Let's rewrite the rules!

I'd like your help to rewrite the rules for county fair knitting. No, not MY knitting for the county fair -- the RULES AND CRITERIA for knitting at the county fair. When I chatted with the University extension guy who works with 4H clubs in the county, he mentioned that people have told him that the existing rules and criteria for knitting are out of date and that people don't knit like that any more. I offered to help update them.

So now I am going to ask YOU to update them; actually, to help me out.

All our heads together are way smarter than my own head.

Here is what the fair guide says for the knitting category, open division. (The rules for 4Hers are very similar, the major difference being that there are several divisions based on age and skill level.)

___________________________________________

RULES:
1.    All articles must have been made by exhibitor since last year's county fair.

2.    All articles must be accompanied by a 3"x5" card with the following information:
        A.    Fiber content of yarn(s) - state percentage(s)
        B.    Intended use and care
        C.    Size of needles or hooks used

CLASS A: KNITTING SECTION
Lot No.
  1.    Child's sweater
  2.    Adult's sweater or vest, may have pattern
  3.    Sweater, mixed colors, carrying yarn
  4.    Gloves or mittens, 4 needles
  5.    Socks, 4 needles
  6.    Baby set, 2 or more pieces
  7.    Afghan
  8.    Afghan, baby (approx. 36"45")
  9.    Knitted item from hand-spun yarn
10.    Scarf
11.    Any other knitted item

_________________________________________________________________

The things I would change:

• Allow a two-year period for adult sweaters and afghans; some of us are slow knitters, some of us don't have enough time to knit, some of us are, ahem, women of substance who require something larger than XS, and a sweater knit on size 3 needles obviously takes a lot more time than one knit on size 11s. Or maybe just substitute the word "completed" for "made".
  
• Add the word "stitch(es)" after "pattern" in #2, to distinguish pattern stitches from the colorwork of #3.
  
• Add a category after #3: "Sweater, mixed colors, intarsia".
• Substitute "knitted in the round" for "4 needles" for gloves/mittens and socks. This seems to me to be the criterion that is the most obviously out of date.
  
• A separate category for lace, although I am not sure there are enough lace knitters in the county for the category to have more than roughly one entry.

What else? Are any of you familiar with the rules for knitting at your own local fairs? Are they better/worse and how so? TIA!