March 11 Meeting Preview: Ravelry "how to"

Ravelry is “a place for knitters, crocheters, designers, spinners, weavers and dyers to keep track of their yarn, tools, project and pattern information, and look to others for ideas and inspiration”. It’s an awesome way for you to keep notes about your projects, check out what others are making, find the perfect pattern (free and paid patterns) and connect with people from all over the world who love to play with yarn.

For our March education activity, we’ll have 4 tables with leaders who will provide information on the following topics:

1. Basic Overview: signing up, profile, quick tour
2. Organizing: library, favorites, remember & compare 
3. Searching: for patterns (with yarn, color, inspiration), for designers 
4. Project pages: adding projects and looking at other people’s projects

The meeting will be held Saturday, March 11th, at the Textile Center, 3000 University Ave SE, with the following schedule:

• 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM - Open Crochet
• 11:00 AM to 12:15 PM - Announcements and Show and Tell
• 12:15 PM to 1:00 PM - Education Session
• 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM – Open Crochet

To get the most out of the meeting, if you haven’t already done so, please go ahead and set up an account at ravelry.com (it’s free). If you're not ready to sign-up - no worries - the Basic Overview will show you how to get started.
If you have a tablet or smartphone, bring it a long in case you want to take a look from your own device.

If you're new to Crochet Twin Cities, you can join us by downloading our  membership form and bringing the amount shown on the form to the meeting, or you can pay the non-member fee of $5 for attending one meeting. New members/visitors are encouraged to arrive between 10:30 and 11 a.m.

4th Saturday meetup: February 25th, Bruegger's

This month's meetup
Saturday, February 25th from 9:00 AM to Noon
Bruegger's Southtown (Bloomington, 494 & Penn).

If you're new to the group, meetups are held at rotating locations around the metro where we can grab a cup of coffee and sit and crochet and chat. It's all very informal - but lots of fun! You can drop in any time and stay as long as you're able.

There's no charge to attend a meetup so it's a great way to meet us and ask questions about the group, particularly if you're new to crochet. We'd love to meet you!

We hope you can join us!

CGOA 2017 Chapter Challenge: Warm Up America

Each CGOA chapter is challenged to create as many 7” by 9” rectangles as possible for the Warm Up America! Program.

The deadline for entry is July 1, 2017, so entries can be processed and announced at the Chain Link conference in July.  Awards with cash prizes are available for the 3 chapters who contribute the most rectangles.  As we get closer to the date, we’ll discuss our internal deadline so that we can get our entry submitted by July 1st.  For CGOA Warm Up America Challenge
more information on CGOA’s Challenge:

Many CTC members are familiar with this charity, and have the patterns.  If you need information about preparing the rectangles, check out this guide: CTC Warm Up America Information

Some additional tips:

• Use acrylic yarn
• Make a 7” x 9” template out of cardboard for your pattern – this is much easier and more accurate than measuring as you go
• Make sure your rectangles are the full required dimension – don’t stretch them to fit.  When smaller rectangles are stretched to fit during joining, the afghan won’t lie flat.
• Don’t weave in your tails – this makes it easier for joining.
• This project is a great way to practice new stitches.  Be sure the stitch is appropriate for an afghan, fairly solid, rather than lacy and open.

February 11 Meeting Preview: Pineapple Motif

The pineapple is a traditional crocheted lace pattern, which dates back to the 1840s. Pineapples are considered a symbol of hospitality and pineapple doilies were traditionally seen on dinner tables and in guest rooms. While they were an especially popular motif in the 1920s and 1930s, they remain popular today. These motifs aren’t just limited to doilies – the adaptability of the motif lends itself well to a variety of projects from table runners to bedspreads to garments. As an added bonus, the openwork lace designs work up quickly!

The meeting will be held Saturday, February 11th, at the Textile Center, 3000 University Ave SE, with the following schedule:

• 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM - Open Crochet
• 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM - Announcements, show and tell, Knitteapolis on yarnbombing at the State Fair
• 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM - Education: Pineapple Motif
• 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM – Open Crochet

To get the most out of this meeting please bring:

• Size 9/ 1.4mm steel crochet hook 
• Crochet thread size 20

If you're new to Crochet Twin Cities, you can join us by downloading our  membership form and bringing the amount shown on the form to the meeting, or you can pay the non-member fee of $5 for attending one meeting. New members/visitors are encouraged to arrive between 10:30 and 11 a.m.