Meeting Highlights: CAL Sweater Swatch

Joan led us through the business portion of our meeting and there was a lot to cover.  We welcomed a new member.  Sue stopped by our table Friday on at the American Craft Council (ACC) show and decided to join us.  Carol, Theresa & Peggy talked about staffing the demo table at the ACC show at the River Centre and lessons learned for tabling at future events.   Joan reminded us all that she is still collecting the 2"x2" and 4"x4" purple and white squares for the Crochet Twin Cities banner.  Be creative and practice special techniques like hairpin lace andTunisian, try out a new technique like "wiggle" or show off your creativity and skill by incorporating a variety of stitches. Members have the opportunity to sell their items in the gallery show and in the Textile Center gift shop. Interested members should contact Julie for details.  Maxine told us exciting news about monthly door prizes that will be starting next month.  Details how to earn tickets for the drawings will come soon.

Our project gallery will be posted later this month, however I wanted to share a couple of highlights.  Jodi tried out a new technique she read about cre8ationcrochet.com and Sue showed us these great plastic finishing needles for those of us who might want an easier way to thread our needles.

Then we got down to the real business of the meeting: Jodi led us through things to consider when beginning a new project, such as our CAL (crochet along) sweater.  It was so fun to see everyone's swatches and the colorful variety of yarns members are planning to use.  There was a lively discussion about ways to customize our projects for optimum fit and wearability.  It was great to have many experienced crocheters available to give us tips and hints on dealing with the unique features of our individual figures.  By the way, if you are wondering what to do with your swatch when you no longer need it, Theresa has offerred to gather them all and sew them together into a patchwork afghan, which we will then donate. Visit About.com's webpage "How to Use or Re-Use Yarn Swatches" to see more ideas for swatches from all of your projects.

Our April 26th, 4th Satuday meet up will be held during the usual time (9am-Noon) at the Dunn Brothers at 530 University Ave in Minneapolis.  There is a parking lot, but you may want to consider carpooling just in case.

And finally, don't forget we are back at the Textile Center for our May 10th meeting, when we'll learn about knitting.  See you soon!