Crochet Queen: Royal Ramblings

Ms. Allison was the Junior Kindergarten teacher for both of my grandchildren. They've each graduated now, but she invites me back each year as the presenter for the Letter Y !  This wonderful and sweet teacher hails from Scotland; and she has an appreciation for the heritage of crafts and really enjoys Y arn Bombing! Lucky for me, the children progress to their studies of the alphabet and reach Letter Y in March just in time for National Crochet Month sponsored by the Crochet Guild of America.

Last week, when I was alerted about a new kind of "yarn bombing" taking place in Libertyville, Illinois, I was sure my good friend, Susan Lutz Kenyon and her Crocheters of the Lakes chapter of the Crochet Guild of America were behind it. Susan is a charter CGOA member and has been a loyal member since 1994. Her contributions, both nationally and locally, are too numerous to mention her but very much appreciated. I was right about Susan's involvement. She and several chapter members were involved in installing their crochet squares on the trees and other members contributed many squares. Proud as I am of everything CGOA and its members do; it is always exciting to me when outside entities decide to focus on crochet for for a good cause, recognizing its beauty and versatility! In this case the town of Libertyville wanted something eye-catching to promote their Fine Arts Month in March. Two women, both named Beth, were the coordinators. The two Beths

Just when I thought my visit to long-time firends, Bob & Sherry, in Mansfield, Ohio couldn't get any better, Sherry Googled  yarn shops in the area; and was pleasantlty surprised to find that Alpaca Meadows is a mere fifteen minutes from her house. She had never been there and knew I would enjoy it, so she made an appointment for us to check it out. We were warmly greeted by Julie Petty who has owned this adorable Farm Store and studio which specializes in alpaca yarn for 10 years. Classes are offered for students to learn new skills in needle-felting, crochet, and knitting. The store is abundantly stocked with beautiful crochet samples made from alpaca, and crocheted by Julie herself. With her huband Matt, they own 20 alpacas, and she has a line of yarn from her own herd as well. Alpaca Meadows owner, Julie Pettty Crocheted samples Although small, we easilybrowsed the store for over an hour. It is chocked full of color, fiber andf all manner of fiber-related craf...

I have a little fan club in the Junior Kindergarden(JK) room at  my grandchildren's school! Although they are not in teacher, Mrs. B's class this year, I was invited to come back for my 2nd annual presentation on the letter Y; and that stands for "yarn." Conveniently, the JK students reach the letter Y in their studies of the alphabet during March; so it becomes my way to celebrate and open young minds to the mysteries of crochet! This year I spoke to about 30 four-year-olds; two combined classes; mainly because I got caught in horrible traffic by the State Fairgrounds and was late! Needless to say there was much enthusiasm in the room!  Aiming to speak to their interests andattention span, my theme was to show how tools like the hook are used to loop yarn, which starts with the letter Y, to create odd and interesting projects. I compared and showed big yarn  (cable cord) and little yarn (thread);  big hooks and little hooks; big projects and little project...

Learning about the letter Y this week in the Junior Kindergarten class at my granddaughter's school in Indianapolis was perfect timing! "Yarn" starts with Y and it's National Crochet Month. Not exactly a coincidence because both of the wonderfully patient teachers are savvy crafters! My grandaughter, Chloe, loves her class; and I was thrilled to be invited as guest speaker to talk about " Y arn bombing" this week. The 200-mile trip was well worth it when I saw the enthusiastic and adorable children gathered in their circle waiting for my arrival.

Vashti Braha  I’ve known Vashti's passion for crochet since the day I first met her at the Crochet Guild (CGOA) booth at Stitches Midwest back in Summer 2004.  It is no surprise that her presence in the world of crochet has evolved from active crocheter, to designer, CGOA board member to her current role as entrepreneur and owner of Designing Vashti Lotus , a yarn company. Her innate curiosity, love of the technique of crochet and drive to improve has led her along this path. 2015 brings in plans for a “coming-out” party of sorts; the “debutante” is named “Lotus!” Help me celebrate by learning more about what makes Vashti tick and how she is managing to meet the challenges of such an endeavor. We'll look at her past and let you in on where she is headed!

Monday, November 4, 2013 I spent this past weekend at Vogue Knitting Live, Chicago in the luxurious Palmer House Hilton in the "loop." The promoters of VKL generously gave artists the opportunity to exhibit in the "artists' gallery" and I took advantage in order to promote my new book, The Fine Art of Crochet , and to exhibit some of my art. In this often knit-centric conference, crochet was more visible this year. They have been gradually introducing more and more crochet over the last couple of years. This year there were crochet classses, many products and books for crocheters and the ever-present Crochet Guild of America, ably represented by the 3 Chicago land chapters. I was very pleased to be able to show the beauty and versatility of crochet with my display to so many knitters who were in awe of the "delicate stitches and interesting art." I was very pleased with all the contacts I made, the books I sold and the many crocheters I was able t...

Monday, July 29, 2013 As I said in my book, The Fine Art of Crochet, at the conclusion of the introduction: "Fortunately today there are many, many artists who choose to express themselves through the medium of crochet. Although space constraints prohibit me from featuring them all, my hope and my dream is that this book will be a springboard to the understanding, not only for crocheters but for the public at large, that crochet is a valid and vibrant medium in the field of art!" My plan is to continue to educate about crochet as art here on my blog and today I am featuring fiber artist, Patrick Ahern from Los Angels. He is a kind soul and it was a pleasure getting to know him by phone. Patrick Ahern, of Los Angeles, was a musician before he was a crocheter. He likens both skills to each other because he says, “The chords in music are patterns and crochet patterns have rhythm to them as well.” Patrick further explains that he gets a sense in his head, but he doesn’t ha...

Wednesday, April 10, 2013 The food metaphors seem to abound this week. This past Saturday, I attended a Yarn Tasting sponsored by Mosaic Yarn Studio  and Classic Elite Yarns . The staff at Mosaic Yarn Studio was very gracious. They served us our wine and appetizers and modeled that garments made in the yarns we were "tasting." This is the swatch I made during the two hours of experiencing the Classic Elite yarns. It consists of (from bottom) Classic Silk Giselle Kumara Alpace Sox and Fresco The yarns were all good to work with, but then I love most Yarns and I really love color. It was fun to see all the different color combinations provided to each of us by Classic Elite to stitch with. It was a fun and relaxing evening attended by about 18-20 women pretty well split between crocheters and knitters in a friendly, bi-stitchural setting!