CGOA Website and Miscellany

Hey there! I probably won't be posting every single day but I'm going to do my best to at least post once a week. Today is just give an FYI and ask a favor.

The FYI:
I just wanted to let you know that I'll be busy this weekend so don't expect to see anything until Sunday. Friday night is my niece's b-day party. Saturday night we have a Springsteen concert at Gillette Stadium. Both should be fun but I'll be very busy the next few days.

The favor:
For anyone who's in the CGOA or is a crocheter who has tried to make use of the www.crochet.org website but has navigated away scratching their head, PLEASE take a moment to leave a comment here and let me know what your issues with the website were. I have been asked to take a look at the site so that we can make improvements because it has come to the Board's attention that many of you are flummoxed when trying to navigate it. I've been looking at it and making some notes but I'd like to hear what you guys think so I can make sure my list is as complete as possible before sending it off to the rest of the Board and Offinger. I can't promise that we'll fix every issue because, as everyone knows, everything costs money and we might not have enough to do everything but at least I can let them know what seems to be most perplexing to the majority of people.

Peace out homies!

My first post

This was my first ever Knit and Crochet Show. This is what I got in my gift bag:
along with about 300 patterns and yarn catalogs. Here are pictures of the commemorative hook and the CGOA pin that I ordered:


It was also my first real CGOA board meeting. Real meaning that everyone was up close and in person as opposed to being on the phone which is how we usually have meetings. Now I have faces to go with the names. I also know that Treva (who is absolutely gorgeous AND has shampoo commercial hair btw for those of you who have never seen her) has my fingerprints on a piece of tape from when I helped her box up the design contest entries for shipping. So, now she totally has me over a barrel and I can never ever piss her off for fear that she will leave my prints at a crime scene. You know how those sweet southern women can be. Lol Can you actually do that with a piece of tape? Somebody call MythBusters. Anyway…

More board type info – I found out that I was, in essence, nominated because of my “hobbyist” status. Evidently, I am to represent the Jane/Joe Average Crocheter with the board. I felt so – Evita – when I heard that. “Don’t cry for me CGOA crocheters.” Board meetings, in case anyone is wondering, are fun (if you have a mild sadistic streak, which I do – insert evil laughter here), intimidating (if you let it cross your mind for even a split second that these are the people you have crochet hero worship for – thank God I don’t intimidate easily) and stressful (if you take it seriously and, believe me, I do). I asked so many questions that I’m sure the elder members were sick of hearing me talk. After all, they entrusted me with a responsibility and I was gonna make darn tootin’ sure I had all the info I needed to make the best decision possible for CGOA and its members.

Now onto the classes… I took 4. The first was Crochet by the Numbers with Marty Miller. Fabu! Marty is totally cool, very “matter-of-fact” and her ideas were very interesting and useful. She even made this mathophobe start to think that math could be cool and useful. Who knew?
Afterwards, Vashti (who, believe it or not, is actually not a Hindu princess) came to find me and the 3 of us went to lunch. Many many thanks to Vashti for letting me cling onto her. I have all the confidence in the world to voice my opinion but no guts whatsoever to introduce myself to people. Strange dichotomy, no? I totally want to adopt Vashti as my soul-sister although she’s sooooo much cooler and cuter than I am.

My second class was Karen Klemp’s Half-Double Happiness. To those of you who don’t like the half-double, all I can say is, you don’t know what you’re missing! Karen was totally sweet and has such a calmness about her. She could so have a job as a hypnotist or something because she just puts you at ease.

The third class was Pushmi/Pullyu by Dee Stanziano. SO cool! Really interesting ways of thinking of how to do stitches. Now, I must make a confession. On her website, Dee always struck me as being a bit of a goody-goody. Not my bag as I tend toward… let’s call it the irreverent side of the spectrum. She’s just adorable! She’s teeny-weeny and just so full of life and enthusiasm and IT’S TOTALLY SINCERE! She gets 2 thumbs up from me.

The last class was Lily Chin’s Crochet Tips, Tricks and Hints. Definitely full of useful information but might be a tad over the head of a beginner.

I can’t even begin to go into all the people I met. Mostly thanks to Vashti. She made sure I made the rounds. In addition to those I have mentioned above, I met:
Doris Chan has more personality in that little body of hers than anyone I’ve ever met. Drew Emborsky is as adorable in person as one might assume he’d be. He’s a great person to drink too much caffeine and laugh with. Carol Alexander is so elegant and refined that she could teach the Queen of England a thing or two about dignity. Amazingly, she also manages to be really approachable. Rita Weiss and Jean Leinhauser are truly forces to be reckoned with. They are women who will go down in history as being pioneers not just for the needlearts but also for women in general. Gloria Tracey – understated and humble. Jane Swartz could make anyone feel cozy and at home no matter where they are. I know I’m leaving people out but my brain is fried and I can’t remember any more names.

The marketplace was very cool! Lots of yummy gourmet yarns but it was really difficult to navigate around the wools which give me the itchies. I did manage to find two booths that had discounted coolness. While in my 2nd class, I noticed that my hook case had 3 holes in it! Well, I just had to buy this nifty case from Yarn Bazaar to replace it:

Then I found this great linen/nylon blend at Charlotte's Web for just 37.50 for a bag of 10 balls. Just had to have it in these two lovely shades of purple and grey:

Then there was this beautiful cotton/acrylic varigated I got from Discontinuted Name Brand Yarns for only $19.99 for a bag of 10 balls so I just had to buy the only 2 bags they had left:

Finally, Adirondack Yarns had this really interesting chunky acrylic that I just couldn't resist:
However, I could not find the two pattern books that I really wanted, so, of course, I had to order those from Amazon the day I got back. Couture Crochet by Lily Chin and Everyday Crochet by Doris Chan. I can't wait for them to arrive.

The fashion show on Saturday night was really inspiring. I know there are pictures all over the place and many have commented so I will just say that Patricia Williams is my new hero. She won the grand prize in the design contest for her crocheted wedding dress which was modeled at the fashion show. What was cool about it was that it didn’t have that “country bumpkin” look that so many of the crocheted wedding dresses have. Don’t misunderstand me, that’s cute and all but it’s not for everyone. This dress could easily be worn by the most prominent Manhattan socialite as well as any fashion forward bride no matter where she’s from.

Now, a note on Offinger... I’ve heard many people complain about the management company in the past. Those people WORK THEIR BUTTS OFF! I don’t want to ever hear anyone trash talk them again. They might not be perfect but they are hard working and they totally deserve our respect for that.