Sundsvall Throw, designed by Darla Fanton

I received an interesting e-mail from a reporter in Sweden, asking why the Sundsvall throw was named for that Swedish town.  (All Country projects are named for cities around the world.)  Here’s what Kristina wrote:

Just a coincidence? Must be a lucky one…

I come from the north of Sweden where Sundsvall is and the colours match perfectly. The town lies by the sea and the in the north whe have fantastic autumn colours. The plum and red look just like Sundsvall by autumn, purple cold sea water and red leaves and moss.

Thanks for a great newsletter, by the way!

Lots of fun for crochet-nerds like me.

Hope you have a fine, colourful autumn!!

Kristina

Those of you who are Caron facebook fans know that I just got the Ultimate Sweater Machine. I have never used it before and am not a knitter.  My experience with knitting machines is limited to seeing my mother use some super huge industrial looking machine when I was a kid. It had these punchcards for making the designs some how.  That thing was scary! 

So anyway, in order to prepare for setting up and using the Ultimate Sweater Machine, I watched a bunch of  the YouTube videos on it.   I managed to get it set up pretty easily! The hardest part was figuring out how the weight went on. Well, actually it was finding the volume control on my computer (lol), but figuring out the weight took me a minute or two! 

I got the Ultimate Sweater Machine set up!

I set it up at my kitchen table and used the non-slip pad that comes with it. I couldn’t clamp it to the table because my table has a lip around the edge.  But the non-slip pad seems to hold it just fine.

The YouTube videos were extremely helpful. Now on to the next step – using it! I will let you know how it goes!

Julliane Moore and Colin Firth in the same movie? Go on; I’m interested. Directed by fashion designer/icon, Tom Ford? Even better. Set design and costumes to feed my obsession with 60′s fashion? Sign me up! A Single Man has all of those things and, as a special gift to us knitters, a flirty male character in a fitted mohair sweater!

Caron International has just launched their e-commerce site, Buy.Caron.com! Now you can one-stop shop for every yarn, in every color that they offer. In addition, they’re carrying loads of knitting & crochet books and oodles of stitch-related tools. Shop now and get 20% off your order, plus free shipping!

Gwen Blakley-Kinsler shows how it's done.

 And there was Svetlana from Spinrite showing how to make pompons – to the delight of a whole family…

Others included Susan Sullivan  from Leisure Arts dying yarn with Kool-Aid, Kathleen Sams from Coats showing how to do Tunisian (aka afghan) crochet, and Claire from Lion Brand demo’ing how to wrap a clothes hangar….

The pompon family.

 and me doing, what else, demonstrating the Ultimate Sweater Machine.

Yup, 1,200 stitches a minute.

A crazy, exhausting – but good time was had by all!  Watch for the next Supershow to be held in Anaheim CA this coming January.

A perfect place setting.

Elegant dining at its best - with Country, Etimo and Vickie!A perfect place setting.

Bradley and KJ Hay - with tie Bradley knit and top that KJ crocheted.

Amy Shelton of Crochetville in a Doris Chan dress in Spa.

Mentor Susan Lowman and mentee Kara Lyon.

Diane Moyer wearing her Tulsa Jacket design.

First-prize, special occasion-winning entry designed by Patricia Williams - and aptly worn by Kang Hyo Min from Tulip.

Willena's People's Choice Award-winning City Lights dress modeled by Kazue Ohara of Tulip

Cari and Doris at the entrance to Club Caron

While it may not be the 80′s (or 50′s 0r 60′s or….) anymore, DJ Doris had something for everyone at Club Caron, a first-time event for Chain Link.  Caron sponsored the Friday nite dance party so crocheters would have a place to socialize – and let off some steam – after a day of serious crochet classes.  And let off steam they did!  Starting with Jacque and her husband, Irv doing a bit of two-step, foxtrot and tango to Sinatra and ending (or leading into) some Village People (yeah, that’s an “A”), some Macarena, a bit of the slide and a chicken dance thrown in, among others.  Kimberly McAlindin even got everyone dancing to her aerobic routine!  And others preferred to keept their dancing shoes at home (that will change next year, guys) and had fun just sittin’ and chattin’.  Goin’ strong from 7 til midnite!

Jackie and Irv cuttin' the rug...

Ellen Gormley, Kimberly McAlindin and Kristin Omdahl in front of Design Competition Display

What an event!  The online praises are everywhere about Chain Link 2010, held in Manchester NH the first week of July.  We hope you’ll be there next year - Minneapolis, July 27-31.  There’s nothing wrong with planning ahead!  You could never have more fun than be surrounded by non-stop crocheters everywhere – and knitters too, since this was a joint show with TKGA.  But since I’m on the board of CGOA, my focus was on the CGOA events.

I have a few blog entries because we had way too much fun – and too many photos – to put in one post.  So let me start from the first event:  the Design Competition, chaired by none other than our bud – and designer extraordinaire – Doris Chan.  My shots of Doris were way too blurry to show here – wonder why??  That girl never stops moving!

The first event was the judging of the Design Competition entries, aptly handled by Jean Leinhauser, Edie Eckman and Bobbie Matella.

Jean, Edie and Bobbie pausing from Judging - except Jean

Then all the entries were mounted to show them at their best. 

Kimberly and Bertha (the mannequin, not the dress) with her contest entry - crocheted in Simply Soft!

CGOA had a wonderful volunteer professional photographer, so check out the photos on the Flicker pool on www.crochet.org.