Busy crochet week

I've had a busy crochet week, but great fun! Thursday was our Guild Chapter meeting, but not just a regular monthly meeting. In a fast and efficient business meeting, we voted on bylaws and a full slate of officers. Then the fun part of the meeting.

Location: we met at Knitters Dream, a local yarn shop in the outskirts of Harrisburg. And I do mean outskirts! You drive around State Game Lands, after driving up and through the golf course, then past the sign that says "road ends 500 feet", you arrive at the sign and driveway. The shop is in the basement of a private home, it's super-well stocked, organized beautifully, and has plenty of room to sit on comfy couches and look at displayed garments and accessories.

Topic: a trunk show and book signing by Myra Wood, author of Creative Crochet Lace: A Freeform Look at Classic Crochet; and Crazy Lace: An Artistic Approach to Creative Lace Knitting. Myra had some beautiful garments that are features in her Creative Crochet Lace book and we got a chance to look closely at them, while Myra talked about her technique. We had an opportunity to purchase the book, and have it autographed!! We also had the opportunity to meet Myra's lovely family, who live in the Harrisburg area.

Refreshments: Linda, owner of Knitters Dream, had a snack table with chips & dips & drinks. THANKS AGAIN! Linda

Friday, I spent a large part of the day sorting yarn and thread. A large portion was to be sent to the basement to be stored in large tubs (hubby & I got a lot of that done this evening. Then more yarn and thread had to be sorted in preparation for today's class.

Today Knitters Dream hosted a class by Myra Wood on Freeform Knitting and Crocheting! We learned about the history of freeform, and some big names in the technique. Then it was hands on! We learned to make some basic scrumbles including a knitted circle, crocheted circle, mitred square and slip stitches in knitting, and popcorns and bullions in crochet! I was the only student who was first and foremost a crocheter, but we all tackled both techniques with great attitude. How many times did someone say "This is so much fun!" ? Of course, I had to try some of the scrumbles in Tunsian.

Linda and family hosted a full lunch, including some family stories about cooking and the Farm Show.

Special THANKS to Myra for teaching this amazing class. We're looking forward to Myra visiting again.

I need to clean up some more yarn, hooks, projects, patterns, etc. Then I might take some time to "scrumble" a little!

Why the Knitting Crocheting Business is Seasonal

Hey fiber fiends
Want to read an interesting article? This person writes that knitting and crocheting is a seasonal business.
"However, once the first rays of spring sunshine appear, to melt the winter blues away, the knitting and crocheting needles are stashed back in the box to return to their summer home in the attic next to the Christmas ornaments."
Really? My needles and hooks are still scattered, some in my crochet bag, which goes out to Borders every week for Crocheting in Public; some are in a mug next to the lamp table, where I sit and crochet almost every evening; some are on my computer table, where I swatch as I answer questions about stitches and patterns; and some are in projects on the couch, because I'm busy crocheting.

"The winter months beg for such types of garments and blankets whereas the mere thought of donning a crocheted sweater in the summer in the state of Florida would bring a droplet of sweat to one’s brow."
Maybe this person hasn't seen the lovely short-sleeved tops made in #10 thread? I have a thread top with an attached camisole and it's one of the coolest tops I own.

Let's give this writer the benefit of the doubt, maybe they are unaware of what serious knitters and crocheters are doing every day of every season! Maybe they're talking about the actual "business", saying owning a yarn shop. "Most folks do not even think about purchasing knitted products during the summer months." Well, I've been frequenting my lys, and craft stores; I've been purchasing all kinds of books, booklets, magazines, yarns, threads, hooks, needles,... And I saw hundreds of shoppers at the Conference in Buffalo buying yarn! Granted, they were buying less than other years ("it's the economy, stupid"), it wasn't because it was the beginning of August.

And the paragraph about the grandmother in the rocking chain in front of the fireplace...(That's not steam coming out of my ears!) Wait, I've figured it out -
this article was written in 1890, before air conditioning, when summer was busy with gardening and canning.

As I wrote in the comment section of the page, I wish there was a button to click that says "This is totally wrong, please remove it."

Back to the worsted weight, some on Tunisian hooks, and some on knitting needles. I'm busy with non-seasonal crocheting and knitting!

Crochet Art / Crochet as Art

If you're on "Ravelry", check out this beautiful piece of "crochet art". Would you use it as a doily? or frame it and hang it as a picture? Put it on the back of a freeform coat? The possibilities are endless. I'm getting the urge to dabble in some freeform!
BTW, if you're not on Ravelry...what's keeping you? We're waiting...No, we're not waiting, we're enjoying the crochet, the patterns, the yarn, the thread, the challenges, the learning experiences, the socializing. We'd love for you to join us.

Chain Link Conference

I'm going to try to give you a feel of the conference. I'll start by going back to post what I wrote on Tuesday afternoon and evening.
The day has finally arrived! We're ready to "Shuffle off to Buffalo" for the Knit and Crochet Show aka The Chain Link Conference to crocheters. I drove to Margie's and moved suitcases and bags of yarns from my car to hers, and we headed North by West.

We had beautiful weather and a great trip. We traveled well together, stopped several times, talked about college, our lives and crochet. Margie has gps, had printed out Mapquest directions and a map. Margie drove, while I compared Mapquest and the map to gps directions, then gave recommendations on which to follow when they disagreed! We talked back to the gps frequently as "she" repeated "make a legal u-turn", "make a legal u-turn"..."continue straight on current road". Margie brought a cooler with baggies of baby carrots, celery, radishes, cherry tomatoes and grapes. After driving several hours through the middle of nowhere on route 20A through New York, we finally (!) came to a town, got gas, and had dinner at a small Italian restuarant. Great food...or were we just super hungry? We arrived at the Hyatt about 7:30 pm, and were greeted by friends we've made at previous conferences.

The hotel staff were super helpful, and we got everything out of the car, and got things to our rooms. Unfortunately, our last minute idea of getting connecting rooms couldn't be accommadated, but that's a good idea for future conferences. We needed to be up EARLY on Wednesday for registration and Professional Development Day; and we were tired, so we went to bed early.

after being gone almost a week...

I'm trying to catch up on some emails and posts from various groups. I'm also doing some pattern searches, and I've found some interesting things.
Here's a "pineapple skirt pattern"
and a "fish motif that tesselates!"

Goals for the Day after returning from the Conference

I arrived home about 8 pm yesterday, and went to bed early. Later I will post some of the writing I did at the conference, and an entry or two about the conference. This morning I thought that I'd write my goals for today, the day after...
1) Do not put on shoes
2) Do not walk anywhere
3) Sit as often as possible
4) While accomplishing goals 1, 2 and 3; enjoy the massage pillow that was a door prize at the market
5) While accomplishing goals 1, 2, 3 & 4; enjoy the doily booklet that I got as a door prize at Professional Development Day
6)While accomplishing goals 1 through 5; enjoy the books and booklets that were my door prize at the banquet
7) Still working on 1 - 6; enjoy a true cup of tea! water boiled, not microwaved; Lipton tea bag; in a mug, not a paper cup with lid and sippy hole.
8) Take short breaks from 5 - 7 and let the brain wander - maybe ideas that started in a class will meet up with other information in the brain and a project will emerge. Do not attempt to actually think out a project, write it down or start working. The brain and body need a rest.
9) Reflect on being thankful that I was able to go, to travel with a good friend, to meet friends that I've made at other conferences, to chat with other crocheters and make new friends.
10) If rested enough by evening, read a little of what others have written about the conference.

Ten goals for the day, it might be hard but I intend to reach all those goals!

CGOA Chapter activities

Our chapter has been very busy this summer. It was suggested that we have a weekend activity similar to the Knitters Day Out. We all enjoy the vendors market at KDO, but the classes are strictly knitting oriented. So a Crocheters Day was suggested, and it so happens one of our members was previously an event planner, and she was eager. So, in July we had our first planning committee meeting, where we discussed renting a church. To do that we have to have insurance. To do that we have to file for our non-profit status. To do that we have to have written bylaws... So I've been involved with this committee in notifying the chapter about an upcoming business meeting, editing bylaws, researching the paperwork needed for applying for non-profit status, and nominating a slate of officers for the chapter. Then I presented all this to the membership at Thursday's meeting. We will be voting on the bylaws and officers at the August meeting.
The Chapter is still busy with our baby sweater project, also.

Will I ever get it together?

Yes, I've been missing in action again. I've been very busy with different aspects of my crochet life. I've divided my activites into large categories 1) personal crochet - the sweaters and other items I make for myself, the things that I make for gifts, and the patterns that I just have to try (those are usually vintage doilies!) 2) CGOA chapter - items I crochet to show the group, new books to review, writing that I post to the chapter Yahoo group 3) CGOA National - answers to crochet questions, pattern review, reading and writing for the committees in which I'm involved and 4) online crochet groups - I answer crochet questions on AllExperts.com, and I'm an instructor and moderator for Ravelry's Learn Crochet.

In June and July, several members of the CGOA have been very involved in planning activities, games, and other things to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the CGOA. A lot of these will kick off at the Chain Link Conference, which is in Buffalo, NY starting this Wednesday, August 5th! An anniversary logo contest was launched, the winning design has been made into pins, and will be available to members attending the conference. The design will also be on a large cake which will be served at the banquet on Saturday of the conference. You can see the anniversary logo at the "CGOA website" Click on the banner with the balloons and the "Join CGOA in celebrating our 15th anniversary", you'll reach a link for a crochet word search. Each month a new activity will be added. There are also lots of items available through Cafe Press with the new logo. Purchase an item and celebrate the anniversary!