Chain Link Crochet Conference 2018!

With the Laurinda Reddig, and Carissa Jane Reid, the amazing women of the Ficstitches Yarn Kit Club

I just got back from a great trip to Portland, Oregon, where I was attending the Crochet Guild of America's annual conference. I was so happy that the conference was held just 2 hours from my hometown of Eugene!

It is always great to meet up with old friends and there were also so many wonderful new people to meet!

I took two classes from the amazing Lily Chin: Fine Shaping in Stitch Patterning and Two Color Tunisian Crochet in the Round. Lily is really brilliant and I loved her style of teaching. She blends storytelling with tips and tricks, technique practice, and a show and tell of samples demonstrating the techniques she is teaching. She is a true inspiration, and one of the most dynamic teachers I have learned from!

Lily Chin in action!

So amazing to work in the round with a double ended hook!

I also took a Pleats and Darts class from the legendary Pauline Turner. She is an encyclopedia of knowledge and she allowed us to ask her about anything we could think of on the subject of crochet!

Our instructor Pauline Turner had one of the attendees model a beautiful crocheted dress with darts and a pleated skirt.

Close-up of the pleats

There were lots of fun activities like the fastest fingers crochet contest, and the yarn tasting. They had a selection of yarns from the vendors at the show for us to try out. My daughter loved this idea, and couldn't resist trying out her favorites!

This was my favorite!

Deciding which yarn she likes best!

Attending a book signing with Suzann Thompson, author of the adorable book, Cute Crochet World!

Our eWoodStory stitchable frames and Weaving Kits were for sale in the Ficstitches booth, and I had the pleasure of demonstrating crochet based weaving AKA "weavrochet" on our looms in the booth!

Weavrochet purse in progress

Summer of Fiber Arts Began at Black Sheep!

The end of June is one of my favorite times to visit Oregon because I am fortunate to be able to attend the Black Sheep Gathering! An amazing event for all things fiber related. They put together an extensive collection of classes taught by very experienced instructors. This year, I decided to buy a spinning wheel, as last year I felt like I was the only one there who didn't know how to spin on one! Shortly before I arrived in Oregon, I ordered a Spinolution Worker Bee. I unboxed it, just a few days before Black Sheep and tried to get the hang of spinning on it. I enrolled in a Beginning Spinning Class, so I was trying to get a head start. We spent about 5 hours on our wheels, and that was the concentrated time I needed to get to know the wheel and actually make some yarn! I was able to spin up most of the fiber you see in the photo below. Spinning is one of those things you should probably never start if you don't have time in your schedule, because once you do, you won't want to stop!

It just so happens that my 12 year old daughter is in love with spinning also. We are sharing the wheel, and since we have taken it out of the box, we have been taking turns! She really clicked with spinning while at Black Sheep, and was so happy to be able to spin in the "Spinner's Circle" with the other spinners. The magic of being around so many fiber enthusiasts! 

I also took a Blending Board class, which was such fun. I just loved creating little works of art to roll up and spin. It is a surprise for me to see how each one will spin up!

After the classes were over, my daughter and I shopped in the Marketplace for spinning materials. One of our favorite booths had baskets full of dyed locks that you could choose and buy by the ounce. We were almost tempted to take home a whole basket because each hand-dyed lock you pick up is more beautiful than the last!

Of course, we couldn't go home without making friends with an Alpaca :-) We have more fun each year we attend, and are already thinking about next year!