I finished Aunties' shawl yesterday, tucking in the last of the tails and letting the children parade around the house to model it for Mr. Dee. Since it was raining yesterday I had to wait until today to block it.
I laughed, pointing to my work. "It looks like I left a doorway to release my soul* from my work," I replied. (* there is an Indian tribe that believes if hand work is perfect it traps the soul of that individual. If I can recall the name of the tribe, I'll post it here.)
"Ha! That's a true sign that it was made by hand," he remarked, "and I would have never have noticed if you never have pointed it out!"
He's right, it's not a big error, and it is a sign that the work was made by hand. Of course this also teaches me to go back to using my OTT lite when crocheting into the late evening hours. :)
Project info:
Pattern by Doris Chan ... "AllShawl;" available on Ravelry
Yarn: six skeins of Simply Soft Shadows and a wee bit over two skeins of Berroco's comfort
Hook: 2008 CGOA Commemorative crochet hook by Brainsbarn.com
Mini~Dee, at age five, practicing her crochet. She was wearing her jammies, looking for a good excuse to stay up just a little bit longer. And what better excuse is there other than to exclaim having "one more stitch syndrome" while looking for the praise of a parent who shares that same addiction? (Yes, she got to stay up a bit later that night! LOL) That was the year she started kindergarten and I got called in to see her teacher.
When she returned to the room she said, "I want to show you proof I was once a crocheter like you." In her hand was an aged plastic bag, yellowed with time. Slowly she untwisted the fastener and opened the bag. "This," she said, "I had to borrow from my friend. I made this for her many, many years ago, back when I was working at the hospital. I would work the 3-to-11 shift, standing, rather than sitting, in the Nurses Station so I could see when the patients' lights went on requesting assistance. I crocheted these in many colors to represent many holidays, and would fill them with candy." She slowly pulled it out of the bag and started fussing with the rippled stitches. "I made this by punching holes into the bottom of a washed out bleach bottle and crocheting around it. Then I made up the handle and attached it. Many nurses and doctors asked me to make them for their kids, and so I did."
"For me???!" She was pleased. "What will it be when it's done?" 
. Would he be able to store it at his house until we are ready to move? Would it fit in one of his trucks? Would he be willing to fetch it for me? Since it was late and I needed to return home, we left these questions open ended.
When we walked into the store I was relieved and horrified at the same time! Relieved because the cabinet was still there; horrified because there was another couple looking at it. Was I too late? I got in line at the register and when it came my turn, I pointed to the cabinet and said excitedly, "I want to buy that one; is it still available?" It was, and I'm delighted to say it's now mine! I still can't believe how giddy I was holding onto the receipt! ((yes, I'm still smiling, hours later)) 
I had the most enjoyable afternoon today helping Robin learn how to crochet circles and read crochet patterns so she can work on what is currently inspiring her: crocheted earrings! Since Robin forgot to pack her supplies for the earrings she wanted to make, we improvised. She took off one of the hoop earrings she was wearing when she arrived and used worsted yarn to practice the pattern on. (The pattern was in one of the Crochet Today! magazines.) When she was done she said she loved not only how large the earring was, but also that it projected warm thoughts. She is going to make the other hoop match and then (after blocking them) will wear the large crocheted earrings this winter with a nice sweater to complete that 'warm' look.
I survived taking five -- FIVE! -- children to the Stamford Museum yesterday. Unfortunately the museum took the LEGO exhibit down, but the children had fun anyway ... playing at the adjoined park, petting the animals at the farm next door, then later going out for hand-churned ice cream and so on. We couldn't have asked for better weather!
So here is what I recommend: 
Bridgewater Fair. The weather was beautiful as we checked out the animals, did some shopping, ate, enjoyed some of the rides, and (for me) was inspired while checking out all the needlecrafts entered into this year's competition.
Yes, all of my entries earned Blue Ribbons -- setting a new record for mother & daughter (seven Blue Ribbons total), but best of all, as it was reported to me by the coordinator, people were talking about my entries, especially my vest, crocheted to look like knit, which caused a bit of controversy! 
Mom said I should tell you all about the project I submitted to the fair this year. I crocheted a jumper for a doll my Grammie gave to me. (She wrote about her love for me all over the doll's back and tummy!)
Getting back to this vest, it is true. It was inspired by points being taken off of a crocheted garment I submitted to a fair for not having the ribbing knitted. I will admit that seeing those remarks on the feedback sheet from the judge was very upsetting at first. Why should something entered into a crochet competition be fined for not having parts of it knitted? Long story short, and a year later, the answer was revealed: the judge admitted to being biased towards knit and thought knitted ribbing would have made the garment look better. Ahhhh Ha! 
Bottom ribbing was done first, with Tks built up from there. The back piece was finished first. When the front piece was ready to be finished off, I kept the stitches "live" by going into each bar and pulling up 1" high loops. Using a double headed hook (it helped!), I inserted the hook between the (f & b) bars of the back pannel piece, removing a loop from the other hook and pulling it through the work keeping these loops live, then repeated the process. This brought all the loops from the front pannel over to the back pannel, residing on the back of the work. Then borrowing a page from the knitters, I worked the loops off, interlocking them. The last loop was worked off using the yarn feed and then secured. The result? A clean looking join that involved no sewing.
The Happily Hooked on Crocheting Club, Connecticut Chapter of the 
And how true, how true! We petted the yarns and bought much of it too! We ate great food, and enjoyed each other's company. And we received some great news too: Chava accepted a position with the Feza company -- and, remember all my whining about many yarn shops closing in Connecticut for the past two years? -- FEZA has decided to open a warehouse and office in Monroe! How wonderful! :)
This was the day I was to have met up with crochters from Connecticut for breakfast. I woke up early and went down to the hotel's Cafe, our arranged meeting place. I looked and looked but could not find anyone who said they were going to attend this breakfast; I thought they were all sleeping in! So I waited and waited in the lobby ... until I was rescued by a NYCCG 
member who showed me the way to Dunkin' Donuts just a few blocks away. Here is one of the pictures I took that I thought was pretty cool (on right): 
After returning to the hotel, I decided to take a nap and recharge my batteries. While I was sleeping someone called the room and asked Mr. Dee where I was earlier in the morning -- they were waiting for me to join them for the Connecticut breakfast! It turns out they were placed at a table way in the back, out of sight. Drat!
After the class was over, I had 40 minutes remaining to do some shopping before the official closing of the Vendor's Market. I found a woman selling pretty glass buttons, so I bought some with no project in mind. And I found another vendor selling bamboo yarn -- I bought two "10 packs." Then, with my family in tow, I stopped by Jean and Rita's booth where they presented my children some autographed copies of their books. That was very sweet of them, and the children are looking forward to showing the books to their friends in the Hooks'n Needles club once school starts up again!
So, these photos I am uploading today (except one, where noted) were taken by my Mr. Dee:
3. The kids practicing their runway moves, with my guidance, before the start of the Fashion Show. This is when they tried their 'attitude' walks, swirls, and twirls to show off the garments. There were actually four children modeling this year, a total of five garments -- the MOST in children models and garments ever -- at a CGOA Conference Fashion Show! If these numbers continue to grow, I'm wondering if there would be a need for a Fashion Show for Children's Wear?
I want to thank Kim Kotary, who has a 
