Crochet Queen: Royal Ramblings

My family moved to Quito Ecuador in 1988 for my husband's job with J. I. Case farm and industrial equipment. During the two years we lived in Quito, the capitol city, I was privileged to explore and learn about the amazing artisan culture and history of the country. I’m indebted to the American & Canadian Women’s Group; my landlady, Irma; and Carmen, the Director of the clinic where I volunteered. Without their knowledge & willingness to share, I would not have been able to access many of the “out-of-the-way” villages where I  investigated the rich textile folk art of generous indigenous artisans!

No matter whether you have an opinion about crocheted blankets (afghans) or not, Rachele's  book published in 2018 by Interweave will certainly give you a new approach to tradition.
Her subtitle tells the story: her 18 projects are "inspired by modern makers."

Proudly, I review this book which was published in 2017 because it includes 6 of the artists I included in my book, The Fine Art of Crochet, published in 2013. Featuring her work on the back cover honors Bonnie Meltzer; and her work featured in the Introduction honors Donna Rosenthal. I also wrote about Jerry Bleem, Norma Minowitz, Karen Searle and Yvette Kaiser Smith.

It is no coincidence that our beloved association was named a Guildand its soon-to-follow affiliate groups were named Chapters. As the Founder, along with other generous volunteers with knowledge of by-laws, we began to create them for our association. In 1995, when our pursuit of 501c3 status was granted, our bylaws regarding this issue read as follows:

“Section 4 Chapters 4.1 Names and Domain Local Chapters, State Organizations and Regional Organizations, termed chapters in these Bylaws, who wish to become members of the CGOA shall adopt a name including “Chapter of Crochet Guild of America”. CGOA shall assume no liability for its chapters. 4.3 Recognition Chapters shall adopt Bylaws consistent with these Bylaws and the purposes of which shall be substantially the same as those of the CGOA. Chapters may be unincorporated or incorporated under the laws of the state in which the chapter is located.”
On November 3, 2017, the Membership voted to approve updated By-laws and this section did no…

My trip continued to Portland, OR where the 24th Annual Chain Link Crochet conference would begin on July 26. I arrived early on Tuesday evening to take care of some committee matters and my dear friend Bonnie Meltzer picked me up at the airport and shuttled me to here home in Portland where I was the guest of her and husband, Richard.

Since the #chainlink2018 took place in Portland, Oregon in July, I took advantage of the travel westward to also visit my sister and brother-in-law in California. Although it was a short visit, they showed me wonderful hospitality and we took in the highlights of the Carmel Valley region.



Alice and I share a love of the fiber arts and she was a professional textilian before she retired a couple of years ago. Her love of quilts and quilt history and she is still continually creating works of art in her "Playhouse." Once a textilian, always textilian!

First stop on our agenda was the quaint little town of Pacific Grove where we enjoyed wandering from resale  shops, to the ocean, to a great restaurant for lunch and best of all, a yarn shop that just happened to to have a small quilt exhibit on display. The photos I took are not necessarily the best quilts, but the ones to which I was attracted.




After lunch, we hiked high up in the hills above the ocean for some cool breezes and…