What's on your hook? Mary's purse

Mary brought this unusual project to the last meeting and let us know a little bit about it.

This is a UFO (unfinished object) that Mary "inherited" from someone she knows. What we see in this picture is all that she has - the start of the project - there isn't even a pattern to go with it!

Mary was a little concerned about the asymmetrical top closure but several of us who saw the UFO in person thought it was a nice touch and would make the finished purse more interesting.


Mary has identified a free pattern on Ravelry (Crocheted Lace Clutch by Haley Pierson-Cox) that has a very similar stitch pattern to the completed part of the purse. She'll use that pattern to help complete this project.



Mary, we can't wait to see this when it's finished - it will be a lovely dressy bag!

4th Saturday Meetup: February 28 2015

Wow, February sure is a short month! It's meetup time again - where we gather at a spot in the metro area for crochet, coffee, and chatting. As you can see, it's lots of fun, very informal. You can drop in any time you'd like and stay as long as you can.

This month's meetup is Saturday, Feb 28 from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Bruegger's Southtown (Bloomington, 494 & Penn).

There's no charge to attend a meetup and it's a great way to see what the group is like, so we hope you can drop by!

What's on your hook? Maxine's sweater

This week we thought we'd try something new - a quick interview with a member about a project that's still "on the hook". We hope this article will inspire other members to share what they're working on - you never know when your ideas might help another crocheter.

Maxine, can you tell us a little bit about what's on your hook?
This particular project is a sweater for my husband. I was actually surprised and a little nervous when he asked me to make it. I've crocheted vests for him in the past that he liked but that were so loose they stretched big and saggy - then I tried to knit him a sweater that didn't work so I ended up frogging it, again because it was too big and saggy. So I'm doing my best to get this one right!

My husband actually picked out the colors for the sweater. It will be a black long-sleeved V-neck pullover, mostly black but with the wide yellow and stripes that you see across the front and back, ending just below the armhole.

Are you following a pattern or making up your own design?
I'm actually using a pattern but a different weight of yarn and therefore a very different gauge than the sweater was designed for. The sweater pattern, For The Prepsters, was designed for a worsted weight yarn but I prefer to crochet garments with sport weight or finer so I am converting all the stitch counts as I go to a much finer gauge. It was easier than I thought it might be - this picture shows the front piece so far next to a blue sweater that fits my husband well - and as you can see, the sweater front that I am crocheting measures almost exactly the same as the garment that fits him.

Would you recommend this pattern or yarn to others?
Absolutely would recommend both. The pattern is one of the designs in Drew Emborsky's book The Crochet Dude's Designs for Guys - there are several other patterns in there that my husband is interested in. This particular pattern uses one of my favorite stitch patterns, one that is very simple but very beautiful - alternates sc, dc with next row sc worked over dc, dc worked over sc. The yarn is easy to work with and well-made - no knots or tangles so far. I've never worked with a washable wool so will be really interested in seeing how it is to care for.

Thanks Maxine, for letting us look over your shoulder while you're working on this project. We know your husband is looking forward to his completed sweater and we're looking forward to seeing it too!

Entrelac Tunisian Crochet: February 14 Meeting Preview

Traditionally entrelac has been thought of as a knitting technique but, as with many aspects of
crochet, that perception has now been challenged by today’s designers. And challenged with a vengeance because there are actually multiple types of entrelac crochet! At this month's meeting, we'll build on the skills learned last month by giving everyone a chance to learn about and practice entrelac crochet using the Tunisian simple stitch.

The meeting will be Saturday, Feb 14 2015 at the Textile Center of Minnesota, 3000 University Ave SE, with the following schedule:

• 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM - Open Crochet
• 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM - Show n Tell and Business
• 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM - Crochet Education

You'll need to bring the following materials to this meeting:

• Two different colors of your favorite weight yarn - and ounce or two of each will be plenty. Light to medium solid colors are always best when learning a new technique - it's best to steer clear of dark solids and multi-colored yarns.
• A hook that's two to four sizes larger than you'd normally use for this yarn; Tunisian, by its nature, makes a tighter fabric so larger hooks are required. A Tunisian hook is not required; you'll never have more than seven stitches on your hook at any time so you can use a regular hook (one without a thumb rest works best) if you do not have a Tunisian hook.

A special word to beginners or those crocheters whose Tunisian skills are "rusty": If you need to brush up on Tunisian simple stitch, be sure to come at 11:00 so someone can help you practice before the regular meeting starts. Plus we'll also have a beginning Tunisian option as an alternative during the crochet education portion of the meeting for anyone who isn't quite ready to tackle entrelac.

We hope you can join us!