Happily Hooked on Crochet JuLY Meeting

HAPPY MONDAY EVERYONE,

Yesterday was the July meeting
of the Happily Hooked on Crochet
chapter of CGOA.  We meet in Danbury, CT
at Danbury Hospital in one of their
community rooms, on the second
Sunday of each month.  Usually
 attendance is low during the summer
months, but yesterday we had a busy day.
 Four new members joined us,
that is so terrific.  Our numbers are growing
by leaps and bounds. 

We had a fun day of exchanging ideas and
show and tell.  Another of our members,
 Elaine, taught how to bead crochet.

Nancy, who joined a few months ago,
is one of the most prolific crocheters
that I have ever met.
In addition  to making things for her family,
she is constantly making so many things
for charity.

Her most recent contribution is 3 sets for
preemies, that consist of blankets, booties
and hats.  The picture above does not do
them justice, they are really beautiful.

The first picture is Grace, our president,
greeting the four new members, the second
is Nancy modeling a sweater that she made
for her husband.  The 3rd,  4th and 5th photo,
Nancy again with a dress, top and the preemie
sets.  The 6th is a picture of everyone busy
working on their "stuff"

I'm off to teach this morning, have a great day!

Margaret

Interesting gifts,4th of July, conference looming

Happy Fourth of July Everyone. 


Its been a while since I posted, mostly because I did not have anything new and interesting to report .  I am also still having trouble getting the format right using my new Mac, so please bear with me.

I am also getting ready to attend the CGOA/TKGA conference in NH next week.  I'll be sure to take my camera and have lots of pictures and stories to tell when I return.


It has occurred to me, that over the years I have received some very interesting gifts from  family and friends.  Knowing my passion for the needle arts they sometimes choose gifts with that in mind.  I thought that I would share a few  of my favorites with you. 

The first picture is a silk scarf that a friend brought back from Italy about 20 years ago.  I loved it so much that I had it framed and it still hangs in my living room.  I do not see a visible signature on the scarf and I cannot take it out of its frame to check.  If you look closely, you will see that the initial M is knitted into each corner piece.  It was such a perfect gift for me.

The second is a small print of Cupid winding a ball of yarn held by his mother.  As Cupid winds, the ball of yarn is turning into a heart.  On the back it says Cupid's Plan by Harrison Fisher 1908.  I did a google search on Harrison Fisher and he is a very well know artist, and his art was extremely popular in that era.

The third photo is a Hummel figurine called The Knitting Lesson.  It was a gift from my husband over 35 years ago, as far as I can remember about 1970. At the time it cost about $50. It is not being made any longer, so  I just did an Internet search to see if I could find one for sale.  I found it for sale in a price range from $300 up to $800.  Isn't that amazing?

Every time that I look at these things, I know that the people who chose them for me did it with love and it makes me feel so wonderful.

Have a great day, and a safe and happy Fourth.

Margaret

NEW BOOK HAS ARRIVED

Good Morning Everyone,


THE COAT OF MANY SCRUMBLES
book has finally arrived and it was so
worth the wait.  The idea for the coat
was conceived by Prudence Mapstone
 in the summer of 2005, while attending
the Knit/Crochet conference in Oakland, Ca.

 At that conference a CGOA chapter from Pa,
had a garment in the fashion show that was
a group effort.  They issued a challenge to
other groups to create their own garment
for the next years fashion show.  Prudence
 took up the challenge, rallied us together,
and off we were.  We had several discussions
 and decided that we would do two garments,
a coat and a shawl.  Prudence volunteered to
 put the garments together if we all contributed
a scrumble or two.  Our coat of many scrumbles
 and the beautiful shawl are the results.  64 members
 of the International Free Form group participated.
Members from many different countries.
Prudence received so many scrumbles that she
not only made the coat and shawl but also covered
an umbrella to make the most vivid
parasol that ever was!

Prudence documented the process, then decided
to publish a book showing how we did it.  This is
not an instruction book, but a book of sheer
inspiration. 

In addition to the photos, many of the contributors
wrote some of their thougths and experiences
with free form.

You can purchase this book from me.
 The cost is $29.95 plus shipping
($2.00 for book rate, $5.00 for priority). 
Unfortunately, I have not been able to
 put it on my web site as yet, but you can
write to me at MHDesigner1@aol.com for
ordering instructions.

Have a great day!

Margaret

FINSHED PROJECTS AND ANOTHER NEW BOOK

Here's the finished baby afghan,
great job Carol.  Her smile tells
it all.

Last year, the Free Form Crochet Group, had a challenge
in which many of our members contributed "scrumbles"
to make a coat which was to be worn in the fashion show
at Chain Link summer of 2006. 
Prudence Mapstone
knotjustknitting.com  volunteered
to put the whole thing together. 
Prudence received so many scrumbles from the
members, that she not only made the coat, but made a shawl
and covered an umbrella.  The whole thing was quite spectacular. 
Prudence decided to put the whole process into
a book, and the book is finally ready and on its way to me.

Many have received the book already, and the reviews are
raves, I cannot wait to see it.  I will post a picture of the cover
as  soon as I get my copy.

I will also post ordering information.

Have a great weekend all!

Margaret


The Coat of Many Scrumbles

Teaching

Good Morning Everyone,

As you probably know by now,  I teach a crochet class at THE YARN AND CRAFT BOX in Pawling NY, every Monday morning. Marie Stewart, owner,  is working on getting a web site up right now.  Marie's shop has always been a friendly, warm place for both knitters and crocheters to meet and learn new techniques, or receive encouragement for their projects.

Yesterday was a fun day, because one of my students, Carol, was almost finished with her baby afghan.  She  started it a few weeks ago, working from a pattern in my book HOOKED THROWS, and it was looking really wonderful.  Carol was thrilled with the results. 


Have a great day!

Margaret

Happily Hooked on Crochet June Meeting

Here's Nancy, one of our new members, showing us the preemie clothes she hopes to donate to a charity.



Nancy and Joan, our two newest members, getting to know us.

New member, Joan, showing us her crochet entrelac bag, that she is planning on felting.Priscilla, showing us squares for her
watermelon afghan.  Looks yummy Priscilla.

Sunday was the monthly meeting of the Happily Hooked on Crochet Club, meeting in Danbury, CT.  I have been a member for almost 6 years now, and although I do not make every meeting, I attend whenever I can.  The are a great group, a chapter of CGOA,  always planning for fun events and charity giving.  It boggles the mind when you see the amount of crocheting that is done for charity by this group.  From preemie hats and blankets, to scarves, hats and afghans.  Hundreds of items each year donated to organizations such as Danbury Hospital and The Salvation Army. 

I cannot believe that it is only one month till I leave for NH and the Knit and Crochet Conference.  Where do the days go?

Have a great one everyone,

Margaret

Another busy weekend

Good Morning All,

I am off to Harvard, MA for the weekend, this time for
another happy family event.  My days just go flying
by.

Robin wrote and asked what yarn was used for
 the little bag that I made for my Grandson's
wedding.

I used Katia Sevilla, it is a very lovely, silky, shimmery,
 slippery yarn.  I had to place an elastic band
around the ball and let a few yards off at a time,
or the whole thing unravels.  It works up so lovely
though, that once I figured out how to control it, it
worked out fine. 

Unfortunately, I did not write down anything that I did,
but several people have asked, so I may try to do the
instructions at some point.  There is a lot of Free Form
and surface crochet going on, so I doubt that I will be
able to recreate it exactly.  I started with a base of filet
crochet about 9 inches wide, and just worked a rectangle
for 14 inches.  I lined the piece while still flat, then folded
it in half, sewed the sides.  I added a row of shell st along
the bottom, then made a little ruffle across the top.  I made
2 chains, adding in some beads, and ran them in
opposite directions through the last row of filet stitches
to form the drawstring.  I did put some
beads in here and there, but
they match the yarn so perfectly that you cannot see
them in the photos at all.  Photos of both sides in
previous entry.

Have a great weekend!

Margaret