Did you learn any new crochet techniques last year? Are there any crochet techniques that you’d like to learn this year? I love learning new techniques/skills and passing along what I’ve learned along the way to the students in my classes, whether that’s in person or through videos!
I’m very excited to announce that I’ll be teaching 2 crochet techniques at the annual IOLI Convention (International Organization of Lace, Inc) in Mesa, AZ in July of this year! I’ll be teaching a 12-hour class on Irish Crochet and another 12-hour class on Bruges Lace Crochet! I’ll also be teaching a 6-hour class on Irish Crochet. This all takes place the week of July 17 – 22, 2022. For more information about this convention, check out the IOLI website here. There are lots of teachers and lace techniques being taught. It’s going to be a fantastic convention!
Registration for the convention opens in just a few days, on February 15. Classes fill up quickly, so get your registration completed and submitted right away if you’d like to attend one or more of these fabulous lace classes!
Here are photos of the projects in my 12-hour Irish Crochet and Bruges Lace Crochet classes at the IOLI Convention:
Irish Crochet is a fabulous technique. It is made with separate textured flower and leaf motifs that are joined together by various methods. I’ll teach you 3 ways to join your Irish Crochet motifs together in my 12-hour class and the 2 easiest ways to join them together in my 6-hour class. A padding cord is used to add more stability and thickness to the pieces.
Bruges Lace Crochet is made with narrow strips of crochet “tapes” that are joined together to form intricate shapes. You’ll learn to make several basic tapes, then jump in to making 3 gorgeous Bruges Lace projects in my 12-hour class.
Since I learned to do bobbin lace 4 years ago, I’ve been even more fascinated with all kinds of lace techniques: crochet, knit, bobbin lace and more! I’ve gone to several Lace Days that the IOLI Lacey Ladies Guild puts on in Phoenix, AZ and I’ve begun to learn a needle lace technique called Aemilia Ars. This is my first attempt at making that lace:
My first Aemilia Ars needle lace piece
It’s by no means perfect, but it’s a start! I have a long way to go in improving my needle lace skills, but at least I’ve made the initial jump into learning how to do this gorgeous lace technique! It’s challenging to learn a new skill or technique, but it’s a great way to keep our brains active!
I’ve also made my first piece of Romanian Point Lace. The cord for this lace is made with a small steel crochet hook. The lace areas are made with a needle. Here’s that piece for you to see:
My first Romanian Point Lace piece
I hope you all have a great time learning new things and improving your skills this year. I look forward to meeting some of you at the IOLI Convention in July!
I just love learning new things, don’t you? I’m very happy to announce that I’ll be teaching 4 online crochet classes next month for the annual CGOA Conference. I’ve taught each of these classes before in person and I’m excited to teach them online/virtually! The nice thing about online/virtual classes is there’s no travel necessary to attend the classes/conference. You can attend classes in the comfort of your own home, which saves lots of time and money! Each crochet class will be taught at Central Standard Time (US time zone) through Zoom. It will be fun to learn new things, so give it a try!
If you’ve never heard of CGOA (Crochet Guild of America), check out the benefits of membership here. I’ve been a CGOA member since 2002 and I started teaching at the CGOA Conference in 2009! It’s a wonderful organization with lots of crochet enthusiasts, including lots of crochet hobbyists, designers, editors and publishers! CGOA members enjoy discounts on classes and lots of other things.
Registration ends soon, so register today for the classes you want to take!
Below are the 4 classes I’ll be teaching at the virtual CGOA Conference next month.
Invisible Repairs: Tuesday, July 20 from 9:00AM-4:00PM CST (with 1 hour lunch break)
Click on video photo for more information
Repair torn, cut, chewed or burned projects
Replace stitches and chain spaces, locking them to bottom strands in the row or round above
Invisibly seam first and last rows in a crochet cowl
Bring damaged crochet projects back to life again
Intro to Irish Crochet: Friday, July 23 from 1:00PM-4:00PM CST
Click on video photo for more information
Introductory class
Learn to make basic Irish Crochet rose and leaf motifs
Learn to make a background for joining your finished motifs
Learn a simple Irish Crochet edging with picots
Reading & Understanding Crochet Patterns: Monday, July 26 from 1:00PM-4:00PM CST
Click on the video photo above for more information.
By learning how to read a pattern, you’ll be able to crochet exciting new projects
Learn the rules for reading a crochet pattern
Learn abbreviations, right/wrong side, right/left side, right/left front
Bring your crochet pattern questions to be answered
We will make some practice swatches in class
Fantastic Filet Crochet: Wednesday, July 28 from 9:00AM-4:00PM CST (with 1-hr lunch break)
Click on the video photo above for more information.
Learn the basics of Filet Crochet
Learn open mesh, closed mesh, lacets and square mesh
Learn increases, decreases and diagonal stitches
Learn to read a Filet Crochet chart
We will be making a beginning Filet Crochet project and intermediate swatches
I hope to see/meet many of you in my CGOA classes next month!
Here’s a link directly to the CGOA web page to read about all the classes being offered at this year’s CGOA conference and to register for classes.
Happy crocheting to all of you and keep on learning!
A few weeks ago, I flew to Anchorage, AK to teach 4 crochet classes to 11 wonderful ladies in the Ididachain Crochet Guild! They are one of the many local guilds/chapters of CGOA (Crochet Guild of America). This was their Fall Retreat, which they held at a camp in Big Lake, AK. The area was absolutely beautiful and relaxing, right next to the lake. And each of the ladies was friendly and eager to learn what I had to teach them! The camp had great accommodations and delicious food! And the weather was perfect! I had so much fun!!!
This was my first time being in Alaska, as well as the first crochet retreat I’ve attended and the first retreat I’ve taught at! What a wonderful experience I had (except for having to wear a face mask in all 3 airports and on each of the 4 flights I took to get there and back to AZ)!
The crochet topics/techniques I taught there were:
Faux Knitting (how to knit with a crochet hook)
Irish Crochet (the basics)
Filet Crochet (beginning to intermediate)
Invisible Repairs (how to repair damage to any crochet project)
Here is a photo of all of us at the retreat:
I really enjoyed getting to know these ladies. Each of them has been crocheting for a different length of time and each has their favorite type of crochet projects to make! Some of them are Alaska natives and some of them are transplants from other parts of the US. I want to say “Thank You” to each of you for making me feel welcome! You’re the best!
I want to give a HUGE “Thank You” to Mickey for asking me to teach at the retreat, picking me up at the airport, driving me to the hotel, giving me a personal tour of the new JoAnn Fabric “flagship” store in Anchorage, helping to alleviate my fears involving the need to take a Covid test before flying to Alaska and so much more! Thank you to Debbie and Amy for driving me to lunch and the yarn shop (Fiber N’ Ice) the day before teaching. Thank you to everyone at the retreat (and everyone in the guild) for the beautiful gift of 2 hanks of local hand-dyed yarn from Denise at the Fiber N’ Ice yarn shop! I hope you each learned a lot and will use some of what you learned in your crochet projects (and/or repairs).
Here are photos of the yarn/fiber I bought, along with the 2 hanks of yarn that the guild gave me as a thank you gift:
This sparkly yarn is gorgeous! The color is called “Aurora” for the Northern Lights! I’m not sure what I’m going to make or design with it yet, but it’ll be something substantial, since each hank has 400 yards of superwash yumminess!
Here are photos of the students’ class projects/samples and the other projects they were working on in the evenings:
Here are photos of the beautiful lake:
This was a trip that I won’t forget! I’d go back to Alaska in a heartbeat! It’s gorgeous there, especially since I live in a desert state with lots of brown instead of green!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this update and the eye candy!
Happy New Year to all of you! I hope you had a wonderful 2019 and are looking forward to a great 2020!
What kind of New Year’s resolutions do you have for this year? I’m resolving to self-publish more patterns this year than I did last year. Last year I self-published 4 designs: Scarfie, Cowlie & Hattie; Sassy Stripes Baby Blanket (knit); Polish Stars Potholder; It Takes All Colors Snowflakes Afghan. But that’s more than the previous year when I didn’t self-publish ANY designs! However, I was working hard on my 2 Annie’s videos in 2018 (Crochet ER: Fixing Damage & Mistakes and Learn Filet Crochet), so self-publishing took a back seat that year! If you’d like to take a look at my new Annie’s videos, you can find the Crochet ER video here and the Filet Crochet video here.
I have a stockpile of crochet and knit designs that I’ve designed over the past 5 years and they’re beginning to get out of hand! So my biggest New Year’s resolution is to self-publish a good amount of those patterns this year (and over the next few years, as well!). I like to make sure my patterns are as clear as they can be before publishing them, so I don’t like to rush things! And I also get distracted with other things along the way (are any of you like that or is it just me?)!
A year or two ago, I came up with a new twist on a crochet technique and I’m eager to release a few patterns using that new technique twist to the public so you can enjoy this new twist, too!
Did you learn any crochet techniques last year? Are there any crochet techniques that you’d like to learn this year? I love learning new techniques/skills and passing along what I’ve learned along the way to the students in my classes, whether that’s in person or through videos!
I’m very excited to announce that I’ll be teaching 2 crochet techniques at the annual IOLI Convention (International Organization of Lace, Inc) in Mesa, AZ in July of this year! I’ll be teaching a 12-hour class on Irish Crochet and another 12-hour class on Bruges Lace Crochet! I’ll also be teaching two 6-hour classes on Irish Crochet. This all takes place the week of July 19 – 25, 2020. For more information about this convention, check out the IOLI website here. There are lots of teachers and lace techniques being taught. It’s going to be a fantastic convention!
Here are photos of the projects in my 12-hour Irish Crochet and Bruges Lace Crochet classes at the IOLI Convention:
Irish Crochet class projects
Bruges Lace Crochet class projects
Here is a direct link to my 12-hour Irish Crochet class. And here is a direct link to my 12-hour Bruges Lace Crochet class.
Since I learned to do bobbin lace 2 years ago this month, I’ve been even more fascinated with all kinds of lace techniques: crochet, knit, bobbin lace and more! I’ve gone to a couple of Lace Days that the IOLI Lacey Ladies Guild puts on in Phoenix, AZ and I’ve just begun to learn a needle lace technique called Aemilia Ars. This is my first attempt at making that lace:
My first Aemilia Ars needle lace piece
It’s by no means perfect, but it’s a start! I have a long way to go in improving my needle lace skills, but at least I’ve made the initial jump into learning how to do this gorgeous lace technique! It’s challenging to learn a new skill or technique, but it’s a great way to keep our brains active!
I hope you all have a great year learning new things and improving your skills. I look forward to meeting some of you at the IOLI Convention in July!
It’s been 3 weeks since I returned home from the CGOA Conference in Manchester, NH. This year is the 25th Anniversary of CGOA! Wow! I’ve been a member since 2002, so I’ve been with CGOA for 17 of their 25 years. Happy Birthday, CGOA!
As always, I had a great time at the conference. I saw lots of friends, made new ones and was surrounded by everything crochet! This year, I taught 5 classes: Shuttle Tatting, Invisible Repairs, Irish Crochet, Intermediate Filet Crochet and Symbol Crochet. I had rooms full of wonderful students, each eager to learn what I was teaching. I even had a blind student in 2 of my classes! She was a treat to meet and teach (and what an inspiration to me!). Unfortunately, I didn’t take any photos of the students in my classes. But I still have a few photos to share with you from the conference.
Here are photos of some of my friends:
Carlotta Craig and me at the Banquet/Fashion Show
Bonnie Barker and Carlotta Craig at the Banquet/Fashion Show
Kristin Lynn and me after the Banquet
Carolyn Calderon, Pia Thadani and me with our tatting shuttles the day after the conference
I stayed an extra day after the conference for some sightseeing! My roommate, Shari White, and I went to the Currier Museum of Art that day. It was a very nice museum with lots of beautiful exhibits. They even had a special exhibit about guitars. My favorite guitar was one made from an armadillo shell! Here are some photos from the museum:
My roommate and me at the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester
Guitar Exhibit sign
Armadillo guitar at Currier Museum of Art
On the way to the conference, I saw some other guitar items. At Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix, they had an exhibit about making guitars. Here’s a photo from that exhibit:
Guitar making exhibit at Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix
And at the airport in Nashville, where I had a layover on the way to Manchester, there was a Gibson Café. Here’s one of the tables that’s shaped like a guitar pick:
Guitar pick table in Nashville airport
My oldest son is really into music, so I tend to take notice of music-related items!
At the conference, there was the usual Design Competition, which I love! I didn’t have time to make anything for it this year, but I always enjoy seeing the entries from other designers. Here are a couple of my favorites:
Rockabilly Swing Dress by Nancy Nehring
This is the Rockabilly Swing Dress by Nancy Nehring. She won the Grand Prize for this dress! And here’s her daughter, Katie, modeling the dress for the fashion show:
Katie modeling her mom’s dress
These are some other garments in the Design Competition. The one at the bottom left is the Blue Willow Dress by Susan Walsh. She won First Place in the Fashion category for this design.
Garments in Design Competition
Here’s Susan modeling her dress for the Fashion Show:
Susan Walsh modeling her Blue Willow Dress
I LOVE this dress! And it looks fabulous on Susan!
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the yarn bombing at the conference. One of the CGOA members, Jennifer Ryan, who lives in NH, put together the yarn bombing this year, both inside and outside the conference hotel (the Double Tree by Hilton). Here is one of her yarn bombing displays:
CGOA yarn bombing
Of course, there were pieces of crochet almost everywhere you turned at the hotel! I thought this one was really nice!
One of my favorite things to do at the conference is model in the fashion show. I’m not a professional model, but it’s a lot of fun! Here are a few things I modeled there:
me modeling Margaret’s cardigan
This is Margaret Hubert’s Pot Pourri cardigan. Isn’t it beautiful? It was very comfortable! I don’t know where this cardigan is published, though.
me modeling my Frosty Lace Cardigan
This is my Frosty Lace Cardigan (a thread crochet top) that I designed a few years ago. I lengthened it by about 3” in April or May of this year, after the trip that my husband and I took to Japan in March.
If you’d like to watch a video of the fashion show, check out this video on Facebook. And here are some photos, along with the line-up, of entries in the Fashion Show on the CGOA blog.
Another fun event at the conference was the Friday night sign-along, hosted by Bonnie Barker and Jennifer Ryan. It was so much fun! If you’d like to see a few videos from that night, check out Bonnie’s YouTube channel. Some of the song names were “Will You Crochet Friend, Crochet?”, “Ms. MacDonald Had a Bag of F-I-B-E-R”, “On Top of My Craft Bag” and “Ripping Out is Hard to Do”. It was so fun to sing these silly songs!!! Bonnie and Jennifer did a fabulous job that night, along with 2 of Jennifer’s daughters!
As you can see, the CGOA Conference was a ton of fun! It always is! I met some very nice new friends and enjoyed teaching all of my classes. I hope my students enjoyed my classes and learned everything they wanted to learn in them!
I LOVE to teach crochet! And I LOVE to learn new crochet techniques! Don’t you?
I’m happy to announce that I’ll be teaching 5 classes at the CGOA Conference this July in Manchester, NH. Not all of my classes are crochet, though. I’ll be teaching shuttle tatting again this year, too!
First, I’ll tell you a little about the CGOA (Crochet Guild of America) Conference. This takes place every year (sometimes twice a year) in various cities across the US. It is open to CGOA members and non-members. There are dozens of classes taught by many talented teachers, some very well-known! We have a marketplace with vendors who sell everything from luscious yarn/thread to hooks, books and supplies. We also have a banquet and fashion show, as well as some fun events in the evenings. And I can’t forget about Professional Development Day (PDD) where established crochet professionals share what they know about running a successful crochet business. PDD takes place the day before classes begin, on Wednesday, July 10 from 9 am – 4 pm.
For all the scoop about the conference, visit the CGOA conference pages. Here is a list of the events going on at this year’s conference. Read this page to find out about all the classes being offered. And one last thing, CGOA has a design competition each year for CGOA members only. There are prizes in 6 categories ranging from $100 – $300, with a grand prize of $1,000! There have been some fabulous entries each year! It’s so much fun to see the entries at the conference and find it who wins in each category!
Okay. Now to list the classes I’m teaching and when each one is offered.
Thursday, July 11 from 9 am – 5 pm (with lunch from noon – 2 pm)
Tatting the Old-Fashioned Way
Tatting the Old-Fashioned Way class
Tatting is such a fascinating and delicate craft. I taught myself to tat over 20 years ago. I’ve learned more since then and I really enjoy teaching others so they’ll be successful in their tatting projects. In this class, my students will learn the basics of tatting and start tatting this beautiful necklace with buttons, beads or charms. This is the only 6 hour class I’m teaching at the conference this year. Yes, it takes that long to learn to tat and get your head wrapped around how to do it! But I’ll be there to teach my students and answer all their questions. If you’ve always admired tatting and want to learn to tat, sign up for this class early. I’ve limited this class size to only 20 students.
Friday, July 12 from 9 am – 12 pm (noon)
Invisible Repairs
Invisible Repairs class
I’ve taught my Invisible Repairs class at the conference for the past 2 years. This has been a popular class and I’m thrilled to be teaching it again this year! In this class, I teach my students how to repair their damaged crochet projects, no matter where the damage is located. There is homework for this class so we can all do the repairs to the same swatches in class. And I’ll be demonstrating how to do the repairs in class, as well. This technique also works great to invisibly seam the last row to the first row on crochet cowls!
Last year, I filmed a crochet video class for Annie’s on this same topic called “Crochet ER: Fixing Damage and Mistakes”! If you can’t make it to the conference and would like to learn to repair your crochet projects (or someone else’s crochet projects), check out my Annie’s video class.
Friday, July 12 from 2 pm – 5 pm
Intro to Irish Crochet
Intro to Irish Crochet class
I LOVE Irish Crochet and I really enjoy teaching this class to other Irish Crochet enthusiasts (who don’t know where to begin). In this class, I’ll be teaching how to make the Irish Crochet rose and leaf motifs. I’ll also teach how to make the background and the edging that you see in this photo. This is an introduction class, so we won’t get into more advanced Irish Crochet techniques. But once you know the basics of Irish Crochet, you can always learn more on your own or with books.
Saturday, July 13 from 9 am – 12 pm (noon)
Intermediate Filet Crochet
Intermediate Filet Crochet class
This is my Filet Crochet class for those who already know the basics of Filet Crochet (open mesh, closed mesh and lacets). In this intermediate class, you’ll learn to do increases, decreases, diagonals and a whole lot more! Once you learn these intermediate Filet Crochet skills, you’ll be ready to tackle that more complex Filet Crochet pattern you’ve had your eye on for so long!
If you don’t know the basics of Filet Crochet yet, and you’ve been wanting to learn to do Filet Crochet, check out my Annie’s class called “Learn Filet Crochet Using Thread and Yarn”. Then if you want to take your Filet Crochet to the next level, why not sign up for my intermediate class at the CGOA Conference (or before for the best rates)!
Saturday, July 13 from 2 pm – 5 pm
Simplifying Symbol Crochet
Simplifying Symbol Crochet class
This class is always a lot of fun to teach! I learned to read symbol crochet charts several decades ago through Magic Crochet and Decorative Crochet magazines. I love to make doilies and the patterns in these magazines were mostly written in crochet symbol charts. As a visual learner, I find these charts so much easier to follow than a lengthy written crochet pattern! And they look so similar to the finished project, too!
If you haven’t learned to read symbol crochet charts yet, this is your chance! You’ll learn all the basic crochet symbols and lots of more complex symbols, too. You’ll learn to follow a symbol crochet chart, both in rows and in rounds. And you’ll practice what you’ve learned making 2 small projects/swatches in class. Once you learn to read and follow symbol crochet charts, a whole new world of crochet patterns will open up to you! You’ll even be able to follow symbol crochet patterns in other languages including Japanese, Chinese, Russian and Ukranian!
If you’ve taken any of my classes in the past, you know how much I like to have nice, precise class handouts. I print them in color and bind them like a book to they’re a great keepsake to refer to later on after the conference. I charge $5-$8 for these handouts (depending on the quantity of photos/pages), which is what it costs me to print them at home, with the price of toner cartridges, nice paper, card stock and binding combs (to use with my binding machine). Here’s a look at my class handouts:
My Class Handouts
If you’re going to the CGOA Conference, class registration begins next Wednesday, March 13 at 12:00 pm (noon) Central time. Once again, here’s the CGOA website to find out more about the conference and CGOA in general. And if you have any questions about the conference, I’d be happy to answer them for you.
Now that I’m back from teaching at the Interweave YarnFest in Loveland, CO last week, I thought I’d write a blog post about my next teaching engagement this year.
I’ll be teaching at the CGOA (Crochet Guild of America) Conference in Portland, Oregon from July 25-28, 2018! I always LOVE teaching at the CGOA Conference! There are so many lovely, friendly crocheters at the conference, both professionals and hobbyists! It’s great to meet new crocheters there and spend time with so many of the crocheters who attend every year (or almost every year)! I’ve been attending the CGOA Conference since 2003 and teaching there since 2009. It’s so much fun! If you’ve never attended, I hope this will be the year you make the decision to go and meet like-minded crocheters who all speak the same language of crochet!
To read all about the conference, check out the CGOA website here. To register for the conference, go to this page.
Here are the classes I’ll be teaching in July:
Wed, July 25, 6 – 9 pm:
SIMPLIFYING SYMBOL CROCHET
About the class:
Symbol crochet diagrams are much easier to read and follow than written crochet patterns. Once you learn symbol crochet, you’ll wonder what you ever did without it! You’ll learn what each symbol means, thus enabling you to read and understand symbol crochet diagrams from any pattern, even foreign crochet patterns with international crochet symbols! You’ll even try out your symbol crochet knowledge by making 2 small projects from symbol crochet charts in class. This class includes instructions on starting/working in the round and making motifs, both techniques found in the CGOA Masters of Advanced Crochet Stitches and Techniques program.
Simplifying Symbol Crochet class
Thur, July 26, 9 am – 12 pm:
MULTIPLE MOTIFS
About the class:
Do you love the look of projects made with crochet motifs, but don’t enjoy weaving in all the ends? Then this is the perfect technique for you! With this method of crocheting motifs continuously, instead of separately, the number of ends is decreased dramatically, saving you time and energy! In this class, we’ll make continuous crochet motifs worked in joined rows. You’ll learn how to follow the necessary symbol crochet charts with this motif method. Once you’ve learned how to make many motifs using one continuous strand of yarn or thread, you’ll feel confident tackling any continuous crochet motif pattern.
Multiple Motifs class
Fri, July 27, 9 am – 12 pm:
INVISIBLE REPAIRS
About the class:
Do you have a crochet project that’s gotten cut, torn, chewed, etc? Do you want to learn how to professionally repair it? Then this is the class for you! In this class, you’ll learn how to repair all sorts of crochet projects, replacing the “bad” stitches and making your repairs “invisible”! You’ll learn how to replace stitches and chain spaces in the middle of a row, locking the top of the new stitches to the bottom strands of the stitches in the row above. Your work will look as good as new! Learn how to bring your damaged crochet projects back to life again! This technique also works great to “invisibly” seam the first and last rows in a crochet cowl!
Invisible Repairs class
Fri, July 27, 2 – 5 pm:
BEGINNING BRUGES LACE CROCHET
About the class:
Bruges Lace Crochet mimics the decorative Bruges Lace made with bobbins in Bruges, Belgium. Bruges Lace Crochet is a fabulous technique and is easy to learn. In this beginning class, we’ll make several different styles of Bruges Lace, as well as curve the lace and join it to make circles, squares and triangles. Once you’ve learned the basics of Bruges Lace Crochet, you’ll be ready to tackle more complex Bruges Lace patterns. If you’re not a “threadie”, don’t fret! Bruges Lace isn’t just for thread crochet. It can be done with yarn, as well. Come and learn to make basic Bruges Lace in crochet.
Beginning Bruges Lace Crochet class
Sat, July 28, 2 – 5 pm:
Intermediate Bruges Lace Crochet
We’ll take Bruges Lace Crochet to the next level in this intermediate class. You’ll learn many more variations of the lace itself, more joining techniques, and how to curve the lace over itself for more variety. We’ll explore more intricate Bruges Lace designs and you’ll learn how to achieve them in this class. Prerequisite: Beginning Bruges Lace Crochet class should be taken before taking this intermediate class (or have knowledge of the Bruges Lace technique).
Intermediate Bruges Lace Crochet class
I’m excited to be teaching these classes. Last year, my Invisible Repairs class sold out and I was able to add a 2nd class for this “technique” of repairing crochet projects invisibly. This year, I’m teaching Multiple Motifs for the first time (this is also called Continuous Crochet Motifs, which I’ve blogged about before)! I always enjoy teaching Bruges Lace Crochet and Symbol Crochet!
I hope you’ll consider attending the conference. If you attend for the first time because of reading my blog, please stop me at the conference and let me know (or leave a comment below)!
If you’ve attended the CGOA Conference before, what do you enjoy most about the conference?
Last month, I learned something new. It’s called “Bobbin Lace” and I LOVE it! Bobbin Lace is made with dozens of wooden bobbins. The thread is wound on the bobbins, then the bobbins are crossed and twisted to make the pattern. Of course, there’s much more to it than that, but that’s the basic idea of how to make bobbin lace.
I’ve been wanting to learn bobbin lace for many years. When the class was offered at my local yarn shop, Fiber Creek in Prescott, AZ at the beginning of January, I jumped at the chance to learn it! The Bobbin Lace teacher, Verla, was very good and encouraging! She supplied everything we needed to use in the class.
Here’s a photo of me learning bobbin lace in the class last month:
Learning Bobbin Lace
Bobbin Lace takes a very long time to make. The bookmark that I made in class took about 4 1/2 hours to make! Here’s a photo of my finished bookmark:
My first Bobbin Lace bookmark
It’s not perfect, but I learned a TON making it!
There are many styles of Bobbin Lace. Two of my favorites are Russian and Brugge (or Bruges) Bobbin Lace. If the words “Brugge” or “Bruges” look familiar, it’s because it’s the original bobbin lace from Belgium that inspired the Crochet Bruges Lace technique that I’ve taught and designed in for a number of years! Here are a few photos from my Bobbin Lace teacher’s board in the class I took from her:
Brugge Bobbin Lace sample from class
Russian Bobbin Lace sample from class
Both of these styles of Bobbin Lace are made with “tapes”, just the same as Crochet Bruges Lace. Here is a photo of a crocheted Bruges Lace piece that I designed in the last 10 years:
Crochet Bruges Lace Doily
Can you see the similarities between the Bobbin Lace and the crochet Bruges Lace? They’re both made with tapes. Of course, the crochet method is much faster than the bobbin lace method, but I love them both the same!
In case you’re wondering, this crochet Bruges Lace doily is published in the book/leaflet called “Crochet Beyond the Basics” by Rita Weiss and yours truly in 2014. This book is still available for purchase in print or as a digital download through Leisure Arts, the publisher, here or in print through Amazon here. I designed another crochet Bruges Lace piece for this book. Here’s that piece:
Crochet Bruges Lace Centerpiece
If you’d like to learn how to do Crochet Bruges Lace, I’m teaching it at 2 places this year:
At the Interweave Yarn Fest in Loveland, Colorado in April and at the CGOA Conference in Portland, Oregon in July. You can read about the Interweave Yarn fest here and register for my Yarn Fest class here. You can read a little about the CGOA Conference and find out who’s teaching classes here, but the class listings won’t be publicized until around the middle of March.
Back to Bobbin Lace! Here’s a photo of the first Russian Bobbin Lace doily that I made a few weeks ago:
My First Russian Bobbin Lace Doily
And here’s a photo of my 2nd Russian Bobbin Lace doily in progress:
Russian Bobbin Lace doily in progress
What do you think? Have you ever wanted to learn to do Bobbin Lace? Or do you already know how to make bobbin lace? Do you want to learn to do Crochet Bruges Lace? I’d love to have you in my Bruges Lace classes in Colorado or Portland this year! And I’d love to hear what you think about bobbin lace and/or crochet Bruges Lace!
Happy crocheting, knitting, tatting and bobbin lace making!
Who loves learning new crochet techniques? I certainly do! And I love teaching new crochet techniques, too!
I’m super excited to announce that I’m teaching 6 crochet classes at the 2018 Interweave Yarn Fest in Loveland, Colorado from April 12-15! Woohoo!!! This will be my first time teaching there and I can’t wait to meet new crocheters, see crocheters who I already know, see the yarny goodness in the marketplace and have lots of fun!
Here are the 6 crochet classes that I’ll be teaching at this year’s Yarn Fest:
Intermeshing Crochet class
Intermeshing Crochet
Thur., April 12 from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
I learned this fascinating crochet technique over 10 years ago and I really enjoy it! The front and back of Intermeshing Crochet pieces usually look different because of how and where you make your stitches. It’s a really, really cool technique! It’s the same technique as in the “Interlocking Crochet” book by Tanis Galik. If you’ve tried this technique on your own and you can’t understand it, I’d be happy to help you figure it out in this class!
Beginning Bruges class
Beginning Bruges
Thur., April 12 from 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM
I’ve enjoyed the Bruges Lace crochet technique for many, many years! I LOVE anything lacy and this technique is lots of fun! It looks very much like the Bruges Bobbin Lace that’s so intricate and time-consuming. I just learned to do bobbin lace (2 weeks ago) and soon I’ll be able to do “real” Bruges Lace with bobbins instead of a crochet hook! But I still love to do Bruges Lace in crochet! This technique can be done with yarn instead of crochet thread for those who aren’t comfortable with smaller crochet hooks and crochet thread.
Irish Crochet Intro class
Irish Crochet Intro
Fri., April 13 from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
I’ve been crocheting doilies with crochet thread for decades now, some of them in Irish Crochet! While my good friend, Kathryn White, was working on her Irish Crochet book for Annie’s about 5 years ago, she taught me some more Irish Crochet (she’s an expert in Irish Crochet)! I’ll be sharing what I’ve learned with you in this class!
Magical Mosaic Crochet class
Magical Mosaic Crochet
Fri., April 13 from 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM
I can’t remember how long ago I learned mosaic crochet. There are so many variations on how to work mosaic crochet. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses (like is it reversible, how many stitches can you work in a row, are they anchored, etc). I started working on a new crochet design a few weeks ago with some mosaic crochet in it and I enjoy this technique very much. I’m sure you will, too!
Fantastic Filet class
Fantastic Filet
Sat., April 14 from 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM (6-hour class)
I’ve done Filet Crochet for almost as long as I’ve been crocheting (over 40 years now)! I absolutely LOVE this crochet technique! You don’t have to enjoy thread crochet to enjoy the Filet Crochet technique. I’ve made filet afghans, shawls and more with this technique (using yarn)! In this 6-hour class, I’ll teach you everything you need to know to be successful with basic filet crochet, as well as more advanced filet crochet (like increases, decreases, diagonals and lots more!).
Polish Star class
Polish Star
Sun., April 15 from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
This is one of the slightly newer crochet techniques to me. It’s a lot of fun and I enjoy it, too! You work basic crochet stitches according to the pattern. Then you weave the loops to create the Polish Stars! It’s so much fun to see the stars take shape right before your eyes! If you’ve ever seen this technique and wanted to give it a try, I’d love to have you in this class!
To read more about my classes and all the fabulous classes being offered this year, check out this link. To read more about the Interweave Yarn Fest, check out this link.
I hope to see many of my friends and meet new friends there! If you read this blog post and you sign up for some of my classes, please drop me a note and let me know! Or tell me in class!
I’ve been back from the CGOA Conference in Chicago for 3 weeks now and I thought I’d share some of the highlights of the conference this year for me!
I taught 6 crochet classes this year: Beginning and Intermediate Filet Crochet, Beginning and Intermediate Bruges Lace Crochet and 2 classes of Invisible Repairs. For more information about any of these classes, check out my previous blog post here. My smallest class had 11 students and my largest class was sold out at 25 students! I had the best students in each of my classes this year! I met so many nice, encouraging, friendly crocheters in every class and at every event!!! My dog had run into my left foot the Saturday before the conference, giving me a huge bruise and a very tender foot, so I was hobbling around a lot before and during the conference. My students were very understanding and let me sit down a lot, bringing their crochet pieces and questions to me most of the time! I thoroughly enjoyed meeting each student and sharing my crochet knowledge with them!!!
Here are some photos of my happy students from each class:
Left Side of Beginning Bruges Lace class on Wed night
Right Side of Beginning Bruges Lace class on Wed night
Left Side of Beginning Filet Crochet class on Thur AM
Right Side of Beginning Filet Crochet class on Thur AM
Some students in Invisible Repairs class on Fri AM
All students in Invisible Repairs class on Fri PM
Left Side of Intermediate Filet Crochet class on Sat AM
Right Side of Intermediate Filet Crochet class on Sat AM
Left Side of Intermediate Bruges Lace class on Sat PM
Right Side of Intermediate Bruges Lace class on Sat PM
You probably can’t notice from the small size of these photos that one of my students took all 5 of my classes this year! Her name is Robin and she’s a wonderful crocheter and student! Here we both are in the last class:
Robin and me
Here’s another student, Gwen, from that same class wearing her amazing crochet lace top that she made:
Gwen with her amazing lace crochet top
And here is Corina from my afternoon Invisible Repairs class:
Corina and me
Corina is from Romania. She had contacted me through Ravelry a week before the conference asking a question about one of my designs. I noticed that she lived locally to Chicago and told her about the conference. I had no idea that she would actually attend the conference, let alone take one of my classes! And it was her birthday, too! Happy belated birthday, Corina!
I hope to see all of my students at next year’s CGOA Conference to be held in Portland, Oregon from July 25-28, 2018.
Another fun event at the conference, besides classes, is the Design Competition. I entered a shawl that I designed this year and I won an Honorable Mention! Here’s the shawl, which I’ve named Blazing Embers Lace Shawl. I designed it based upon a really pretty doily that I crocheted a number of years ago. Obviously this isn’t a doily! I’m pleased with how it turned out and will self-publish the pattern one of these days/weeks/months/years, when I get the chance!!!
Blazing Embers Lace Shawl
Here’s a photo of the Design Competition display at the conference:
2017 CGOA Design Competition display
The Design Competition display was set up in the same room as the crochet lounge, which was sponsored by Red Heart Yarn. Red Heart set up an amazing display, designed and crocheted by Gina Rose Gallina called Queen Bee. Here’s that amazing display, along with Gina herself:
Queen Bee display with Gina Rose Gallina
At the end of the conference, on Saturday night, we had our banquet and fashion show, which is always so much fun! We also had the induction ceremony for this year’s CGOA Jean Leinhauser Crochet Hall of Fame award. This year, the award went to Carol Alexander, who was a crochet designer for many years before becoming the editor of Crochet! magazine (a magazine published by Annie’s). Here’s Carol giving her acceptance speech:
2017 CGOA Hall of Fame winner, Carol Alexander
And here’s the loot from the goody bag that I came home with this year! What a haul!!!
2017 CGOA Conference goody bag loot
If you’ve never been to a CGOA Conference, I hope you’ll take the plunge and attend one (or more)! You’ll learn so much, meet awesome crocheters and make life-long friends!
