"(When I won), I was completely shocked because the other outfits were stunning," said Cara Weil, first-place adult contestant in the Pennsylvania Make It With Wool competition held in October. "When they called mine, my eyes got big," recalled the Smoketown resident, who quickly deferred the credit for her win. "God gets all the glory and 100% of the praise for any awards I have ever gotten," she said. "He gave me the talent."

Weil, who has taught music at Jackson Middle School in the School District of Lancaster for 22 years, won for her one-piece knitted olive-colored dress. She said she chose the pattern because it was something she knew she could wear well, but also because it was a challenge. "There were stitches in that pattern I had not done before," explained Weil, who also chose to use alpaca yarn, which was a first for her.

The competition was held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, and it pitted Weil against seven other adults from around the state. She said that the three judges first examine the entry "flat." "You turn it in, and they spend time analyzing it," she said. Next, contestants model the entry and talk to the judges about the challenges of creating the piece. "At the end of the day, you model it for the audience, and they announce winners."

Weil said she learned the basics of knitting from her mother at an early age. "When I was 6 or 7, my mom taught me to knit and sew, but you couldn't enter 4-H until you were 8," she recalled. "Once I was of age, my mom entered me in Garden Spot 4-H Club, and that's where I learned to sew and knit properly." After aging out of 4-H at age 18, she continued to knit and sew, teaching herself new stitches and techniques. "I enjoy it. It's a passion of mine," said Weil, who noted that she is always looking to improve upon her technique, seeking out patterns to make outfits that will make her more versatile in her stitching.

For Weil, working to sharpen her skills means entering local competitions in a variety of categories not limited to fiber arts. "I spend a lot of my summer canning, knitting, sewing," said Weil, who regularly enters up to 70 items in sewing, knitting, baked goods, and canned goods categories at fairs and farm shows at Elizabethtown, Ephrata, Denver, and New Holland. "My grandmother showed at the fairs. My mother showed at the fairs. It's in the family," she said.

As the first-place adult, Weil noted that her garment will be entered for national judging in January. More information about the competition may be found at https://makeitwithwool.com.