Happenings at the CGOA Conference

It’s been almost a month since my last blog post! Wow! Where does the time go? It’s been a busy month.

Earlier this month, I attended the CGOA Chain Link Conference at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Charlotte/Concord, NC (from Oct. 2-6). It was fabulous, as always! There’s too much to tell you about in one blog post, so I’ll tell you about the classes I took in this post and save the other information for another blog post or two later. I love teaching at the conference, but I also enjoy being a student and stretching my crochet knowledge and skills, too.

I took 7 crochet classes at the conference. The teachers whose classes I took are Margaret Hubert, Jennifer Hansen, Vashti Braha and Dora Ohrenstein (I took 3 classes from Vashti and 2 classes from Jennifer). All of the classes were fantastic! And there were many more classes with other great teachers, too.

Margaret’s class was Freeform Knit and Crochet. Since I can now knit, as well as crochet, I thought this class would be a good fit for me. However, I’m not sure I’m cut out to be a freeform person (I might be too analytical and black/white). But I truly love the freeform look and would like to be able to do it someday (perhaps in Irish crochet with crochet thread instead of with yarn). Maybe with a little practice (or some wine to help me relax!), I might learn to do freeform well. But I enjoyed the class and drooled over Margaret’s gorgeous freeform pieces. Here’s one of them:

Margaret Hubert's freeform jacket

Margaret Hubert’s freeform jacket

 

Isn’t this gorgeous? Margaret is a wonderful teacher and designer. Here she is in the class showing us a jacket that she made from purchased doilies to inspire us:

Margaret Hubert's doily jacket

Margaret Hubert’s doily jacket

I was truly inspired (the photo doesn’t do it justice)! All of Margaret’s freeform pieces are inspirational! You can read more about Margaret and see her fabulous creations on her website here.

The 2 classes I took from Jennifer Hansen were on Hairpin Lace and Tunisian Crochet. Jennifer is a “Master” at both of these crochet techniques. She has boundless energy, too! In the Tunisian class, we learned to do cables and make a keyhole for her wonderful Tunisian Keyhole Cravat pattern (see pattern on her website here). Here’s a photo of this fantastic design:

Jennifer Hansen's Tunisian Keyhole Cravat from Stitch Diva Studios

Jennifer Hansen’s Tunisian Keyhole Cravat from Stitch Diva Studios

 

 

I crocheted my cravat from some extra Naturally Caron Spa yarn that I had. I haven’t blocked it, yet, so I hope it turns out as nice as the one in the Stitch Diva photo. Here’s a photo of that for you to see:

My cravat

My cravat

In the hairpin lace class, we learned how to make many different types of hairpin lace strips and many different ways to join them together. It was great! Here’s Jennifer in the hairpin lace class:

Jennifer Hansen (aka: Stitch Diva Studios)

Jennifer Hansen (aka: Stitch Diva Studios)

 

 

I learned a TON in both classes! Thanks so much, Jennifer.

 

 

 

 

The 3 classes I took from Vashti were on Love Knots, Tunisian Filet and Slip Stitches. Vashti is a wonderful teacher with lots of patience. She’s a very laid back teacher and puts a lot of thought into her classes and her designs. Here she is in the love knots class explaining something to Shari White:

Vashti Braha (on right) and Shari White (on left)

Vashti Braha (on right) and Shari White (on left)

 

 

 

If you’ve never seen love knots before, here’s a photo of some:

Love knots

Love knots

And here’s Vashti in the Tunisian Filet class deep in thought:

Vashti Braha

Vashti Braha

 

 

 

 

The Tunisian Filet class was based on her Aero Wrap. Here’s a photo of that wrap:

Aero Wrap by Vashti Braha  of "Designing Vashti"

Aero Wrap by Vashti Braha of “Designing Vashti”

You can see the pattern and read about it on her website here.

I wasn’t able to attend all of the Slip Stitch class because the Board meeting ran late (I’m the secretary on the CGOA Board and we have our annual “face-to-face” Board meeting on Saturday morning at the conference). But I enjoyed what I got out of the class and would like to learn more about it in the future.

Dora’s class was on grading garments (something I don’t like to do and I still need to learn more about it). Dora was very informative, but her class was on the last day of the conference and I was battling “conference brain”! Here’s Dora explaining something about garments:

Dora Ohrenstein of "Crochet Insider"

Dora Ohrenstein of “Crochet Insider”

 

 

I took good notes during the class. I think that between my notes and the handout, I’ll learn more when I get a chance to read through it all again. Dora has written several crochet books and they’re all fabulous! To read more about Dora, check out her website here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at the 7 crochet classes I took at the CGOA Conference. If you’ve never attended a CGOA Chain Link Conference before and you’re curious about it, check out the CGOA website here, or the CGOA blog here or the CGOA Facebook page here.

Remember, “When you think crochet, think CGOA”!!!

Until next time!

Happy crocheting,

Susan

This entry was posted in CGOA, Conferences, Crochet designers, Crochet patterns, Crochet teachers, Learning something new and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to Happenings at the CGOA Conference

  1. Rosa says:

    Hola
    Quisiera saber si envían a Uropa. Concretamente a Tenerife( canarias). Gracias
    Rosa

    • Susan Lowman says:

      Rosa,
      Google Translate may not have translated your comment correctly. I’m not sure what you’re asking. CGOA is an organization that furthers the craft of crochet. There is usually an annual conference, but there isn’t one this year. The conference is always held in the USA.
      Happy crocheting to you!
      Susan

      Rosa,
      Es posible que Google Translate no haya traducido correctamente su comentario. No estoy seguro de lo que estás preguntando. CGOA es una organización que promueve la artesanía del ganchillo. Por lo general, hay una conferencia anual, pero no hay ninguna este año. La conferencia siempre se lleva a cabo en los Estados Unidos.
      ¡Feliz crochet para ti!
      Susana

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