Make it With Wool contest has a long Colorado history

RBC | At the Meeker Classic Championship Sheepdog Trials this year, the winner of the junior division of the Make it With Wool contest in 2015, Rachael Northrup, visited Meeker and demonstrated her winning project. She is the junior winner for Colorado again, and her sister, Andrea, a college student in Arizona, is the senior winner. Contestants recently showed off their beautiful hand-made wool garments at the 2016 Colorado Make It With Wool contest held at the Adams County Regional Park and Fairgrounds, where they competed for various prizes and the opportunity to represent Colorado at the National Make It With Wool Contest in January. The 2017 national contest will be the 69th annual national Make it With Wool Fashion Show and Competition. In Colorado, Samantha Lechman, 9, from Sedgwick, Colo., received the top honors in the Pre-Teen category. Samantha modeled a 100 percent lavender heather Pendleton wool jumper that she made with the help of her grandma. The Junior Division was won, again, by Rachael Northup. Rachael will be representing Colorado at the national competition in Denver in January with a 90 percent navy wool coat and 100 percent wool teal-colored dress combination, which she made from Vogue patterns. Andrea Northup, modeling a grey tweed coat made of 100 percent Pendleton wool that she made, will also be representing Colorado at the national completion in the senior division. Andrea and Rachael are the daughters of Gary and Melanie Northup of Sterling, Colo. The adult division was won by Deanna Worley from Fort Collins, Colo. Worley made and modeled a BurdaStyle hooded cape made of steel blue Melton 100 percent wool along with a light weight periwinkle tropical 100 percent Italian wool dress. Worley entered the contest in honor of her mother who passed away last spring and will also be representing Colorado in the Adult Division at the National Contest. Audri TeaGarden of Brighton, Colo., won top honors with her hand knitted jacket made of 100 percent super wash Merino wool in the wearable accessory division. Attendees at the state contest had an opportunity to learn from Angus McColl of Yocom and McColl Testing Laboratories about the fiber testing process used to test the fabric and yarn for wool content. The purpose of the contest is to promote the beauty and versatility of wool fabrics and yarns, encourage personal creativity in sewing, knitting, crocheting, spinning and weaving wool fabrics and yarns as well as to develop life skills for the contestants. For more information regarding Make It With Wool and the 2017 contest date, contact Gloria Cundall, state director, as 303-659-5559.