Thank you so much to everyone who participated in our "No Fair" Awards 2020. We had 155 amazing entries from 58 different people. Seeing all the talent and reading all the stories was such fun. To top it off, our Awards Show was our biggest virtual meeting yet.  

Now we present to you our 15 winning entries....

Category 1 - Single Sock (or Mitten) Syndrome - Knitting pairs is hard, but the first one looks really great! I'll get the second one done sometime....Best single sock or mitten.

Deb P - Sitting for two years. No explanation. Love these mittens. Love the yarn. Have a coat to match.

Category 2 - Christmas in July - Lockdown is a perfect time to knit holiday decorations. Best holiday decoration.

Bonnie E - Ho, Ho, Ho by General Hogbuffer in Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Worsted

Category 3 - Creature Comforts - It's ok to knit up dolls and animals to keep you company. Best knit toy.

Amy R - A little alpaca designed by Susan B. Anderson

Category 4 - Start All the Projects! - Starting a new project is the best part of knitting! Best collection of works in progress.

Christine P -This is my collection of my Socks in Progress (27 of them and I finished 5 in the month if August)!! I’m too embarrassed to also show you my 27 shawls, 4 sweaters, and 3 blankets in progress so these are all I’ll share. All work on needles are on the first sock. Believe me, I’d consider frogging some but I keep telling myself I will finish them eventually!!

Category 5 - How Do You Wear One? – We like knitting shawls, but figuring out how to wear them can be tricky! Most creative modeling of a shawl.

Betty H - The yarn is the super bulky yarn donated by Blue Sky Fibers to the 2019 Fall retreat. It is 50% alpaca and 50% wool. No pattern was followed. I just made it up as I knit along!  Good for arms or legs.

Category 6 - Pot of Gold - We all know there is something good at the end of that rainbow. Best project using 7 or more colors.

Lucy N - Sixteen colors is more than seven so this should work

Category 7 - Stranded on Sleeve Island – Maybe it should just be a vest…Best sweater that is done except for the sleeves. (Projects can have one, partial, or no sleeves.)

Michele A - Test Knit of Hillary Fluff and the magic fungi. Yarns are a mix of Rowan  Rowanspun 4ply, Jamieson, Harrisville Shetland and Elemental Affects leftovers. The sleeves were supposed to be a continuation of the body pattern but I didn’t want that much pattern. I thought putting on a mid brown solid would work. Meh…. I ended up finishing with just the main color ribbing as a short sleeve vest.

Category 8 - I'm a Fan – Best project inspired by pop culture i.e., a movie, tv show, song, or any current trend.

Karen R 

Category 9 - I’ve Got an Eye for Photography – Sometimes it’s tricky to show off a sock…Most creative project photo.

Ann B - Vogue-ing with lace socks

Category 10 - Lost at Yarn Chicken – I was this close! Project is either unfinished or had to be finished creatively because you ran out of yarn. 

Laura H - Ran out of yarn 6 (!) stitches before the end of my bind-off for the Odyssey Shawl. Spliced all the scraps from my woven-in ends to the yarn tail and just barely made it through the bind-off! I don't think you can tell if you don't look too closely...

Category 11 - Maybe I Should Have Swatched – An item that will never fit a human because it’s too small, too big, or too odd.

Meghan A - Basic Norwegian Star Hat by Cara Jo Knapp

Category 12 - Who Needs to Swatch – Oh, you got lucky! Most successful sweater despite not doing a gauge swatch.

Andrea Z - My very first full-on sweater, for a friend's baby, fits him slouchy now with a little room to grow. So happy (and lucky)!!

Category 13 - Sign O’ the Times – Best mask and knitwear set. 

Deepa N

Category 14 - You Made That?! – That showstopper project, the one all the other knitters ask about.

Susan R - Niebling Doily

Category 15 - Sweepstakes - One winner randomly drawn from all the entries, that didn't win a category.

Jodi H - A modest collection of two different socks, mitten, sweater, lace wrap, cowl awaiting seams, self-designed cowl, and baby blanket. All started since moving to Minnesota in October 2017, except for the purple sock cuff for which I have lost the pattern.

Fatimah Hinds sees her designs as unisex and inclusive. She makes and designs items that are unique and interesting, but not so complicated that you have to work in silence. Easy to memorize patterns. As a sock knitter I love her sock designs, they're pretty without being over complicated. 

She makes great hats with matching mitts, who doesn't love a matching pair? 

With 76 designs offered in her Ravelry store she has something for everyone.  Most of her designs are suitable for any level of knitter.  She even knit her sister's wedding gown!

She's a math and science teacher for 7th and 8th grade students. Check her out and let us know what you think.

instagram: Disturbingthefleece

Ravelry: Fatimah Hinds

Have a designer that you'd like to see featured? Please email Melissa at marketingdirector.mkg@gmail.com.

When I moved back to Minnesota from California in 2007, I added "win a ribbon at the Minnesota State Fair" to my bucket list of things I wanted to accomplish. I was very lucky with my first entry in 2012 and took a Second Premium with my Flying Pig Mittens. I noticed two mistakes in the color work on one of the thumbs on the way to drop them off, so I was happily surprised to get a ribbon at all.

Well, there is something addictive about winning a ribbon and I was determined to not just win again, but to win the First Premium Blue Ribbon. In 2013, I submitted my Retro Goldy Gopher Mittens. I thought the U of M tie-in would make them a sure winner. Unfortunately, these did not place at all. The judges had some issues with the width of the thumb.

2014 was another no ribbon year. Though the Newgrange Mittens were one of my personal favorite entries. The pattern did end up winning a ribbon for someone at the Iowa State Fair though.

As you can see, I also made it a little harder on myself as I also designed the mittens I entered each year. By 2015, I was determined to design and knit the winning pair. I thought both of my non-winners were really good, so I wanted to figure out what the judges were looking for. I had been taking pictures of the winner each year and went back to see what they had in common. 

These are the winners from 2011 and 2012. 2011 took my breath away. These were knit at 19.5 stitches per inch! These two pairs of mittens shared a few things in common, a peasant thumb and small, very neat stitches. 

2012, 2013, and 2014 all shared similar shaping with the pointed top and a peasant thumb. They all also had a line or design dividing the front from the back of the mittens. I noted in 2014 that most of the mittens that won a ribbon that year had a similar Scandinavian look.

So, I decided my design needed to have a Scandinavian or Latvian inspired design. It needed to have a pointed top, an edge design, and a peasant thumb. Of course, neat, small stitches, even gauge, and no mistakes in the color work pattern were important too. I realized that use of more than two colors was not really necessary. I had heard rumors that the judges tended to pick items worked in blue, but I certainly didn't notice that in the winners from these four years. What I ended up with was my Hearts and Dalas Mittens.

I went with the most Swedish design elements I could think of worked up in lace weight yarn at 15 stitches per inch. I was very proud of that peasant thumb and how the pattern made it almost disappear into the palm. I even threw some blue in for extra luck. So, how did I do?

Not too bad, if I do say so myself. I won First Premium, as well as, the Knitters' Guild Rosette and the Three Kittens' Rosette. The Guild membership I won with the ribbon was what actually got me involved with the Guild in the first place.

So, did winning that First Premium stop my desire to keep winning ribbons? No way. Now, I am after the Sweepstakes Rosette. I've continued to enter every year except one. 

In 2016, I entered my Pride and Prejudice Mittens which were also knit from lace weight. They took 4th place with a note that they were a little long and skinny. That made me laugh as they were the same size as last year's winners and fit me perfectly. 2017's entry was the Under The Sea Mittens which took 2nd place with a score of 98. This color work mitten category is competitive! I had blue ribbon success again in 2019 with the Bloomin' Happy mittens which took First Premium and the Knitters' Guild Rosette. That one surprised me, as I wasn't sure it would be a pattern that would appeal to the judges. 

This year I had planned to enter the Kyoto Mittens. I'll have to wait until 2021 to see what the judges think of them!

We'd love to hear about your quest to win a prize for your knitting!

(In this time when we can't be together with our knitting friends as much as we'd like, we invite you to share your knitter's story with us. It can be anything knitting related, the story of a special project, how knitting helped you through a hard time, a trip that involved knitting & wool...the type of story you'd share with friends at a knitting group. Please email Kate at socialmediamnkg@gmail.com for details.)