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Tuesday, July 22, 2008
11:09:02 AM EDT
Feeling Cheerful
NH CONFERENCE
Hi All,
I'm off to the conference in just an hour or so.
I am doing four workshops, then I will be doing a book signing at the Elegant Ewe booth. If you are going be there, be sure to stop by and say "HI".
I'll have lots to report on my return.
Have a great week.
Margaret
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Sunday, July 20, 2008
9:28:03 AM EDT
Feeling Productive
Ravelry etc
Happy Sunday Everyone,
I am coming into the homestretch of finishing up everything that needs to be done for the conference. All my booklets are done, my workshop suitcases packed, one new top to wear finished - still to do - finishing touches on my fashion show garment, getting my clothes ready to pack.
I leave Tuesday morning, so I still have some work to do.
I have been so rushed that I have not been checking my ravelry lists the past few day. When I checked this morning, I found a nice surprise.
A few months ago Casey's dad, Thom, was in an accident and quite a few ravelry members came together to send Thom an afghan of love. This tremendous undertaking was finally finished and Casey delivered it to Thom. The happy look on Thom's face says it all. I was very happy to be involved in this, I managed to get 3 little squares made - great job all.

Thom wrapped in love from ravelry members!
If you do not know about ravelry go to http://ravelry.com to find out about it. They were recently written up in a very nice article at;
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/life/stories/2008/06/13/1A_KNITTERS_--_live_story.ART_ART_06-1
Have a great day
Margaret
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Wednesday, July 16, 2008
5:36:33 PM EDT
Feeling Nostalgic
BLAST FROM THE PAST
Hi Everyone,
Today was a fun day for me. I attended an event in a nearby town, and also attending were some very old and dear friends.
I've known this family for many years, and B, one of the youngest of the family brought me up to date on her siblings. We exchanged e-mail addresses, and when I got home I wrote to her, and she wrote back. It started me on a trip down memory lane.
B and 3 of her siblings were models for me in my early books. They are on lots of pages of ONE PIECE KNITS THAT FIT, WEEKEND CROCHET PROJECTS and MORE WEEKEND CROCHET.
I still get lots of mail about ONE PIECE KNITS. It was my first book and probably my most popular.
Any way, it was fun going back and checking out the old photos and comparing them to the lovely young lady I saw today.
  

Have a great day
Margaret
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Saturday, July 5, 2008
11:39:23 AM EDT
Feeling Nervous
Morning Visitor
Happy Saturday Everyone,
This is not about knitting or crochet, but every once in awhile, something unusual happens and I just have to tell you about it.
I was rushing out for an early morning appointment. I had just had an e-mail exchange with my friend Prudence Mapstone http://knotjustknitting.com (Who, by the way, is glob-trotting again) and was running late. I was stopped in my tracks by an unwelcome early morning visitor. A bear was leisurely walking across my yard. My first instinct was to run back into the house, then I grabbed my camera.

He was heading straight for my garbage pail, good thing collection happened minutes before he arrived.

I was quite far away, but finally remembered to use the zoom!

Wonder if anything good is left in there?

Well, I'll give it a try.
I made some noise by slamming my door and he finally wandered off. I ran for my car and was out of there in seconds "-)
Enough adventure for one day!
Have a great weekend,
Margaret
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Thursday, July 3, 2008
10:50:23 AM EDT
CROCHET BELTS FROM THE HIP
Good Morning Everyone,
I recently wrote that the new belt book,
CROCHET BELTS FROM THE HIP: RAW UNCENSORED DESIGNS
was only available to ravelry users. Now it is available to all.
This book, available to download on line, is the product of a group of 19 designers, who got together at a conference and decided to do a collaborative effort of designs. It was fun to do, and its very different. Take the title literally. Each of us was free to do our own thing, doing our design and instructions in our own way. It was an experiment and we are very proud of the way that it turned out.
You can see the book or order at;
http://www.sftdonline.com/ My belt is pictured in the previous blog entry. For some reason aol is not allowing me to download pictures today :-).


Have a great day.
Margaret
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Saturday, June 21, 2008
10:01:22 AM EDT
Feeling Happy
podcasts / new venture
Happy Saturday Everyone,
Sometimes I am really overwhelmed by the power of the Internet. I know that I say it all the time, but how can one brain hold so much information.
Last night I received a lovely e-mail from a Ravelry friend, telling me how much she enjoyed my interview with Kelly from Knit Picks. I did not even know that the interview was on. I was told that it would appear sometime by end of May beginning of June, but I did not hear anything else.
I asked said friend how I could go about finding the pod cast. After following her directions I managed to listen to it (warning, it is kind of long :-) Any way if you are interested go to http://knitpicks.com click on staff blog, then on pod cast. I am the first one on the list.
Another fun thing happened yesterday - our first group venture book was launched on Ravelry. If you are a Ravelry member it can be ordered http://ravelry.com/patterns/sources/crocheted-belts-from-the-hip
below is a picture of my entry

http://ravelry.com/patterns/sources/crocheted-belts-from-the-hip
Have a great weekend
Margaret
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Friday, June 20, 2008
8:33:34 AM EDT
Ravelry etc
Good Morning Everyone,
After all the rain this past week, the whole area is greening up! Yesterday, blue skies, big white puffy clouds against the tall, leafy green trees, what a gorgeous day!
I don't know how many of you are on http://ravelry.com but if you are, Dee http://crochetwithdee.com has started a group for ME. I cannot believe that I have my very own group on Ravelry, but if you would like to join us, it is called MHDesigner-Hooks and Needles. Ravelry is so amazing, each and every day I learn something new. I have been having so much fun reading the posts.
One of my friends posted a link to my interview on Crochet Insider and I have been getting some very nice e-mails from people who had not seen it before. http://www.crochetinsider.com/MargaretHubert.html Thanks Dora for a great forum and thanks Barbara WH for the interview.
I have been working feverishly trying to finish up my fashion show garment for the July conference. Just one month away, and the fun will begin. I hope that I will get to see some of you there.
Have a great day!
Margaret
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Tuesday, June 17, 2008
8:14:04 AM EDT
NH CONFERENCE AND HELPING HANDS FOUNDATION, ETC
Good Morning Everyone,
The time is flying by and soon knitters and crocheters from all over the country, and some from other countries, will be meeting for our National Conference. The conference is held in Manchester NH, from July 23 through the 27th. Many of us will be arriving on Tuesday the 22nd in preparation of attending Professional Development day on the 23rd.
I will be teaching 4 classes, Crochet Intermeshing, Free Form Knit and Crochet Combination, Crochet Embellishment, and Knit and Crochet Beyond Scarves. I have been very busy getting my handouts ready for my classes and finishing my fashion show and contest entries. Still lots to do on my fashion show garment.
Attendees will be arriving at different times, getting ready to attend classes, visit the market, and participate in the festivities. In addition to the fashion show and dinner on Saturday evening, many groups plan individual meetings and dinners. Impromptu gatherings in the lobby are such fun. I am so looking forward to seeing lots of old friends and meeting lots more new ones.
For quite a few years, Knitters and Crocheters have been putting their hands and hearts into projects designed to help others. Groups, such as Warm up America, collect items to help victims the nation over. Our chapter, The Happily Hooked on Crochet group in CT, have donated hundreds of Chemo Caps, preemie hats, scarves, hats, and gloves to Danbury Hospital and the Salvation Army.
My local yarn shop, The Yarn and Craft Box in Pawling, NY http://yarnandcraftbox.com, is collecting scarves for the homeless, to be distributed by our own Resource Center in Pawling and to shelters in New York City. Marie Stewart, shop owner, just put out the call a short time ago, and has already received more than 150 scarves.
It is a wonderful thing to be using our skills to help others less fortunate.
The Helpful Hands Foundation is devoted to passing on these skills to the younger generation. Conference attendees have been asked to donate gloves and mittens to be auctioned off at the conference. The monies raised will go to help further this effort.
The Happily Hooked on Crochet Chapter is cooking up a surprise entry. Its still under wraps, but Dee http://crochetwithdee.com Has asked us all to crochet lots of faces.
 At the meeting last Sunday, I was able to complete two faces. I love my curly top!
 The imagination of our members is mind boggling!

Starry eyes and smiles.

Don't you love the masked beauty?
Be sure to look for our entry at the auction. I'm sure it will be a standout.
Wild weather, storms and power outages seem to be over for now. As bad as its been, we have been lucky compared to other parts of the country.
Have a great day!
Margaret
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Saturday, June 14, 2008
11:52:06 AM EDT
Feeling Excited
Ravelry
Happy Saturday Everyone,
I was getting ready to run out the door for an appointment and decided to check my mail once more. I checked ravelry too, and clicked on "forums" There I see a new group with my name on it. What a thrill! I thank Dee http://crochetwithdee.com for starting it up. I have a bunch of new friends and a lot of fans that have been around for a while (I didn't want to say older ones). Thank you all its an honor.
Margaret
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Saturday, May 31, 2008
9:18:14 AM EDT
Feeling Happy
New Hampshire Conference etc
Happy Saturday Everyone.,
The time is flying by and the Knit/Crochet Conference in NH is getting closer and closer. I am happy to say that two of my classes are totally sold out, but there is still room in two others.
The Crochet Intermeshing Class was the first to be sold out. I learned this method from James Walters while we were both attending a Fiber Forum in Australia. James has given me permission to teach his methods in the U.S., so I am excited about that.
The other sold out class is the Free Form Knitting and Crochet Combination class.
There is still room in the Knit/Crochet Embellishment class. This class can be all knit or all crochet or a combination of both. Students learn to make a bag in this class, but also learn how to apply the method to other items. Embellishing is another way to free form, but a little more structured.

Here are two examples of small evening bags made with embellishing.
The other class is called BEYOND SCARVES
In this class the knitter or crocheter, who has been stuck in the groove of just making scarf after scarf, can learn how to take their art to the next step. In class, again, we learn how to make a small bag, but much more than that is covered. Its fun to see how far your scarf making skills can take you. There really is no limit to the items that can be made with just chaining or casting on a few stitches and getting creative. It really is lots of fun and once your creativity is jump started the ideas will begin to flow. Time permitting, we will also learn about lining our bags, and adding zippers or other closures. This information will be in the handout, even if we do not get to cover it in class.

Crocheted Bag

Knitted Bag
On a totally different note, my new book KNITS FOR MEN is now available. You can buy it at http://amazon.com
Lion Brand Yarns has featured it in their news letter They also offer a free pattern from the book.

Cover of the book.

Free Pattern from Lion Brand Click on Free Patterns, click pattern finder write in Alpine Knit. Enjoy!
http://lionbrand.com
Have a great weekend!
Margaret
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