HHCC Revives Website

For years the HHCC had a website, but it was outdated and hard to navigate.

It was thought that having a Blog would be easier for us to post information. At first this worked well. But as new material was added, the older blog posts were pushed away, making it more difficult to find relevant information, difficult to navigate.

The HHCC is proud to announce the return of it's website using the new address of: www.CrochetClubinCT.org -- where all that information you are looking for is just a click away, including the HHCC Calendar.

The HHCC will remain using this blog for posting current information about meetings & events and will continue operating with the old www.TheHHCC.org address.

Interdependence Tree Project: Completed

At the HHCC's March 2009 monthly meeting, members & visitors were encouraged to crochet leaves for the Interdependence Tree Project. At that meeting, a total of 50 leaves, created by: Hinda Alder, Celeste Caprio, Karen Harney, Rosalie Hollingsworth, Grace Gardiner, Diane Gilbert, Margaret Hubert, Irene Iannelli, Chava Karlovich, Nicole Lewis, Anna Margan, Kathy Philips, Dee Stanziano, and Sheila Sweet were crocheted and then mailed in to the International Fiber Collaborative. The HHCC leaves are acknowledged on the Gallery of Leaves here.

The International Fiber Collaborative then created and assembled the tree, which was then showcased at the Big Springs Park. The project is reported to have people participating from 23 countries, and 39 states from the U.S. The tree, measuring approximately 28 feet tall & 25 feet wide, with over 7000 leaves, will be taken down and installed at the Earlyworks Childrens Museum in Huntsville, AL, for display in August.

To see the tree in all its glory, click here. It was an honor for the HHCC to contribute to this Interdependence Tree Project.

Crochet Display & Demo A Success!

Yesterday, members of the HHCC participated, for the third straight year, in the annual Connecticut Sheep & Wool Festival. Although the weather was unusually hot, this did not discourage the HHCC in showing how wonderful crochet can be with both crochet stitches & techniques, but also with natural fibers such as alpaca, corn, silk, soy, and wool. In addition, what made participating this year even more special, was that it was the 100th anniversary for the Connecticut Sheep & Wool festival, having first begun way back in 1909 -- before the invention of the radio or television, and when only 8,000 cars were on were on American roads (a total of 10 miles of which were paved)!

Our reception at the festival was great! We met many new people, and got to talk with many people we met at previous festivals, such as with Tammy who learned about Tunisian crochet and crocheting with unspun roving. Changing people's minds about what crochet is -- and can be -- is a very rewarding experience! We were not alone: it was also great to see Lady Shirret there promoting crochet!

Visit Dee's and Nancy's blogs for more information and pictures from this event.

EVENT: April 25, 2009 CT Sheep & Wool Festival

Members of the HHCC will be participating in the 100th Anniversary of the Connecticut Sheep & Wool Festival being held in Tolland, CT.



This will be the third attendance as volunteers for the HHCC. Members of the HHCC will be in the White Barn, offering free beginner crochet lessons, a demonstration on Tunisian Crochet, and a demonstration on crocheting with unspun roving.

For more information about the Festival, please visit: http://ctsheep.com/100th_annual_sheep_and_wool_festival.




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May Meeting 2009

The May meeting is going to be on the third Sunday the 17th, same time, 1:00 - 4:00,same place, at the Danbury Hospital in the conference room next to the phamacy.We are proud to annouce our guest speaker Willena Nanton of the NY City crochet Guild.She's going to be talking to us about her crochet designs and inspirations that havebeen wowing many at the fashion shows in Manchester, Chicago, etc....Bring a project to work on. Vistors welcome....bring along a friend or two.

Willena Nanton does not have a website. You can see some of her work featured at sistahcraft

Images below from the 2008 CGOA Fashion Show where the crowd was "Wow'ed!" by her one-of-a-kind creations:

Knit One, Save One "Brown Bag Luncheon"

On Monday afternoon, October 20th, HHCC members Grace, Elaine, Linda and Dee traveled to Westport, Connecticut. They joined staff members from the Save the Children foundation for a brown bag luncheon. Grace, Elaine, Linda and Dee had a great time teaching them how to crochet!

What is "Knit One, Save One?" Here is the official news release from the Craft Yarn Council of America:

Big Stars Make Little Caps to Help Newborn Babies


Knitters and crocheters nationwide are mobilizing to help save babies lives. And there are a list of prominent knitting and crocheting celebs who are doing their part as well, including Save the Children Artist Ambassador Gwyneth Paltrow, actresses Rebecca Romijn, Debra Messing, Lisa Edelstein, Vera Farmiga, Mischa Barton and Patricia Arquette.

The campaign is called Knit One Save One and it’s sponsored by Save the Children (STC), the global health organization, and Warm Up America (WUA), the industry charity that works with volunteer knitters and crocheters to provide afghans and clothing for people in need. (For all of you crocheters out there, our apologies for being left out of the name. Our friends at STC came up with the name before we were onboard, but this is definitely for crocheters as well as knitters.)

The campaign is bringing U.S. knitters and crocheters of all ages together to draw attention in Washington, D.C. to the nearly 4 million newborn deaths that occur each year in developing countries. Participants are asked to create one baby cap to keep a newborn warm during the first critical hours and days after birth, and to write a personal note to the President-elect asking him to lead the way in reducing newborn deaths globally.

The campaign that kicked off at the end of August will continue through December 31, 2008. Early next year, Save the Children will take the personal notes to the new President to Washington, D.C. The caps will be distributed to mothers and newborns through Save the Children’s community health facilities in Africa and Asia.

Hollywood’s biggest stars made little caps in all colors and wrote personal messages to the mom and baby on a tag attached to the cap. Gwyneth Paltrow knitted a raspberry-colored baby cap gathered at the top and finished with charcoal trim. Paltrow’s cap tag says: “As a mother of two children who mean everything to me, I share your joy. Love Gwyneth.”

All of the leading ladies’ baby caps and cap tag messages can be viewed at www.savethechildren.org/knitonesaveone. An interactive web game on this page lets fans match the caps to their favorite stars. To view a special video message from Lisa Edelstein, visit Save the Children’s nonprofit channel on YouTube at www.savethechildren.org/youtube.To download a Knit One, Save One action kit, which includes cap patterns, cap tag and more information about the program, go to www.savethechildren.org/knitonesaveone, or call 1-800-728-3843. Knitters and crocheters can also download patterns at the Warm Up America web site: www.WarmUpAmerica.org.

10/08

For more information or photos, please contact:
Mary Colucci
212-570-9883
917-570-9558
cmcommunic@aol.com

If you are on Ravelry, join the growing number of Crocheters and Knitters getting involved at the "Knit One, Save One" group!

Knit One, Save One Collections

The Caps to the Capital campaign from 2006/2007, sponsored by the Save the Children foundation, was a huge success having collected some 282,000 caps, helping to save many tiny lives.


This program is being reintroduced as "Knit One, Save One," part of Save the Children's Survive to 5 program.

On October 1st, at the monthly "Coffee, Crochet & Chat" morning session, held at the Borders bookstore located in Brookfield, CT, 18 caps were collected.



Additional collections will take place on:
Wednesday, November 5th, and
Wednesday, December 3rd
at the morning sessions of "Coffee, Crochet & Chat."

All caps collected by the HHCC will be hand-delivered to the Save the Children world headquarters before the December 31st deadline. Please note you do not need to be a HHCC member to donate hats!


For more inspiration, if you are a member of the Ravelry web site, please join us at our Knit One, Save One group.