Newsflash

https://www.medianet.com.au/news-hub-post?id=987817&k=5701781

Crochet Guild Australia is delighted to announce the:

National Crochet Conference 2023

Not so Granny and not so Square

Knitting’s cool and funky little sister is BACK.

 https://crochetguildaustralia.org.au/general-program

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WHEN:       1 - 3 June 2023

WHERE:    Wesley Conference Centre, 220 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000

PROGRAM:    39 WORKSHOPS - half or full day on specific crochet techniques conducted by world renowned crochet designers and leaders in their fields.

Petra Creutziger QLD (Australian)– Black Sheep Crochet

Shelley Husband VIC (Australian)– Shelley Husband Crochet

Jenny King QLD (Australian)– Jenny King Designs

Erinna Lee VIC (Australian) – The Little Hook Crochet

Dedri Uys (South Africa/UK)– Look at what I made

Susan Walsh WA (Australian) –Peppergoose Design

Wendy Thompson SA (Australian) - (20+) Zigz Crochet - Mosaic WIPnWatch | Facebook 

25  Presentations by guest speakers  - 8 hours of daily PRESENTATIONS FROM STAGE EACH DAY COVERING ALL TOPICS ON CROCHET included in daily ticket price including a sample below:

• Acrylic Yarns versus Natural Fibre Yarns - a debate and Q&A with industry leaders
• "So you want to open a yarn shop Behind the scenes with Yarn Shop owners" Panel Discussion
• How can you protect your IP.  What can you do when someone steals your pattern and pix
• How to yarn manufacturers choose colours and yarn bases for the Australian market
• Physio for crocheters - exercises you should consider
• How to join granny squares as you go  - the different methods and styles
• Fashions on the Field - a daily catwalk by attendees to show of their makes
• Designer showcases: workshop presenters speak about how they achieved success in crochet
• Fast Fingers daily competition .......and MORE

PANEL DISCUSSIONS & AUDIENCE Q&A with all presentations

YARN MARKET with 30 yarn specialist vendors from around Australia.

GENIUS BAR - don't pay $20 for help sessions you have to book online at your Local Yarn Shop - come check in with our experts for free

BALL WINDING BAR- for a gold coin donation you can get your balls wound up!  It's amaze balls!!!!

CROCHET LOUNGE - take the weight off your legs after attending a workshop or walking the yarn market - or attending your favourite session and have a cuppa and bikkie with your friends in the Crochet Lounge (aka Lyceum Room).

COST:   $35 per day; workshops ticketed separately; 

SOCIAL PROGRAM:  Thursday Night Networking drinks @ The Art House Hotel; 

Friday Night:  Gala Dinner with Fashion Parades by attendees strutting the catwalk showing off their makes or designs in 2 separate catwalk fashion shows + Dance Spectacular by Epiphany Dance Company with medley of fashions, dance and music to showcase crochet fashion through the decades from the 1950's to present day to music of Harry Styles, Sonny and Cher, Abba, Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Sex and the City and other icons who elevated the craft of crochet.

 

Key Facts:

WHEN:  Thursday 1 June  8.30am - 5pm;      Friday 2 June     8.30am - 5pm  &    Saturday 3 June   8.30am - 5pm

WHERE:  Wesley Conference Centre, 220 Pitt Street, Sydney  NSW 2000

COST:  $35 per day

INCLUSIONS:   Access to Yarn Market, Crochet Lounge, Genius Bar, 8 hours of presentations and lectures on all things crochet for either hobbyist or professional development for designers, tech editors, pattern writers, makers, crochet bloggers and more.  Evening Social events and workshops ticketed separately. 

About us:

Crochet Guild Australia was formed in November 2019 when a teacher, an accountant, a solicitor and a road surfacing business owner who all shared a passion for crochet decided to form a guild with the aim of creating a space for crochet enthusiasts to learn, create, educate, inspire and teach. The Guild registered as a Not-For-Profit - and launched 2 months before COVID unleashed onto the world.  During lockdowns, people took up crochet with a vengeance that has seen a revival of this ancient craft and resurgence for crochet.  Why is it different from knitting?  It can't be done by machines and must be done by hand.  FInd out about the mental health benefits of crochet and feel the passion of joy of making and creating something that will last forever.  (It also has helped a lot of people keep that glass out of their hand during lockdowns - and kept their fingers and minds busy doing something creative and beautiful).

Have you got skills that you can utilise to help the management committee of Crochet Guild Australia to get to the next level?

Consider nominating now! 

The National Crochet Conference location for Sydney in 2023 will soon be announced - along with the dates too!

It is soooo exciting - because we all know how much you love crochet.  So, like all big events - it takes more than just one person.  We are looking for volunteers in the following categories:

Boutique Yarn Market  Team:

This role is for those  who want to connect with Indie yarn dyers, spinners and  yarn shop retailers to invite them to participate in an exclusive boutique yarn market for the 3 days of the conference.  We will help you collate a master list of potential yarn retailers to invite, and then you will manage your retailers and co-ordinate their "bump in" for the conference. Don't worry, we have email systems and payment gateways to enable this to be a smooth process for all - but if you have ever wanted to build relationships with yarn retailers - this job is for you.  The team will be set a target of 20 retailer spots to fill.  This team will be led by Crochet Guild Australia Committee Member:  Rachael Cecil

Plenary Session content team:  Teachers/Workshops Demonstrators/Holders/Retailers/Designers

This team is for this who want to collaborate to build a programme  and/or be a presenter for the 24 plenary sessions that are available for all Conference attendees as part of their daily ticket inclusion to the Conference.  There will be 8 sessions a day - that commence every hour on the hour.  They will be held in a theatre that Conference attendees can come and go from as they like during the day.  These sessions will include such topics as:  Physiotherapy for crocheters, How to photograph your crochet items, How to read crochet graphs, How to write crochet patterns, How to use different software programmes to create graphgans and other such topics, How to adjust sizing when making sweaters, Crochet Travel and Conference opportunities around the world AND MORE.  This team will collaborate to build a fantastic programme of plenary sessions that will be worth the ticket price for Conference attendees.  Join the team to build the programme and source teachers for these presentations.  If you would like to present a session or hold a workshop that showcases your skills -  please contact Crochet Guild Australia Committee Member: Samantha MacNally  Please note, classes are separate to the plenary sessions 

Fashion Parade Team:
Fashion Parade Co-ordinators  will be responsible for devising a fashion parade.  You will reach out to conference attendees and invite them to enter their garments, afghans and accessories into a "Fashion Parade".  You will create the entry form, the order of the event, co-ordinate the music for the event, models if required, and write the descriptions from the entry forms from each entrant.  You may wish to host and compere the event yourself - or we can provide a compere.  Your job is to ensure that we get a good number of entries and plan the staging of the mini event.  We have the email systems to email all Guild members to generate entries - but we need someone to lead this team and create the event.  Please volunteer for this segment.

Graphic Design/Photography/copywriting:

We need people with these creative skills to develop marketing collateral for our event.  You know what this means without me even having to describe it. 

Can you please email Samantha MacNally to nominate which team you wish to join or lead.  In that email can you please provide your name, phone number and nominate which team you wish to be a part of.

Please let me know if you are based in Sydney.  This is not an essential requirement to be part of a team - but it will help if you wish to do a visit to the soon-to-be-announced Sydney venue for a site visit.

ZOOM Meetings will start in August to commence planning.

Please ensure your Crochet Guild Australia membership is up to date.  To join or check on your membership status- click here.

Get your cup of tea, glass of wine or you coffee ready!  Pick up your crochet hook and your latest WIP and settle into our "live" podcast style interview with international crochet start Janie Crow aka Jane Crowfoot.

Crochet Guild Australia is thrilled to have Janie all to ourselves tonight - Thursday 26 May at 7pm AEST to chat about her crochet journey and provide insights into her the world of crochet design.

As this is a members only event - check your inboxes for the recently emailed zoom link to join the event.

It's happening again.  One of those spectacular "members only" zoom style webinars - where the members of Crochet Guild Australia get to meet an international crochet designer who is everybody's favourite gal!!!   We are talking about Janie Crow aka Jane Crowfoot - the amazingly talented crochet designer who is the creator of such stunning designs as Frida's Flowers, Delft, Fruit Garden, Persian Tiles, Mystical lanterns to name but a few of CGA;s committee members personal faves.

Mark this date in your diary.  26 May at 7pm - and get your favourite WIP out to sit and relax with while we talk to Janie.  Don't forget to get your questions ready to ask her what you need to - this is a once in a lifetime opportunity!

A little birdie told me that Shelley Husband from Spincushions is hosting a special MEMBERS ONLY ZOOM for Crochet Guild Australia on Wednedsay, April 6 at 7pm NSW and VICTORIA time. YAY!!! SO excited, I am such a fan girl. If you want to join the zoom and are not a member yet - you'd better get a wriggle on. Join Crochet Guild Australia from the website homepage.  I might add that Shelley was a Foundation Member of Crochet Guild Australia.

Crochet Guild Australia (CGA)  is delighted to announce that the new committee line-up for 2021 - 2023 has been elected.https://crochetguildaustralia.org.au/sys/website/?pageId=18084

please click here to see new committee

The Committee is enthusiastic and passionate about building on the incredible amount of work done by previous committees  - and to continue to raise the profile of crochet - both at a hobbyist and professional level throughout Australia.

Hello interested parties,

 Are you a possible suitable vendor for our Crochet Conference happening this June 4th, 5th and 6th?

Fill out the form here

We'd love to have you be part of the experience with us.

It's finally happening and it's happening soon! Some details are still being fleshed out but the classes are soon to be advertised and we are taking vendor applications. *Squeeeeee*

Maroochy Events Centre, Maroochydore

June 2021

Friday 4th,  Saturday the 5th and Sunday the 6th

We hope you are all as excited as we are! Over the next few weeks you should see all of the information coming out as soon as we have it in our hands. Please contact us at crochetguildau@gmail.com if you have a query or chat with us on our socials INSTAGRAM and FACEBOOK.