Good News to Share

It has been a while since my last post.  Life and ordinary daily chores seem to consume the day.  I do have two pieces of pretty exciting news to talk to you about though.

I received  the contract form from Quick and Easy Magazine and my scarf and hat set will be published in the Winter 2011 issue.  They have changed the name to "Color Me Warm" I hope you will pick up the magazine and check it out!

This is my sis wearing the model scarf and hat.  It will be interesting to see how they present the model in the magazine.

The other piece of good news is that I passed Level II in the CYC (Craft Yarn Council) crochet teacher certification program.  To reach this level, I had to complete 10 lessons and 30 hours of volunteer crochet instruction.  I have shared highlights and pictures from the crochet instruction in previous postings.

These successes have inspired me to continue my crochet adventures.

Now where did I put that hook!

Disappointing News

I received notice that I did not pass the Masters of Crochet Techniques and Stitches Program.  I reviewed the feedback and noticed that my choice of yarn played a big role in not passing.  I used some soft yarn (Caron Simply Soft) which in retrospect was not a good choice.  The stitch definition is just not there.

I purchased some Paton's Wool yarn, and I'm  reworking the swatches which look much better.  This was a lesson learned the hard way.  The devil is in the details when it comes to this type of program. 

Just a word to the wise for others considering this program. It takes months to get a reviewer, and now I have to start the whole process again.

Crochet Class Projects & Michaels Store

My crochet students have agreed to continue crochet classes with me through the first week of September which will complete the 30 hours of teaching required for Level II certification for the Craft Yarn Council's Certified Crochet Teachers Program. My course work for Level II certification is now in the hands of my assigned reviewer.

Over the course of the past several months that we have been meeting our relationship has evolved from teacher/students to friends and it will be difficult to end our weekly meetups. 

Here are a couple of pictures of current projects, one is a toiletry bag and the other is a rose mofit which can be fixed to a headband.

 Following class I headed for Michael's Craft Store for my first day as the store's crochet instructor. Right now I'm trying to drum up interest in crochet classes by conducting in store crochet demos and talking to customers.  Knit and Crochet classes are returning to Michael's Stores; it will take awhile to get the word out I'm sure.

And The Class Goes On!

The crochet class that I started with way back in May is still  with me and going strong.  They have agreed to stay with me and continue their crochet lessons through September.  This is great because it will enable me to complete the required 30 hours of teaching for the second level in the Craft Yarn Council's certified crochet instructor program. It has been such a blessing to see them gain confidence and to take on more challenging projects.

I can now see the light at the end of the certification tunnel.  My last five lessons are in the hands of my reviewer, Barb Van Elsen.  I'll be on pins and needles until I hear that she approves of my work.

Her approval and the completion of 30 hours of teaching crochet will bounce me to another level in the CYC certification program.  An additional 20 hours of teaching will earn me "professional status" in the CYC certification program.  It has been a fun and rewarding  journey.

Toiletry Bag

My mother came to my crochet class last week as a special guest. I told her to bring along something to crochet.  She brought a small toiletry bag that she crochets for a non profit organization in Arizona that supports abused men and women. Every person receives one of these bags filled with toiletry items. My students were very impressed with the bag and the utility of such a bag. They began discussing  many ways the bag could be used and asked about the pattern.  Mom said she really didn't have a pattern, she just sorta made it up.  My students looked at me wanting to know if I could show them how to make the bag. I told them, I'd come up with something. Here is my bag which looks very similar to the bag my mother was working on.

And here is the pattern which I will also make available in Ravelry as a free download. You can search for me under designers as Mary Riley Hunt

Special Instructions: Do not join rounds. Place a stitch marker at the beginning of each round, move the stitch marker up each round as it is worked to mark the first stitch in each round.

Ch 41

Rnd 1: sc in the 2ch from the hook (place stitch marker) and in each ch to the end, do not turn, but continue to sc along the back side of the chain. (80 sc)

Rnd 2-24 sc in the back loops around for 24 rows or until desired height has been reached.

Rnd 25: at the row marker slip stitch next stitch, chain 4, skip next stitch, *dc in next stitch, ch 1, skip next stitch. Repeat from * around. Join with a slip stitch in the 3^rd chain of beginning ch 4.

Rnd 26: ch 3, 2 dc in same stitch, *dc in next ch 1 space, 3dc in next stitch. Repeat from * around. Join to beginning ch 3 with a slip stitch. Finish off and weave in ends.

Tie:  chain 100. Finish off and weave around the ch 1 spaces in the bag. Add beads to both ends of the ties if desired.

Lesson Ten

I finally completed the last lesson in the CYC crochet certification program. Can I hear a drum roll please! The project package went into the mail today, and is headed to my reviewer Barb Van Elsen.

 

My lovely daughter in law, Dasny is modeling the vest. It is called Blue Waves Vest designed by Dora Ohrenstein.

 

Lesson Nine

Lesson Nine in the CYC Certified Crochet Instructor's program is on finishing techniques, namely seaming and buttonholes.

In This lesson I was required to plan  an intermediate class project to teach  the mattress stitch, the back stitch, and the slip stitch method for seaming.  I decided to use use granny squares for my lesson plans because everyone at the intermediate level should be familiar with the basic granny square and since granny squares are generally joined it seemed like a good fit. The actual joining is done in a contrasting color so the reviewer is better able to see the seaming techniques.

From left to right, is the mattress stitch, the back stitch, and the slip stitch

In lesson nine I also had to plan a project to teach button holes which included written instructions and a worked project.