Crochet Queen: Royal Ramblings

July 31 , 2014  As a crochet teacher with 34 years of experience in venues as diverse as park district classes and national crochet/needlework conferences, I feel qualified to say that Deborah Burger brings a vast knowledge of the important and general skills for teaching anything! Her degrees are in English and Theatre, but she spent 10 years teaching in private schools and 22 years homeschooling her own children. Deborah explains, “It's more the experience in teaching, than a formal degree, that has grown the teacher in me. I also think that the wide reading on education that I've done informs my writing. The very best of what's known about how humans actually learn new skills, informs the lessons I write and the projects I design to reinforce the lessons.” Deb is the author of Crochet 101, a book of crochet instruction for adults, and How to Make 100 Crochet Appliques, an intermediate to experienced level pattern collection. Her newest book, The Creative Kids...

July 24, 2013 As I drove up to the Radisson in Manchester, NH and saw that it had been yarn-bombed ~ outside in the plaza in front plus the dog statues that greet us and the bench right bythe door ~ I said to myself, "Why didn't we think of this before??" Many many thanks to Jennifer Ryan for conceiving the idea and for organizing all the wonderful volunteers who contributed motifs and helped put them ALL OVER. It was sensational! Tree in Parkway Dog Statue at Entrance I bombed the same dog in 2010 with yarn from our goody bag by Lion Brand! My bombing of the dog back in 2010 was gone by morning. It goes to show that asking permission has some benefits, but does take some of the excitement out of yarn bombing! Entrance of Hotel Parkbench at Entrance of Hotel Reception Desk Stairs to Parking Garage Enhancement Around the Plantings of the Breakfast Cafe Even the Ladies Room was Bombed! These are my dear friends Sue and...

Monday, July 21, 2014 This is the last in my series which looks back over the last 20 years of the Crochet Guild of America as we get ready to launch the 20th Anniversary Celebration at the Annual Crochet Conference on July 24 in Manchester, New Hampshire.  I've been so excited all year long, working on the planning committee with the other Past Presidents and thinking about how far we've come over all these years due to the dedication of passionate crocheters who have contributed so much! More recently, I have been humbled and honored to find out that this year I was voted as the Inductee to   the Jean leinhauser CGOA Hall of Fame ! Please join me on Thursday at the Annunal Member Meeting for the ceremony. I look forward to seeing all my crochet friends! Jean Leinhauser CGOA Hall of Fame The humble beginnings of the Chain Link Newsletter in 1992 were simply a form letter to communicate with and keep in touch with avid crocheters who had heard about my very early ...

Wednesday, July 16, 2014- For an update on this exhibit, Knot Forgotten , and my visit to the University of Illinois to see it on July 15, scroll below. Thursday, June 12, 2014 The University of Illinois has ushered crochet into the world of academia! This is a rare opportunity for crocheters in Illinois and anyone else who might be nearby Champaign/Urbana during July. I plan to check it out and it looks like a very interesting event. To read the story of the man who donated and cataloged his great-grandmother's collection, see the website . Knot Forgotten: The Tennyson Library of Crochet at Illinois July 1-31, 2014 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Main Library (1408 W. Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL) Join the Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Illinois as it celebrates the acquisition of the Tennyson Library of Crochet. There will be an exhibit on the first floor and in the Marshall Gallery of the Main Library, in addition to a varie...