The Ultimate Crochet Meet-Up
I just got home from the annual conference of the Crochet Guild of America also known as Chain Link. This year's conference was special since it was the 25th anniversary of the founding of CGOA. The conference was held in Manchester, NH where it has been held several times in the past including the 20th anniversary conference in 2014. I've blogged about conferences before so I won't blather on. You're here for the eye candy anyway, right?
Yarn Bombing
An incredible group of crocheters led by Jennifer Ryan of Celtic Knot Crochet yarn bombed the hotel inside and out. Around every corner was beautiful crochet.
We were greeted with this near the hotel registration desk.
More crochet at the conference registration desk including the flowers in the vases on the desk.
I love this one by the vintage bicycle.
Crochet on chairs
Crochet on bar stools
Crochet on posts and yes, even in the restrooms.
Classes
Seeing all that crochet primed me for taking some great classes. On Thursday, I took an all day class called "Bias Without Prejudice" taught by Lily Chin. If you ever have a chance to take one of her classes, do it. She's a great teacher. Here's Lily modeling one of her designs, the Central Park Wrap, that is crocheted on the bias.
And here she's point out that chevrons are really small bits of stitches worked on the bias.
On Friday morning, I took a class called "New Corner to Corner Stitches" with Jenny King. Jenny is from Australia, and you might have seen her on the tv program "Knit and Crochet Now. If you've done corner to corner (aka C2C) crochet, you'll know it's usually done with blocks of double crochets. Jenny figured out how to do it with other stitch patterns. Here are 2 swatches from the class. The blue one is Lyndall's stitch which is a shell variation. The orange one is mock moss or linen stitch.
Boutique Market
The Boutique Market opened Thursday night. This isn't a huge market like you'll find at some fiber craft shows, but there were plenty of lovely yarns and related items to be found. I wish I could have bought something from every vendor. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know that I search for crochet friendly vendors at fiber festivals. Specifically, I look for those who display items crocheted in their yarn. As you look through the photos below, you'll notice that I didn't search diligently only to come up with 2 or 3 samples of crochet at this show. Crochet was everywhere. I've provided links so you too can buy from these lovely purveyors of yarn if you wish.
Despite their name, I think this booth had the most crocheted samples. Some really pretty ones.
Good Loops Yarn
This is Robyn Chachula's booth. She had some nice jewelry kits. I neglected to photograph them but bought one. You can see them at the Love Laugh Crochet website I linked above.
This company sells Scheepjes yarn. I've wanted to try one of their Whirls cakes for a while so I took the opportunity to get one without paying shipping. I loved the cocoon hanging in the booth (left side in the photo above) that the nice lady got it down so that I could see what it looked like on a person.
Also in the marketplace, CGOA had a spot where you could have a photo taken with some 25th anniversary decorations. Since the purple decorations coordinated with my top, I had to submit to a photo.
Vintage Samplers
Nancy Nehring had a display of her vintage crochet samplers set up in the marketplace. Here she is (right) with Karen CK Ballard another textile historian. The top with the circle motifs that Nancy is wearing in the photo was beautiful. The photo doesn't do it justice.
The sampler book below is so old that the pages are crumbling. Unfortunately, the date is not known.
The photos below are all one long sampler. It stretched the length of the table.
Design Competition
The design competition is always a highlight of the conference. Here are a few photos I took. You can see a slide show of the winners on the CGOA website.
The 3 pieces in the front of this photo were all amazing and all won awards. The long dress on the left is Blue Willow by Susan Walsh which won first prize in the Fashion category. The red coat is the Sashiko Happy Coat also by Susan Walsh, and it won second prize in Fashion. The green dress on the right is the Rockabilly Swing Dress by Nancy Nehring which won the grand prize.
I just love the coat. Here are some closer shots of the details.
The dress below is Harmony by Hyang Cho. I love the color choice and the diamond motif. This dress won third prize in the Fashion category.
Two lovely tops. Starry Night Out on the left is by Del Del Rosario. The Cornerstone Top by Kathryn White won an honorable mention in the Fashion category.
This Tunisian afghan was amazing. It's Penney's Puzzle by Sandy Walker. It won first place in the Tunisian category.
The Star Bright Shawl by Laurinda Reddig won third place in Accessories.
This pretty beaded set is by Sue Perez.
The motif shawl on the left is called Shawl We Dance by Evelyn Leonard. I love it's use of color. The beautiful blue poncho is Pacifica by Shari White.
Domestic Expression by Anne Jones won first place in Artistic Expression and the Founders Silver Award.
Singalong
On Friday night there was a new event for the conference - a crochet singalong. Bonnie Barker and Jennifer Ryan created crochet lyrics for some familiar melodies. It was a complete hoot. I think it was my favorite part of the conference. I wasn't in a good spot to take photos, but here's one so you get the idea. This number was set to the tune of Old MacDonald but was all about different fibers. That's Jennifer in the middle in the blue dress and Bonnie on the right on guitar. Singing backup on the left are Jennifer's two daughters.
Fashion Show
On Saturday night was the banquet and fashion show. Here are a few shots of models getting ready for the runway.
Shari White in a stunning red ensemble.
You've seen this dress before. Here's the Rockabilly Swing dress with all the accessories including matching shoes. If your going to do it, do it right!
Sue Perez in her own design the Copperleaf Tunic.
Sue again having fun in her Jewelweed Shawl. The pattern is available on Ravelry. In addition to designing, Sue blogs about crochet and her bike rides in beautiful Wisconsin
Creusa Gilmore in her own design the Dark Side Lace Jacket. Creusa is amazing. She said that to make fabulous garments like this, she just starts crocheting. No sketching. No calculating stitch counts. Just a hook and yarn. Wow. You can see more of her work on Instagram.
This gorgeous lace jacket is by Cari Clement and modeled by Gwen Buttke McGannon. It reminds me of something from the 1920s.
For more fashion show photos, go to the July 21 post on the CGOA blog. You might see a photo or two of yours truly.
Friends and Fun
Here are just a few more photos of beautiful crochet seen around the conference, relaxing with friends and general fun.
Sharon Blosch in a beautiful stole.
I love Kaitlyn McLaughlin's peach poncho.
Sue Perez and I goofing off after the fashion show. The motif behind us was made with reflective yarn.
The absolutely best ice cream in town could be found at the Granite State Candy Shoppe. Do not miss it if you're in Manchester.
Black raspberry and orange creamsicle. Yum!
My friend Julie and I out for lunch. We just might have been at the ice cream shop.
I hope you all get a chance to go to the Chain Link Conference someday. It's loads of fun. Next year's is in New Orleans.
Thanks for stopping by! Comments are welcome. Where do you go to meet up with crochet friends?
