CGOA is pleased to announce the winners of our 2011 Design Competition. First, a big thank you to our wonderful judges:

Judges
Marcy Smith, editor of Interweave Crochet magazine
Kathleen Sams, ambassador for Coats&Clark
Drew Emborsky, the Crochet Dude.

All entries were evaluated equally in a blind judging across a range of qualities including: design appeal, use of stitches, color, selection of materials, workmanship, finishing, appearance and functionality as indicated.

We had more entries than ever this year, submitted by a number of very talented designers. Please check the CGOA blog (cgoanow.blogspot.com) within the next week or so for a link to a flickr pool so you can see photos of all the fabulous entries!

Winners

Due to time constraints while at Chain Link, we are unable to post photos of winning entries today. We hope to get this done Friday or Saturday morning at the latest. We apologize for the delay, but we thought it important to let everyone know who all the winners are as quickly as possible!


$1,000 Grand Prize Winner sponsored in Crochet Partners and Interweave Press: #29, So Many Motifs, So Little Time by Diane Halpern of Pittsburgh, PA

Here’s praise from the judges:

Marcy Smith said: “Deliciously vintage garment that’s ripped from the runway.”

From Drew Emborsky: “Amazing blend of freeform and on-trend fashion . . . Exquisite!!!”

And Kathleen Sams sums it up: “Beautiful use of freeform suitable for all. Runway fashion at its best.”

Fanciful Fashion (sponsored by Tulip Co, makers of exceptional tools including Etimo cushion grip crochet hooks and Carry T): fancy adult garments and accessories, including gowns, dresses and evening wear.

First Place, $300: #09, Modern Victorian Black Crochet Dress by Victoria Johnsen Carrington of Windsor Heights, IA

Second Place, $200: #38, Queen of Fall by Linda Skuja of Riga, Latvia

Third Place: $100: #94, Flower Princess by Willena Nanton of New Rochelle, NY

Fashion (sponsored by Tahki Stacy Charles, bringing you fine yarn lines Tahki, S Charles, Filatura Di Crosa and Loop-d-Loop): for women or men, including sweaters, tops, jackets and skirts.

First Place, $300: #60, Rasta Rose Jacket by Tammy Hildebrand, of Kernersville, NC

Second Place, $200: #70, Spa Tunic by Susan Lowman of Prescott Valley, AZ

Third Place: $100: #39, Stonecrop by Stephanie Hatfield of Gilbertsville, KY

Accessories (sponsored by WEBS, America’s Yarn Store): including shawls, socks, scarves, hats, bags, belts and jewelry.

First Place, $300: #43, Birds N Blossoms Shawl by Kathryn White of Apache Junction, AZ

Second Place, $200: #69, Lucy Shawl by Sandy Gold of Frederick, MD

Third Place: $100: #108, Poptastic Purse by Janice Lonnroth of LaGrange, IL

Small Wonders (sponsored by Boye and the Crochet Dude brand of crochet tools and accessories): anything small scale, including baby items, toys, amigurumi and small décor items.

First Place, $300: #81, Hope, the Christmas Angel, by Susan Pendleton of Kerrville, TX

Second Place, $200: #12, Baby Cardigan by Sherri Hondorp of Poughquag, NY

Third Place: $100: #102, Vegetable Garden Playmat by Laurinda Reddig of Camas, WA

Afghans (sponsored by Caron International and BuyCaron.com): any and all afghans, throws, blankets and bed or sofa covers.

First Place, $300: #103, Mystery Machine Afghan by Laurinda Reddig of Camas, WA

Second Place, $200: #50, Happy Hexagons Throw by Shari White of Rockaway, NJ

Third Place: $100: #52, Wild Irish Roses Throw by Shari White of Rockaway, NJ

Thread Crochet (sponsored by FaveCrafts/Prime Publishing, offering diverse crochet e-newsletters, e-books and patterns at FaveCrafts.com): anything made with crochet thread, including doilies, décor and accessories.

First Place, $300: #84, Christening Dress by Carol Booth of Teaticket, MA

Second Place, $200: #46, Irish Mystique Doily by Kathryn White of Apache Junction, AZ

Third Place: $100: #48, Chantilly Doily by Kathryn White of Apache Junction, AZ

Artistic Expressions (sponsored by Leisure Arts, bring you the art of everyday living): designs more artistic rather than functional in nature, including free-form and mixed media pieces, hangings, sculpture and wearable art.

First Place, $300: #113, Patricia’s Tree of Life by Patricia Williams of Ozone Park, NY

Second Place, $200: #66, Split Infinitive by Lori Carlson of Hillsborough, NC

Third Place: $100: #26, Lady of Marrakesh by Julia Bryant of Toronto, Canada

DesigningVashti $100 Special Technique Award for outstanding use of alternate crochet techniques and construction (including Tunisian, Broomstick and Hairpin): #108, Poptastic Purse by Janice Lonnroth of LaGrange, IL

Crochet Liberation Front $100 Peoples’ Choice Award (to be chosen on site by attendee voting; winner will be announced at end of conference)

Message from Doris re Design Competition

Hi, everyone! I just got a message from Doris, courtesy of Vashti Braha. Doris is without power, so no Internet. She wants everyone to know that, she's safe on high ground with no storm damage. All contest entries she's received so far are safe and sound!

I hope all our CGOA members in areas affected by the storm are also safe and sound.

Design Competition Deadline Extended

Due to recent geological and meteorological events, the entry deadline for the CGOA 2011 Design Competition has been extended to 6 September.  If you entry will be arriving after 31 August, please let me know at the e-mail address listed in the official competition information.  No worries.  Be safe.

Submitted by Doris Chan, Chairman CGOA 2011 Design Competition Committee

Reminder: CGOA Design Competition Deadline Approaching

It’s time! The window for shipping your CGOA 2011 Crochet Design Competition entries begins 15 August, 2011. Thanks to grants from our magnificent sponsors, the competition is the most rewarding ever, with designers vying for over $5,400 in cash prizes in seven judging categories:
1. Fanciful Fashion (sponsored by Tulip Co, makers of exceptional tools including Etimo cushion grip crochet hooks and Carry T)
2. Fashion (sponsored by Tahki Stacy Charles, bringing you fine yarn lines Tahki, S Charles, Filatura Di Crosa and Loop-d-Loop)
3. Accessories (sponsored by WEBS, America’s Yarn Store
4. Small Wonders (sponsored by Boye and the Crochet Dude brand of crochet tools and accessories)
5. Afghans (sponsored by Caron International and BuyCaron.com)
6. Thread Crochet (sponsored by AllFreeCrochet.com and FaveCrafts.com, offering diverse crochet e-newsletters, e-books and patterns)
7. Artistic Expressions (sponsored by Leisure Arts, bringing you the art of everyday living)

$1000 Grand Prize, sponsored by Crochet Partners and Interweave Press.
$100 Special Technique Award from DesigningVashti for outstanding use of alternate crochet techniques and construction
$100 Peoples’ Choice Award from the Crochet Liberation Front, winner to be chosen on site by attendee voting

Judging will take place on location at the CGOA Conference in Greensboro, North Carolina, 21 September and winners will be announced during the Awards Ceremony on 22 September. You do not have to be present to enter or to win but you will want to be there to marvel at the awesome display of entries and unveiling of the winning designs.

If you are preparing to ship your design, please fill out and submit the electronic entry form now and make sure that it exactly matches the crochet pieces you are sending. You will receive an e-mail confirmation letter, which is your form returned. Please make a hard copy of that returned form and include it in your package. See the official information pages at crochet.org for compete details. Deadline for entries is 31 August. Best of luck!

Submitted by
Doris Chan
Chairman, CGOA 2011 Design Competition Committee

TV Coverage for Minneapolis Chain Link

The Minneapolis Chain Link conference and Knit and Crochet Show received coverage on the local TV station, KARE 11.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Check it out! Click here to see the video and written article on the KARE-11 website. Or just view the video right here:

Would you like to help yarn bomb the New York Mets stadium on September 13? The New York City Crochet Guild will be working with Stitch and Pitch for the first yarn bombing of a major league baseball stadium. You're invited to submit a swatch in Mets colors (orange and blue). For more information, visit the Stitch and Pitch website: http://www.stitchandpitch.com for their contact information.

Chain Link Conferences: Class Schedules

Just a reminder to check out the conference and class schedules for CGOA's two 2011 Chain Link conferences!

We hope you can join us in Minneapolis on July 27-31 and again in Greensboro, NC on September 21-25.

Click the link above for a detailed schedule of all the fun events and classes planned for each location.

You can register online now through July 8 for the Minneapolis conference, and registration for Greensboro will open on Monday, June 27.

I'd love to hear what classes you're thinking about taking! Please post a comment and share with us.

Amy Shelton
CGOA President

Jean Leinhauser: Rest in Peace

It is with a very sad heart that I let you all know that Jean Leinhauser passed away earlier today.

I will never forget the times I spent with Jean at Chain Link conferences. I will always treasure the crochet books she personally autographed for me. I feel so fortunate to have known her.

Jean did so much through the years to support CGOA, with her most recent contribution being the redesign of our Masters Program. She is going to be sorely missed by all of us in the crochet community.

The CGOA board is discussing ways we can honor and remember Jean at our upcoming Chain Link conferences. If you have any ideas, please contact me at amyshelton AT crochetville DOT org.

Jean's business partner, Rita Weiss, has let me know of an excellent way to honor her if anyone is interested. Jean loved her dogs even more than she loved crochet, and she was very supportive of animal rescue organizations. Rita says there is no particular organization, so if you wish, please pick any animal rescue organization, especially one that works with dogs, to make a donation of time, money, or crocheted items in Jean's name and memory.

If you have any thoughts or memories to share about Jean, please feel free to post a response in her memory.

Amy Shelton
CGOA President

Greensboro Chain Link Class Schedule Is Up!

The class schedule for the fall Chain Link conference September 21-25 in Greensboro, NC is now available here. There are so many fabulous classes, it's hard to make decisions about what to take! But no worries, registration will not open until Monday, June 27, giving us all plenty of time to change our minds over and over again before making our final selections.

There are just as many fabulous classes available at the summer conference July 27-31 in Minneapolis. Click here for the class schedule for that conference.

We'd love to know what classes everyone plans to take or is thinking about taking. It's so much fun to find out who else will be in a class with you.

I'll go ahead and get us started and share with you what I plan on taking at each location.

Minneapolis

Professional Development Day
Thursday, T207C, Crochet Camisoles that Fit with Joan Davis
Sunday, N107C, Polish Star Stitch with Pauline Turner

And I think I'm going to add one more:
Thursday, T100C, Create a Coral Reef with Marty Miller

Greensboro

Professional Development Day
Wednesday night, W404C,Lace Pottery Part I, Maggie Weldon
Thursday all day, T303C, Polymer Clay Button Boutique with Suzann Thompson
Friday, F202C, Lace Pottery Part II with Maggie Weldon
Saturday all day, S302C, Freeform Crochet Floral Brooches and Neckpieces with Prudence Mapstone

So what will YOU be taking?

Amy Shelton
CGOA President

Summer Chain Link Registration Now Open!

Registration is now open for the summer Chain Link conference in Minneapolis from July 27-31.

Registration is now open for the summer Chain Link conference in Minneapolis from July 27-31.

Come join us for classes, shopping, fashion shows, member meetings, special events, and so much more!

CGOA on Getting Loopy Podcast!

Amy Shelton, CGOA President, and Karen Whooley, CGOA Secretary, appeared on the March 14 episode of the Getting Loopy podcast with host Mary Beth Temple to talk about CGOA. Karen and I enjoyed talking with Mary Beth and sharing information about the benefits of being a CGOA member, our upcoming Chain Link conferences, and our Master of Advanced Stitches and Techniques program.

CGOA donated a tote bag to the Getting Loopy weekly giveaway. Congratulations to our winner, Laura R. of West Allis, WI, who is interested in starting a CGOA chapter in her area. If you live near that area, please contact CGOA so we can forward your contact information to Laura.

Listen to the Getting Loopy CGOA episode:

Listen on BlogTalkRadio

Listen on iTunes (This link goes to a web page, with a link that will open the episode in the iTunes program. You'll need to have iTunes installed on your computer to listen via this option.)

CGOA 2011 Design Competition Celebrates (and rewards) Crochet

Be a part of this singular event celebrating the beauty and artistry of crochet, the only competition of its kind. Thanks to a bevy of magnificent sponsors we have thousands of dollars in cash prizes to award to our winning guild members for the best of the best in crochet design. With a huge grand prize plus first, second and third place prizes of $300, $200 and $100 respectively in each of seven judging categories plus special prizes, this promises to be the most rewarding event ever.

Here are the design categories for 2011 and their sponsors as of this writing:
1. Fanciful Fashion (sponsored by Tulip Co, makers of exceptional tools including Etimo cushion grip crochet hooks and Carry T)
Fancy adult garments and accessories, including gowns, dresses and evening wear.
2. Fashion (sponsored by Tahki Stacy Charles, bringing you fine yarn lines Tahki, S Charles, Filatura Di Crosa and Loop-d-Loop)
Garments for women or men, including sweaters, tops, jackets and skirts.
3. Accessories (sponsored by WEBS, America’s Yarn Store)
Wearables including shawls, socks, scarves, hats, bags, belts and jewelry.
4. Small Wonders (sponsored by Boye and the Crochet Dude brand of crochet tools and accessories)
Anything small scale, including baby items, toys, amigurimi and small décor items.
5. Afghans (sponsored by Caron International and BuyCaron.com)
Any and all afghans, throws, blankets and bed or sofa covers.
6. Thread Crochet (sponsored by FaveCrafts/Prime Publishing, offering diverse crochet e-newsletters, e-books and patterns at FaveCrafts.com)
Anything made with crochet thread, including doilies, décor and accessories.
7. Artistic Expressions (sponsored by Leisure Arts, bring you the art of everyday living)
Artistic rather than functional in nature, including free-form and mixed media pieces, hangings, sculpture and wearable art.

Special Prizes
Grand Prize, sponsored in part by Interweave Press
$100 Special Technique Award from DesigningVashti for outstanding use of alternate crochet techniques and construction including Tunisian, Broomstick and Hairpin
$100 Peoples’ Choice Award from the Crochet Liberation Front to be chosen on site by attendee voting

Judges
We are thrilled to welcome this year’s panel of judges: Marcy Smith, editor of Interweave Crochet magazine; Kathleen Sams, ambassador for Coats & Clark; and Drew Emborsky, the Crochet Dude. Judging will take place on location at the CGOA Conference in Greensboro, North Carolina, 21 September 2011 and winners will be announced during the Awards Ceremony on 22 September 2011. You do not have to be present to enter or to win but you will want to be there to marvel at the awesome display of entries and unveiling of the winning designs.

Please use the links provided at www.crochet.org to download the complete Design Competition Information package and access the electronic entry form. Deadline for entries to be shipped to the receiving location is 31 August, 2011. Please do not submit a form until you ship your entry in August.

Hope to see you there!

Submitted by Doris Chan, Chairman, CGOA 2011 Design Competition Committee

Downloads:
Design Competition Info (pdf file)

Entry Form

National Crochet Month Crochet-Along (CAL)

Join us for an exciting crochet-along (CAL) here at CGOA Now! during March to celebrate National Crochet Month. How does it work?

Pick a project to work on for the month or even just part of the month.

Add a comment to this post and share information about your project: pattern (give a link if you can or tell us where it was published), yarn you’re using, why you chose to make this project, anything you want to share.

Add photos to CGOA’s flickr photo pool. Then add links to your photos in your comment.

Update us on your progress as often as you like by making new comments.

Now I’m off to pick my National Crochet Month CAL project!

Amy Shelton
CGOA President

Help CGOA celebrate National Crochet Month!

Did you know that March has been designated National Crochet Month? Your CGOA Board of Directors invites you to help us celebrate! We will be sponsoring a Crochet-Along in March (check this post [insert link] for all the details). If you joined CGOA or renewed your CGOA membership during or after our 2010 Chain Link Conference last year, you were given access to 'Across the Board Crochet', a pdf pattern booklet featuring patterns designed by the 2010 CGOA board members. Perhaps you’d like to work on one of these projects. Or perhaps there’s a pattern from Crochet! magazine (which you receive as one of your member benefits) that you’ve been anxious to try. Don’t forget all the other countless crochet patterns available in books, magazines, and on the internet.

Do you plan on doing anything special in March to help promote awareness of just how awesome crochet is? Please post a comment and let us know your plans. Feel free to post links to your activities!

If you need help deciding how you’d like to help promote crochet during March, here are some ideas:

• Promote crochet.
• Teach someone to crochet.
• Offer to create a crochet display at your local library.
• Write a book review of any crochet book. (Post it here on the blog!)
• Expand your own crochet skills.
• Learn a new crochet stitch or technique.
• Experiment with a new yarn.
• Visit your local library to see what crochet books they have.
• Crochet for charity.
• Select a special charity to crochet for during March.
• Explore new charities you might like to crochet for. A good resource for finding charities is Lion Brand's Charity Connection.
• Make new crochet friends.
• Attend a local crochet meeting.
• Join or start a local CGOA chapter.
• Strike up a conversation with someone you see shopping for yarn. You can break the ice by asking if they know March is National Crochet Month!

Let’s make National Crochet Month 2011 rock!

CGOA 2011 Hall of Fame

CGOA Members: Please Vote!

Voice your choice of three from the 8 nominees chosen from among over 40 names that were submitted!

http://www.crochet.org/halloffame.html (note if this link doesn't show as live, copy and paste it into your browser window).

Now on the member section of the website is the listing of all 40 names with links to where you can find information about them: designers, authors, artists, promoters, educators and more. The Hall of Fame committee members wanted to create this permanent database of inspiration for all members to use as reference for their work.

Enjoy - AND VOTE!

Cari Clement, Board Liaison, Hall of Fame Committee

Volunteer Position Open: Book Reviewer

Lyn Robinson, who has done a fabulous job reviewing books for CGOA over the past few years, has let us know that she must resign her position. We greatly appreciate the insightful reviews Lyn has provided for us during her tenure as book reviewer. With Lyn's resignation, we are in need of a new person to review books for the Chain Link newsletter.

When CGOA receives a book from a publisher to be reviewed, the book is sent to our book reviewer. After the review has been written, the reviewer sends the book on to the Linda Sauter library.

If you are interested in the book reviewer position, please write a review of any crochet book of your choice, and submit it via email to amyshelton AT crochetville DOT org. We will review all submissions and select a new book reviewer as quickly as possible.

Introducing New Board Members and Officers for 2011!

New Board Members
We are pleased to welcome Jack Blumenthal (Senior Vice President at Lion Brand Yarns), and Mary Colucci (Executive Director, Craft Yarn Council and Warm Up America Foundation). We are sure Jack and Mary will be wonderful additions to the board of directors.

Retiring Board Members
We are sad to say good-bye to Marty Miller, past President of CGOA, and Carol Alexander, past Vice President of CGOA, as they complete their second terms on the board. We appreciate their service and hard work over the past four years, and we know they will both continue to be very involved in CGOA.

2011 Officer and Board Member List

President: Amy Shelton
Vice President: Cari Clement
Secretary: Karen Whooley
Treasurer: Jane Rimmer

Board Members at Large:
Jack Blumenthal
Mary Colucci
Tammy Hildebrand

We are looking forward to an exciting 2011! Your new board of directors is already hard at work continuing plans for our two fabulous Chain Link conferences this year.