Inspired by "Points Off"

Jane and Haley inquired if the vest I posted yesterday is the same vest I had started while at the Conference in New Hampshire.  The answer is yes.  My hopes were to have finished it in time for the Fashion Show, but that didn't happen.  (Thankfully we had Game Plan B for my Dee Jr.  He wore the vest he designed and I crocheted up for a special event he took part in two years ago.)

Getting back to this vest, it is true.  It was inspired by points being taken off of a crocheted garment I submitted to a fair for not having the ribbing knitted.  I will admit that seeing those remarks on the feedback sheet from the judge was very upsetting at first.  Why should something entered into a crochet competition be fined for not having parts of it knitted?  Long story short, and a year later, the answer was revealed: the judge admitted to being biased towards knit and thought knitted ribbing would have made the garment look better.  Ahhhh Ha!

OK, I totally get that, combining crochet and knit does create beautiful results.  But I am still not a knitter (after many attempts), and it wasn't a knit competition.  The question, to me, was, do I let this go, or do I do something about it, to show another side of crochet?

I decided that if the judge wanted my crochet to be knitted, that is what I would do -- I would crochet something that looked knitted, including the ribbing -- and that is where my inspiration for this vest blossomed.  And yes, it will be entered later on this year to the fair with the biased judge (who is now soley judging just knitted entries, and the fair bringing on a pure crochet judge!).

Haley asked if I have a sign on the vest to ensure all know that it is crocheted.  Well, kindasorta I do.  I placed my "Crochet" pin on it, and I did witness the results I was looking for when I turned the piece in: there was a bystander who looked at the pin and then the fabric, turned to another lady and asked, "Why is there a crochet pin on this knitted vest?"  They were astounded to learn it was 100% crocheted!  {VBG}

There are many different types and techniques in crochet, and hopefully this piece will inspire people to give it a try.  :)

My apologies for the cloudy pictures ... they're blow ups from the only picture I have (yesterday's post).  When I get the vest back I'll take some better shots and post them.

Haley also asked if Mini~Dee entered anything this year.  The answer is yes she did!  While I was at the HHCC's monthly meeting for the FEZA trunk show, Mini~Dee decided to stay home and whip up ... well, why don't I let her share the details tomorrow? 

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