Creating a Crochet Group

I recall the first time I thought of creating a Crochet group -- I was excited with thoughts of all that we would learn from each other, together, how'd we impact out local charities, and of friendships that would build.

I recall also, of wondering, gesh! -- how do I go about this??

At the time, I was teaching crochet at just one location, and had "regular" students.  These "regular" students and I always had fun together and so one day we got to talking about the "what if."  You know, the "what if we started a group for crocheters to come together..."

At the time, I was a new member of the Crochet Guild of America, so I visited their website and looked at their Chapter link.  I looked to see if there was a Chapter near us ... nope.  Closest one was in New Jersey.

So the next thing I did was look at the suggestions of what a Chapter can do together, and thought, "We can do this!"  So I spoke with the "regulars" and we agreed, with four of them plus me, we met the minimum number required.  We filled out the paperwork and mailed it in.

Although we had five co-founders, that first meeting only had three of us there.  We settled on a name, on a meeting time, location, and dues.  We were ready for members to come.

And come they did!  Here it is nearly three years later and we have 35 members.  We've learned from each other, learned together, assisted our local community, and made many new friends.

You can start your own group too.  It doesn't need to be a Chapter of the Crochet Guild of America ... it can be just a group that gathers at a local coffee shop, library, or other place.  (Our first meeting place was a store's classroom)

You can find others to join you by going to your local paper's website & seeing if they have a Community link and add a blurb about your forming group.  You can put flyers up in local stores (grocery/craft shops), at libraries, coffee houses, schools ... meaning if they'll let you post it, do it.  The more exposure you can get about your group, the better the chance of finding other Crocheters in your area.

Use the Internet to your advantage
       ... you can post to the Crochet.Meetup.com website and see if there are people already planning a get-together (the International Crochet Meetup Day happens in 28 days).
       ... you can create an online group by using websites such as Yahoo! to create a group for your area like my group did just a few months ago.  Ours is called ConnecticutCrochets and it's already got people talking about where they're from.
       ... you can use online message boards, such as AOL's (keyword: crochet), or the CGOA's (accessible through www.crochet.org)
       ... you can join online groups that share the same crochet passions as you. 

CrochetPartners (www.cafecrochet.com) is one of the online groups you can join to find people interested.  And lets not forget our local craft/yarn shops that help feed our addiction for more hooks, yarn, patterns, and notions.  Usually they'll have an idea if there's others interested in starting or joining a group too.

Lastly, you may want to consider joining the Yahoo! group known as "chapter_info" where you can post questions about CGOA Chapters, look for other members & so on.

The best advice that I can give in starting your group is that the word "FUN" be an important part of the fundamentals, the backbone, the structure of your group.  After all, laughter is contagious!