Granny Squares Everywhere

AJ's Sweater

Joy's purse

 Let's face it, love 'em or hate 'em, the granny square is a crochet classic. Right now, the granny square is also in fashion.   From home decor to runways, grannies can be found all over social media.   The thing about granny squares is weaving in ends: every round has two ends, and each square is typically 4 or 5 rounds, now multiply that by the number of squares, the joining and border, and that is a lot of ends.  Ends that must be crocheted over, woven in or you will pay the price.  *My first large crochet project was a granny square afghan I made for my mother from a kit, I purchased when I was 14.  It was lots of work and I was very proud of it, until I learned what happens when you don't leave long enough tails and weave in ends with eye for longevity,   

Tony's herd of llamas for Peru - a group effort

Jeni's doll dress

You may already know that Red Heart came out with All-in-One Granny Square Yarn, which is designed to create 14 - 5 row granny squares per skein, with only 2 ends per square.  Many CTC members have seen Gloria's Market Day Cardi.  Gloria agreed to share her experience with yearn for our May meeting.  There were a dozen members at the Wescott Library on Saturday, 5/11, (including one brand new member - Welcome Deb!), and everyone one of us was able to complete a square by meetings' end.  Of course we all had fun with show & tell - I've included a few pictures.

Max's mosaic purse 

We had a surprise visitor today! For those of you who don't know Maxine, she was one of the founding members and is much missed at CTC.  Max dropped by at the beginning of the meeting to do a little de-stashing, which was greatly appreciated.  Of course, we had to know what she was working on lately, and she told us about Icelandic designer Tinna Thorudottir.  Max was carrying a gorgeous mosaic purse, based off of a design by Tinna.  Your president has your back!   I asked Max if she might be willing to come to a meeting as a guest instructor.  With this technique, the zipper is built into the finished item.  

Gloria shared a slideshow with inspiration for many projects using granny squares and has graciously agreed to share it with the group.  Members can access the slide show here..   There are so many options for granny square projects, from solid colors to the new yarn, scrap-busting, to classic colors, you might want to give it a try.  Whether or not you attended the meeting, you are welcome to participate in the Granny Square project challenge issued by Gloria; we'll share our projects at the September meeting. I'm looking forward to seeing you all in the upcoming months - we will have such a fun summer!  Theresa

April update, CGOA Chapter Challenge & more

Gloria's Market Day Cardi

I forgot to share last week's post, so scroll down to get the details of the March meeting & upcoming events, or click here.

There's been talk of a change to our April calendar; while there's no meeting and education due to the shop hop, there may be a meetup at Rosedale Center on 4/13!   

The Crochet Guild of America has posted new online classes Online Education (crochet.org),  Classes are open to non-members, however CGOA members do get a discount on classes.   

The Chapter Challenge has started.  Note: only CGOA members can get credit for participating in the contest, but all are welcome to make items to donate.  Details about the chapter challenge are live on the CGOA website: crochet.org

I've been a bit busy the last couple of weeks,, but hope to be able to focus on the blog a little more.  If anyone is interested in helping with the blog, please reach out to: ctclist@gmail.com

Don't fall victim to CROMO - Join CTC and experience CROJO

Thermal Crochet 

I really suffered from FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) knowing that I would not be able to attend the February 10 Crochet Twin Cities meeting.  And even though the conference I attended instead was very valuable, I am still struggling with ROMO (Regret of Missing Out).  I guess it's really just an overall symptom of my constant CROMO - fear of missing out on crochet!  

I've heard rave reviews of the excellent education on thermal crochet provided by Tony and will admit to being envious of all those who were able to attend.  Check out the reel from the February 10th meeting on the CTC Instagram. 

Instead of CROMO, you can experience CROJO - crochet joy, by joining us at a meeting or meet up. Check out our calendar for the details for the February meet up at the Mall of America, and the March meeting and meet up.

Looking ahead: March's education topic is surface crochet with Marissa instructing us. In April, we'll be yarn shop hopping, email ctclist@gmail.com to sign up for the hop, or if you are interested in planning an alternative meeting for those who won't be participating in the Yarn Shop Hop.  Visit the Minnesota Yarn Shop Hop website for general details the hop.  In May, we'll meet at the Wescott Library in Eagan.  Our topic will be granny squares, and Gloria will share her experience with Red Heart's new granny square yarn.  For June, we'll be road-tripping to Isanti for a potluck at Susi's. Carpooling information will be available closer to June. 

I am working on recovering from my CROMO and experiencing CROJO by participating in Marly Bird's Game Day Make-A-Long.  Enjoy the Super Bowl, commercials, half-time show or whatever brings you joy today!  See you at the Mall!  Theresa