American Swedish Institute: December 29 5th Saturday Outing

We hope you can join us Saturday, December 29 for a special Fifth Saturday outing. If you're new to our group, you're probably asking "What is Fifth Saturday?" Anytime a month has five Saturdays, we plan an informal get-together - no class, no agenda, just a chance to visit and to (optionally) do informal crocheting. Since this Fifth Saturday is right in the midst of the holiday season, we looked around for something special and found out that the American Swedish Institute (ASI) Museum in Minneapolis currently has two very interesting exhibits. And since the Institute also has a cafe, it's really is the perfect spot because Fifth Saturdays usually include time for lunch or coffee.

So here's the details:

• ASI is located at 2600 Park Avenue, Minneapolis MN 55407. For complete directions and parking information, click this link.
• The two current exhibits are Treasured Threads: Nordic Lace and A Nordic Christmas. Some of our members have already seen the Nordic Lace exhibit and say it is well worth the admission price - but you might want to bring a magnifying glass, some of the lace is that delicate and fine.
• The Museum is open on Saturdays from 10am-5pm and admission to the exhibits is $7 per person ($6 for ages 62+). If you only join us for lunch/coffee in the FIKA Cafe, there is no admission charge.
• As far as a schedule, remember that this meeting is very informal so we want to give people the option of touring the exhibits either before or after lunch - or only joining the group for lunch.
• If you want to tour the exhibits as a group before lunch, please meet in the Cafe by 10:15pm.
• If you want to join us for lunch, please meet in the FIKA Cafe from 12 noon to approximately 1:30pm.
• If you want to view the exhibits as a group after lunch, please meet in the Cafe by 1:45 pm

We hope to see you at our outing. And if we don't see you there, we wish you happy holidays and a wonderful new year!

Meeting Highlights: Destash Swap Meet

First, a few items of chapter business:

Winter's here, which means there's always the chance we will have to cancel a meeting due to bad weather. We have a meeting cancellation policy posted on our blog. If the weather seems iffy on meeting day, be sure to check your email or the blog; we will send out an email and post a message on the blog before a noon deadline.

The Crochet Guild of America has a new website and chapter newsletter. Anyone can view the website but only members can view the newsletter.

Membership renewals for 2013 are due in January - see membership form and dues schedule for addtional information. Then, as our bylaws state, February will be our Annual Meeting where we elect officers for the year. If you are interested in running for an office, contact us through ctclist@gmail.com.

Books and magazines

Yarn awaiting adoption

The December meeting was our annual destash.  Members brought books, hooks and yarn to trade or send to a new home. The most popular item raffled was a nine-skein bag of linen/cotton yarn. The most popular book item was actually a stack of vintage Magic Crochet magazines which was put up for adoption as single issues.  Lynn always carried with her a list of the Decorative Crochet and Magic Crochet she owns; this way she can avoid collecting duplicates--of course, she can always bring her duplicates to next year's destash as there will always be takers for those issues.

Our next meeting will be January 12th.  Carol will tell us all about yarn, everything from how it is made, to the qualities of different fibers, to how to estimate yardage a couple of cool tools.  Hope to see you there.

Project Gallery December 2012

Instead of buying those expensive disposable floor cleaner pads and dusting wand refills, why not follow Jodi's example and crochet some re-usable pads?  Before using, spray with a little Endust to increase the dust-collecting property.


Jodi intends to work her way through Dora Ohrenstein's sweater book.  This close-up of Jodi's first effort shows the side seam, done in a mattress stitch.  Seams can be tough when using a fine yarn and a lacy stitch pattern.  The yarn is a fingering weight.

Once again, photos just don't do justice to Joy's handiwork.  This doily (in size 20 cotton thread) utilizes seed beads in the pineapples.  You have to look close to the the tiny gold beads against the white yarn, but in real life, those pineapples sparkle in the light.

Marilee is continuing her series of vintage copies.  The original is on the left, her copy on the right.
 One of the challenges is that modern yarns aren't quite the same weight as vintage yarns, resulting in a project that doesn't have the same thickness as the original.

This pearl cotton necklace hasn't been blocked.  Maxine hasn't decided whether to block it or not.  It does curl a bit, but you can still tell it is a string of Christmas lights.

This is another Maxine project, crocheted from Pastaza, a discontinued yarn that is half llama, half wool.  These star motifs are part of a large shawl.  The challenge of using a discontinued yarn is finding enough to complete your project if you run out.

Joan's project was the result of a request from a little boy who loves ninjas.  Joan crocheted a jacket, mitts and a balaclava (to hide the ninja's identity).  This young warrior is a black belt in martial arts.  No, the model isn't Joan and it isn't a little boy.  Do you know who it is?


Lynn didn't want to have this simple coaster photographed because it hasn't been blocked yet, but we've included it here because of the interesting yarn she used.  This company specializes in hand-dyed yarns in colors inspired by Chile.  A simple stitch can show off a variegated or space-dyed yarn.