For the Record ...

"Why do I need to be with a bunch of girls," Dee Jr. inquired when we were driving to the CT Sheep & Wool Festival this past Saturday.

As a fiber-lovin' mom, I responded, "Think of it this way, you'll know the way to a woman's heart is through a yummy hank of yarn." I'm not sure if he bought it, but he didn't press the issue any further.

Until we got home: "Mom," he said, "I'd like for you to take me to an event that boys like to go to, OK?" He is a big baseball and football fan, so I knew instantly that either type of event would be high on his list of things to do. I told him I needed think about it.

After he returned home from school yesterday I asked him, "Hey, remember that conversation we had about wanting to go to a event boys like?"

He nodded yes.

"How would you like to go to a Met's game?"

"Mets? Sure!" he exclaimed. Then a few moments went by. "Hey, wait a minute! What's the catch?!! Is there crocheting involved in this offer????!"

You know, I just can't put anything past this boy! He is so smart -- and quick! LOL

I'm talking about the Met's Stitch and Pitch planned for June 5th. In fact, they're looking to set the Guinness World Record™ for "Most People Crocheting Simultaneously." And yes, if we decide to go, Dee Jr. would need to do a bit of crocheting to help with the record.

Upon learning this requirement Dee Jr. said, "I'm still willing to go!"

Ah, that's my boy!

How about you? Are you interested in helping break the record of most people crocheting simultaneously, eating hotdogs, and watching a ball game? For more information click here.

101st Connecticut Sheep & Wool Festival

Did you go to the 101st Connecticut Sheep & Wool Festival? If you did, then like me, you had a great time too! The weather was beautiful -- a little crisp in the early morning, later giving way to the warmth of the sunshine -- and there was lots to sheep and do!

At first my kids were not too happy about waking up so early in the morning, but once we arrived and they met up with their cousin K. they were happy campers!

K.'s mother, Nancy, of Woolen it be Nice, was one of the vendors selling felted flowers and kits to make your own -- in fact, if you watch the slide show above, uploaded by Paula Moliver for her article here, you can see Nancy and her beautiful flowers at the minute + mark.

While the kids hung out together (they did some needlepoint and some crocheting in between shopping excursions, even checking out car plates to see who had the coolest: ISPIN, ALPACA...), I helped my fellow CGOA Chapter members in offering free beginner crochet lessons & demonstrations. I loved how people were waiting for us to arrive so they could begin their lessons -- some stating it was the main reason they came to the Sheep & Wool! Wow! How awesome is that! ?!

I was gifted some amazing wool roving by HHCC member, Chava. She brought it all the way back from Ireland, and dyed it herself using acorns, ashes, and koolaid. She wanted me to use it for the crocheting with unspun roving demonstration -- what a dream; everyone at the demo loved petting it!

One of the best surprises of the day for me was running into my buddy Guido! We had met a few years back when I was teaching at a yarn shop in Stamford (now closed) and met up a few times after that. We always kept in touch with emails from time to time and through Twitter, but it had been nearly two years (I think) since we last saw each other. We were all giggles & stitch talk -- he with knitting and I with crocheting. Or was that I with knitting and he with crocheting? LOL Either way, we had fun catching up! And he interviewed me, so you never know, I might end up on one of his future podcasts. It was a fun reunion! Guido wrote, "It was great to hang with you and to pick your brain about the crochet scene." (OK, before you all comment, I don't know what was up with my hair being all wild looking; maybe it was all that brain picking, spilling all my crochet secrets! LOL; I'm kidding!)

I also got to see Tammy; another reunion! Yea! Tammy is a member of the ConnecticutCrochet yahoo group that my Chapter hosts. She is so much fun to chat with! You can read about her fun at the Sheep & Wool Festival here.

What did I buy? I didn't get much, I'm still on a "fiber diet." But I did buy a bar of soap (Dee Jr. really loved the way it smelled), and a Sheep & Wool T-shirt. Hopefully by this time next year I'll have used enough of my stash to need to seriously restock. ((grins))

We had a sheepish-lly good time and can't wait to do it again next year! :)

Packing Up & Listening In

I'm busy going through all my crochet projects (that might give the illusion that it's a LOT of projects, but if you're anything like me and millions of other crocheters -- we tend to give a lot of our work away, so really it isn't!) ... I'm selecting those projects I used natural fibers for, such as alpaca, cotton, bamboo, silk, and wool. These items will be on display at the upcoming 101st Connecticut Sheep & Wool Festival taking place on Saturday, April 24th.

Initially I thought I wouldn't be attending the Festival; my plans have changed! So, not only will I be able to go, but I will also be demonstrating how to crochet with roving (also known as unspun yarn)! Thus far I've selected a hat I crocheted using incredibly soft roving, and a scarf I crocheted a while back using the Waffle Weave technique (not to be confused with the Waffle Weave Stitch). Hmmmm. What else should I bring? Oh, yes, yes, I should bring the scarf I'm knitting up with my crochet hook. That's always a mind blower crowd-pleaser! :)

Come see me! I'll be in the White Barn with my fellow CGOA Chapter members!


I also want to mention that tonight is the Live Broadcast of the FLAMIES Awards. It will be exciting to tune in to hear from all the winners. I think I'll wear my crochet hook earrings while listening in. :)

Is it vacation time yet? :)

I cannot believe it is April already! How did this happen?!? Apparently I've been so busy working on the Fiddler on the Roof Shawl drive (and other activities) that time just got away from me. Hey, it happens!

I did manage to:

• Register for the 2010 Chain Link Conference -- what classes did you sign up for??
• Attend the local Coffee, Crochet & Chat sessions held at Borders book store in Danbury.
• Hang out with the ever fun Mary Beth Temple when she was visiting Ridgefield.
• Finally figured out the Tunisian positive/negative spacing concept from the Forest Petals Shawl featured in the 2010 Spring issue of Interweave Crochet magazine (my practice piece is pictured below) ...
• Read all 4 of the Twilight books (in 4 days!)
• Read the latest crochet murder mystery by Betty Hechtman...can you believe her 5th in the series is out!?? :)

I still need to:

• confirm a new home for the HHCC meetings
• write up some new crochet patterns you all have been madly passionately emailing me for
• send out the prizes I offered on Ravelry.com for National Crochet Month
• take down the library display that was featured for National Crochet Month; I hope you got a chance to see it.
• prepare to attend the Connecticut Sheep & Wool Festival on April 24th with the HHCC
• start some new local crochet classes for the spring/summer months
• get my cell phone & computer issues resolved once & for all!
• work up something delicious with the Tunisian positive/negative spacing concept...

Whew! Is it vacation time yet?! :)

The 2010 CLF Flamies Awards

It is that time of year again ... time for the
2nd Annual 2010 CLF Flamies Awards!

CLF stands for the Crochet Liberation Front, a very active crochet group on the Ravelry.com website. The leader of this group, Laurie Wheeler, created this group to "liberate the [crochet] hook." With nearly 5,000 members strong, that's a whole-lotta liberating! :)

Last year Laurie started the Flamies. Flamies is short for "the Flaming Hook of Justice," an award that the CLF group bestows upon to those lovin' on crochet for a variety of reasons.

Laurie decided that if the movie industry has the Grammies, then crochet should have a glamorous & prestigious award ceremony too! The CLF members nominated the people, projects, and companies they thought were BEST for a variety of crochet categories, and then the world was offered the opportunity to cast votes for their favorites (go here for more info). Then, on a special night, the nominees with the most votes were announced to the world on The Getting Loopy Show. Cool, right?!!

Let your voice be heard! Go HERE to vote! You have until March 22, 2010, 11.59pm PDT, to cast your vote. Then, tune into The Getting Loopy Show on April 19, 2010 to listen to the winners.

I am very honored to be a nominee of the 2nd Annual CLF Flamies! I am nominated for Best Crochet Instructor 2009, and Best Crochet Designer (for children). Congratulations to all the other nominees!

All Hands on Deck!

There I was this morning, attempting to steam block my second completed shawl for the "Fiddler on the Roof" school musical. Being home alone, it was pointless to yell out, "All hands on deck!" to my family to help me steam block it as they did for the first shawl. (Mr. Dee is busy working at his new job, and the kids are at school.) I could pin it, but my pins went MIA after a crochet demonstration I did awhile back; I was meaning to replace them, but you know how it goes: you get busy, you forget.

So there I was this morning, trying to pull & stretch this shawl into the shape I wanted it to take while steam blocking it. I simply do not have enough hands. And, it was killing my back (not good when you have 2 ruptured disks!) What to do? What to do?

I stopped steaming ... as a youngster I was a Girl Scout AND (unofficially, thanks to having many brothers) I was a Boy Scout too ... motto: Always Be Prepared, or in my world, Always Think Creatively. I looked at the shawl. I thought about the wire hangers I've been collecting (they work great, when cut, as extra holders for the weed control paper used in flower & veggie gardens). I thought, Do I really want to tangle with wire hangers? Yes, Joan Crawford's image did pop into my head on that one. What about PVC pipes? Hmmmm, I don't have any small enough (PVC pipes work great as banner holders!)

Think woman, THINK!!! And then it occurred to me! Hey, last year while at the CGOA Conference I purchased those blocking wires ... where did I put them, and better yet, WHY haven't I been using them ALL year???

I quickly found them, inserted them into the shawl, and as I steam blocked one-handed, with my other hand holding my morning cup of coffee, all while listening to archived Getting Loopy Shows by Mary Beth Temple, I thought, this is the way it should be! Life is good!

Now, if only I had a blocking board! Hopefully a vendor will be selling them at this year's Conference! :)

Shawl Shock leads to CGOA CAL Participation

Last week I attended a mandatory parent meeting for my children’s school drama club. I sat in the back, quietly listening as I worked on a crochet project. The school has decided that the 7th & 8th graders will put on the play “Fiddler on the Roof” …

As I listened to the long list of wardrobe needs I looked up for a brief moment. Maybe I looked up a bit longer than that. I dunno. All I remember is hearing the teacher in charge say, ”…and Mrs. Stanziano, I put you down for 30 crocheted shawls.” It was like one of those surreal moments where the room suddenly goes long while all faces turn to look at me, many, I suspect, echoing the same shock & fear that must have been on my face upon hearing this.

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” she continued on, “Mrs. Stanziano does that stuff in her sleep!”

Still in a state of shell-shock, two parents came to me after the meeting and volunteered to help make 1 or 2 of the shawls. That still meant I’d need to make some 26-28 shawls by the end of March.

Doing some quick math, if each shawl took 4 to 5 hours to crochet, that would equate to three weeks of full-time work! YIKES!!!

When I got home I decided to ask my CGOA Chapter for help. I designed a shawl, crocheted it up that night, and then sent it into the school to have it approved. While waiting for the approval I wrote up the pattern. And, to my delight -- and relief -- 8 of my Chapter members volunteered to help me!

What does this mean?
1. No, I will not need to crochet in my sleep. (thank goodness!)
2. CGOA Chapters ROCK!!
3. This will be our participation in the CGOA’s CAL in honor of NATIONAL CROCHET MONTH