Saturday, March 1

Doesn't everyone look really busy? We still had plenty of time to talk, and laugh and switch yarn from stashes. Which of course led to a description of Theresa's stash even without her there. Apparently words only fall short. Suffice to say that every married woman likes to show the "yarn closet" to their spouses because their personal stashes always fall short. Men's faces pale at the possibility of what their wives' stashes could look like.

How did Pat manage to not get in the picture?  

Typical Saturday

A nice size group was in attendance Saturday.We were working on quite a few projects. Lynn gave me the Steeler Nation afghan to put a border on but Rebecca finished sewing up all the edges on

the other side first. Thanks R! Pat really wants to make a sweater and practiced the esc which she has never used and found she liked how the stitches looked. We also discussed my extensive stash (which is by no means the largest in the group)and how it could help out some other's projects. 

Lynn and I got together Sunday and it looks like we put together enough baby homespun to make a baby blanket. I think I'll bring some yarn in my trunk next week to see if it helps anyone.

I'm debating putting up an unedged pic so you can see how one of these afghans grows. Placing the pieces kept Lynn up nights. Maybe for the next afghan we can get a picture log growing and put them together into a story.

Diane  PS I had the camera. I just forgot to use it!

Brainstorming

Welcome to Chrissy who is another techie into crochet; she was making a beautiful baby blankie which we thought the recipient would just love.

There would be a picture of her working on it if I knew how to work a camera properly. Nothing there and no idea what I did or didn't do so I would or wouldn't do that again!

    We started talking about the luncheon for next year's festival (Three Yarntini Lunch). There were so many ideas the voice of sanity (you know who you are) interjected and asked if all that could be accomplished during just one luncheon. We started paring down and planning a sequence to the activities and got better control of our ideas. I won't say too much yet because we need to get closer to what we all want.

    The other problem is where do we continue to meet? It was crowded at Panera's on Sat and while we always manage to gather everyone around, there are times when we could conceivably have 20 people show up. So we're brainstorming on a new place, too. We want all the people we invited at the festival to come to a get together and be comfy. 

We are getting ready for some changes, fur shur.  

Festival Fun

Well most of us made it to the festival. The display was set up in the Warmup America room and we had flyers and bookmarks to hand out. We all met different people at different times who might be interested in the group. So we are looking forward to seeing some new faces this Saturday.

There are 3 river buttons that were handed out. If you didn't get one, speak up.

We took every sort of class, perhaps we will have some ideas for our lessons on 2nd Saturday.

How to join motifs as you go may be one. If there's something you would like to see covered or you can show us, just send an email or just speak up.

We will also discover this Saturday how much damage was done to pocketbooks at the yarn market. What was irresistible? Did you buy a bunny? a spinning wheel? Taking a class at one of our (we are so lucky to have) LYS?

Yarnies came from rather far because this type of event wasn't available at home.

Thanks Barb. We're looking forward to next year.  

Plannng for the festival

We were really busy at the meeting on the 2nd. We want people to get to know the group and have been planning a table. Look for a storyboard from Stacy, fliers on the Three Yarntini Lunch which we hope to sponsor next festival, and buttons for our members. There should be bookmarks to remember us by and encourage you to stop by our regular meetings.

We're always discussing something new. We don't need caffeine drinks, just crochet time together. 

  

2nd Annual Yarn Ball A Success!

A success, indeed! For some of our favorite charities, including Project Linus and the Pittsburgh Women's Center and Shelter, the night's festivities produced many handmade, crocheted and knitted items:

20 blankets
17 scarves
2 hat/scarf sets
10 hats
4 purses
1 baby sweater
2 pairs of slippers
And 132 balls of yarn to be made into even more items!

In addition, between the afghan auction and cash donations, we raised $450 for Rwanda Knits!

Thanks to everyone who made this such a huge success! Also, thanks go to Becky for hosting the event again at her house. And as you can see from the pictures below, there was something fun for everyone!

Hand crafted items were on display at every turn...


Sharing, chatting, and crocheting and knitting were enjoyed by many...


The Yarn Ball Fashion Show featured treasured items made by or for the wearers...


Entertainment helped set the festive mood...


Stories kept the younger attendees enthralled...


The silent auction winners were announced after a flurry of last minute bidding...


And of course, there was tasty Yarn Ball Cake!


If you couldn't join us this year, we hope you'll make plans for next year's Yarn Ball!

Also check out more pictures at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/three_rivers_crochet/ (You may need to register to see them.)

Three Rivers Crochet Presents...

Yarn Ball Afghans for Auction

In what is becoming a beloved annual event for our crochet group, this year's Yarn Ball features beautiful crocheted and knitted afghans for auction. The group decided, somewhat late in the game, to do another group project that would benefit a favorite charity, Rwanda Knits (www.rwandaknits.org). We quickly decided that squares and rectangles we would piece together should allow us to create at least one afghan and maybe two that we could auction off in time for the event. Well, the response to our request was overwhelming! Everyone dug into their stash and donated swatches from previous projects or made new ones especially for the event. Some members even solicited friends and co-workers for squares that they had around the house.

Well, OVERWHELMING is indeed a great word for it. We were able to piece together five beautiful afghans, plus have a bunch leftover for next year's Yarn Ball!

Pick out your favorite and then don't forget to bring your checkbook to the Yarn Ball to participate in this wonderful auction for charity! See you there!


Aran Rhapsody



Frilly Little Miss



Sweet Dreams



Kaleidoscope



Crayola