Damn Fine YarnContest – Prizes!

DFYC-Final-logoBYou’re pulling out your favorite fair isle sweater or whipping up a tiny cherry pie for our Damn Fine YarnContest, right? We’re so excited to see what you’ll enter, whether designed yourself or from a pattern you’ve knit a thousand times. The range of skills in our fiber community is amazing, and we want you to show it off!

Even if you’re not entering — and even if you can’t make it to YarnCon at all! — you can follow along with the fun on Instagram, and vote for your favorites! Follow @rubysubmarine, where Leah Coccari-Swift of Great Northern will be posting pics of all the entries, and @yarncon, where we’ll be posting highlights. Judges will check out the fan favorites when they make their decisions.

And now, a peek at the prizes!

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Every category winner will receive one of the awesome new organic cotton box-bottom tote bags we cooked up for YarnCon this year, plus an additional prize unique to the category:

Best Twin Peaks Prop:

Winner of this category will receive a signed copy of the Great Northern Knits book that kicked off this whole contest idea in the first place. Since the book isn’t scheduled for publication until late this year, the winner will receive PDF copies of From Another Place (cropped version shown above, but we’ll include both versions!) and Cherry Pie, patterns that will appear in the book. That should keep them busy while they wait!

 

Best Garment:

straight_edge_slouch_medium

The winner of Best Garment will receive a kit to make judge Lisa Whiting’s Straight Edge Slouch Hat, a quick knit and a nice change of pace from the more technical demands of a full garment! But if they want to tackle another big project right away, we’re including a printed copy of Lisa’s stunning new Cabled Cardi pattern, along with a set of Balwen Woodworks Mulberry Branch buttons to finish it off.

afterlight

 

Best Use of Handspun:
What do spinners want, but more fiber? Best Use of Handspun winner will find that their YarnCon tote bag contains a full braid of hand-dyed fiber from one of our awesome vendors, along with samples of additional fibers from vendors past and present.

 

Best Toy:
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Best Toy winner will receive a signed copy of judge Anna Hrachovec‘s latest pattern book, Adventures in Mochimochi Land. With 25 new patterns inside, it will help our ultimate toy-knitter establish their own toy colony!

 

Best Accessory:
midwestern
Winner in this category will be the proud new owner of judge Allyson Dykhuizen‘s Midwestern Knits book, chock full of garment and accessory patterns from Midwestern designers and all featuring indie yarns.

 

But what about “Best in Show”?

The Best in Show winner, decided on by all five judges, will get the ultimate YarnCon prize package, which includes:

  • A YarnCon T-shirt;
  • A YarnCon goodie bag, this year’s cotton box-bottom tote with vendor samples and YarnCon swag included;
  • A signed copy of Great Northern Knits when available; PDF copies of From Another Place and Cherry Pie to tide them over;
  • A Work+Shelter project bag;
  • Two of the latest Mochimochiland toy kits: Ninja and Robot;
  • A Balwen Woodworks vintage ruler pin;
  • Plus plenty of shout-outs and the gratification of knowing they bested a hot field of incredibly skilled YarnCon attendees!

 

Damn Fine YarnContest – Meet Your Judges!

(We let Great Northern Knits co-author Leah Coccari-Swift have the mic today to fill you in on the latest for next weekend’s contest! Are you cooking up something fun to enter?)

Hello, fiber lovers! I’m here to tell you a little about each of our wonderful Damn Fine YarnContest judges, so you can get to know us before the Big Weekend. Each of us will be judging one of 5 categories, and coming together to decide on our pick for the Best in Show prize. Read on, won’t you? We can’t wait to see what you’re gonna submit!

 

Best Twin Peaks Prop Judge: Leah Coccari-Swift (that’s me)
Leah Log Lady
You may be wondering about the “presented by… Great Northern” aspect of this contest. Great Northern is my upcoming Kickstarter-funded knitting book with Teresa Gregorio, inspired by the early 90’s TV show Twin Peaks. The show was groundbreaking in many ways, and also happens to feature some amazing knitwear. The iconography of Twin Peaks lends itself nicely to yarn-crafted items, and I can’t wait to see what folks come up with for this category! Check out Great Northern here, and you can find my blog here. I can’t wait to see you at the show!

 

Best Garment Judge: Lisa Whiting
Lisa
Lisa is a talented artist, knitwear designer, and creative director at the super-popular yarn subscription club Yarnbox. Her designs have been featured in many magazines and on TV, and she created one of my all-time favorite kid’s hat patterns, the adorable Kitty Hat for Blue Sky Alpacas. We’re delighted to have Lisa judging the garment category, as she’ll bring her creative eye and keen aesthetic sense to the task! You can find Lisa’s website here.

 

Best Use of Handspun Judge: Vera Videnovich
Vera
Vera is an amazing spinner, knitter, designer, and grower of superb vegetables. Her farm produces veggies in the warm season and wool from her sheep in the cool season (shorn and spun by Vera!). The love and care she dedicates to her creations results in beautiful produce, stunning knitwear (check out her men’s sweaters!) and luscious yarn. Vera’s spinning and design expertise will serve her well as judge for this category! Follow her on Instagram here.

(Ed note: Vera is our resident spinning guru; she taught all three YarnCon organizers how to spin. You can learn from her too next weekend in her DIY Handspinning classes!)

 

Best Toy Judge: Anna Hrachovec
Anna
Anna is an artist, designer, author, animator, and all-around creative force. Anna’s wonderful Mochimochi Land patterns are incredibly popular for good reason, they are incredibly cute and addictive to knit! Anna’s fantastic sense of color and design make each of her tiny, anthropomorphized creations a true work of adorable art, and we’re thrilled to have her as the toy judge! You can find Mochimochi Land on the web here, and Anna’s website here.

 

Best Accessory Judge: Allyson Dykhuizen
Allyson
Allyson is a designer, editor, author, and kick-ass lady. Holla Knits, her online magazine, is in its 5th year of producing challenging, unique, fashionable patterns. Allyson has been featured in magazines, co-authored the wonderful book Midwestern Knits last year, and is currently working on the 1Knit1Chicago kit club, which is producing fabulous original patterns. Her technical skills and design savvy make her an ideal accessories judge. Check out Allyson’s blog here.

All 5 of us will judge “Best in Show”!

When entries are dropped off, they will be photographed, posted on Instagram, and tagged with #damnfineyarncontest. For those of you who won’t be able to make the show, you can still see all the amazing work online… heart and comment on your favorite! The judges will take this into consideration when making their decision. Remember, judges’ decisions are final, and will be made according to their discretion; the amount of weight they give to online votes is up to the judge!

So, are you digging through your FOs yet?

 

Next week, we’ll be sharing a peek at the prizes in each category, and the big kahuna… Best In Show!

What’s a Twin Peaks prop?

One of the most frequent questions we’ve gotten about the Damn Fine YarnContest is, “What’s a Twin Peaks prop?” So if you’re wondering, you’re not alone.

The contest was inspired by the forthcoming Great Northern Knits, a collection of patterns based on the cult-classic Twin Peaks series of the 90s. The show, which is currently filming a reboot, is full of quirky, eccentric, and downright weird characters. Netflix has the original series if you want to check it out.

The Best Twin Peaks Prop category pays homage to this creative TV icon and will be judged by Leah Coccari-Swift, one of the designers behind the Great Northern Knits book. Just type “Twin Peaks” into Google or Pinterest for a whole bunch of oddball ideas to get your creative juices going. If you’re looking for a little extra inspiration, here are a handful of patterns that would fit right in!

Coffee and Cherry Pie

Twin Peaks’ lead character, FBI Agent Dale Cooper, is passionately devoted to these items on the Double R Diner’s menu. His rapture over “a damn fine cup of coffee” inspired the contest’s name.

 

The Log

One of the more eccentric residents of Twin Peaks is Margaret Lanterman, aka The Log Lady, who carries her log around town and acts as its translator to those who “can’t hear it.”

 

 

Eyepatch

In honor of Nadine Hurley, inventor of the silent drape runner.

 

Jelly Donut

Agent Cooper once ate 12 of them in a day, as reported to the mysterious Diane.

A Damn Fine YarnContest: FAQs & Rules

Hey, yarn friends! We’ve already had an enthusiastic response to the contest announcement for the Damn Fine YarnContest, and folks have raised some good questions. Thanks, all! 

Here are some things you might want to know about the Damn Fine YarnContest:

  • Everyone is eligible to enter, excluding judges and organizers. It would be hard to explain if we made off with all the prizes.
  • You may enter up to three items per category (let’s not overwhelm our awesome judges!).
  • Items may be entered in more than one category (i.e., a toy made out of handspun yarn could be entered in both the Toy and Handspun categories).
  • Entries may be knitted, crocheted, woven, or felted.
  • The Handspun category must be made of yarn spun by the entrant. No restrictions on yarn used in any other category.
  • Sorry, no photos accepted. Judges have to be able to see the quality of your work in person.
  • Entries must be brought in person to the contest table at YarnCon on the designated day for your category:
    • Saturday 4/2, Drop off from 10am-2pm:
      • Best Twin Peaks Prop
      • Best Accessory
      • Best Use of Handspun
    • Sunday 4/3, Drop off from 10am-12pm:
      • Best Garment
      • Best Toy
    • Note: Entries in Sunday categories may be dropped off Saturday, but must be picked up Sunday after judging (see below).
  • Pickup
    • Best Twin Peak Prop, Best Accessory, Best Use of Handspun entries: may be picked up Saturday 4/2 between 3pm and 5pm.
    • Best Garment, Best Toy entries: may be picked up Sunday 4/3 between 1:30pm and 3pm.
    • All entries must be picked up by Sunday at 3pm, when YarnCon closes. Any entries not picked up by then will be held until 4/17 at YarnCon sponsors:
  • Entrants agree that pictures of their work may be posted on social media; winners’ names may also be posted.
  • There is no fee for entry; this is all purely for fun. You will have to fill out a small form for each item entered and be OK with us pinning it to your entry, though.
  • All judges’ decisions are final.

Still curious about something? Let us know! 

A Contest, YarnCon-Style!

Ready to dig out your best work, or whip up a little something new, and win prizes for it? In partnership with Great Northern, the upcoming release of knit patterns inspired by the evergreen Twin Peaks TV series, we invite you to enter a Damn Fine YarnContest.

DFYC-Final-logoBWe have five categories to enter, with outstanding judges in each category:

  • Best Twin Peaks prop, judged by Great Northern author Leah Coccari-Swift
  • Best Accessory, judged by Midwestern Knits author Allyson Dykhuizen
  • Best Toy, judged by Anna Hrachovec of Mochimochiland
  • Best Use of Handspun Yarn, judged by Vera Videnovich, spinning instructor and proprietor of Atelier Videnovich
  • Best Garment, judged by Yarnbox creative director Lisa Whiting

One winner will be declared in each category, with all five judges conferring on one Best in Show grand prize to rule supreme (and get a extra-special prize package).

Further entry details will be announced on the blog next week, but start thinking about what you want to enter or make, and get ready to strut your stuff!

(Clarification note, since you asked: the Great Northern book does focus on knit patterns, but all fiber arts are welcome to enter; knitted, crocheted, woven…we want to see ALL your awesome work!)

Check out more about the Great Northern project here. And remember: the Log Lady‘s log may not judge, but we will!

 

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