Men Who Crochet Chapter of the Crochet Guild of America

Meeting of March 19, 2011

2011-03-25T16:19:00.000-07:00

12:20 Call to order

In attendance: Peter, Mattie, Audrey, Mei Ling, Catherine (Mei Ling's mom), Tom, and Jennifer.

Thanks to everybody who helped the group out with Stitches West. Should we receive payment from Warm Up America it will be put toward upcoming events.

The Fiber Arts Festival in Oakland will be July 10, 2011, 10 a.m to 6 p.m. in Splashpad Park. The group can borrow Jennifer's tent for display. MWC will need to decide whether to participate in the event this year. We should assign 2-hour shifts so attendees can enjoy the festival. Decision will be made at April meeting.

We are committed to the San Mateo County Fair. This year we will commit to 2 weekends: June 11 &12, and June 18 & 19. Fair hours are 11 am to 10 pm, we could staff a booth 11-6 or so. Our award is listed on Page 22 under Special Awards: "Best Crocheted Item, Award offered: Rosette, $50, Sponsored by Men Who Crochet." The group encourages everyone to enter items this year. You can enter online at: https://sanmateocountyfair.com/competitive-exhibits/departments/home-arts or go to www.sanmateocountyfair.com . You are limited to 2 entries per class, items to have been made in the past year. Here are the classes:

DIVISION 614 - CROCHETED APPAREL

CLASS:
1. Children’s Apparel
2. Adult Apparel
3. Scarf, Shawl, Wrap
4. Accessories – bag, hat, socks, gloves, etc.

DIVISION 615 - CROCHETED OTHER ITEMS

Large afghans must measure more than 48" in any one direction. Small afghans must measure less than 48” in length
and width.

CLASS:
1. Tablecloth or doily
2. Crocheted edging on ready made article
3. Toy/doll/doll accessory
4. Afghan – Large, more than 48”
5. Afghan – Small, less than 48”
6. Any other - specify
Each entry costs $2 but you get 2 tickets and one parking pass for the fair.

Thank you Audrey for volunteering to assemble some 7x9 blocks from Warm Up America.

If you have Warm Up America donations, bring them to the meeting. While Piedmont Yarn and Apparel remains a drop-off location, the blankets cannot be stored there and must go home with Peter.

Thank you members for taking bookmarks that promote the club, to pass along for Crochet Month (March).

Don't forget the special Crochet Night at Piedmont Yarn and Apparel, 3:00 - 7:00 pm, the last Tuesday of the month (March 29) to celebrate National Crochet Month. There will be a discount on crochet hooks and supplies and a drawing. The regular Crochet Circle continues on the 1st Tuesday of each month, 3-7 pm.

The 6th annual Maker Faire is at San Mateo Fairgrounds on July 21 and 22. There is a large Craft / yarn participation. Jennifer will be doing a demo on Sunday, creating yarn from T-shirts. More info at http://makerfaire.com/ .

Show & tell participation:
Tom - next month will begin crocheting his Aztec Sun afghan after a hiatus to let his hand heal. He discussed the egg-shaped crochet hook, Vogue Knitting Live (LA), and Stitches.
Audrey - working a beautiful border on her grandchild's baby blanket
Peter - Trivia: The back of his head appears in the movie Patch Adams. He showed his top-down sweater, WIP. He has a pattern coming out in May Crochet!, his 4th design with kraemer.com comes out soon, design job at Cascade and maybe another company. His company, HookerBear, will be transforming into Chain Male Design.
Jennifer- CAL socks with Poem Sock Yarn (Interweave pattern), wore her Malabrigo Big Bow Cardigan that she made after Stitches, discussed approaches to teaching crochet and business ideas.

Ideas for topics at upcoming meeting:
Everybody chooses a different crochet magazine, reviews and critiques it with tips etc.
Discussion around which hooks are compatible with which yarn, hooks that everybody prefers.

We had 4 very happy Gift Exchange participants.
The potluck was delightful, with Peter's Corned Beef & Cabbage, Jennifer's White Chili, Mei Ling's Smoked Salmon appetizer, Tom's brownie squares, and Audrey's carrot cake. Thank you Mattie for the cleanup!

Don't forget to vote for Peter as Best Crochet Designer in the Menswear Category:
http://www.crochetliberationfront.com/2011-flamie-award-nominees/vote/

Next meeting Saturday April 16, noon.

August meeting

2010-08-31T15:03:00.000-07:00

was called to order at 12:00 with Peter, Cay, Andy, Jennifer, Kris, Penny and Tom in attendance.

Jennifer is a new member who came across the bay to join us. We met her initially at the San Mateo County Fair. Welcome, Jennifer!

Old Business
a) Treasurer's Report
b) Dues
     1) due now for current members
     2) future members from date of joining
     3) $20/year or $5/meeting
c) Field trip to Brook Farm Alpacas
     1) October 16, time of arrival to be announced
     2) we will car pool, but it is up to each member to make their own arrangements
d) Convalescent hospital for Holiday Soiree
      1) It was decided that we would not do this at this time.

New Business
a) Stitches West
      1) Warm Up America

need many more totes and brochures

2) MWCC promotion

maybe compile a brochure on the chapter, in addition to bookmarks, calendars

3) Display

need to obtain a literature rack

b) Relocation of monthly meetings
1) PYA needs the classroom during our Saturday meeting time

time available either in evenings during the week or Sunday, 4 to 7 p.m.

voted to try the Sunday 4 to 7 time slot.

2) Penny will contact the Hayward Public Library to see if they have a meeting room.

2 short blocks from Hayward Bart station

just over the San Mateo bridge

September 18- Quarterly Soiree at PYA followed by Mexican food

October 16- Field trip to Brook Farm Alpacas

November 20 - meeting at PYA **new hours** Sunday 4 to 7p.m.

December 18 - Holiday Soiree - location to be announced.

Cay demoed double crochet variations
Herringbone double crochet (hbdc) linked double crochet (ldc) and extended double crochet (edc)

Show N Tell

Peter is still working on the twin set, but has also started the design for the Aran cardigan

Cay modeled the Swellegant Elegance and is working on scarves/shawls for the holidays.

Andy brought in a couple of new hats and some yarn that he has spun and dyed.

Jennifer showed us several size totes/bags that she crocheted with plarn. She was also sporting a very unique shrug/vest.

Kris is working on another afghan for Project Linus

Penny was working on squares for her next ghan which will be assembled on the diagonal, giving a diamond look to it.

Tom completed his Aztec Star afghan for Project Linus and also shared a "Divine Hat" that he crocheted.

Mattie, Tom and Andy brought afghans for Project Linus.

Stitch 'n Pitch, SFGiants, 2010

2010-07-28T22:59:00.000-07:00

Those who know me well (and some not as well) can tell you that I am a baseball fan, in the fanatic sense of the word. So when I have to opportunity to combine my baseball fanaticism with my passion for crochet, I always leap at the chance. I was fortunate this year to treat my dear friend Cay to this unique experience.
The San Francisco Giants version of the Stitch 'n Pitch baseball game took place on Monday, July 26 at AT&T Park. Also in attendance were Anita and Ed and Kris from the chapter. Though we did not sit together, we did touch base (pun intended) either before or during the game. With beverage of choice in hand (or course I had a devilishly delightful very dark ale) and fab sandwiches from Berkeley Bowl, we enjoyed the activities of the evening. We instantly befriended our right-hand neighbors, four sisters, who knitted. Indeed, the photo of Lou Seal (only in San Francisco -- a male mascot named Lou Seal (Lucille)) was forwarded to me by Kate, one the sisters, who drove in from Modesto.
It was a wonderful evening, diminished only slightly by the Giant's loss. Still, it was great to be among fiber artists who share my love of America's pastime.

July Meeting

2010-07-21T10:32:00.000-07:00

came to order on Saturday, July 17. We met at Piedmont Yarn & Apparel. In attendance were Anita, Ed, Cay, Penny and Peter. As we had no visitors or new members, we headed straight to Old Business:
a) San Mateo County Fair
We discussed the things we learned and the things we want to improve for next year.

We will sponsor a $50 Best of Show Award for Crochet next year.

We will be located nearer the crochet entries and away from the door.

We discussed doing a raffle for a crocheted item similar to what the quilt guilds do. If you have any ideas on what this item could be, please share.

We want to acquire a literature display stand and a larger poster for our booth. 16" x 20" poster is approx $10.

We would like to display items using different techniques-entralac, tunisian, hairpin, felting, wire, tapestry, etc. If you like one of these categories and would like to do an item for display next summer, please let Cay or Peter know.
Seniors Day was fun but not productive. Many seniors are not online and will not cross the bridge. We referred several to the chapter that meets in Redwood City.
Last day of fair is Mexican Heritage Day-we need to schedule a Spanish speaking member to staff the booth that day.
Dates for the fair next year are 6/11-6/19/2011.

b) Oakland Fiber Fest

location was excellent after a brief turf war with the Lace Knitters. We had both been assigned the same spot. They graciously moved to another location as they had their own canopy and we did not. Even though it was very hot, we had a nice breeze and our banner could be seen from the welcome booth.
Did not have many stop for the make and take table as they were in the sun. Need to rearrange the tables in the canopy or provide another umbrella for the tables next year.
Lots of traffic and interest.

c) Dues

$20 annually or $5 per meeting, members choice. Please advise Peter which method you prefer.
Due in July for current members

Date of joining for future members.

We moved right on to New Business.

Treasurers report will done each month.

August - 8/21- will be a regular meeting held at PYA, from noon to 3 p.m. Cay will be teaching linked and herringbone double crochets.
September -9/18- we will hold our quarterly Crochet Soiree. Lunch will be Mexican in one of the local restaurants.
October- 10/16- field trip to Brook Farm Alpacas in Glen Ellen-Each person bring a sack lunch and we will hold biz meeting while eating in the meadow. We are inviting MWC Ravelry members to join us. If you have a crocheter you would like to bring, let Peter know. We need to limit our group size to approx 20.
November- 11/20- will be a regular meeting at PYA.
December- 12/18- we discussed the possibility of taking the Holiday Soiree on the road, maybe a nursing home or convalescent hospital, shifting our focus from kids to seniors or disabled. Instead of a gift exchange, making shawls or lapghans for wherever we choose to go. If you know of a place in your neighborhood, please check with them to see if this would be welcome and find out how many we would have to serve. Please bring this info to the August meeting so we can prepare.

Discussed setting up a booth at the Alameda County Fair next year-the fair runs approx 3 weeks and starts within a couple of days of the closing of San Mateo. More research needed. Would need commitments from more members to be able to accomplish this.

Show and Tell

Anita is working on another large granny square blanket made of the Simply Soft Brites. She must have bought a truckload of this yarn.
Cay is working on the Swellegant Elegance in Saucon Sock Yarn, color Loganberry.
Penny is assembling a granny square afghan for Project Linus using various size squares.
Peter is making progress with the twin set he is designing. The shell is done and he is working on 2nd half of the front of the short sleeve cardigan.
Anita and Mattie brought ghans for Project Linus.

We ended the meeting with a little crochet and chatting, and all went home about 2:30.

Final Days of the Fair

2010-06-28T20:02:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, after setting up our booth, we launched right into our monthly meeting. In attendance were Anita, Kris, Cay and Peter. We discussed the things we had learned at this our first outing into the big world as a chapter. We also discussed the possibility of making another field trip in September. It was a short meeting, due to our location. Kris took off to do more fair looking around and Anita, Cay and Peter stayed in the booth. As on the other days, we had several folks stop by and talk to us. Several signed up for our drawing . The winner of the Pinwheels Scarf Kit is: Jennifer
Penny, Mattie, Cay and Peter were back on Sunday for the final day of this year's San Mateo County fair. We need to read the fair schedule! It was Mexican Heritage Day, and the music and events were geared toward celebrating Mexican heritage. Probably the most people attended the fair on Sunday of the whole week. Our winner on Sunday of the Post Stitch Hooded Scarf Kit is Brad
At the end of the day, a tired but happy little group packed up all our displays, literature and trash, put in back in Cay's car and headed home. The pictures taken over the last 2 days have been added to the album in the first post about the fair.
We will be discussing things we learned over the next few meetings, so we really represent our chapter and CGOA in a fantastic light at our next outing.

Oakland Fiber Festival

2010-06-28T17:48:00.000-07:00

Peter and Cay arrived at the festival site about 8:30 with tables and displays in tow. This time we had to provide all our own tables and chairs. We used an 8' folding table and 2 card tables, about 5 folding chairs and 2 directors chairs. We did have a canopy provided for us, so the first order of biz was to hang our new banner.
Stitch Diva Studios provided a really nice handout of a hobo bag, and ChiaoGoo gave us bamboo crochet hooks in size H (5.0mm). We had some nice cotton yarn for our make 'n take tables.
Since this was strictly a fiber festival, we had a lot of traffic thru the booth. It probably helped that you could see our banner from the Welcome Booth. Peter caught up with a couple of Rav friends, Ivy and Cookie stopped by the booth.
Kris joined us after church in the afternoon and helped a young girl finger chain while her mom tried to remember how much she knew about crochet.
Cay spent some time with Gracie in the Lace Knitters booth talking about tatting. No, Cay doesn't know how to tat, but she wants to learn. They are planning to get together in a couple of weeks.
We had another drawing. This time it was for the Comfy Cables Cap and Scarf and the winner is Angie Lo.
Along with Men Who Crochet, the fiber fest was host to yarn stores, fabric stores, machine knitters, lace knitters, weavers and spinners, alpaca farms, the local quilt guild. There was so much going on, that I probably forgot to mention someone. And a huge thank you to Bente of Piedmont Yarn. Without her vision and hard work, this festival would never have happened. Enjoy our pics of the Fiber Fest and make plans to join us next year!

We're doing the Fair!

2010-06-17T19:12:00.000-07:00

Our first 3 days at the fair have been a barrel of fun. We have met some great people, shared our love of crochet with quite a few folks and even had time to check out some the things around us at the fair.

Saturday was a little hectic when we first arrived because we had 2 tables and had to set them up the way we wanted them. Anita was on hand to help with the set up and the booth for Saturday. Kris arrived later in the afternoon to relieve Anita. But she attended the pig races before she came to the booth. The heat index was the hottest day so far this year, but everyone' s spirits were up. Opening day is always a little crazy.

The winner of our Saturday drawing for the Cluster Hooded Scarf kit is Jennifer.

On Sunday, Penny and her sister, Kitty helped Cay and Peter man the booth. We had more interested folks stop by and work on make 'n take. We gave away brochures on our chapter, Project Linus, and Warm Up America.

Brad who knows Peter from Ravelry stopped by to say Hi and sat down and crocheted a coaster from our make 'n take table. He caught that Cay had not done the final round on the sample coaster. Shame on Cay! We are hoping that he will cross the water and come to one of our meetings.

Sunday, Yvette won the kit for the Autumn Breeze Pidge.

Tuesday was Seniors Day at the fair, and fortunately the heat level dropped to reasonable. Andy, Penny and Miss Mattie helped Cay talk to the folks who stopped by our booth. .Later in the day, Tom arrived to assist. We had quite a lot of interest in what we were doing. So many people told us they did crochet, or used to crochet. One lady told us that she has been crocheting for over 70 years! Since most were older, they were hesitant to come across the bay for our meetings, so we directed them to the CGOA chapter that meets in Redwood City. Hopefully, some of them will choose to participate there.

Tuesday's winner was Brenda and she received the Ridge Runner Fingerless Gloves kit.

We have 2 more drawings for kits on Saturday and Sunday. All you have to do is sign up for our blog. Please come by and say Hey. Enjoy the photos we've taken and stop again for updates on the fair and new photos.

Edited by Crafty Andy

San Mateo County Fair

2010-06-10T16:25:00.000-07:00

Wow! The fair opens Saturday, June 12, and runs thru Sunday, June 20. It sure came upon us fast. Seems like yesterday we were first discussing the possibility of working the fair.
Cay has spent the last 2 days helping at the fair in doing the display for the knit and crochet items. She has a brand new perspective of the volunteers who do this year after year! It is a lot of hard work, but also a lot of fun. She met several new folks who were so helpful in getting the supplies she wanted to set the displays up. Cay made a couple of suggestions to Julie, the coordinator for the Home Arts Dept, for next years displays. She hopes all the knitters and crocheters are pleased with the way their treasures are displayed this year.
Cay and Peter have been busy getting everything ready to take to the fair. Cay picked up some brochures from Alice on Tuesday for Project Linus, and the Warm Up America brochures arrived in today's mail. Those who are working all know when they are supposed to be there and if they haven't received them yet, their entry tickets are in the mail.
It should be a busy and fun 5 days. We are sharing info on our chapter, CGOA, Project Linus and Warm up America. In addition, we will have some flyers on the Oakland Fiber and Textile Festival. We will be doing demos, some make and take items, and daily raffles for kits including patterns and yarns for original designs by Peter and Cay.
Come see us at the San Mateo County Fair this next week. We will be in the booth on Sat, Sun, Tues, Sat, and Sun.

Meeting on 4/17/10

2010-05-01T17:08:00.000-07:00

My apologies for my tardiness in posting the minutes for our last meeting. I've been tripping over my life again.
Those in attendance were Mattie, Penny, Kris, Cay, Peter and Linda.
Everyone turned in their squares for the afghan for Steve. We need a few more so Penny, Cay, and Kris agreed to make 2 more each. Peter is doing the assembly, probably with Aran colored yarn.
The main discussion was the San Mateo County Fair . We decided we will man the booth/table on both weekends and Seniors Day for a total of 5 days during the fair this year. We are going to have 2 demos a day at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Kris will demo the diagonal, Cay will do the ripple and Peter will show how to do a cable and foundation stitches. We also will have a few make and go items. Kris will put together stuff for scrunchies, we will do glass/cup cozies, and coasters. Cay will provide free baby hat patterns/maybe kits. Cay will contact Alice to see if we can get some Project Linus brochures, and will call Mary Colucci for brochures for Warm Up America. Peter will see if he can get CGOA brochures. We will also have our bookmarks, calendars and postcards for the guild chapter. Peter will order a banner to place in our booth and Cay will acquire a folding clothes rack for display.Check the calendar for all the important dates for both San Mateo and Alameda county fairs. We will hold our June meeting at the Fair. and since this is Soiree month, we will find fair food for lunch.
We also discussed the Oakland Fiber Fest which will be the weekend following the SM fair. It is only about 6 hours, so should be a piece of cake after the fair. We will pick our most successful take & go and demos from the fair to do at the OFF. We will use PL brochures, WUA and CGOA brochures along with our guild materials.
Because we are becoming more involved in the community, the dues for next year will $20 and are due no later than the July meeting. If you can not pay the whole amount at one time, talk to Peter about making special arrangements.

Project Linus 4/13/10

2010-04-15T12:33:00.000-07:00

This month's meeting was held Tuesday evening. In attendance were Kris, Penny, and Cay. We turned in 7 afghans, 3 small flannel blankies with crocheted edgings and Kris contributed a very pretty quilt this month.
Here are the pics:

I'm also posting Alice's report on March here:

I'm sorry this is late. I've had computer problems..I think I'm back in business..

March was a slow month for us.. I received 53 blankets. and will take them out to Kaiser Oakland & Children's hospitals..We have now donated 2,521..GREAT JOB by all!!

Our next meeting is Tuesday, April 13th. It's .an evening meeting. so we will meet at 6:30-8pm..Hope to see you there..It's at Sisters & Stitches..3270 Seldon Ct...

Alice

Crochet Soiree`

2010-03-28T16:06:00.000-07:00

This group is the home of the original Crochet Soiree`. Peter started this in his home and it evolved into this chapter of CGOA.
That said, we have our soiree` quarterly and this was the first one in our new meeting place, Piedmont Yarn and Apparel.
We discussed Stitches a little and what we learned from that experience. Several members turned in their squares for Steve's afghan.
We had a special guest, Julie Curry, who is the head of the Creative Home Arts dept at the San Mateo County Fair. She told us what options we had for a table or booth to promote crochet during the fair. We can be there as much or as little as we wish. She encouraged all of us to participate in some way, entering competition, volunteering to display entered items, etc. She also explained why sometimes we find our entries inside out and upside down. Crocheters are not volunteering to help with the displays. Quilters don't know.
We also discussed participation in Oakland's first Fiber and Textile Festival in June.
This month, afghans led the way in show and tell. Anita, Linda, Mattie, Cay, Kris, and Tom all had an afghan to show off. Peter is working on an aran sweater with incredible cable work on it. Cay also had a new vest of her own design. Cookie is making some very small bears, inspired by the Mother Bear Project.
After our rollicking gift exchange, we wandered down the street to enjoy Chinese food.

Project Linus 3/9/10

2010-03-28T15:12:00.000-07:00

No one in the group made the meeting this month. It was a day meeting. But, never fear! Cay met up with Alice on Wednesday, and gave her the afghans we had for them. Without further ado, here are the pictures.

Cay out of the Booth

2010-03-04T09:19:00.000-08:00

My mind is still reeling with ideas I got at Stitches West this past weekend. I ran into a lady wearing a lovely knitted vest. I asked if I could take her pic so I can try to recreate it in crochet. She was thrilled to do so. And I had just bought what I think will be the perfect yarn for this project from Newtons Yarns. See! A meant to be.
I chatted with another wonderful creative lady who developed a clever accessory called Yarn Pull-Eze and will be sold exclusively at Jimmy Beans Wool starting April 1. How exciting is that? We've all had great ideas, but this lady followed thru.
I was gifted 3 hanks of Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino by Merilyn of FoxyKnits. I think I would like to make myself a shrug type wrap with this. I'm sure I don't have enuf yarn, so am thinking of using a solid color of Baby Ull to fill it out. Of course, looking for the perfect pattern.
I bought a wonderful wooden shawl pin, just becuz. I've always wanted one, but I'm not a big shawl wearer. I can't locate the receipt right this minute to tell you where I got it, but I loved her take on her shawl pins. You've just spent countless hours working up a shawl in wonderful yarn and the only thing anyone notices is the shawl pin you are wearing. How wrong is that? Her pins are subtle works of art.
My favorite part of the weekend, however, was the time I spent in the booth with other members of our little group. Some of these folks I don't know that well, and I feel I know them a little better.

Tom at Stitches West

2010-03-04T08:15:00.000-08:00

I purchased the crochet bear kit from the Mother Bear Project http://www.motherbearproject.org. It came with the pattern, a Chiao Goo bamboo G-hook, and three colors of yarn for making the bear.

I had a good time at Stitches West. I found some nice washable wool yarn in more sophisticated shades of yellow, orange, and red for another Aztec Sun round ripple afghan. On Friday morning I was at the Warm Up America! booth. I was really surprised at how many people came to the booth and how quickly we sold out of tote bags. We probably could have easily sold 200-300 bags. On Friday afternoon I had a sock knitting class that was very informative. On Sunday I had an all-day class on set-in sleeve construction. Although the class was a knitting class a lot of the information would be useful when designing a crochet sweater. I also bought some DK weight and some fingering weight yarn to make some vests for myself. I think I'll try to use the fingering weight yarn for a crochet vest.
Tom

Cookie on Stitches

2010-03-02T21:46:00.000-08:00

I went to Stitches for 3 days. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I took 3 market classes, one each day. The first one was double knit, the 2nd one was lace knitting and the 3rd one was called Knit one row below. I purchased a loom in a tube and a book on how to make some of the project using this loom. I purchased some yarns for my 3 classes and a couple of knitting needles I didn't have. I can't remember getting anything else.

I only made one rectangle for the Linus Foundation.

I had a lot of fun.

Kris's first Stitches West

2010-03-02T15:14:00.000-08:00

I had a great time at Stitches West. It was my first time going. I was overwhelmed by all the yarn and accessories available. It was fun sitting in the booth talking to people about WUA.

I was able to sit in on one of the demonstrations about adding beads to your knit and crochet projects which I thought was interesting.

As I was leaving, they had a couple of alpacas out front which was fun to pet. It reminded me of our visit to the alpaca farm.

All in all, I had a great experience at my first Stitches West.

Andy's Take on Stitches West

2010-03-02T09:47:00.000-08:00

Well One of the Highlights of my Stitches West was spending time at the Warm Up America Booth.I did get to talk to a lot of people in my breaks around the huge mall. One of the People was Karin Skacel, the owner of Skacel Company and there is some new Skacel Crochet Hooks on the works.I also got to chat with the Founder of Malabrigo yarns and they have come out with a superwash worsted way yarn, I was fortunate to receive a skein to test it myself. I also got the opportunity to give Toot's Le Blac another one of my hats for display with they yarns. Yarn has no distinction whether is crochet , knit or weaved, but I believe that the CGOA could have had a bigger say in the classes that were offered, if they offer to give classes that people could attend. I do not know the details of that, but is all on the Guild. If the Guild would have been able to recruit more people we could have promote more the Crochet part of Stitches West, I
believe Stitches West Would have been a 25 /75 crochet knit Event more than a 1 percent crochet. It is in my experience as a Tapestry Crochet Artisan I promote the Art of Crochet. More and more people need to look at their crochet as art, because it is. Let's see if in the future we can have more impact on events like this one, but if The CGOA does not motivate crocheters to participate is not going to happen. Knitters are very enthusiastic for whatever reason, but we can be very enthusiastic as well. We need to find ways of using yarns in a more creative way in crochet. As a matter of fact I know we do our part at the Men Who Crochet CGOA Chapter to promote crocheting beyond the basics.

As crocheters we need to get our mindset out of wherever it is and promote crochet. The attitude to have is HOW CAN I turn this event into a promotion for Crochet. Don't wait for people to make it easy for you to Crochet, make crochet a priority. Whatever fiber you use whether is acrylic, superwash merino, angora or plain twine, we need to make every opportunity a Crochet Moment. Do not try to compete with knitting; instead promote crochet as an Art, because it is. Even a simple Granny square is a work of art, only you can make the difference, nobody else is going to.

We are hoping to have a more influential venue in the fiber community by participating in the creative process and making a show in the field. I hope that all of you get to follow our blog. We also need to have some guidelines from the CGOA for our blog, I do not know if there is such a thing. We may also want to review, yarns, hooks, and interview crocheters that have come to our attention. Anyway enough for today, but remember that we can only have a presence if we show them we are here.

You can see Andy's crafts at
1. http://www.CraftyAndy.net
2. http://home.earthlink.net/~apnevarez

Stitches West

2010-03-02T09:16:00.000-08:00

Wow! What a weekend of total sensory overload! Our guild chapter manned the Warm Up America booth at Stitches West. We had a great time, met lots of really nice folks and had plenty of time for classes and shopping.
The Warm Up America booth was in the first aisle amidst very good company, The Lace Knitters Guild, CGOA, TKGA, The Embroiders Guild, WUA, then the Foxyknits booth finished off the aisle.
Peter and Cay arrived around 3:30 on Thursday evening to find Tom already in the booth. He wasn't even on Thursday's schedule. We opened the boxes from WUA and found one afghan for display, some squares for assembly, brochures and some Vanna's Choice yarn to work with. We had a long table and 2 straight back chairs. We requested an easel for our poster and a couple more chairs. Thursday was a market preview for folks signed up for classes over the weekend, so it was a short evening.
Friday morning, Peter and Cay arrived with a small folding table and a laundry rack to use as a quilt rack. We hung the completed afghan on the laundry rack and used the small table for the overflow for squares and yarn. By the time Cay & Peter arrived, Tom had already scoped out the blocks and had planned a layout for assembling what we had to start. People dropped by all day picking up brochures and buying the special bags and dropping off more blocks.. We were completely sold out of the bags before noon! How great is that? When we told them to pull the bag from the fashion show, they told us we had sold more bags in the first half day than any other Stitches event had for their whole weekend. We had 50 and could probably have sold 200. Maybe next year. Tom and Andy were our folks taking turns in the booth Friday..
Kris arrived bright and early on Saturday for her turn in the booth. By noon on Saturday, we were completely out of the brochures that were provided by WUA. So, we asked for 200 copies. We must be good! We ran out of both bags and brochures less than half way thru the weekend. Audrey and Kitty relieved Kris in the booth mid-day and we continued to spread the word. Andy was back at Stitches with some friends and popped in and out during the day as did Cookie, who was taking market session classes.
Marikka had everything under control Sunday morning when Cay arrived. Tom popped in and out a couple of times during the breaks in his all day class. People were fascinated with the method of joining that Marikka was using, so she demo'd her method as she passed out literature on WUA. Audrey came back in the afternoon and stayed until the final bell!
Recap: we sold all 50 tote bags. We passed out probably 400 brochures. We assembled one complete ghan and most of a second. Very productive weekend, both for Warm Up America, and Men Who Crochet.

Small but Lively group

2010-02-20T16:31:00.000-08:00

Our group was small today, but very lively. In attendance were Peter, Andy, Audrey (new kid on the block), Cay, Tom and Cookie.
Audrey has dual citizenship between CA and GA, so she will attend our meetings when she is in CA. Welcome aboard!
Since Stitches West is next weekend, we discussed picking up credentials, helping out in the booth anytime that can be spared from other activities. Cay brought in some sample rectangles from the suggested patterns provided by the Yarn Craft Council. She also had handouts with info on Warm Up America, joining the rectangles, and suggested crochet and knit patterns. We can use any pattern, but they had a few suggestions. We will have handouts for both Warm Up America and our guild chapter. The chapter has pocket calendars, bookmarks, and a post card to let the world know we are here and ready to crochet!
Peter talked about the Crochet Guild of America (CGOA) and some of the benefits of being a member. He handed out copies of the ChainLink newsletter from the latest copy of Crochet! magazine, which is the official magazine for CGOA. This insert is not available either on the newstands or subscriptions. It is for CGOA members only. Peter explained that it is not a requirement to be a CGOA member to be a member of our chapter, but there are definite advantages and discounts available to CGOA members.
We briefly discussed the San Mateo County Fair and how we anticipate being involved this year. We have not heard back from the lady in charge of the Home Arts Dept, so we are guessing that the email we have is for fair use only and she has not checked it recently.
March is National Crochet Month, and Bente of Piedmont Yarn is letting us take over her front window for at least part of the month. She will be displaying crochet items that she has the patterns for sale (local designers), and items that are in the store on consignment will be spotlighted. Crochet classes are being increased for the month. Thanks so much, Bente, for your support.
Show and Tell: Peter is crocheting his Key Tab Vest for a friend in Baby Ull yarn. He is also working on an Aran sweater for commission. Andy was sporting a new hat that he has the pattern for sale on his Ravelry page. Cay had an afghan done in sunrise colors and a wave pattern for Project Linus. She also brought in some flowers to leave for Bente for the class she is teaching in March. Tom brought in 2 afghans for Project Linus. One was a large granny square that he did when snowbound in New Jersey without another project to work on. The other is a Tunisian mitered square afghan in bright purple variegated yarn. He is currently working on a 32 point round ripple named Aztec Sun. Cookie is working on a scarf made with some silk yarn that she spun herself.
We did not do a lesson or technique today, so we finished the meeting by having coffee, cookies and conversation.

Project Linus 2/9/10

2010-02-11T10:43:00.000-08:00

Penny, Kris and Cay attended the Project Linus meeting yesterday evening. It was held at a cute little quilt shop in Fremont, Sisters N Stitches. We turned in 14 afghans this month. Kris also contributed one quilt. Good job! Here are the pics for your pleasure.

New Year, New location, New Blog

2010-01-17T09:13:00.000-08:00

We held our first meeting of the year at our new location, Piedmont Yarn & Apparel (aka PYA) yesterday.

In attendance were Cay, Peter, Andy, Penny, Kris and Mattie. We met in the classroom at the store, which was wonderful.

Our first order of biz was Stitches West. Our humble little group will be manning the Warm Up America booth, #115, from the minute Stitches opens on 2/25 at 5 pm until it closes on 2/28 at 4 pm. We passed around a schedule, and everyone chose the hours they would like to be in the booth. At the end of the show, there will be afghans that will need a home. We decided to donate to Project Linus, since we already support that charity. Cay will contact Alice at PL to make arrangements.

We are celebrating National Crochet Month with our quarterly Soiree at PYA. We will talk to Bente about doing a special display for the month. Bente is scheduling almost nothing but crochet classes during March, including a couple of additional instructors. We will post more about that schedule as we have it.

We are each crocheting 12" squares in earth tones to make an afghan for Steve, to thank him for the 3 years he let us use the Telegraph Community Center. He is moving back to Indiana in the early summer.

Bente spoke with us about the yarn she has in the store and some possible less expensive yarns that she can carry. Always fun to pet new yarns.

Peter demo'd/taught foundation stitches. Something most of have tried and failed at more than once. He showed us, we got it, hurray!

Show and Tell:

Peter is working on his sweater in hand-dyed yarn, finished the Shifting Sands Shell in smaller sizes, and drum roll, please, has one of his vest patterns, the Key Tab Vest, in the current issue of Crochet! magazine. Congrats, Peter!.

Andy did a beautiful vest with a zipper in Noro Silk Garden. He has also done a couple of goody bags and more hats, of course.

Penny brought 2 diagonal box stitch afghans that she finally conquered to show off. She has started on her third, so she doesn't forget the pattern.

Kris brought a large granny square afghan that she is working on for PL.

Mattie, of course, had more small ghans for PL.

Cay showed off her Comfy Cables hat, scarf (modified for recipient) and mittens in Wool-Ease. She also had a pair of fingerless gloves that she designed and was searching for a name. She was wearing the Crazy Eights Vest crocheted in Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn.

Our last order of biz was this blog. We knew we needed a presence on the web, but no one currently in our group has the skills to set up and maintain a website. So, we decided to go with a blog instead. Andy, Peter and Cay will work together to develop and maintain this blog.

As you can see, Andy already has us up and running. We will be adding more features as time goes by. Stay tuned.

Our next meeting will be 2/20 at noon at PYA.