Crochet Queen: Royal Ramblings

Wednesday, September 21, 2011 Or at least it feels like crochet defines me. It's what I do; it keeps me busy. When Antonio, our friend from Mexico came to visit a few weeks ago, I forgot to post this pic. Here is is with daughter, Bethany. His mother was so sweet to send along this colorful afghan as a gift to me: Last week I met my friend, Ashley, for her weekly challenge. She has asked 52 of her best friends to give her a challenge to carry out weekly during the year that preceeds her 30th birthday. Mine of course was for her to be learn or at least be exposed to crochet by MOI!! We met at the LYS nfd truthfully, she was a great student and learned well. She enjoyed it too and found it relaxing right away! Yay, another crocheter is born into the world! We were out of town for the weekend at a family reunion and then a quick visit to see the grandchildren. JACK CHLOE I got home too late on Monday to go to my new Fibonacci study group; oh well, I w...

Thursday, September 15, 2011 As I mentioned last week, I had a lot of projects in the works and they were bound to come together sooner or later. Here's what I've finished since last we chatted. Nellie Necklace. Made with stash yarn, this mixed-media necklace is embellished with a polyclay flower by "Nellie." I don't remember who Nellie is or where I got it, so it is particularly thrilling to finally put this beautiful flower to use! Earrings for Sylvia . She and I are bartering Crochet for knit! Earrings for Deb. She bought the focal bead and seed beads and commissioned me to make the earrings. Bear-themed diaper cover & hat for Jack! Coin Purse for Sylvia . I owe her big time! She uses Noro! Tonight I will bring a new crocheter into the world. My young friend, Ashley, is turning 30 next June and she is expanding her horizons in the 52 weeks that precede this momentous occasion. She calls it "365 days of Ashley." She called on 52 of...

Wednesday, September 7, 2011 Sometimes we get a little restless and complain about the business end of the local guild meetings. However, if it weren't for the National Guild: CGOA, the meetings, the organizing and the volunteers there wouldn't be a chapter AND I wouldn't have met Boston Bobble and Beady Buddy! Today we had a social outing and a mission to explore a bead store. These kind of social events are really the way to get to know chapter members and lots of fun too! Our destination was Bodacious Beads in Des Plaines, IL I've been there many a time; it was a frequent destination when I was a member of the Bead Society of Greater Chicago. My cohorts were newbies and I was in charge of keeping their spending under control. As fate would have it, I came with a small list of things I reeeeally needed, so I got distracted from my duties. They surpassed the $100.00 mark, but hey, that got the 10% discount!! It is very easy to get distracted in a store of this k...

Monday, August 29, 2011 Most people who talk about having to work the weekend conclude a huge groooan! Not me, no complaints! Lucky me, in my work this weekend I was surrounded by crocheters, eager crochet students, yarn, hooks and patterns plus lots of inspiration that will sustain me for months to come! You guessed it, I am talking about the Stitches Midwest event sponsored by XRX and held in Schaumburg from Thursday to Sunday. I taught 4 crochet classes in the Market Sessions Irish Crochet on Steroids! Basic Bead-Crochet Scissor Fob No-Rules Crochet: Freeform Method The Posh Post Stitch In honor of the crochet classes being offered, I yarn-bombed a rock in my local park on Tuesday before it all got started to celebrate! Yarn bombing beautifies our environment rather than destroying it! I was among a small but esteemed group of crochet teachers offering classes: Edie Eckman and Ginger Smith. Boy, was I impressed by my students! They were enthus...

Friday August 19, 2011 I find it extremely rewarding to begin the "hunting and gathering" process when I ready to begin a new pattern or design. It begins with the most important part: considering the required gauge of the project/yarn. Then, I begin to decide color and that narrows the search to a reasonable degree. From there it involves pawing through the various recptacles where I store my yarn. My yarn is confined to one room, except for that which is in the trunk of my car! Now, now before you jump to conclusions, in my trunk is my car is my traveling stash for my weekly teaching sessions. It is not yarn I would call on for any special projects. Oh yeah, and there is the yarn in the basement, but that is of the rug yarn variety, practically impervious to weather, sun and rain, that I use for yarn bombing. I store the majority of my yarn in creative ways, interesting baskets and wooden receptables. From there I have hanging storage units and even some plastic bins ...

Tuesday August 9, 2011 There's a yarn shop somewhere called "The Amazing Needle" and there is a crochet tool by the same name. IHere, I focus on that delicate little piece of steel used for sewing! While finishing up my Chapter Challenge embellishment last week, I spent quite a bit of time sewing. As my needle poked in and out, securing necessary parts at necessary points, I pondered the usefulness of this little tool that is so simple yet so handy. Its sparkle makes me happy and I enjoy the rhythm as I whip stitch things securely into place. The needle with exactly matching thread can work miracles when repairing old lace too! My mother was an expert seamstress with the machine, but I never measured up in that department. I do think I weild a needle pretty well, though, and I am proud of how my simple little needle influences my crochet work to go places that it couldn't go on its own! For now, I must keep my Chapter Challenge piece a secret, but when I un...

Tuesday, August 2, 2011 We've just welcomed our second grandchild, a boy, into the world and I spent the last ten days helping out new mommy and "big sister" who is twenty months old! Hi...My name is Jack! Big Sis: Chloe So, on July 22 we headed off for Indianapolis soon after Nicole checked into the hospital. It was her due date and she was ready! I had packed a shopping bag full of random crochet projects. My new mantra is to work only on original designs that come out of my head and to stop wasting time making cute things by following patterns. Trouble is, the creative, DIY segment of my head gets a little nervous and I always feel like I need a back-up plan/pattern if something goes awry with my original design. Nothing worse than being stuck in the car with no crochet as distraction! My mind also thinks that it is more difficult to "do my own thing." and I tend to procrastinate. Once I start, usually after an idea pops in the shower, I re...