Broomstick Crochet Sweeps Ally Pally

Posted on October 13, 2011 by dorischancrochet

Situated at the corner of Awesome and Brilliant, the Tulip Company booth at the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace in London last week drew wave upon wave of intrepid UK crocheters. By the way, the locals do not say “awesome”. I suppose I was the only person among 50,000 who allowed that expression to pass her lips. Every time I let that wretched word slip I was invariably greeted with comments like “Are you from America?”. And as hard as I tried to say “Brilliant!” instead of the A word, I never got the hang of it. The more I attempted to speak Brit, the worse my American accent grew. At least I could be understood by most. I hope.The four day show was not nearly long enough to take in all the sights, with over 300 exhibitors and constant activity. Whiplash was the order of the day because every square meter of this gorgeous venue was jammed with head-turning displays, boundless inspiration and wondrous wares for sale. I can report two other inconsequential downsides to the event: 1) trodden toes from making your way as quickly as possible (like swimming upstream!) to the ladies during my breaks, and 2) aching dimple muscles from smiling. Other than that, I not only survived the trip but returned with renewed dedication to my craft.

I didn’t keep a tally for the first two days, but I counted the number of Broomstick crochet rows I did on Saturday and extrapolated that I must have completed around 80 of my 5 to 10 minute demonstrations over the course of the event. It was tremendously helpful that I did not need to explain “slip as if to purl” even once, because practically every visitor reported that she could both knit and crochet, contrary to my experience with a very different attitude among US stitchers. The impression I got was that there would be much more crocheting being done in the UK if my new friends had more and better access to stylish designs. The hunger for fresh crochet patterns and unique technique (and Etimo crochet hooks, of course) was evident in each appreciative smile and in every voracious gaze. Here’s a look at what I experienced from the inside of the Tulip booth.I’d like to welcome everyone I met at Ally Pally to my site. I see quite a few UK friends among the comments to my last post so I guess you’ve already followed the links I gave you and found me. Hey, I am truly terrible with names and faces, so if you recognize yourself in any of the images here, please let me know and I’ll tag you.

A million thousand thanks to my hosts in London, my new family: Mr. Kotaro Harada, President of Tulip Company (on the left), Ms. Hyomin Kang (the photographer and sadly not in the shot, but whom you’ve seen on this blog modeling the teeniest award-winning gowns in past CGOA Design Competitions), and my three adorable adoptive kids, Ms. Yuko Mizumoto (center), Mr. Taisuke Itoh (right) and Ms. Aki Harada (most likely swimming upstream at the time!). Thanks also to Katie Fowler of GMC book distributors, who arranged for my book signings and supplied the dozens of copies of my books that literally flew out of the booth, and a shout out to Diana and the staff of our retail partner at the event, The Crochet Chain.

In a bit I will be prepared to address the issue of Chocolate Cake in the UK. 🙂

Calling UK Crocheters

Posted on September 30, 2011 by dorischancrochet

There’s nothing like a ginormous, stupendous, VERY IMPORTANT trip to throw this I’d-rather-be-at-home crocheter into paroxysms of anxiety. The bigger the event, the earlier I start getting knots in my stomach. I’m talking about my appearances at the best consumer textiles exhibition in the UK (perhaps all of Europe), the Knitting and Stitching Show in London, at the Alexandra Palace, or Ally Pally as my UK posse calls it, Thursday 6 October through Sunday 9 October. HOKEY SMOKES, that’s next week and I have not yet begun to obsess over it!

Aside from the usual “what the heck should I pack?” worries, a trip to the UK involves a whole other layer of angst. Will I collapse and die from exhaustion hauling my overpacked luggage from Heathrow to the hotel? If I survive that, won’t the jet-lag kill me? Aren’t the electrical plugs different? Will I be able to charge my laptop and cell phone? Hey, will my cell phone even work across the pond???? How about the currency? What’s with shillings? Is there decent chocolate cake? I am so grateful that at least the language won’t be so foreign and I will be speaking English … of a sort. From watching BBC America programming I’m already familiar with a few Brit-isms. I will most certainly mind the gap. You think I might need a Brit to American phrasebook?

My hosts at the exhibition, Tulip Company of Hiroshima, Japan, are showing in the UK for the first time, so we will all be wandering around in complete awe. Lucky for me I’ll have a comfy place to hang out while I’m at the show. Here’s a look at the Tulip booth, which will be at N-8.When I’m not hiding behind the booth, I will probably be sitting and crocheting over there to the side, working with my favorite Etimo hooks and demonstrating techniques such as the chainless foundation start for a mobius cowl and also broomstick lace. I’ll be signing my books, too, which will be available for purchase. And if that’s not a full enough dance card, the book distributor GMC is giving me some signing time at their booth on Thursday and Sunday from 12:30 to 1.

What’ll really help would be for me to see some friendly crochet posse amongst the crowd. The show covers all textiles; yarn and in particular crochet are but a small part of the action. Any crocheters in attendance please please come visit me, Thursday through Sunday, from 10 am to noon and from 2 to 4 pm. Hey, if you’re wearing a Doris Chan design, I’ll give you a hug and a special gift.

Winning Crochet on the CGOA Runway

Posted on September 27, 2011 by dorischancrochet

I tried to hang off the edge of the group so maybe I’d get cropped out of the photo for being… well… too out there. But no dice. Here’s a group shot of the Parade of Design Competition winners, all the entries that could be modeled, backstage at the CGOA 2011 Fall Fashion Show in Greensboro, NC.

From left to right:

Linda Skuja’s Queen of Fall modeled by yours truly.
Victoria Johnsen Carrington’s Modern Victorian Black Dress modeled by Vashti Braha.
Diane Halpern’s So Many Motifs, So Little Time, modeled by Carlotta Craig.
Rasta Rose Jacket, designed and modeled by Tammy Hildebrand.
Shari White with her two winning afghans, Happy Hexagons and Wild Irish Roses.
Stephanie Hatfield’s Stonecrop, modeled by Karen Klemp.
The always fabulous Willena Nanton in her design Flower Princess.
Sandy Gold’s Lucy Shawl, worn by Edie Eckman.
Laurinda Reddig’s Mystery Machine Afghan, paraded by Andee Graves and Bonnie Barker.
Susan Lowman showing off her Spa Tunic.
And Kathryn White’s Birds N Blossoms Shawl on the lovely shoulders of Jenny King.

Congratulations to all our winners and a big salute to all our intrepid models for the evening.

Oh, and FYI, I had formerly believed that CGOA conferences were fueled by chocolate. Nope. Twizzlers. Definitely Twizzlers.

What Happens at Chain Link….

Posted on September 24, 2011 by dorischancrochet

Stays at Chain Link. Except today. 🙂

Last evening’s CGOA Fashion Show offered a wealth of crochet wonderfulness… and a few ROFL moments.

I had to share with you the dangers and consequences of: a) too much Shiraz, b) too little sleep, c) friends who are bad influences, d) all of the above.

Be prepared to not believe your eyes.

I leave you to contemplate this image and all the possible conclusions that may be drawn from it. We explain soon. Needless to say, Vashti Braha is going to kill me. Hopefully she won’t see this blog post until I am well away from her blistering mean left hook.

CGOA Design Winners

Posted on September 23, 2011 by dorischancrochet

Be prepared to be impressed and inspired by the winners of the CGOA 2011 Design Competition.

In the Category Accessories (sponsored by WEBS)

$100 Third Prize: #108

Poptastic Purse

$200 Second Prize: #69

Lucy Shawl

$300 First Prize: #43

Birds N Blossoms Shawl

In the Category Small Wonders (sponsored by Boye and the Crochet Dude brand)

$100 Third Prize: #102

Vegetable Garden Playmat

$200 Second Prize:#12

Baby Cardigan

$300 First Prize: #81

Hope, the Christmas Angel

In the Category Fashion (sponsored by Tahki Stacy Charles)

$100 Third Prize: #39

Stonecrop

$200 Second Prize: #70

Spa Tunic

$300 First Prize: #60

Rasta Rose Jacket

In the Category Afghans (sponsored by Caron International and BuyCaron.com)

$100 Third Prize: #52

Wild Irish Roses Throw

$200 Second Prize: #50

Happy Hexagons Throw

$300 First Prize: #103

Mystery Machine Afghan
In the Category Thread Crochet (sponsored by AllFreeCrochet.com and FaveCrafts.com)

$100 Third Prize: #48

Chantilly Doily

$200 Second Prize: #46

Irish Mystique Doily

$300 First Prize: #84

Christening Dress

In the Category Artistic Expressions (sponsored by Leisure Arts)

$100 Third Prize: #26

Lady of Marrakesh

$200 Second Prize: #66

Split Infnitive

$300 First Prize: #113

Patricia’s Tree of Life

In the Category Fanciful Fashion (sponsored by Tulip Company)

$100 Third Prize: #94

Flower Princess

$200 Second Prize: #38

Queen of Fall

$300 First Prize: #09

Modern Victorian Black Crochet Dress

The winner of the $100 Special Technique Award from DesigningVashti for outstanding use of alternate crochet techniques and construction: Poptastic Purse, designed by Janice Lonnroth.

And the winner of the $1000 Grand Prize, sponsored by Crochet Partners and Interweave Press:

So Many Motifs, So Little Time