Knitting Up a Storm!

Precisely at 4:30 pm on Saturday, September 10, 2016, the scheduled time for the third annual Walk & Knit Event at the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival, the winds picked up and rain started pouring down. But rain couldn’t dampen the spirits of participants or spectators, nor could it stop the Walk & Knit event from happening. We grabbed our knitting bags and went into a nearby building for a short 5-10 minute delay before heading back outside to begin the race.

So many prizes had been donated to be distributed among the top three winning teams. The bags of prizes were popped into a nearby Subaru and kept dry during the brief downpour. Disaster averted.

Eight teams with a total of 31 people participated in this year’s Walk & Knit, trying to walk (or run or skip) as fast as possible while still knitting as many stitches as they could without making mistakes like dropped stitches. 

The Starting Line: Get Ready, Get Set, Knit!

Fifteen volunteers made the event possible by registering teams, organizing the start line, working the time clocks, recording times, photographing the event, judging the knitting, and counting the stitches. Sixty-five spectators (as tabulated by our volunteer accountant) gathered to cheer on their favorite teams. Thanks to all who came for making this a fun and worthwhile event, raising money to support youth activities related to wool.

The winning team was the returning championship team from 2014, Fox Valley Spinning Guild, headed by Ann Krieg and including Tracy Pokrzywa, Brian Howard, and Annie Modesitt.

The (Very Excited) Winning Team

The Madison Knitting Guild provided volunteers and also put together the second place team of: Susan DuCharme, Nicole DuCharme, and Mary Kaiser.

Madison Knitting Guild Members: Second Place Team and Volunteers

The third place team, “By the Shore,” was anchored by Paula Prim, Debbie Lloyd, Emily Roman, and Kendra Ford.

"By the Shore" Team Members, just before the storm hit

All teams safely crossed the finish line, due in part to our compliance with OSHA regulations mandating the use of circular knitting needles rather than double pointed needles when walking while knitting. ;)

You can find out more about prior Walk & Knit events in my previous blog posts here, here, and here.