Creating opportunity...

I am so sick and tired of hearing about the bad economy. Wanna know why? Here's a list:

1) For many people it's sucked for a long time. (Ask the folks who lost their jobs to the outsourcing trend that started almost 20 years ago)

2) The only reason it's getting tons of air time now is because rich people and the upper middle class are finally be effected. As a former social worker I can tell you I was dealing with the fall out of the "balloon" economy ten years ago. It's no surprise to me.

3) It's giving corporations the excuse to lay off more workers (which is a dumb move because it diminishes the amount of revenue circulating in the domestic/international market).

4) It's also become the most common thing you hear people repeat in conversations. OH GIVE ME A BREAK. Didn't anyone learn about gravity (in regards to the stock market) what goes up must come down (at some point)...COME ON!

So, let's get this out of the way: How can Crocheters help the economy and make the world a better place.

1) Buy from local businesses as much as possible, for hooks, yarns etc. If you can't find them in person, look on line. You money gets five times the mileage when you spend it locally than when you spend it out of the local economy!

2) Offer to teach classes to folks on how to make their own cool crochet gifts and fashions. When pennies are tight handwork always goes up in favor. Kids love making phone covers, and game system cozies, they can make hair scrunches and book marks for friends! Young mother's love to learn to make for baby..etc etc etc...

3) Find local designers and buy their patterns. Especially the indie designers. That gives the little guy more cash.

There is no such thing as too big to fail. Having all the money in the big boys hands is a dangerous economic prospect. In fact it has very much led to economic feudalism. No one is too big to fail, everyone is expendable, anyone telling you different is trying to sell you something.

I firmly believe the more we can support the medium to micro businesses the more we shall empower and enable sustainable communities....and CROCHET can play a huge part in that! How?

The microcosm always influences the macrocosm. Ask any scientist.

Join me, let's save the world today with crochet...Raise your hooks!

Back from Vacation and to work....egads...

Hey there folks...

Ok, I'm still sick, but finally recovering. Had a great vacation, I even got to crochet! WHOOT! And as I wait for the PDF to finish distilling I will be uploading the revised book, with all the necessary changes. Hopefully tomorrow AM our beloved Technogoddess will upload the new version of the book cover...which should me a better thumbnail on Amazon.com....YAY...

Some of the very nifty changes that we made since we were redoing things anyway was to include page numbers...They would have been in the first version but unfortunately my computer was not cooperating, and I was stressed and tired and opted to live without it versus killing my laptop.

In a more relaxed frame of mine I have included these things so that they actually show on each page (long story), and now have a table of contents that reflect the page numbers (time consuming by worth it)...Also, Carol Ventura granted permission to flip the skull chart for the Tapestry Crochet UFO Bag so that lefties don't have to flip the chart in a mirror! YAY...I'll try to get that posted on the errata page tonight for you wonderful lefties who already purchased the book!

So hopefully in a day or so I can approve the book to be a go again, and we'll be on our way to Crochet History!

Website and more...

Well, in honor of the messed up thumbnail on the Amazon page and the Createspace page for our book... I've fixed our Website...

It's much better looking, and includes a reading from our First Ever Book, "My New Hooks" by Aimee Woolwine.

I've also, finally, got the Crochet Friendly List up online....I've taken down the interactive because it was misbehaving, and I'm not a genius coder like Casey from Ravelry, so I'm just gonna update our pages from time to time. I figure we're lucky I could do this much on the site with me building it...

CHECK IT OUT HERE...NEW AND IMPROVED :)

I'll be doing more on the site as time goes by. Especially getting a page of sample readings...I'm trying to get a media player that doesn't automatically start playing as the page is loaded...grrrr...workin' on it :)

Beyond the website, the book is selling nicely...Thank you all for your support. This revenue helps for me to purchase the copies that go to the authors./designers. Remember the CLF started as a joke, I've been running to keep up ever since :)

Oooh btw on Sept. 28 I'm being interviewed by Mary Beth Temple on Getting Loopy :) That's exciting :)

And keep your eyes peeled in the Yarn Market News, because I was recently interviewed about the "Crochet Scene"...Ok, it's kind of cool when people start asking to interview you! LOL...who knew my little joke could go so far!

Prudence Mapstone at Seattle Yarn Gallery

(CLF Members Smurf, PrudenceM, and Camanomade (aka, Alison, Prudence, Laurie)

Ok gang! I got to meet THE Prudence Mapstone today...sigh...she is not only brilliantly talented, but also very kind and sweet! It was indeed a pleasure to meet this vibrant, innovative, and creative person!

(Left to Right: Virginia, beautiful vest, Prudence)

On top of it all I got to meet Virginia, owner of Seattle Yarn Gallery, and let me tell you they go STRAIGHT to our Crochet Friendly LYS list! Great shop, good selection of everything. Virginia is a wonderful lady, gracious, informed, and a jewel! Her daughter (who's name I didn't get) is quite a talented needle worker, and as accepting of all that is fibery goodness too! located in West Seattle on California street, good parking and not hard to find! Check out their website HERE.

(Alison/Smurf and baby Smurf both sweet as can be!)

BEYOND on top of it all I got to meet our dear member, Smurf (aka Alison in real life) and her new wee baby who was such a dear through the whole workshop! He slept like a little lamb, and is cute as a bug! So awesome to meet her face to face, especially since she'll be heading back to Oz in the late fall/early winter!

I also got to meet Kathleen (who's card is in my jeans at home, and I'm borrowing bandwidth at a friend's house...long story don't get me started!) who organized the cruise that is taking Prudence and some very lucky folks up to Alaska! So glad they got to deport from Seattle! Kathleen is a lovely lady, so glad to get to meet her!

And LaCheryl, last but certainly not least her, I got to meet her in Oakland last fall, and boy were we surprised to run into each other at the workshop! LOL...She's one of the lucky one's heading up to Alaska with Prudence! All in all it was a great day and very cool to represent to CLF and enjoy such grand compnay! (And find another yarn store!)

Some Clarity Regarding Crochet Friendly...A Rant

Harumph...That is what I have to say first and foremost, I am grumpy on this subject of what makes a store crochet friendly...

I think I've, no WE have been a little too nice about the whole thing. So, before I give a scathing report about a yarn store I visited today, I am going to offer us some real hard facts...

1) Crochet Friendly is something that stores EARN. They earn it from us, not the CLF, but the Crochet Community at large. I started the CLF, because I was deeply annoyed with how I have been treated in yarn stores, on internet forums, and at expos all because my chosen method of expression is crochet. How have I been treated? Like an unwanted pest, like a strange pimple on a pig's snout, unwelcome, unwanted, and well...the goo that gets stuck in your tennis shoe treads...Am I any of that? Hell no. Neither are you, any of you.

Part of being liberated is being able to say "HEY! I'm worth so much more than this!"

So, we know that our IDEAL store doesn't truly exist...Even the Hallowed Halls of Lacis do not hold us in the highest of esteem, but they are about as close as it gets to really crochet friendly. I've heard tell of a few stores around the country, nay! The world that truly cater to our needs.

Those get our greatest admiration, and when I frickin' find one, I will kiss it's tiled floor in reverence.

2) Crochet Friendly is criteria based:

a) Customer Service. If they snub us, ignore us, or anyone else for that matter well, that kind of knocks off the "friendly" side of the title right off the bat, now doesn't it? I'll take a friendly store with few crochet supplies over a well supplied house of Snobage.

b) Yarn: A good supply of yarn that goes beyond the ever present self patterning sock yarn, and worsted weight. Prices from way affordable to pricey...or just DECENT yarn...it doesn't have to be a huge buffet, just nice and usable for our average use.

c) THREADS of all kinds, gosh wouldn't that be a treat. I hear tell of a store in Florida that has a lot of crochet threads, and I know Lacis does...wouldn't it be lovely to have SOME crochet thread to find for the thready folk?

c) HOOKS...more than three sizes in the far corner PULEEZ...I mean gosh all those stupid needles and you give us this? How can I buy anything when I don't need five hundred "f" hooks...for the love of Peter, Paul and Mary, is having a decent Tunisian Hook supply asking for the moon?

d) Crochet Classes. Having any at all is a nice plus, but when you have them, listing them at the back of the book? Why? I mean "C" is pretty high up in the alphabet. Basketry and Beading come before it, if we are writing a list correctly...the "K word" most certainly does not. Must we sit at the back of the bus? (Yes, Yes we must so we can spit, spit wads of felted crochet at the stuck up snobs who have got my dander up.)


Extra credit can happen for lots of reasons...mostly cause they have heard of us...

So, now why is my dander up. Because I pretty much wasted an hour of my life, my friend's life, a treasured visit with my dearest friend and Raw Food Gourmand Chef, Gabrielle Chavez. I could have been cruising through really cool produce markets, eating yummies, and enjoying a trip at a spa today, but NO I chose to show her a "crochet friendly store" called the "Yarn Garden" in Portland, Oregon.

I had heard it was crochet friendly, an acquaintance even teaches classes there...but alas, no love for crochet that I could truly find. It was barely tolerated.

So, I decided instead of ranting too long about the ills I uncovered at the store, and my friend a non-fiber artist even commented, "Wow, I can see why you started your group!"

Here is some constructive Criticism of the yarn store:

I would certify you crochet friendly WHEN:

1) More hooks. The supply was pitiful, and I could only find three sizes of clover in any shape...
More Tunisian in different, especially larger sizes would be nice. Hey check out Stitch Diva if you wanna see what I mean. (Now there's someone who's got it goin' on!)

2) The yarns were good, I'll give you that.

3) Patterns clearly marked for crochet

4) More thread

5) One or two samples in crochet would be nice. I mean ZERO? When you have one of the greatest crocheters of all time teaching at your store you don't have ONE COOL CROCHET PROJECT UP? Sigh...and shaking head.

I really felt like it was assumed that you knit, that crochet was a side deal, and frankly I wasn't super impressed with the service. It was adequate, but not what I call friendly. ESPECIALLY for Portland's standards. Now, maybe the gal was tired, maybe she'd had a rough day...but considering I watched her help a knitter with alacrity, I figure those excuses just don't fly.

It's too bad: I had a budget of $150.00 and I only spent $37.00 ...Sheesh...I think that rated what a One Hook rating?

Come on guys, do us proud WE WANT TO SUPPORT YOU! Really! The yarn was the best part, but even then I only chose one yummy silk skein...I thought about buying more, but the vibes put me off.

Crochet Friendly LYS's

Ok folks, as Grand High Poohbah of the Crochet Liberation Front, I want to fill you in on a pet peeve of mine! (Or TWO)
1) Articles written to knitters to tell them how cool we are. OK pardonez moi to all of you who are bi-crafty types who both knit and crochet, in advance. However, I for one do not see why selling folks who play with pointy sticks on our craft makes our craft any cooler? I mean really, are those who play with pointy sticks the epitome of cool? Cause if so I missed some memo some where.
Frankly we do not need ANY industry or craft to think we are cool. WE need to think WE are cool. And somehow that's gotten lost along the way.
As a former marketing suit type executive (and oh yes I was, but I bought my soul back) I have to say that kind of marketing doesn't really do we crocheters a whole lot of good.
What we need in my very UN-humble opinion is to show that yes indeed we are SUPER cool, and show how much $$$ we have to spend at the LYS. That will get us better tools and materials, cause at the end of the day people, an LYS is a business, and they have rent to pay.
So, with that in mind I urge you to contact me with your Crochet Friendly LYS's and I will list them here. I will NOT make a list of the unfriendly LYS's because that will give them free marketing.
I also would love you to leave me messages with links to COOL crochet websites. These can be art, wearable art, cool designs, freaky designs, fun, and of course silly!
Crochet is a fabulous medium! I know that, both my daughter and SON know that, and so do you, since you crochet. So, let's show our stuff!
Raise hooks! CLF SALUTE!