy Rutter of Marietta, Georgia, got high marks for creativity with her grape-vineyard afghan. It’s loaded with wonderful detail, from the rail fence to the three-dimensional grape clusters and leaves.
When judging the blanket by Gloria Echols of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Susan noted, ”Sometimes it’s hardest to get the simple patterns to be effective.” But that’s exactly what Gloria achieved with her appealing adaptation of the “Split Rail Fence” quilt pattern.
Congratulations to all of the challenge winners! Each winner has
received a gift certificate for a Patternworks shopping spree: first
place, $400; second place, $200; third place, $100; staff’s choice, $150; and honorable mention, $50.
We thank everyone who participated in the challenge. The winning
entries will be on display in the shop until March 1, 2008. The first-
and second-place blankets will become part of the Patternworks
collection. Blankets made for donation have been sent to the Warm Up
America! North Carolina headquarters. For more information about Warm
Up America! visit www.warmupamerica.org. |
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