The CGOA 2010 Design Competition needs your creativity. Here’s a chance for the Guild membership to show the world the best of what crochet can do. Whether you are a published or professional designer, a talented amateur hobbyist, or a total crochet-a-holic, you are invited to enter your most amazing original creations for consideration. Judging will take place on Thursday evening, July 8th, at the gala Awards Ceremony during the CGOA 2010 Conference in Manchester, NH. You don’t have to be there to win, but you’ll definitely want to be part of the excitement and see the eye-popping display of entries.

Thanks to generous grants from our sponsors, including Coats & Clark, Boye Needle, DRG’s Crochet! magazine, and Interweave Crochet, we have thousands of dollars to be awarded: one grand prize of $1,000 plus, in each of six judging categories, $300 first prize, $200 second prize, $100 third prize, and special awards to be announced.

This year’s categories are more inclusive than ever:

--Fashion, Adult Eveningwear and Special Occasion, including gowns and dresses

--Fashion, Adult Daywear (for women and men), including sweaters, tops, skirts, jackets

--Baby and Kid Stuff, including clothes, toys and other small wonders

--Accessories, generally small pieces, including wraps, socks, scarves, hats, bags, jewelry

--Home Décor, both functional and decorative items, including afghans/throws, wall hangings, kitchen/dining accessories

--Thread Crochet – any design made in any super-fine weight thread material, generally using tiny gauge and steel crochet hooks.

The competition is open to CGOA members only. All entries must be original designs. All crochet techniques are encouraged, using any materials you like. Other fiber, needle and crafting arts may be incorporated in your design, but the overall impression must be crochet. Entrants will not be required to furnish written patterns. Please see the official entry form and information package for complete rules and details. Entries must be shipped to arrive at the collection location between June 1 and June 15, 2010. So grab that hook and get to it.
Download your entry packet from the members-only section of the CGOA web site.

DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES IS JUNE 15, 2010

Click here to email questions

Submitted by Doris Chan, Chairman, 2010 Design Competition Committee

In Honor of National Crochet Month: Crochet-Along with CGOA!

National Crochet Month March 2010: A CGOA Crochet-Along

Your CGOA Board of Directors invites you to join us in a Crochet-Along (CAL) during March 2010 in honor of National Crochet Month!

For this CAL, pick any crochet project that you like. If you joined CGOA or renewed your CGOA membership during or after our 2009 Chain Link Conference last August, you were given access to Across the Board Crochet, a pdf pattern booklet featuring patterns designed by some of the 2009 CGOA board members. Perhaps you’d like to work on one of these projects. Or perhaps there’s a pattern from Crochet! magazine (which you receive as one of your member benefits) that you’ve been anxious to try. Don’t forget all the other countless crochet patterns available in books, magazines, and on the internet.

We’d love to hear from you as you try to decide what you’d like to work on during the CAL. Please feel welcome to post comments to this blog post and let us know what patterns and yarn you’re considering. Share links when available! Don’t forget to leave a new comment when you make your final decision. Your selection may inspire others to make the same thing right alongside you!

You can share your photos on the CGOA flick group via these links:

Main CGOA flickr photo pool

CGOA flick photo pool CAL discussion thread