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!