HHCC'ers Win at The Big E

Elaine Wins Blue Ribbon
& Sponsor Award

On Wednesday, September 22, HHCC members were just some of the 70,106 attendees at the Big E Fair.  The weather in the morning was seasonably cool; in the afternoon everyone would be baking in near 90 degree heat.  In attendance on this first day of fall:  Candy, Casey (aka Mini~Dee), Celeste, Chava, Dee, Dee Jr., Diane, Elaine, Fluffy, Grace, Hilda, Irene and Ruth. 

HHCC Booth

Upon setting up the booth, Casey, Dee, Elaine and Ruth learned how their crochet entries fared: they all won Ribbons ranging from Best in Division, Junior to Honorable Mention. Dee and Elaine also won the Sponsor Awards. The Connecticut Fifers marched in, representing 17 marching bands, kicking off the official start to Connecticut Day. 

The HHCC members enjoyed meeting a lot of people interested in crochet.  Many leaflets and crochet patterns were handed out.  This was the eighth year the HHCC has volunteered to demonstrate & promote crochet at The Big E.

In the afternoon, The Connecticut Line Dancers came to The HHCC's aid by volunteering to model for The HHCC's first-ever Fashion Show.  Even though it was 90 degrees, not including the humidity, they were great troopers swirling & twirling the crocheted Shawl Collection on the stage while HHCC President Grace emceed.  The majority of the shawls featured in the show were crocheted earlier this year for a production of Fiddler on the Roof.  The shawls will be donated, with other items, to the Elizabeth House, a battered women's shelter located in Danbury, Connecticut, in early December.

The HHCC & The CT Line Dancers team up for Crochet Fashion Show featuring shawls.



After the Fashion Show the Connecticut Line Dancers were up, showing all how much fun dancing can be.  They called HHCC'ers Dee & Grace up to the stage to learn how ... Fluffy, who is also a member of the CT Line Dancers, said to Grace, "I have a video of you and Dee keeping in step with us. It was a lot of fun, and look forward to teaching you more steps!!"

Everyone had a great time!

The HHCC would like to extend a huge Thank You to the Connecticut Line Dancers, and to all the other volunteers in the New England State building!

Details from The 2009 Big E

On September 23, members of The HHCC traveled to West Springfield, MA, to participate in the Eastern States Expositon, well known as The Big E. September 23rd was Connecticut Day, and The HHCC was there to promote and demonstrate crochet.

The members displayed a vast variety of projects to highlight the many different types & techniques of crochet, and also provided free beginner lessons (and supplies!) to those interested. Casey, one of our Junior members, blogged about the Big E here.

The HHCC would like to welcome Linda into the fold; Linda became an official HHCC'er at The Big E!! Welcome Linda! :)

Prior to attending, several members entered their items in the Fair's Crochet Competition. Congratulations go to Casey, Chava, Dee, Elaine and Ruth for winning a variety of ribbons in many categories for Crochet! In addition to winning a Blue Ribbon for her hat and scarf set, Elaine also won "Best Use of Color," winning a $100 Gift Certificate from WEBs yarn store. And, according to the Big E Event Coordinator, this year there were more crocheted entries than knitted. This is a huge accomplishment as crochet was slated to be removed from the Fair barely 8 years ago due to lack of interest! Congratulations HHCC'ers!