NIC March Meeting, 2009 photos.

We had a fashion show from the Double Stitch Twins at the March, 2009 meeting of the Northern IL Chapter of the crochet guild of america. Their crocheted shawls are versatile and imaginative in their use. It was fun and delightful to see their overwhelming enthusiasm for the art of crochet translated into their kind of fashion items.

Crocheting When I didn't know how

I crocheted this rug for my dog, Blackie, a black Cocker Spaniel who came into my family around 1954. For some reason my Mom saved it. I couldn't read a pattern, didn't know the names of any stitches, I just knew what my Mom taught me about using a hook and yarn. This is heavy rug yarn. I remember trying to figure out how to make the checkered pattern I wanted. In the close up you can see that I carried the different color yarn across, which gave the rug extra thickness. Blackie loved it. This is the only crocheted item I have from my childhood. I treasure it, even with its now frayed edges, stretched out surface and a holes here and there. In 1957 I put down my hook and didn't pick it up again until about 1997. But, as I tell my students, my fingers remembered what to do even tho I didn't. It's called muscle memory. I can always tell when a new student who hasn't crocheted since childhood comes to me to learn -- their fingers automatically know their way around a hook and yarn.

Women's Art Exhibit at Northern IL University

My crocheted sculpture WATER, Florina's crocheted scarves, Penny's crocheted huge granny square, and Diane's sewn apron are included in this wonderful exhibit in the Ronald Williams Library at NEIU in Chicago. The exhibit includes all sorts of wondrous art work - a breathtaking quilt, some scultures, photos, paintings, and more are on display.

Florina, Penny and Diane are/were part of a crochet group which meets at noon in the cafeteria at NEIU to crochet. Florina and Penny don't attend any more, but they are quite obviously still crocheting. Donna, Mary, Diane, Cindy are part of the group. I expect Martii to join us this coming week if her schedule permits. Donna crocheted a cup of coffee which was shown on the TV show, Knit and Crochet today. She downloaded (or is it uploaded -- or maybe side loaded..who knows) the pattern from their website. I am impressed that she undertook this and completed it by following the pattern -- i.e. without her teacher's help. She's on her way now. I wish she had displayed the cup in the woman's art exhibit, too. It is display worthy. I am so proud of her accomplishing this.

Northern IL Chapter of CGOA

Welcome to the World of Wiki's. NIC voted today at our meeting to create a WIKI on which we can share our mutual interests and post pictures related to crocheting. Pam will set it up in a couple of weeks, and invite all Chapter Members to actively participate, and the whole world to view it.

There were a lot of people at today's meeting, and a lot of business took place. Instead of our regular April meeting we are going to Northbrook Court on April 11th to join in the Knit Crochet demonstrations.

Also, in my meandering on the net I came across a new, or newly created word, which I like a lot -- CROCHET-A-HOLICS. Fits perfectly for most of us.

At the meeting today, I shared how I used google reader to get crochet news from all over on a daily basis if I want it on a daily basis. I passed around some of the images and information I printed from Google Reader.

Am still plugging along with my pretty blue sweater - I have so many UFO's, I don't want this to become another one of them. Addie drove me to the meeting today, because I haven't been feeling well. Was in the hospital about two weeks ago, and still recovering. It was fun being with Addie in the car again. We exchanged birthday presents, too.

Crochet-a-holics UNITE. Wonder if there's a Crochet Anonymous group out there.......

The Art of Crocheting -- a Book Review

Thursday, March 5, 2009

The Art of Crocheting A Book Review
The Art of Crocheting, published by The Butterick Publishing Co., Vol.1, No. 1, September, 1895, Metropolitan Art Series. I just acquired a reproduction of this fascinating pattern book, Copyright 2009 by Iva Rose Vintage Reproductions. The wording is very .... well ... wordy, making it fun to read and try to figure out the essential message among all the flowery descriptions.

The patterns it contains are luscious, to say the least. Many of them, especially the edgings I recognize and realize they have been passed down thru the generations.I also saw some stitches I had never seen before, such as the Upward-Chain Picot Stitche (page 7), and the Downward-chain picot stitch. There is also a new vocabulary for me -- tidies, fascinators. I think Tidies might be handkerchiefs. Fascinators are head scarf turbans. The Tunisian stitch is called the Tricot Stitich. On page 11, there is the Double Gobelin Stitch which looks like a variation of the Tunisian stitch, but the name is intriguing. There is also a Scollop Edging which resembles of bunch of bananas in the middle of lacey wheels.The following blurb is taken from page teaching the Chain Stitch The methods of beginning a chain are numerous, and varied according to the manner of holding the thread or the proficiency of the work; and generally, if the method is awkward, it is the outcome either of incorrect instruction or none at all. This is the tone of the whole book

.The patterns for dresses, coats and all sorts of aparel reveal the elaborate fashions of the day. There is a pattern for a child's petticoat which looks like a party dress to me. In Sherlock Holmes films there are women wearing these ruffled capes tied at the neck with a bow. There are a few patterns of these which probably could be adapted for use today, and certainly would be a show-off, one-of-a-kind, conversation piece. Some of the hats for children are not of this day, especially the Tam O'Santer Cap. There is a cute child's toboggan Cap and a striped scotch cap.I guess the most unusual pattern is the one for crocheted horse's reins trimmed with small jingle bells. Maybe I could make these for Chicago's police horses!!! Seriously, tho, a Russian Apron pattern draws me to it. Tho the illustrations are all in black and white, it is obvious by the differing designs in the apron that this could result in a bright, colorful apron. There are also patterns for "Four-In-Hand Neck-Ties", an umbrella case, a silk watch fob, foot warmer (not slippers) and beatiful crocheted bags. There is also bead crochet used on a miser bag and a crocheted garter (ouch). On page 83 there is a crocheted shawl with Princess' Feather" border. This border is breathtaking with its circles and swirls - it looks like a piece of art even in black and white.There is a little bit of all kinds of crochet work here...the stitches are the same -- there is a saying that nothing stays the same -- but the stitches are the same. The love of crocheting is the same, the fashions and yarns are different. Judging from this delightful 1895 book, crochet is here to stay, and the single crochet st whatever its name might be, will be here as long human kind. And I am CrochetKookie.

Focus

I started crocheting a sweater where I have to count the stitches. The sweater in the pattern is quite pretty. Counting the stitches improves my concentration - and drives me nuts -- its count 2 front, 2 back, etc. and then at the end and beg under both loops. I thought after the first few rows I would do this automatically but when I tried that I didn't end up the row at the right spot so I went frogging. I also had to adjust the pattern to fit my volumptious size, so I hope it fits.