Merry Crochet and a very crochet New Year!

November Destash - shopping the stash!

Happy Holidays!  Whichever holiday(s) you celebrate, I hope you find joy and crochet delight during the holiday season and into the new year!  

More destash shopping!

Our November meeting was our annual destash event. It's a fun time for all, although, we're seriously considering taking RSVPs and booking an appropriate room size for future years, as we got a bit crowded.

November 23, 2024 Roseville meetup

For our November 4th Saturday meetup, we returned to the Barnes & Noble in HarMar Mall. We had 24 members and guests show up, including 4 first timers! We'll be discussing our options for the January meetup at our December meeting, which includes a board meeting, where we'll officially pass the torch from the outgoing officers to the 2025 board.

Speaking of the meeting on December 14th at the Hennepin Co. St. Anthony Library; this is a member only* event. While the library doors open at 9am, the meeting doesn't begin until 10am, with education at 11am sharp! Tamara Kelly of Moogly, will be teaching us how to Crochet with two active loops. This will be a hybrid class with the option of attending virtual. Members will receive log in information via the December newsletter.

If you haven’t already paid your 2025 dues, please bring $24 in cash to the next in-person meeting and make sure we have your full name, email address & phone number. If at all possible, please bring exact change, it makes it easier for our treasurer, Carla.  

Remember, that official membership, including payment of dues (or scholarship arrangement) is required to continue receiving the newsletter and to attend the member’s only events. Members only events include classes taught by Tamara Kelly, Edie, Eckman, the MN State Fair and the destash and are indicated in the calendar as such.  Please reach out to a board member to request a scholarship or if you need information about lifetime membership. Lifetime membership is available to retirees who have paid dues for 5 or more years. *Joining in December 2024 to attend the Tamara Kelly class requires payment of $12 toward 2024 dues & the full 2025 dues of $24, for a total payment of $36.

Meet the 2025 Crochet Twin Cities board

Our October meeting had a lot going on!   We had our board meeting, elected the 2025 Board, talked about plarn, cords & foundation stitches, voted on the topic for our January meeting with Edie Eckman and were reminded that we'll start collecting 2025 dues in November. The preferred method of payment is cash, if you can bring exact change ($24.00), even better.

Members can sign up for demonstrating at the Fall Fiber Festival via:  CTC Demonstration at Fall Fiber Fest — Signup Sheet | SignUp.com.  If you're on Facebook you can find information about the event on their page: Fall Fiber Festival.

Our 2025  Past President - Theresa,  President-Elect- Bree, Vice President - Brenda, Secretary - Gloria, Treasurer - Carla, Education Co-Chairs - Barb & Veronica

Our October 26th meet up will be at the Mall of America as usual.  November 9th is the Destash at Southdale Library. We'll be checking out options for our November 23rd meetup, as the remodeling at Rosedale Center has left insufficient seating. 

Our January 11 education topic with Edie Eckman will be Layered Grannies - watch for details in the newsletter.   

In 2025, CTC will sponsor an additional State Fair ribbon in honor of Susi McCune, long time Mn State Fair judge and friend to CTC.  It will be a People's Choice ribbon, with a $50.00 prize and 1-year free membership in Crochet Twin Cities.   People's Choice ribbons are voted for by all Creative Activities staff.  Our first sponsored ribbon for best overall crocheted wearable and the judges select the winner.   Susi's ribbon will be awarded to an entry in the granny square categories.

I look forward to seeing you at a meeting or meetup!  Theresa

A little bit of this, and a little bit of that.

Like the October 12 meeting, this post is a melange of topics. Our October meeting will feature education on foundation stiches by Carla, making your own cords with Joy and making and using plarn (plastic bag yarn) in projects. In addition to the mix of topics related to education, we'll be handling a few business items. We'll hold a board meeting, (since no one has time for that at the November destash) and elect our 2025 board. We'll be meeting at the Merriam Park Library, in St. Paul, which opens at 10am on Saturdays. I do hope to see many of you there!

There are many great reasons to join the board - it gives you a chance to really get to know the group, to learn leadership skills (and for job hunters, it looks good on a resume). But my number one reason for joining the board is that I love our group. I attended my first CTC meeting on July 9, 2011 at Borealis Yarns in St. Paul, I think there were 8 of us. You can still find the blog post: Crochet Twin Cities: Thread Crochet: July 9 Meeting Preview.  Over the years I have watched the group grow, attended fiber arts retreats, gone to a CGOA conference, participated in the coral reef project and so much more!  While there have been a few years where I didn't attend meetings often, I don't think I've missed a single destash since they began. This year, we have 2 openings on the board: secretary & president.

The secretary is the go-to person for taking notes during the board meetings which occur in odd number months and maintaining the membership list.  If you are afraid to commit because you are not able to attend every meeting, please know that we have never had an issue finding a substitute to fill the duties of the role.  I have been the secretary in the distant past, and it was a great way to be introduced to the board & how it works. 

What to say about the president’s role?  For anyone who has joined in the past few years, I may be the only CTC president you’ve known. However, CTC has been around for over a dozen years, and we’ve had a number of presidents. The president role is continually evolving. As the group grows and membership needs and wants change, the role of the president adapts to the times. In the past we've had very structured board meetings, following Robert's Rules of order, and adhering to a formal format. These days, things have become more casual. Each president has their own philosophy; their leadership style and personality impacts how they fill the role. I consider myself to be a "servant-leader", I want to help the group be what it wants to be. We have a diverse membership and strive to encourage the group to pursue the interests that it is able to support. While some of our members sell their finished projects, most of our members crochet as a hobby. This in NO way is to imply that our members are lacking in skills, just check out the Ravelry and Facebook posts, you'll see what I mean. But it also gives us room to work with people who are new to crochet and help them build skills.

We're wrapping up another fun year of crochet, and I am looking forward to the new year! Best wishes. Theresa

Don't be bored, join our October Board meeting

Our September education topic was the diagonal box stitch aka corner to corner. I forgot to include a link to Barb's handout along with the pattern on the last blog post. For any who may have missed it, here's the Corner to Corner Handout.  If you have problems opening the file, please email ctclist@gmail.com and I'll send it out as an attachment.   This stitch is trickier than you might think, especially when you are getting started on a new project.  Between Barb and one of our newest members, Michele, all 24 were making great progress by the end of the meeting. 

September 14 meeting 

Speaking of new members, we've had 4 new "official" members join since the State Fair, as well as having had several new guest members show up at both our meetup and meeting.  We did not hold our September board meeting this month, so in addition to voting for the 2025 officers, our October meeting will include a board meeting.  Topics being covered include, determining education for December 2024 & January 2025 meetings, planning for the 2024 destash meeting in November, Fall Fiber Festival in Hopkins, CTC swag, sponsoring a second rosette for the State Fair, participating in the Christmas tree competition for the 2025 State Fair, and any other topics members may wish to address. 

Gloria's crochet socks

There's some exciting news about the State Fair, the Creative Arts building is looking to create a new area for demonstrations and has asked for our feedback.  An email was sent to members, requesting responses by 9/28.  I know this is short turn around, but please take time to give us your ideas.  Please feel free to send your ideas directly to Bree, or if you don't have access to the member roster, send to ctclist@gmail.com and we'll forward them to her. 

Just a reminder to join the Crochet Twin Cities group, if you use Facebook and haven't joined us already. We have 150 members in the group, and you do not need to be an "official" guild member to join us on Facebook.  It's a fun interactive way for you to share your photos, ask other members for feedback or assistance and get to know our group.  You must answer all of the participant questions to be added to the group (there are no wrong answers).

For members who do not use Facebook, the blog and monthly newsletter will continue to your best source for information about our group. The newsletter is sent to official members on the first Saturday of each month.  If you have an item to contribute to the newsletter, it must be received about by the last Wednesday of the month.  

Also, I am always looking for guest bloggers, so if you'd like to write a blog post let me know.  I am looking forward to seeing you for the September 29th meetup at Rosedale Center the October 12th meeting at the Merriam Park Library, or both.  Until then, happy crocheting! Theresa

CTC stands for Corner to Corner? Wait, what?

Normally, CTC stands for Crochet Twin Cities, but this Saturday, September 14, it will also stand for corner-to-corner, as that will be our educational topic.  Barb will be teaching techniques for corner-to-corner crochet using a free pattern from Premier Yarns, click here to download a copy. We'll be meeting at the Highland Park Library in St. Paul, and as always the details are posted in our calendar and Facebook

I promised more about the State Fair entries. Since I covered the Ag-Hort-Bee entries, in a previous blog, I scoured the three of the Creative Activities results lists.  I have to admit it was daunting and amazing to see the number of classes in each category.  I apologize to anyone I missed (as I went through the pictures I had, I realized I must have missed some). Please let me know and I will make the correction.  OH! and I did not match the photos up with the results, just to make things more challenging.  The results: 

Under Garment making

Class 461 - Afghan crocheted, no larger than 42"x42", Kelly, 3rd place

Under Handcrafts

Class 733 - Toy animal or figure made by exhibitor of yarn, under 15", Marissa, 1st place

Class 734 - Toy animal or figure made by exhibitor of yarn, under 15", Gloria, 3rd place

Class 737 - Fruit or vegetable doll (not made from produce), must have head, arms and legs, Gloria, 2nd place

Under Needlecraft

Class 210 - Lap robe, 1444 sq in - 2699 sq in, made of strips, Lorraine, 3rd place

Class 212 - Afghan, one piece, one color (variegated yarn - 1 color), no texture or fisherman crochet stitches, Lorraine, 1st place

Class 215 - Afghan made of square modules, basic granny square, Kelly, 1st place

Class 221 - Bag or purse, Tony, 2nd place

Class 222 - Clothing accessories, Marissa, 1st place

Class 223 - Poncho, cape, shrug, Gloria, 3rd place

Class 226 - Hat, beret or cap, two or more colors (solid or variegated), Marissa 1st

Class 230 - Scarf; cowl, infinity or Mobius, Marissa 3rd place

Class 233 - Shawl or stole, rectangle, 16 in. or more in width - Marissa 3rd

Class 235 - Shawl or stole, not rectangle, two or more colors, Marissa 1st, Carla, 3rd, Joy 4th

Class 236 - Shell, sleeveless vest, Carla 1st

Class 238 - Sweater, cardigan, adult, Marissa 5th

While going through the lists, I noticed some categories (like baskets, misc), that might be appropriate for members to enter.  There were so many categories/classes, I think we need to have a session on all of the classes and categories at one of our spring meetings.  Of course, the 2025 board will be making those plans, so it's just a suggestion.  Hope to see you at a meeting or meet up, until then, may you always win at yarn chicken!  Theresa