Would you like to learn a little more about Marty Miller, CGOA Vice President? Check out this interview on Noreen Crone-Findlay's blog, Hankering for Yarn.

Breaking News: CPSIA Exempts Yarn from Testing/Certification Requirements

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has just announced that yarn will be exempt from the rigorous lead testing and certification requirements required for children’s products under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). Many crocheters, handcrafters, and others in the fiber-arts industry had been very worried about the effects widespread testing requirements would have had on manufacturers at many points in the yarn/fiber distribution chain.

You can read more information on this ruling at www.apparelnews.net/news/manufacturing.

The October issue of Yarn Market News will feature in-depth coverage of this breaking story.

More Chain Link Photos

Thanks to various Chain Link attendees who submitted photos they took at Chain Link directly to CGOA/Offinger. We are happy to announce these photos will be available for viewing on or before September 1. Check here for links to the photo collections when they are available.

For your current viewing pleasure on the CGOA website:

Professional Development Day (photos taken by Offinger staff)

Some Exciting News about CGOA

At Chain Link in Buffalo, the CGOA Board of Directors proudly unveiled their newest project - which will benefit all new and renewing members this year. Most of the 2009 Board members contributed a pattern to Across The Board Crochet, a pattern booklet that will be available on-line (for free) when you join or renew your membership to CGOA! Six patterns, all designed by the CGOA Board - Carol Alexander, Amy Shelton, Vashti Braha, Drew Emborsky, Marty Miller, and Lorraine Lucas. As Carol said in her introduction, these are some of our favorite patterns to design. We had fun making this booklet for you, and hope you have fun making the patterns!
Marty Miller
Vice President, CGOA Board of Directors
Editor, Across the Board Crochet

Have You Blogged About Chain Link?

Many CGOA members and Chain Link attendees have posted on their blog about their experiences at Chain Link 2009. We would love to read your thoughts! Please post a comment with a link to your blog post(s) about Chain Link 2009.

CGOA 2009 Design Contest Winners

Congratulations to all the winners of CGOA's 2009 Design Contest!

GRAND PRIZE
Crochet Confection Evening Gown by Renee Barnes of Bruno, AR, Fashion Category
$1,000 donated by Coats and Clark

Fashion Category
First Place: Flamenco Dancer Dress by Patricia Williams of Ozone Park, NY
$300 donated by Coats and Clark
Second Place: Blue Dress by Andrea Graciarena of Belmont, CA
$200 donated by Boye Needle Company
Third Place: Green Evening Dress by Paula Bennett of Torrance, CA
$100 donated by DRG, Crochet!
Honorable Mention: Baby Dress Set by Carol Carlile of Windfall, IN
Honorable Mention: Short-Sleeved Jacket with Shawl Collar by Margaret Hubert of Pawling, NY
Honorable Mention: Wedding Dress by Paula Bennett of Torrance, CA
Honorable Mention: Double Breasted Jacket by Mary Jane Hall of Beavercreek, OH
Honorable Mention: Bruges Lacy Dress by Hyacinth Thomas of Jamaica, NY
Honorable Mention: Corset Top by Tracie Barrett of Riverview, FL
Honorable Mention: Playing the Angles Jacket by Deborah Erbach Burger of Brevard, NC

Home Decor Category
First Place: Doily by Ferosa Harold of Mausica Arima, Trinidad & Tobago
$300 donated by Coats and Clark
Second Place: Freeform Pillow by Shelby Lynn Allaho of Eugene, OR
$200 donated by Interweave
Third Place: Victori Africana Footstool by Rhonda Davis of Atlanta, GA
$100 donated by DRG, Crochet!
Honorable Mention: Tamara's Trail Throw by Tamara Gonzales of Wichita, KS
Honorable Mention: Avalon Doily by Kathryn White of Gig Harbor, WA
Honorable Mention: Irish Lace Mat by Kathie Earle of Rathangian, Ireland
Honorable Mention: oily by Ferosa Harold of Mausica Arima, Trinidad & Tobago

Accessories Category
First Place: Spring Handbag by Jerry Rigdon of Dallas, TX
$300 donated by Coats and Clark
Second Place: Headpiece and Bag by Kathie Earle of Rathangian, Ireland
$200 donated by Boye Needle Company
Third Place: Butterfly Necklace by Sonja Hood of Toronto, ON, Canada
$100 donated by DRG, Crochet!
Honorable Mention: Evening Clutch Bag by Diane Moyer of Orange, CT
Honorable Mention: Silk, Silver and Lace Purse by Julia Bryant of Toronto, ON, Canada
Honorable Mention: Beaded Evening Bag by Sonja Hood of Toronto, ON, Canada
Honorable Mention: Freeform Hat with Earflaps by Leslie Nelle-Urinyi of W. Milford, NJ

Crochet As Art Category
First Place: Heartrock Hotel by Gwen Blakley-Kinsler of Rolling Meadows, IL
$300 donated by Coats and Clark
Second Place: The Harvest by Carol Ventura of Cookeville, TN
$200 donated by Interweave
Third Place: Pop Top Bowl by Denise Royal of Richardson, TX
$100 donated by Martingale & Company
Honorable Mention: Crochet On a Rock with a Twist of Lime by Gwen Blakley-Kinsler of Rolling Meadows, IL
Honorable Mention: Crochet Cabernet by Andrea Vanbenschoten of Wharton, NJ
Honorable Mention: Prayer Flags by Martha Furman Kojro of Rolla, MO

Special thanks to our judges:

Contest Chair: Cari Clement of Caron International
Contest Co-Chair and Designer Doris Chan
Last Year's Judge Jean Leinhauser
Brett Bara of Coats and Clark and Crochet Today
Michele Maks of DRG and Crochet World

Chain Link 2009 Photos on Flickr

Chain Link attendees with flickr accounts, we have some exciting news for you! CGOA has a new CGOA flickr group. You're invited to upload any of your Chain Link photos to the group photo pool.

Just upload your photos to your regular flickr account. Then visit the CGOA flickr group and select which photos you want to upload to the group pool. It's as easy as that!

Here is a slide show of the photos currently in the group pool. We can't wait to see your photos added, too!

Chain Link 2009: Share Your Experiences!

Chain Link 2009 was held in Buffalo, NY August 5-9. If you attended Chain Link, we'd love for you to comment and share your experiences. You may want to give us answers to some of these questions:

What was your favorite part of the conference?

What was your favorite class?

Who was your favorite teacher?

What is your best conference memory?

Chain Link 2009 Fashion Show Photos

CGOA board member Drew Emborsky took some great photos of the Fashion Show that was part of Chain Link 2009's dinner banquet. We hope you enjoy this slide show of all the wonderful fashions!

All photos copyright 2009 Drew Emborsky.

Contact CGOA Board Members

Do you have a suggestion, comment, or question for CGOA's Board members? Send an email to CGOA@crochet.org. We would love to hear from you!

Members: Submit Content for the Blog

Members are welcome to contribute crochet-related articles, reviews, photos, YouTube videos, and links to their own blogs. Please send your submissions to: cgoanow @ crochet.org (to help us avoid spam, cut and paste address into your email program and remove spaces from "@").

Blog Comment Policies

CGOA welcomes your comments! To help us avoid comment-spam, all comments are moderated. Damaging, hateful, profane, advertising, or solicitation comments will not be approved. If your comment is not approved, please feel free to reword it and post it again. For guild-related questions, please send an email to: cgoanow @ crochet.org (to help us avoid spam, cut and paste address into your email program and remove spaces from "@").

CGOA's Official Member Newsletter

For more information on CGOA's Chain Link Newsletter, the official newsletter of our organization which is mailed to members as an insert in Crochet! magazine, email newsletter AT crochet DOT org.