Design Contest at the 2013 CGOA Conference

Last month, at the CGOA Chain Link Conference in Charlotte, NC, there was a design contest, open to all CGOA members. We have the design contest each year and I always enjoy seeing the fabulous designs that are entered. This year was no exception! There were some fantastic entries and the winning entries were spectacular!!! Here are some photos from the design contest:

2nd Prize Afghan by Jessie Rayot

2nd Prize Afghan by Jessie Rayot

1st Prize Afghan by Julia Bryant

1st Prize Afghan by Julia Bryant

3rd Prize Artistic Expression by Deborah Bagley

3rd Prize Artistic Expression by Deborah Bagley

 

 

 

 

 

 

1st Prize Artistic Expression by Sachiko Adams

1st Prize Artistic Expression by Sachiko Adams

 

Grand Prize Winner by Dot Drake

Grand Prize Winner by Dot Drake

Winner's Circle

Winner’s Circle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To see a full list of the winners in the design contest, please visit the CGOA blog here.

We also had a fashion show at the conference. Some of the garments in the fashion show were in the design contest and others weren’t. The fashion show has lots of “eye candy” and is part of the dinner at the conference! It’s a lot of fun! If you’d like to see lots of photos from the fashion show and the design contest, visit the CGOA Flicker page here.

I entered 3 designs in the Design Contest this year. I didn’t win a prize, but that’s okay. At least I tried my best! I LOVE the designs that won, so that’s what counts! Here are the 3 designs I entered:

Brandyce modeling my Kauni Poncho

Brandyce modeling my Kauni Poncho

This is Brandyce from Lion Brand Yarn Company modeling my Kauni Poncho in the fashion show. I love the looks of this poncho because the yarn does all the work (well, most of the work!). If you’d like to make a Kauni Poncho of your own, the pattern is available for purchase here on my website, as well as on Ravelry, Craftsy and Etsy. It takes 140 grams (612 yards) of Kauni Effektgarn yarn to make this poncho. This yarn is 100% wool fingering weight and I LOVE the colors it comes in. To see all of the colors of this yarn, please visit the Kauni website here.

Vashti modeling my Alexandria Shawl

Vashti modeling my Alexandria Shawl

This is my Alexandria Shawl, modeled by Vashti Braha. This shawl is made with 100% cotton yarn. The large triangular section of motifs and the inset of motifs are made in the Continuous Crochet Motifs method, with less ends to weave in because the motifs are made continuously, not separately. If all goes well, I’ll have this pattern available for purchase on my website within the next year.

Triple Delight Pillow

Triple Delight Pillow

This is my Triple Delight Pillow. It’s made with 3 shades of size 10 DMC Cebelia. I made it in 3 techniques: Irish Crochet motifs (the flowers and leaves), Filet Crochet (in the large center section) and Bruges Lace around the edges (hence the word “triple” in the name!). I also added small beads in the center of many of the flowers. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with this design, yet.

 

If you’re a CGOA member, you’ve tried your hand at designing crochet projects and you haven’t entered them in the CGOA Design Contest, you should consider entering your designs next year. Who knows! You might win! And you don’t have to write the patterns to enter your designs (of course, if they’re going to be published, you’ll need to write the patterns eventually!). The prizes are $100 for 3rd place, $200 for 2nd place and $300 for first place in each of the 6 divisions, plus $1,000 for the grand prize winner! That’s nothing to sneeze at!!! And the designs remain yours to do with as you please after the contest.

Keep watching the CGOA website for more information on the design contest as the 2014 conference gets closer. Next year’s CGOA conference will be July 23-27, 2014 in Manchester, NH. It’ll be the 20th Anniversary of CGOA next year! Yahoo!!! There will be lots of celebrating going on, I’m sure!

Good luck! I hope to see your designs in next year’s CGOA Design Contest.

Happy crocheting,

Susan

This entry was posted in CGOA, Design Contest, Designing and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to Design Contest at the 2013 CGOA Conference

  1. says:

    Susan – That pillow is fantastic! you could do an entire online set of classes or workshop around that pattern. Bravo- well done on the Triple Delight!

    • Susan Lowman says:

      Thanks, Anne.

      I enjoyed designing and crocheting the pillow. I’m not sure if it would make a good set of online classes because it might be too advanced for many crocheters. But it’s something to think about! I definitely enjoy filet crochet, Irish crochet and Bruges Lace crochet (and almost anything done with crochet thread)!

      Happy crocheting,
      Susan

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *