Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Project Gallery September 2011

Jodi finished her doily at last, and it is stunning.

Here is a detail from a shawl that Julie is crocheting.


Peggy is using a new yarn, Lion Brand Amazing, to crochet a cowl. She has finished the project. We look forward to seeing the end result--the colors are terrific.

Meeting Highlights: Reading Patterns and Charts

The September meeting focused on reading patterns and charts, but the biggest hurdle to overcome was doing the Foundation Single Crochet with which the pattern started.

Some things to remember when doing foundation chains:
  • Starting and stopping while chaining can result in an unsightly stitch in the middle of the row.  To correct this, frog back to the stitch before the unsightly one, making it easier to get back to uniformity.
  • Foundation chains are not limited to single crochet, but can also be done in hdc, dc and tr stitches.
Something to remember when attempting a new pattern:
  • Read the pattern through before starting so you are familiar with the stitches and how the pattern progresses.
  • If there is a chart, read the pattern through before starting, then compare written instructions to the chart to see whether you can rely on the chart alone (at the Conference, there were many complaints that one or the other was "off" and you don't know until you start to crochet).
  • Always go to the back of the magazine or book to see how that particular publisher designates stitches before starting your project; while the basics are the same (sc, dc, tr, etc), there are differences where post, cluster, and bobbles are concerned.
  • Print off a copy of your pattern before you start and keep it with your project.  When dealing with a pattern in a magazine, you might want to make multiple blown-up copies that you cut out and paste in a single column on another sheet of paper, making it easier to make notes and follow your pattern.
  • Use a sticky note to mark your progress through the pattern.  If your pattern says something like "repeat rows 4 through 8 until project measures X inches long," make sure you write on your sticky note the row number of the pattern repeat where you stopped.
 We meet again on October 8th at Borealis Yarns.  We will work on UFOs--unfinished objects.  Bring along a work in progress for an afternoon of chat and crochet.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Update: Finding New Location (September 2011)

There is now a google doc available to record details about options for a new meeting location. Click (was the link, no longer active) to view the document or to edit it (anyone who clicks on the link is authorized to edit the document). As you'll see, it's a spreadsheet style document with our criteria listed on the left and then a column for each specific location (three listed at this point ) with details about how whether they match our criteria.

In addition to the locations listed, several people have suggested public meeting rooms at one of the counties in our area (Hennepin and Ramsey are the two that are within the central corrider). Hennepin County rooms, including libraries, are listed and can be reserved at http://www.hclib.org/pub/info/meetingrooms/ but we cannot reserve any one room more than three months in advance. Ramsey County libraries rooms are listed on http://www.rclreads.org/services/meeting-rooms but you have to contact individual libraries for reservation information.

At this point, we are still collecting location information. You can help by collecting the type of details you see in the document and it's easy for anyone to add information directly to the document.
  • If you have a new location to list, create a new entry in the first empty column to the right, with detailed information as shown with the other three entries.
  • If you have comments about any of the locations listed, add a comment in a new cell at the bottom of the column.
If you prefer not to edit the document directly, please send the details to Maxine and she will add to the document in your behalf.