Meeting Highlights: Joining Motifs

The November meeting was dedicated to methods of joining motifs.  Here are some points to remember.

Jeanne's motif samples

The method used to join individual motifs can be a design element.  Whether sewing or crocheting individual motifs together, you have three choices:  bottom loop only, top loop only, or both loops.  You can even join motifs with chains that zigzag between motifs.

When doing join as you go, you have several choices:  slip stitch or single crochet into a loop, or crochet directly into one chain of the loop. 

Some patterns require the unraveling of part of the last round of a motif.  When doing so, leave a long tail so that you don’t run the risk of running out of yarn when completing the join.

Motifs don’t have to be discreet elements.  Some lace patterns create the illusion of motifs; one row creates the bottom of the “motif” and the next creates the top.  The book “Seamless Crochet” specializes in such designs.  Robin Chachula’s Madison Scarf, another example of this technique, is a strip of linked circles that appears to be joined motifs.  The main problem with this type of construction is that if you make a mistake in one “motif”, you must frog an entire row to fix the error.

No matter how you create your motifs or join them, weaving in all the ends can be a big pain.

There will be two December meetings.  The regular meeting will be our annual stash buster.  Trade books, magazines or yarns that you don’t want for something else.  Someone’s unwanted stash is someone else’s treasure.  Last year’s hot items were vintage copies of Decorative Crochet and Magic Crochet.  We will have a special Fifth Saturday meeting at the American Swedish Institute, with an opportunity to view a special lace exhibition.  Check the blog for more information on these special events.

Our membership year runs from January to December.  Membership renewal forms were distributed at the November meeting and will be available at the December meetings.  If you have not received your renewal form, one can be emailed one to you.

Give some serious thought to being an officer.  We’re a pretty collegial bunch, but it still helps to have some established leadership.  The current Board is putting together a description of our duties, since some of our tasks are nontraditional and probably unexpected.  For example, the Secretary doesn’t take minutes, she produces the blog.  If this intrigues you, let us know.