Monday, March 11, 2024

How to embellish your crochet projects

 

19 members attended our March 9 meeting, and it was such a great meeting.  Education was surface embellishment on your crochet projects.  Marissa did a fantastic job introducing us to 3 methods for embellishing crochet projects, including slip stitch, cross stitch & embroidery.   

AJ's project
3-d printed tools
Show and tell is always fun, but I think the highlight was Andrew's 3-d printed swift & yarn winder. While he's not taking orders (rats!!!), Andrew was generous enough to offer to donate a door prize for our June meeting, and another for the destash in November.   

Our March 23rd meetup will be at Rosedale Center in Roseville, and based on recent months, I expect to see a lot of friendly faces and some new ones as well.  As usual, there will not be a meeting on April 13 due to the yarn shop hop.  There's still space for a couple more people in Brenda's van, so don't hesitate to email or call to reserve your spot.  If you are shop hopping on your own, but would like to meet up with us, send an email to ctclist@gmail.com to get a copy of the itinerary. We will meetup at the Mall of America in Bloomington on April 27.  

In May we'll be at the Wescott Library in Eagan with Gloria sharing her experience with Red Heart's All in One Granny Square Yarn, and leading us in a fun project.   For June, we'll be road tripping to Isanti, Brenda has offered her van, and I'm sure there will be a couple of carpool options.   We'll discuss details at the May meeting.

We had a lot of discussion at the board meeting and it was great to have so many members stick around to participate and share their thoughts with us.   We'll be creating a survey to get feedback from everyone, so please look for the link in the April newsletter and on the blog in early April.  

Monday, February 26, 2024

Leap, jump and hop with Crochet Twin Cities

picture of gathering
February 24 meet up at the MOA
 
There were 30 members and guests at the February meetup.  It was wonderful to see everyone and welcome 5 new members who joined - that makes 13 new members in 2024, be sure to welcome them when you see them at meetings & meetups.  Seeing so many people crocheting together is enough to make me want to jump with joy.  One of our new members Amelia is making some adorable hoppers: you can find CrochetCroChey's pattern for Froggy Pops in her Etsy shop. 
Froggy Pop

Note: We are missing contact information for 3 of the new members: Jo, Heather H & Katy.  If you know them or see them, please have them reach out to ctclist@gmail.com to update their email address & phone number.

As we leap into March, I am looking forward to our next meeting on March 9, at Penn Lake Library with surface crochet being taught by Marissa.  There will be a board meeting this month as well - the agenda will be included in the newsletter and all members are invited to participate in the board meeting. 
MOA meetup in February
Next up: in April we Yarn Shop Hop. Our navigator and driver are working out the route, for maximum yarnification (is that word?).  8 members are currently signed up for Friday, and 9 are planning on Saturday.  There's still room for a few more, and it's never too late to sign up (unless we fill up first); email ctclist@gmail.com or use the member roster to send a text or call if you make a last-minute decision to join us.  Last year Ann met us at Needle & Skein since it was close to home, If you live near a shop and just want to meet us there, we'd love to see you.  


Sunday, February 11, 2024

Don't fall victim to CROMO - Join CTC and experience CROJO

Thermal Crochet 
I really suffered from FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) knowing that I would not be able to attend the February 10 Crochet Twin Cities meeting.  And even though the conference I attended instead was very valuable, I am still struggling with ROMO (Regret of Missing Out).  I guess it's really just an overall symptom of my constant CROMO - fear of missing out on crochet!  

I've heard rave reviews of the excellent education on thermal crochet provided by Tony and will admit to being envious of all those who were able to attend.  Check out the reel from the February 10th meeting on the CTC Instagram. 

Instead of CROMO, you can experience CROJO - crochet joy, by joining us at a meeting or meet up. Check out our calendar for the details for the February meet up at the Mall of America, and the March meeting and meet up.

Looking ahead: March's education topic is surface crochet with Marissa instructing us. In April, we'll be yarn shop hopping, email ctclist@gmail.com to sign up for the hop, or if you are interested in planning an alternative meeting for those who won't be participating in the Yarn Shop Hop.  Visit the Minnesota Yarn Shop Hop website for general details the hop.  In May, we'll meet at the Wescott Library in Eagan.  Our topic will be granny squares, and Gloria will share her experience with Red Heart's new granny square yarn.  For June, we'll be road-tripping to Isanti for a potluck at Susi's. Carpooling information will be available closer to June. 

I am working on recovering from my CROMO and experiencing CROJO by participating in Marly Bird's Game Day Make-A-Long.  Enjoy the Super Bowl, commercials, half-time show or whatever brings you joy today!  See you at the Mall!  Theresa

Saturday, February 3, 2024

Thermal Crochet to Warm your Heart and Head

Reversible Thermal Stitch Hat w/ Ponytail Hole by Mountain Fiber Works 

You are in for an especially sweet treat on February 10.  Tony will teaching thermal stitch using a pattern for a reversible hat, with (or without) a hole for a ponytail at the Maplewood Library There will be a virtual option available, see our calendar for details.  The pattern is being sent to members via the newsletter.  Guests and friends of CTC can find a copy of the pattern in Ravelry: Thermal Beanie w/ Ponytail Hole pattern by Mountain Fiber Works.

2023 MN Yarn Shop Hop

The Minnesota Yarn Shop Hop will be taking place April 11-14.  Last year's hop was so much fun, that Crochet Twin Cities will be hopping together again on Friday & Saturday.  If you missed it last year, you can read all about it in our blog archive Crochet Twin Cities: April 2023,  We would love to have you join us for either or both days. Our route will be planned out to incorporate all of the shops over the course of 2 days, plus a stop for lunch (plan to bring or buy your own lunch).  To ride along in Brenda's 14 passenger van, send an email to ctclist@gmail.com to reserve your space; plan to contribute $5.00 to help cover the cost of gas, to be collected on the day of the hop.   

I've been wondering if members would be interested in forming a "hospitality" committee. The committee's role would be to create ways of celebrating and supporting members. One of our members gave me the perfect way to test out the idea. Sara is expecting a baby in July. I would like to ask all interested members to make a 4" x 4" (approx.) square in a dk weight (size 3) yarn and get it to me by the end of May.  I will assemble the squares into a blanket for baby & mom. Be creative, make a square in your favorite color(s), team colors, use your favorite motif, or a new stitch or technique you want to learn. The only limit is your imagination (and a modicum of good taste)! If you have ideas, suggestions or questions, please let me know.

See you soon! Theresa

Sunday, January 28, 2024

Crochet in the Classroom: Lorraine


We received an email from one of our members, that just had to be a blog post! Lorraine writes: 
Photo of temperature color chart
Snakey
Color Chart
Inspired by my first connection to Crochet Twin Cities in early 2023, the mention of a Temperature Snake intrigued me. A friend had done a Temperature Afghan but I was not willing to take on that task. A Temperature Snake seemed like a more manageable, fun project.
My husband George was my color consultant, and we came up with a chart. The google eyes would add personality along with a quirky smile. We named him Snakey. Snakey kept growing growing quietly and the color changes progressed with the season.
The hot summer had lots of 90-degree days while there were only 3 days under 10 degrees in 2023. Yes, this was Minnesota. The December final countdown came and Snakey would be finished. He happily was ready to be revealed to our family. He was a huge surprise and especially amazed by our daughter Amy, the Kindergarten Teacher. 
Maybe Snakey could make a visit to her classroom? The Kindergarteners loved Snakey! They not only talked about the weather, but they used him in a "measurement" lesson in Math! Everyone made "predictions" as to how many rulers ("feet") long he is. Alberto was the winner with 10 feet! Snakey is currently curled up residing in the classroom. He is happy watching the kids each day. He might be thinking how the color changes would be different for the 2024 temperatures. He is happy being the one and only! Lorraine