Crochet Queen: Royal Ramblings

Sometimes it takes a while to come down from the near-nirvana from attending a Crochet Guild of America (CGOA) Chain Link conference. This year was no exception! It's been a little over a month since I returned; and I'm now ready to share. Firstoff,  I was officially named Founder and first President of CGOA in 1994. That came after 2 years of planning and developing the concept of a guild exclusively for crocheters. Twenty-five years later, we long-time members had cause for celebration; and that it was! From left: Sue Medinaceli, crochet groupie; Claudette Newhall (her sister; Carolyn Calderon , and Sarah Sullivan One of the highlights of the weekend, especially for newbies, is the opportunity to sit and stitch in the hospitality suite or the lobby of the hotel. While doing so we met new friends and re-united with old ones. Nancy Nehring and Me Margaret Hubert, Designer, Teacher, Author and member of the Hall of Fame Committee with me There was a...

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.

Incredibly, it's been a month already since I returned; and I am fairly confident my mind is now back in my own Zip code! It is difficult to leave the glorious memories and return to my usual stateside routine (which is hardly ever routine!) Besides the "recovery" and unpacking stage, Thanksgiving was fast on my heels. In our family "Thanksgiving" entails much more than what the average family expects! Our granddaughter was born on November 24 and our wedding anniversary was the 25th. This year it would have been 50 years! So all together, it makes for a wonderful, memory-filled weekend! The Crafting and Crocheting Tour to Tuscany with Lily Chin was  a complete success! Sure there were a few minor glitches; but overall, I was so happy with everything during the 13 days I was gone. Being together with avid crocheters and crafters of all kinds was a great choice for me to take my first ever "tour." Our expert crochet teacher was Lily Chin; and ...

We always come home from the Crochet Guild (CGOA)-sponsored conference on such a high. It does take a while to come down from the excitement. This year I came home on the "red-eye," San Diego-Chicago, and spent all of Sunday in a fog-like trance. Probably won't do that again! It was not without great forethought and trepidation that I attended this year leaving my husband with 24-7 caretakers in charge. All went real well from start to finish for both him and me. I couldn't have had smoother travel. I loved my hotel room and enjoyed the balcony and the near-perfect San Diego sun & air. I logged lots of steps on my Fitbit. To my great relief, I found everything in good shape when I returned and thank goodness for texting as I was able to keep in close touch with my dear husband every day and often! I arrived Thursday afternoon and enjoyed a leisurely time getting the lay of the convention center, getting registered, and running into familiar faces. Oh yeah, and...

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...

Tuesday, July 2, 2012 I've just returned and am recovering from attending my 18th Chain Link Crochet Conference sponsored by the Crochet Guild of America. This year it was in Manchester, NH and I think this is the 4th time we have held the conference in this same location. My time there was brief and my main task this time was to present the "Founder's Award" at the Design Competition awards presentation. Like in most organizations, I suppose, in CGOA when you offer constructive criticism, you are given a job! I have a concern that the history of CGOA is sometimes forgotten and new members often think that this wonderful convergence of extreme crochet talent just happened magically. Or, they don't think at all and just take for granted all the hard work, sweat and tears that went into it since 1994. When I approached Doris Chan, Chair of the Design Competition, about being a sponsor of the Design Contest, SHE suggested that we call it the "Founder...