Truly Special Guild Meeting

Yesterday, we had (dare I say it) an "amazing" guild meeting! We had good things to eat, goodies raffled off, and lots of fun conversation. And if that weren't enough, we had presentations by 2 designers, Margaret Hubert and Doris Chan. My head is still spinning with ideas for new projects!

I actually missed some of Margaret's presentation because I volunteered to meet Doris at the LYS near my house, where she was doing a book signing, and escort her to the guild meeting to make sure she didn't get lost. But I was able to hear some of what Margaret had to say about adjusting patterns to fit each one of us.

Doris's presentation was equally fascinating. I realized that I am familiar with several of her patterns - I just didn't realize that she was the designer. For example, she designed the Sage Circle Jacket that is available for free from Caron's. She also designed several items in the Tahki Stacy Charles Spring 2006 Crochet publication which I had bought on vacation this year. I was especially fascinated to hear how she gets her ideas for her designs. It was an interesting glimpse into how designers do what they do. Did you know that publishers and yarn companies will often send a sketch and some yarn to designers and say make this happen? Besides that, Doris uses doily and table runner patterns from the 50s and 60s for inspiration, and many of her motifs come from those patterns.

Even better, Doris brought some samples of completed garments from her new book that we were able to try on. Now I am even more anxious to make a couple of her shawls, knowing that they fit like a dream! And we got a sneak peek at the book she has coming out next fall. I won't say anything except that it looks as good if not better than Amazing Crochet Lace. I can't wait to buy it!

Finally, I want to send a big thank you to Dee for inviting Doris to our meeting. It wouldn't have happened without Dee's enthusiasm and contacts, and our guild would have missed out on a great opportunity.