Project Gallery December 2013

Is this cute or what?  Joan finished her Raggedy Ann doll, made from a pattern no longer available.  Joan went further than the traditional red heart on Raggedy Ann’s chest; she embroidered a personal message to her granddaughter, the recipient of this toy. As always, very nice work on kids’ stuff.

Joan has also been busy creating snowflakes.  She stiffened with Stiffi (a product available at craft stores and dusted with ultra-fine “fairy dust glitter” for a subtle sparkle.







Jo adapted a Lion Brand pattern for a reader’s shawl by using hairpin lace to seam the rows of mitered squares together.  The yarn used is Red Heart Boutique Treasure, which she “killed” with a steam iron to increase drape.

Jo made this moebius cowl out of a wool/mohair blend handspun purchased at Shepherd’s Harvest; the pattern is by Marty Miller.


Jo’s wristlets were crocheted from Lion Brand Tweed Stripes—this is becoming a popular pattern and yarn among members.

Here’s something you don’t see everyday:  two members displaying scarves using the same pattern.  Carol’s version of the Featherand Fan Scarf pattern (free on Ravelry) used a G hook and a single skein of SunValley Fibers hand-dyed fingering-weight merino/cashmere/silk blend yarn purchased as a bit of retail therapy.  Rosemary used Lion Brand Amazing to make two gifts that will provide a bit of cushy luxury to their recipients.  You can see by these examples how a yarn’s loft affects stitch definition.  What we can’t show you is how a yarn’s fiber content affects drape.

Oh yes, and when Rosemary wraps her gifts, the packages will be adorned with these little stars; she used a C hook and a pattern from mooglyblog.com.

Jeanne missed the last few meetings but hasn’t missed a chance to be creative.  Yeah, yeah, these socks are knit—but they’re also beautiful and great examples of Jeanne’s fiber skills.

As for this alpaca men’s vest, it made it’s first appearance here as a work-in-progress many months ago.  Jeanne has now finished it and added a hand-sewn zipper closure.  Really, folks, you have to feel this one to believe it—that alpaca is so silky soft.  If only my work could be so uniform and perfect as this (my stuff definitely appears home-made, if you know what I mean).

Mary continues her work with thread.  This work-in-progress is a purse made out of black cotton #10 thread and about a zillion pop-top can rings.  What stitch?  It’s all single crochet.

Maxine used two skeins of Lamb’s Pride Bulky to make this moebius cowl.  The yarn was a gift from a wife of a friend’s friend.  This officially gives you permission to buy whatever yarn you want, even if you know in your heart of hearts that you won’t ever use it, because that yarn will always find a home with someone who will.

We didn't get a picture (maybe next time) but Linda is continuing her amigurumi ways with a work-in-progress hedgehog.  It is basically an egg shape that starts at the nose and continues on to the hind end.

This is a reminder that it is winter and local shelters need warm hats and scarves.  Carla, who heads our community out-reach efforts, has provided these contributions.

Meeting Highlights: Annual Business Meeting 2013

This is a brief recap of our annual business meeting for those members who were not able to attend.

2014 Officers
We elected new officers for 2014. Congratulations to the following people, we appreciate your willingness to work to keep our strong and growing:

• President: Julie
• Vice-President: Joan
• Secretary: Theresa
• Treasurer: Jodi

Maxine steps into the role of immediate Past President and rounds out the Board. The first meeting of the new Board will be held on Saturday, January 11 - before our normal monthly meeting to start planning yearly goals and activities.

Change to guest policy
The other business item that members approved was a change to our guest policy - the fee for any monthly meeting for guests is now $5) and clarification of our pro-rate schedule for members who join mid-year. These updates will be posted to the blog soon.

After our business meeting, we had our yearly member swap featuring something new this year - crochet bingo! It was fun. If you didn't make it this year, just remember that it's one more member benefit and plan to join us next year.

Annual Member Business Meeting: December 14 Meeting Preview

This month's meeting is a little different than normal in that we do not have an education component. Like all meetings, it will be held from 1PM to 3Pm at the Textile Center of Minnesota - with open crochet from 11AM to 1PM.


In accordance with our bylaws, the December meeting "shall be known as the Annual Meeting and shall include election of officers for the next year, receiving reports of officers, and any other business that might arise." After the business meeting, the rest of our time together will be a Christmas party including our annual Destash Extravaganza. (This picture shows some of the items that were traded at last year's meet - the cat was not part of the swap, he sneaked into the picture when the photographer wasn't looking.)

Because the focus of this meeting is the annual business, it is a member-only meeting and not open to guests. However, if you become a 2014 member at the December meeting (dues are $24 for the year, click here for a membership form), you too can participate in the annual meeting and the destash extravaganza.

We'll be back to an open meeting with an education offering on January 11 2014. Watch the blog for a meeting preview!

Project Gallery November 2013

Sarah brought in a bunch of things to share—all made with her own designs.  She has a definite flair for color work and tapestry crochet in thread.  Add a few beads to a tiny bag and you have an amulet case.  Make a little larger bag, stuff it and close it up and you have juggling balls.  Make it larger yet and you have a purse or grocery bag.

Deborah has only been crocheting for three months.  This is her very first finished project!  Make several long narrow strips in different colors, braid them together, and you have an elegant cowl.  What a nice way to practice your stitches and have something to show for it.

Linda the Amigurumi Queen (also a new crocheter) has been busy making making gifts.  Pete the Cat, a character in a children’s book, is very popular.  And who could resist this adorable bear?   After spending hours trying to get the face just right on the cat, she used safety eyes on the bear.

Jen visited an alpaca farm in Backus, MN, and brought back samples.  She used some of her stash to make a hat and scarf set and a cowl.

Mary is another fan of thread crochet.  You have to look closely (just click on the image) to see all the tiny beads incorporated in this lovely collar--and don't miss the three clear buttons.

Maxine has been exploring the African flower motif, which can be combined to make just about anything, including some interesting toys and clothing.  If you like working with colors, you might give this hexagonal motif a try.

Rosemary likes a bit of glitz.  She crocheted this interesting necklace and earrings set.

Julie crocheted this V-shaped wrap using Lion Brand Heartland worsted yarn.  The picture shows the right and wrong sides of the wrap—and both sides look great!

Two Options: November 30 Fifth Saturday Outing

Saturday November 30 is Fifth Saturday again! If you're a member or you follow our blog, you know what that means - any time a month has five Saturdays, we plan an informal get-together to crochet and chat. And even though it's a holiday weekend, a number of members wanted to gather - so we've actually come up with two separate outings; you can do one or both (or even make up your own).

• Option 1 begins at 11:00 AM in the community room of the condo where one of our members lives. Rosemary has graciously offered to be the "hostess with the most-est" for this gathering and will be providing a light lunch (Sloppy Joes, chips, etc) and beverages (coffee and water). The community room will be setup with tables so bring your project bags and your crochet hooks. Julie will be on hand to help with cables if anybody has questions from the last meeting or wants to continue working on their sampler. The condo is in the western suburbs; directions and details will be in the email from ctclist - so watch your inbox!
• Option 2 begins at 1:00 PM at the Dunn Brothers at 530 University Ave SE, Minneapolis for crochet, chat, and coffee. If you've never been to this coffee shop, it's nice and spacious and has some great ratings on social media. It's near the intersection of 6th and University, just west of I-35 W; for more information, this link is a google map with directions and  this link will take you to the store's Facebook page.

And, finally, there's really a third option too. Remember the Saturday after Thanksgiving is now known as Small Business Saturday - so if you can't come to one of these outings, maybe you can treat yourself to a trip to your local yarn shop!

Meeting Highlights: Crochet Cables

Crochet Twin Cities has been busy in November, and we are only up to November 9!

• On November 2, a contingent of members staffed a large round table at the Fall Fiber Festival in Hopkins with a great variety of samples to entice people to stop and talk. Jodi demonstrated hairpin lace and attracted a lot of attention that way too. 
• On November 7, Rosemary and Julie participated in the Textile Center "Do or Dye" fundraiser where participants could try all kinds of textile-related crafts. The Crochet Guild table was busy the entire evening teaching people to crochet and handing out brochures and business cards.

Our November 9 meeting started off with introductions and a business meeting.

• As we enter winter, members are reminded that we have a weather policy. If the meeting is cancelled due to weather conditions, a note will be posted on the blog and emails will be sent. If the weather looks "iffy", be sure to check your email and computer before traveling to the Textile Center.
• This November, a 5th Saturday falls on Thanksgiving weekend. Despite the holiday, a number of members wanted to get together. We discussed ideas and, since the meeting, have come up with several options, see separate blog post for details.
• The program committee has reviewed the surveys, and announced that one ongoing project next year will be a crochet-along sweater. There was great interest in learning how to make garments that fit so this project will address that interest. We will work on the sweater throughout the year.
• Membership dues are due by December 31. Jodi will be collecting dues at the December 14 meeting. If you want to write a check, make it payable to her rather than Crochet Twin Cities.
• We are coming to the end of our membership year, and we will hold officer elections at the annual member meeting, which is held in the normal December time slot. The Vice-President and Secretary positions are open; contact Maxine or Julie if you are interested.
• December is also our popular Annual Destash Meeting so members are invited to bring any yarn, patterns, books, magazines or crochet tools you no longer want to keep . Hotly contested items will be decided by raffle ticket. Bring treats if you like, and we there may be a game or two of Crochet Bingo planned too.

After Show & Tell, Maxine, Julie and Jean introduced the steps in making crochet cables. There are three ways to make cables: post stitches, Tunisian, and slipstitch techniques. Our class was based on the post stitch method at three different skill levels. Instructions were provided in written and chart form. Hints were provided about hook size, yarn type and stitch length as well as the warning that it is easy to accidentally add stitches so pay attention to your stitch count! Jean brought several of her prize-winning afghans with cables for us to examine for inspiration.

Crochet Cables: November 9 Meeting Preview

If you think beautiful cables are just for knitting, think again! At this month's meeting we'll learn how to use post stitches to create beautiful crochet cables - from simple to advanced. During the class, you'll have the opportunity to work on a sampler that matches your skill level.

This photo shows a close-up sample of a variety of crochet cable stitches. Think of all the projects you can make when you master this technique: beautiful Aran sweaters, textured afghans, sturdy bags and pouches. If you need some inspiration about what you can do with cables, just take a look at Jean's prize-winning State Fair afghans - both afghans are great examples of what you can do with crochet cables!
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We invite all interested Twin City crocheters to join us Saturday, November 9 at the Textile Center of Minnesota. The meeting will be from 1pm to 3pm but you're welcome to join us from 11am to 1pm for open crochet.

To get the most out of the meeting, you will need to bring the following materials:

• A light-colored yarn of your favorite weight that is suitable for cables. We can't stress enough that you need to use light colors for cables to show up best and no short-repeat multi-colors, it has to be a long gradual color change like the brown swatch in the picture (Mini Mochi by Crystal Palace). You'll want to make sure the yarn has good stitch definition - tightly twisted or perhaps a single ply.
• A hook suitable for the yarn you've chosen).

We hope to see you there!

Meeting Highlights: Irish Lace Crochet (Part 2)

The Textile Center of Minnesota is our new meeting place, and we love it here! There is great light, a podium for the presenters, lots of tables and chairs. Best of all, we have the space from 11:00 am until 3:00 pm so folks can come early for "open crochet" and visiting.

At the recent October 12 meeting, we started with member and visitor introductions, then reviewed some housekeeping details:

• Parking directly behind the Textile Center is very limited so be sure to review the parking information found at http://www.textilecentermn.org/map/. If possible, please use the flat lot 1 ½ blocks northeast of the Textile Center (you need exact change, cost is $3). 
• Feel free to come early for open crochet time starting at 11:00 am.
• It is fine to bring lunch, food, or beverages into the room but we need to remove all trash when we leave.

Next came announcements and November is going to be a busy month!

• A Textile Center fundraiser, Do or Dye, will take place on Thursday, November 7, 2013 from 5:00-9:00 pm. This is a make-and-take fundraiser where you can explore new skills. Tickets are $50. Julie and Rosemary will represent Crochet Twin Cities and offer lessons in crochet headbands, necklaces and bracelets. For more information, see http://www.textilecentermn.org/do-and-dye/
• The Fall Fiber Festival will be on Saturday, November 2, 2013 from 9:00 am- 4:00 pm at the Eisenhower Community Center, 1001 Highway 7, Hopkins, MN  55305. This festival attracts and promotes local fiber and fiber products andCrochet Twin Cities will have a table at this event. We need volunteers to staff the table during the event - to demonstrate crochet and answer questions anyone might have about our craft or our group. Send a note to ctclist@gmail.com if you can help at our table. Further information about the Fall Fiber Festival is available at: http://www.fallfiberfestival.com/
• The membership committee reminded everyone to complete the survey; paper copies are available if you prefer that to the online form. The membership committee will meet on November 9 during open crochet time to review the survey results and plan next year; anyone is welcome to attend.  
• Our new membership year starts in January; dues can be paid anytime in November or December.
• Our next regular meeting will be on November 9, where we will learn about crocheting cables. There is also a 5th Saturday this November so stay tuned for an activity on the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

After announcements, Hillary continued our 2nd session on Clones Lace, also known as Irish Lace. She took a class from Marie Trenor at the James J. Hill House several years ago; Jo and Maxine assisted with the teaching as they have also had some experience with this lace.

Once your motifs are made, you need to join them. The background joining is freeform crochet meaning that you design it to be whatever appeals to you. It is best to plan ahead, and keep the pattern consistent. You will need to decide how open to make the design by varying the length of the chains lining areas; shorter chains produce a more traditional, denser look. Hillary prefers to do her joining work on paper rather than a fabric background; she advises using a brown paper grocery bag for ideal stiffness. Pin your central motif to the paper, then attach to your motif and start to work your background design.

A hallmark of Clones Lace/Irish lace is the use of Clones knots in the background pattern. These knots are the hardest part of the process, and most of the session was devoted to practicing them. Hilary provided a step-by-step handout as well as hands-on instruction.

An excellent resource is “Clones Lace” by Marie Treanor.  It includes history of the lace, copious photographs, lots of examples, and directions for both motifs and finishing. (This book can be ordered from http://lacis.com/catalog/, just type Clones Lace and click the Search button to locate the title.)

Project Gallery October 2013

Joy has been busy making accessories.  She used a merino/cashmere blend fingering yarn to make this Swallowtail Cowl in Tunisian crochet.  The cowl is crocheted flat and seamed in the back.  This photo depicts the cowl inside out to show the seaming; the tails have been flipped up to show the pretty stitchery pattern of the cowl.  This fabric has a soft cushy feel.

Joy’s second cowl was crocheted in a chunky yarn—quite the change from her usual thread.  This cowl is crocheted flat and buttons closed.  She used Tunisian crochet to make a narrow scarf.

And now for something completely different.  “Beastly Crochet” is the pattern source for these little guys.  A pear-shaped blob with arms is crocheted with two white bars (beast on the left).  Then the blob is felted and an opening cut for a mouth; the white bars then become teeth (beast on the right).  Joy is looking for just the perfect eyes to apply to these little buys.  The beasts could serve in any way you might you use a small basket.  As for me, I think they should be filled with Halloween candy.  Here’s looking at you, kid!

Melanie crocheted these Adirondack Socks (Interweave Crochet, Fall 2009) using a Malabrigo sock yarn.  They worked up surprisingly fast due to the shell pattern.  Since crocheted socks don’t have as much give as knit socks, Melanie had to make an alteration to the heel to allow for a better fit.  Bet you wish you had a pair of these.

Gail came up with a clever solution to a vexing problem.  She was working on these mittens for a charity project and wasn’t sure she had enough yarn to finish the pair.  How could she make her yarn go farther?  She left off the thumbs.  She will use a solid color yarn matching one of the colors in the mitts to make the thumbs.  She turned what could have been a project breaker into a fanciful design element.  Nice solution, Gail.

Mary used Vanna’s Glamour to make this lovely gray shawl.  If you are unfamiliar with this yarn, it has a thin metallic thread in it, giving finished projects a little sparkle.

Mary is looking help with a problem that is all to familiar to most of us.  She started a thread crochet project ages and ages ago, crocheted up a large pile of motifs.  Unfortunately, she doesn’t have enough thread to complete the project and has no idea where to find more of it.  Here’s a picture of the label front and back.  Any suggestions?  How about using a modern thread in a different color to crochet the rest of the motifs, then assemble the bedspread in a way that uses the new motifs to make a make a design within the whole?  It would be a shame to waste that pile of motifs.

Hillary crocheted this bunny lovey using a Sirdar baby bamboo yarn.  The lovey is soft as can be and has lots of little things for small fingers to grab onto.

Hillary also made this work-in-progress, a scarf using short rows.  Short rows like this show off self-striping yarns; the subtle stitch pattern gets lost in a solid color.  Hillary shared with us a new book by Marion Madel, “The New Crochet,” which features process shots of all sorts of stitch patterns; if you are a beginner and don’t know how to execute various stitches, this book shows you in photos every step necessary to make the stitch.

Theresa didn’t even want to show us this easy market bag project but we begged her.  Plastic bags are cut into loops, which are then linked using a lark’s head knot.  The crinkly sort of bags work the best for this project.  Just make a chain to desired size, hdc around the chain to make a base, then crochet a mesh to make the sides.  The best thing about these bags are you can hose them off, they dry quickly, and dirt falls right through.  Too lazy to recycle your plastic bags?  Crochet them into door mats!  When they wear out, throw them away.

If you have ever used a walker, you know you need some way to carry your stuff around.  Carol made this carry walker carry bag.  The middle and two outer loops secure this bag to the walker.  The other two loops close the bag.  All this one needs is to have the buttons sewn on.

Carol finished her “unsquare” granny sweater.  This sweater does have three squares in it—but also hexagons and rectangles.  The very large grannies allow for drape and stretch, minimizing the shaping usually necessary in a plus-sized garment.  A large rectangle creates the front of the sweater and shawl collar.  Plymouth Encore Colorspun worsted was used to make this prototype.  Carol is already at work on design refinements for the next version, which will be in a DK weight yarn that uses V stitches instead of the standard three double crochet.

Irish Lace Crochet (Part 2): October 12 Meeting Preview

This month is the second in our two-part series about Irish Crochet, also known as Clones Lace. This photo shows some examples of this lovely technique, which is formed by working individual motifs that are then joined on a mesh background.

Last month everyone got a chance to learn about and practice making motifs; this month's focus will be on joining motifs with mesh, including the mysterious Clones knot.

We invite all interested Twin City crocheters to join us Saturday, October 12 from 1pm to 3pm at the Textile Center of Minnesota for this meeting. To get the most out of this meeting, you will need to bring the following materials:

• Bring two or more completed motifs of your choice. If you attended last month, bring the Wild Irish Rose that you completed plus one additional motif. If you were not able to attend, the Crochet Me site - Interweave Crochet - has a similar motif available as a free download. (If you don't have time to make motifs, you can still come and learn the Clones knot, you just won't be able to practice joining motifs.)
• Bring the same thread (or smaller) for joining motifs as you used for creating the motifs. See last month's preview for a discussion of thread and hook sizes.

And one final announcement: This is our first month at our new meeting location in the Textile Center. We are really excited! One change to our meeting format: we will now have Open Crochet in our meeting room from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm. So if you want to come early please do (and it's OK to bring a bag lunch to Open Crochet).

We hope to see you there!

Charity Projects Update: September 2013 Meetup

We came to Bruegger's, we drank coffee, we crocheted for charity!

And one of us (Carla) connected with an old friend. A friend who remembered a crochet tip that Carla had shared with her over 20 years ago - for straight edges, mark you end stitches with a safety pin!

There were only four of us but we had a great time.

• Carla make a couple of hats (the light blue items behind everything else) for the Harriet Tubman Center.
• Linda worked on a bear for the Mother Bear project - you can see his purple top and blue pants to the right.
• Julie brought several Warm-U America squares (at least six) that she'd already made.
• Julie and Max made spiral scrubbies to donate to the Prospect Park United Methodist Church holiday bazaar.

Crochet Twin Cities Fair Prize Winners (September 2013)

Our State Fair is a great State Fair—and our county fairs are pretty good, too!  Crochet Twin Cities members were active fair entrants this year and they have the ribbons to prove it.

The State Fair has many, many categories for entry; some categories have special criteria that if you knew about beforehand would greatly help your chances to win.  For example, they like thread work in white or ecru but not colors.  Filet crochet is preferred in size 20 thread, not size 10.  There are size restrictions on framed filet pieces, so measure your entry beforehand.  As for afghans, there are separate categories for afghans crocheted in one piece and those crocheted in strips.

That knight’s helmet winter hat featured in last month’s project gallery won Carla a 4^th place ribbon in the winter hat category.  She won second place with a filet crochet picture.

Jean won ribbons for two special stitch afghans; both were cables, but the blue one was done in strips while the ecru one was done in one piece.  Each won a 3rd place ribbon.

Jean also won a 2^nd place for her thread work sled for a starched figure. She also brought this swan, which won first prize in the starched figure category last year.

Linda has only been crocheting for a few months but that hasn’t stopped her from entering her work in the fair.  Her teddy bear won a 4^th place ribbon.











She won 3^rd place for this reversible afghan made from five lively colors of Red Heart Soft plus white for the background. And Ravelry's blog (which lands on the Ravelry home page) included her project in one of their "Eye Candy" articles! 

Jo entered her maroon and turquoise sweaters (featured in past project galleries) in both the Anoka County fair and Minnesota State Fair.  The maroon sweater won 1^st place at the State and was a sweepstakes winner at the county.  The turquoise sweater won 3^rd place at the State.

Peggy entered her items in the Washington County Fair.  She won ribbons for a felted hat, and a top-down sweater (both featured previously in our project gallery)

She also won a ribbon for her texting mitts (of which she has crocheted quite a few). Her large doily won her a 2nd place ribbon.