CGOA Conference: The Free Yarn, The Classes

Or, Goody Bag Swatchin'.
Seriously thanks to Coats & Clark, conference attendees received plump goody bags when they registered. As you can see, the new yarns were so touchable that I got right to swatching. My first class was "The Savvy Single Crochet" taught by Karen Whooley. Yeah, sure, I brought suitable yarns from home for the class, but I preferred using these new goodies:

Moda Dea Washable Wool. Very soft and bouncy! No scratchiness and no squeaky-plasticky feeling that washable wool can have. It's my favorite washable wool, period. The swatch is one of SIX stitch patterns using the "Savvy" technique. It became a coffee cozy. Click on the photo to enlarge but you might not be able to tell how different the stitches are from standard single crochet. You can get fascinating effects from the technique and I recommend this class AND teacher (Karen Whooley) highly. I'm so glad she is teaching nationally again.

Moda Dea Tweedle Dee. Not only is it sooo soooft, it has mellow color shifts. (Two more "Savvy" swatches, one I turned into a wrist cuff.)

Moda Dea Fashionista. You wouldn't believe what this one feels like either, and the sheen is beautifully stylish.

I started a hat in the Red Heart Hula while in Joan Davis' [sold out!] "Go Round the Pi: Creating Perfect Hats" etc class but didn't get far because of the Chaps (for another blog post).

Goody bag aside, those bottom two balls of thread were were generously donated by Skacel for Professional Development Day and the Chapter Tea. The Optima thread came in a gorgeous array of colors. I made the flower in the class I took with McKenzie, taught by Kathie Earle (see earlier blog entry; see some of Kathie's work here). McKenzie coveted my ball of pale green Optima so I had to give it to her. Speaking of Skacel, be sure to see Dora's interview with Karen Skacel-Haack in the latest issue of Crochet Insider.

I took another class, Single Crochet Entrelac taught by Joyce Renee Wyatt, but that's for another post because I need to take a photo of the swatch!