Tag Archives: CGOA

Where the Crocheters Are

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Guests at CGOA Conference Dinner in Indianapolis 2013

ScannedImageI never really think to pull out my camera, so I’m probably an abnormality in this day and age, which is why I didn’t get more photos of all the wonderful things I saw. Last week I was in Indianapolis last week attending the Crochet Guild of America (CGOA) Summer Chain Link Conference (sometime known as the Knit and Crochet Show), and had a wonderful time. There are always so many inspiring people that have a love for crochet (most of which are not published designers, or national teachers, not that those aren’t inspiring as well).

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Margaret Hubert and Nancy Smith- 2 great women that inspire crochet

If you have never attended a national conference, I recommend that you at least investigate going someday. If you are like me, you have looked at the cost and asked yourself, “Really, I think I could learn that from a book/video, so why spend that, to go there?” A very valid question, but what you get from the conference cannot really be measured in dollars. Granted attending a conference has launched my crochet career, but even if it hadn’t I would probably still attend, as the camaraderie of fellow crocheters is enough to encourage you to attempt new things and improve your hobby/craft in ways you could never anticipate. There is nothing like walking through a hotel lobby and seeing groups of crocheters seated in various clusters chatting and stitching away. I can’t think of anywhere I’ve felt so at home.

Some are fortunate enough to have this experience in their local community through crochet guilds or stitch clubs, at least at meetings and events that they sponsor. The conference is just a really large version of this, not to mention the teachers have many years of teaching experience and years of expertise, they have forgotten more then I will ever learn.

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Fun Night at the Conference in Indianapolis 2013, Show & Share

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My first pattern signing!! Thanks to Crochetville.com, Amy Shelton, Tammy Hildebrand, and Ellen Gormley for all the support.

Well I could probably go on for a while about how much I love these conferences, but if you are interested in experiencing one for yourself, join me October 2-6 in Concord (just outside Charlotte), NC (click here for more information), or if you would like to create a crochet community in your town, investigate the support the CGOA can provide in helping you.

Tour Through Crochet Country

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ScannedImageWow! A whole month of focusing on crochet blogs is almost to an end; but I might just have to follow along with some that I have visited over the past 30 days, and I hope you will consider doing the same. (here is a list of all the participants)

First I would like to thank Amy and Donna of Crochetville for putting this tour together. They are very supportive and encouraging of all things crochet, and help all of us with a hooking habit feel at home and welcome. I can’t wait to see what new ways to support crochet they have up the sleeves. Another supporting factor I have found in the world of crochet is the Crochet Guild of America (CGOA). Becoming a member and taking the opportunities that it has presented has changed my life…and that is not just a figure of speech. I am a crochet instructor, but only started having students after I passed the Masters of Advanced Stitches and Technique. I am a new designer; I only sold my first design at the Summer CGOA conference in Minneapolis, July 2011, and now at this moment I have 7 designs in 3 magazines that are currently at your local news stand.  All of that is possible because I took the opportunities that CGOA offered, including meeting many supportive and encouraging people.

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Lisa Souza Glacier Yarn (100% Bombyx Silk) that will find a new home on April 2!

 

Unfortunately I do not have a local chapter of CGOA (there is one an hour drive away, and the meetings have never worked in my schedule), but I have found a local “non-denominational” fiber guild in my community, so I know the benefits belonging to a supportive group that enjoys the same things you do. If you have never considered visiting a guild (it took me a while, I thought that they were trade unions from the middle ages, at least that is what I remember from history class), the opportunity to make new friends, that actually understand crochet terms, is invaluable. Definitely finding a crochet community makes a difference. You can check here to see if there is a CGOA guild in your area. These groups help ensure that crochet is not just featured one month of the year, but throughout and open you to new ideas and approaches. They also usually help in the community (like this blog tour, helping Project Night Night, look here for more information), and make a difference in a variety of ways.

When writing this post, I had many thoughts of knowledge and tricks I have learned and would love to share with you, but the most important thing I can impart is to get involved, and find a supporting network of crochet lovers. (If you want to hear some of my knowledge and tricks, feel free to follow me on my crochet journey).

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Tunisian Mini Shawl- Free pattern download

One of the things I have learned from my local guild is the expanse of fibers available in yarn and how to use them, so I wanted to share an opportunity with you to enjoy some yarns you probably don’t have in your stash.( I find it amazing to me how different the same pattern can look with a different yarn or fiber) So, I am giving away a skein of Lisa Souza’s Glacier Yarn (100% Bombyx Silk) to 3 lucky winners (just simply leave me a comment on this post about what you enjoy about crochet or what it means to you, I will randomly select 3 comments on April 2, 2013 at 9:00am PST).

From the CGOA I have learned many new techniques and I would like to share my free Tunisian Mini Shawl pattern (created out of 1 skein of the yarn being given away) as a tribute to those that have encouraged me. Check out my free pattern download from either Crochetville’s Free Pattern Library or by using this  Free Tunisian Mini Shawl Download

Don’t forget to check out the other featured blog today…Kristin Dragos and don’t forget tomorrows the last day of March, where has the time gone?

March 31 Karen C K Ballard Gwen Blakley-Kinsler

A Class of Crochet

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ScannedImageI am a self taught crocheter; I learned from a long out of print book when I was about 10. However only recently I have learned the benefit of actually taking a crochet class.

My first class was at a Crochet Guild of America (CGOA) Chain Link Conference (aka Knit and Crochet Show) in July 2011, with Karen Ratto-Whooley on Savvy Singles, learning new approaches to single crochet stitches. (This conference changed my life, but that is a story for another day)Usually I read through class listings and think “I have seen that in a book, what else they can be showing me”, but after taking this class I realized that there are more than the words in a pattern or book that created my hobby. Being in a room of fellow crocheters getting more detailed instruction then I thought was possible was an eye opening moment.

The designer doesn’t talk about the inspiration or thought process behind a pattern in any book that I’ve found, but in the class I was hearing the “background” of how the stitches work and the dynamics of how they work with the pros and cons of each stitch.  The fellow students offered more then I would have thought by bringing up questions I would have not considered. Even after crocheting for nearly 30 years, this old dog was learning new tricks.

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5 Peaks Shawl class by Vashti Braha at Fall 2012 Chain Link, Reno

 

This experience has encouraged me to take a handful of classes every year, and the new ideas and concepts that have opened up new worlds to me. (The 5 Peaks Shawl by Vashti Braha gave me a whole new outlook on Tunisian Crochet) Just because I knew the stitches, could read a pattern and complete the fabrics I desired, I didn’t realize there was another world within the one I knew. How often this happens in life; there is more depths in that we love than ever imagined.

A Whole Month to Recognize Crochet!

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ScannedImageThe month of March is National Crochet Month, and to highlight the event Crochetville (a fun site dedicated to crochet), is hosting a blog tour of Professionals and Associate Professionals members of the Crochet Guild of America (CGOA). Check out the fun filled month with a lot of insight, give aways and free patterns (my site is featured on March 30, and I will be having a give away you will enjoy, so check back). So check out the fabulous sites (these are very talent crocheters, and I have honored to be able to be in the tour with them). Here is the current calendar, but check the main tour site as additions keep finding a way in at “A Tour Through Crochet Country”!

March 1 Jenny King Shelby Allaho
March 2 Ellen Gormley Nancy Nehring
March 3
 Phyllis Serbes Mona Muhammad
March 4
 Amy O’Neill Houck Akua Hope
March 5
 Mary Jane Hall Lindsey Stephens
March 6
 Edie Eckman Shannon Mullett-Bowlsby
March 7
 Jennifer Cirka Annette Stewart
March 8
 Andrea Graciarena LeAnna Lyons
March 9
 Dawn Cogger Angela Whisnant
March 10
 Andrea Lyn Van Benschoten Renee Rodgers
March 11 Joy Prescott Donna Childs
March 12 Pam Daley Deb Burger
March 13 Tammy Hildebrand Marty Miller
March 14 Jocelyn Sass Jennifer E Ryan
March 15 Andee Graves
March 16 Laurinda Reddig
March 17 Brenda Bourg
March 18 Rhonda Davis
March 19 Julie Oparka
March 20
 April Garwood
March 21
 Alaina Klug
March 22
 Erin Boland
March 23
 Margaret Hubert
March 24
 Bonnie Barker
March 25
 Kim Guzman Susan Huxley
March 26
 Susan Lowman
March 27
 Marie Segares
March 28
 Kathy White
March 29
 Amy Shelton Donna Hulka
March 30
 Linda Dean
March 31
 Karen C K Ballard Gwen Blakley-Kinsler