Yarn event at Michaels

[donnalynn2]

I went into Michaels today because they marked all the Christmas stuff at 90% off! I got a huge cartfull of stuff for less than $15 :clap:clap:clap

Anyway, I was talking to the lady in charge of all the demos and such (we were always friends when I worked there) and they are having another Yarn Event on Sunday, Jan 29th. I am going to make sure I go and enter into the fastest crocheter contest. She told me that the same person has won the last 3 times. I'm wondering if it's because she's really good or that there aren't that many people there? I'm going to really prepare myself as she told me that she usually puts together some really nice baskets for prize winners.

She said all the Michaels are doing it on that day. For your info...

[deneen]

I have the flyer and it's the 29th from 12-5 and the fastest crocheting/knitting contest starts at 2:00 PM. They are also having a Knitting Loom demonstration making flowers, a kids yarn craft event and a charity square making thing for making blankets if anyone is interested. They also have a drop box for 7" X 9" squares.

[firemanshunny]

Do you know how they do it? like how to they time you?

[donnalynn2]

Do you know how they do it? like how to they time you?

Judy (the lady who is in charge of it at my local store) told me that a couple days beforehand corporate gives her rules. I was thinking it would be kinda like how many DC's you can do in a minute, but she was saying that usually it's a swatch and whoever finishes in like 3 minutes with the biggest swatch wins. She said that everyone uses the same hooks and yarn and all, however, even so, if they aren't counting the stitches it really wouldn't be accurate, right? I mean, I crochet quite loosely where as other people crochet very tight so 2 of us could have the same amount of stitches but different sized swatches... I am going to go in there maybe a day or 2 before hand and see if she'll give me a heads up. If it's SC I'll be toast as I do those stitches slower than any other. I would love either a HDC or DC contest. But, I guess we will see...

[sharoninseattle]

I teach crochet/knit classes here at the Michaels where I live and will be one of the judges for the contest and will be demonstrating some of the items I make to promote classes, I will let you know how it turns out here for Sun. Jan 29th :hook .

[Croshay]

Sharon, how cool that you teach there. I talked to the manager at the Michael's in my old neighborhood about 5 years ago and told them they should start offering crocheting and/or knitting classes and to call me if they wanted me to teach...but I never heard back from them. Of course that was a long time ago and they probably lost my number.

This contest might be worth a trip over there. Sounds like fun. :hook

DonnaLynn, please keep us posted on the rules! Thanks!:hug

[pragmatica]

Has anyone ever entered one of Michael's fastest crocheter/fastest knitter contest? If so, what are the "events" like? My nearest Michael's is having an "all-day yarn event" at the end of the month, and my kids are after me to enter this.

Thanks,
Elissa

[deneen]

There was a teensy discussion about it here. (http://www.crochetville.org/forum/showthread.php?t=20563) I am definitely going to try to go. There are far less crocheters in my area than knitters, so maybe I will have a chance.

[donnalynn2]

As I posted in the other thread, according to the lady that takes care of these things at my local Michaels, the home office sends her a list of what projects to have, what kind of prizes to give away and the details of the contests.

From what I understand, the same woman wins both the knitting and crocheting (fastest) contests every year and that she's super fast. Then again, from what I was told hardly anyone enters. I am really hoping I win! It's not fair that she can win both contests! I figure if you win one, you should be disqualified from the other... Oh well... I'm going to enter but I highly doubt I'll win one of the gift baskets as I used to work there. Thank goodness the lady that takes care of these things and I are still friends! :hook

[threeolivemartini]

not trying to be rude or cause a great controversy but.. reading what you are saying.. it says to me you should be basically penalized for knowing how and being good at both knit and crochet.. how fair is that ? and if she is equally good at both .. more power to her !

[queen_mo]

According to the CGOA (http://www.crochet.org/index.shtml) Lisa Gentry can crochet an average of 170 dc per minute?!!! Am I the only person that finds this impossible to believe. That is more than 2dc per SECOND!!!! No one crochets that quickly, no matter how practiced you are.
I timed myself for 10 minutes (as per the guidelines-20 dc with ww and a 6mm hook) and I only averaged 80 per minute which I thought was pretty incredible.
Does anyone else have any info?

[donnalynn2]

not trying to be rude or cause a great controversy but.. reading what you are saying.. it says to me you should be basically penalized for knowing how and being good at both knit and crochet.. how fair is that ? and if she is equally good at both .. more power to her !

Well to be honest I'm jealous that I can't knit! :devil

Maybe it's just me, but I don't like it when one person comes away winning everything at any competition. I am more of a "share the wealth" kind of thing...

Not that my views are going to change the rules. But I am entitled to my opinion however wrong it may be... :hook

[Kiki]

Providing my kids stops being sick intime, I'm going to that, too!

[fairietat2]

I have a question for anyone who has done the contest. I have heard that it's how many dc's you can get done in 3 min. Does that count the chain and first double crochet row? I'm practicing like crazy for the contest on sunday. I just wanted a heads up on what exactly I will have to do. So far I'm up to 48 dc's. Not sure if that's good or bad.

[Hummywinger]

hmm got to check out that sale..
I got two nice Michael gift cards for Christmas.:clap
Have you seen Lisa Gentry's website? She holds the title for the Guinness World Record Holder for the fastest crocheter now.
http://www.caneyladyscreations.com/:hook

[donnalynn2]

hmm got to check out that sale.. I got two nice Michael gift cards for Christmas.
Have you seen Lisa Gentry's website? She holds the title for fastest crocheter now.
http://www.caneyladyscreations.com/

I thought Lily Chin was the world's fastest crocheter?

Ok, as far as the contest. I asked Judy (the lady at Michaels who takes care of these things) about it and she said it's not how many DC's you can do in 3 mins but it's who can make the largest swatch. Now I don't think that's fair as we all crochet at a different tension so 50 DC's I make may be quite a bit larger than 50 DC's you make. I hope she misspoke because I would think that the only fair way to do it would be to count...

I was also wondering if you had to start a CH first as well.

[threeolivemartini]

she WAS til lisa gentry beat her and she wasnt a good sport about being beaten either

[donnalynn2]

she WAS til lisa gentry beat her and she wasnt a good sport about being beaten either

Really? Wow! Where have I been? So Lily Chin is a sore loser huh? Well it certainly helped push her into the limelight having won so I'm sure she lost a little stock in her "name" when she lost...

Do they hold these contests every year or something?

[Hummywinger]

Nope
Check out Lisa Gentry's website she holds the title now don't think Lily did. Not for the Guinness record anyway.
http://www.caneyladyscreations.com/
I have emailed with her and she is a very nice lady. She has some free patterns on her website and offers some for sale. Her patterns are written very well, easy to follow and with pictures.

[craftybutterfly]

P

[earthwhisper]

According to the CGOA (http://www.crochet.org/index.shtml) Lisa Gentry can crochet an average of 170 dc per minute?!!! Am I the only person that finds this impossible to believe. That is more than 2dc per SECOND!!!! No one crochets that quickly, no matter how practiced you are.
I timed myself for 10 minutes (as per the guidelines-20 dc with ww and a 6mm hook) and I only averaged 80 per minute which I thought was pretty incredible.
Does anyone else have any info?

I think she is a member here... I haven't seen her, but I have heard from others that she is fast. I am amazed, too...I just have large stubby fingers. I might not be the fastest, but I have great endurance.

[Jimmie Lu]

I wouldnt say thats unreachable I am pretty fast when I try althogh I did not time myself! Id like to see that!!!!

[Croshay]

170 dc's per minute? Now that's something I'd have to see to believe.

They're not having the contest at the Michael's near me. :grumpy

[Empress Busy Bee]

At least two of mine are having it and probably a third. I don't know if I'm going or not. I want to but I get nervous. :lol

[Julie]

I think mine is having it. I don't think I'm brave enough to try, I'd get totally nervous and drop my hook repeatedly, I just know it. :sweatIt might be fun to go watch though. :hook

[thread_zealot]

anyone from NYC going to the event?

[donnalynn2]

Ok, well my DH timed me last night and I could do 90 in 3 mins which translates into about 1 DC every 2 seconds. I will say this much, when he was timing me (he did it about 3 times) I would fumble and get nervous and drop loops and such. It's gonna be hard with all the pressure. Oh well, if the fast lady in my area wins again, at least I'll know what it's like and prepare ahead for the next one!

[CrochetMonkey]

I'm nowhere near fast enough to enter the contest, but I am really excited about going to this event tomorrow! I've never been to it before, and it sounds like it should be alot of fun. Thank you for the reminder about this.

[Celestial Seasonings]

If you look really closely at her Guinness certificate at the top of her site, it looks like it says she did 5,113 stitches in 30 minutes!:eek

[chenille4]

is there going to be some sale too, or is it just the displays and the contest?

[Becks]

I just got back from my Michael's - I won! :yay

There was only one other person to compete against.
We had to chain 23 and then start a row of 20 double crochet.

Then she timed us for 3 minutes I think. (I was so nervous! Competition is not for the faint-hearted! :lol ).

I did about 3 more than her in the end. (But I don't know how many I did. I was so nervous I thought the lady running it had said the other lady won and so I was in the process of unwinding mine when she asked my name and handed me the basket. I'm such an airhead! :lol ). It was about two rows and a half. That would be 60 ish then, right? Man, that sounds terribly slow.

I won:
* A gift basket with a 6 set of Susan Bates aluminum crochet hooks. (I use Boye so it will be interesting to try these). :hook
* A pair of 3 1/2" folding scissors (Wow. I never had this before)
* A Leisure Arts Spring Garden Baby Afghans booklet wuth 4 patterns in it. (My two neices are both due this year so I'll get to try these out too.)
* 6 skeins of 3 oz. Lion brand Jiffy yarn (3 in Light Pink and 3 in Kitty Hawk which is like a blue-green color).

Pretty nice. :D

I watched the knitting contest. There were only 3 of them.
It is a rainy cold day so maybe that kept people from coming.
If anyone would just show up, there's a great chance of winning the thing.

[auntbubbels]

Congratulations to you - I know what you mean about being nervous - I would have forgotten how to crochet!!! Nice basket of gifts - enjoy them :cheer

[happytee40]

That's great, how long have you been crocheting? Does Michaels have these events? Theresa :yay

[Yarnmistress]

Just got back from our Michael's event and I won the crochet event.

We had to ch 20 and then do as many sc as we could in 3 minutes. I did 4 rows and beat the only other lady who did the event with me.

I won a basket filled with 2 skeins of modea cahet yarn, 1 skein of Lions Brand jiffy, an afghan crochet book, a clover hook (J) and a Q hook, a hook holder and some little things that I am not sure what they are.... hook knobs or something odd.

I also won the drawing for a nifty knitter.


The lady who came in second won 5 skeins of any yarn her choice.

[donnalynn2]

WOW! Congrats on winning!

I just came back from there and I lost... But only by like 3 stitches. I did 3 rows of 20 DC each and then 5 stitches on the 4th row.

We, too, had 3 mins but we had to use the Boye size N hooks! Honestly, if not for having to use a monster hook I would have easily won.

Although the prizes weren't what I was expecting. The fastest knitter got the Ency of Knitting and the fastest crocheter got the Ency of Crochet. I would love to have this book but it isn't as exciting as a gift basket!

There were a total of 6 of us and the other 4 ladies had only finished 1 row and then there was the lady that beat me.

Oh well, we'll try next time.

P.S. My Michaels FINALLY got some 100% wool yarn in! They only have one row. I believe it's Paton's 100 Merino wool for $5.99 a skein. I didn't buy any but may sometime this week.

I'm anxious to find out if everyone else had to use those monster hooks as well...

[Yarnmistress]

We used a baby bernat yarn and a J hook (bates)

[donnalynn2]

We used a baby bernat yarn and a J hook (bates)

Oh man, I'm jealous! I would have done so much better with that! We used regular old WW Red Heart and those huge hooks. Worst part was that they held ours right in the store when you walk in (not in the classroom) so there were crowds all around bumping into us. (We were sitting right in front of the doors when you walk in.)

I really didn't like the way my Michael's contest worked. Oh well, I'll give it a go next time!

I am so happy that some of my C'Ville friends had a great time at their local Michaels.

[xmaystarx]

Well I was pretty disappointed with my Michaels. They said they weren't sure if they were going to have the contest and if they did the prize would be one free class. The last time they had it I won (at a different store) and got a gift basket as well. So I guess they never ended up doing it because while browsing I never heard any announcement.

But....in better news, this store I was at was apparently doing some majoy inventory overhaul and had lots of 90% off things. I got: 11 balls of moda dea aerie in ecru, 6 skeins of patons divine in some bright orange color, 3 skeins of homespun in a blue color, and 6 packs of notecards....all for a grand total of....only $11!!!! How amazing is that! I had to hold myself back from buying all the yarn, those were the only ones on clearance besides some odd ball of thread. woohoo! :yay Oooh forgot to add I got a pattern book for winnie the pooh and friends stuffed animals too!

[Becks]

We used Red Heart yarn and size J hooks.
It was at the front of the store where everybody walks in and, you're right, that was very distracting.

I like how one of you said the runner-up also received something. I think that was very nice. (Or they should at least get to keep their hooks! :lol That would seem like a nice, and inexpensive, gesture.)

We went after the knitting contest so my yarn was all wound around the skein and so I had to pull up on it to release the yarn and let the skein spin on the floor in order to keep feeding the yarn up to my knitting.

xmaystarx, I bought that Winnie-the-Pooh and friends crochet book at Walmart on clearance and, one of these days, plan to make them. Eeore has always been my favorite; but he looks the hardest to make, :P

[Yarnmistress]

They also had ours right at the front of the store. I swear people were all sorts of grumpy today. The lady who won the knitting contest and I had our picture taken as well.

btw, does anyone here know of a place to get patterns online for those knifty knitter kits? I won one through a drawing adn the lady who was at the table showing how to use them said there really weren't any nifty knitter loom books....to try online.

[donnalynn2]

You know what I thought was really dumb? The lady running the contest takes all these crochet hooks and knitting needles out of their wrappers and we use them, then we had to be sure to give them back because she had to reseal the wrappers and re-sell the hooks as new! I mean, how cheap is that?

Yes, the yarn was a big issue with me. They took a couple skeins of red heart and instead of having us use the pull skeins they wound them into balls which was a fight the whole time. At one point I lost a good 5-7 seconds just trying to untangle my yarn.

Oh well... Considering that I used to work there and only have 2 employees with whom I'm friends with it was as pleasant as possible. Because I used to work there, everyone else feels like they don't have to wait on me or be nice to me because they don't consider me a "customer." I brought in some yarn to exchange today and (no joke) I stood at the cust service desk for over 10 mins waiting for the FES to come up there and exchange the yarn for me. It took me grabbing Judy (one of the ladies I'm friends with) and asking her to get me some help. Finally the FES came up and got all huffy with me because she was in "the bathroom" and that this wasn't any reason to call her up front... I'm kinda glad I didn't get a job at Hobby Lobby. I think I'd rather just be a customer than a previous co-worker...

Hopefully the next time another yarn event comes around, we will have moved and I'll be able to go into a Michaels again without everyone knowing me... :)

[donnalynn2]

They also had ours right at the front of the store. I swear people were all sorts of grumpy today. The lady who won the knitting contest and I had our picture taken as well.

btw, does anyone here know of a place to get patterns online for those knifty knitter kits? I won one through a drawing adn the lady who was at the table showing how to use them said there really weren't any nifty knitter loom books....to try online.

I haven't had any luck finding any of these patterns on line but they DO sell booklets for the Knifty Knitter. There are 2 different ones. They each sell for 99cents and they sell them at Michaels and Rag Shop. I have never seen them at Jo-Anns. My Michaels has them on the end cap by the yarns.

[Natasha]

I did not enter the crochet contest, because there were about seven other women entering. The Michael's lady said that they were going to do the contest a little differently because there were so many entrants.

There was one Boye K hook and one skein of yarn (RH or Caron). The employee did the chain and a base row of 20 dc. Then, she timed the first lady for two minutes...how many ever dc she could do on that base. The stitches were noted, then the second lady picked up where the first ended, and they just counted from there. No frogging or anything.

Does that seem kinda wonky to anyone else? I mean, everyone's sitting there watching *you* crochet. I was under the impression that each person got a skein and a hook and competed at the same time. It sure did take a long time for them to pass the hook, so to speak. I went and did some shopping during the contest...saw the beginning and saw the end. Anyway, the winner did 31 dc in two minutes. I'm gonna have hubby time me later tonight, just for giggles.

Only one lady showed up for the knitting contest. :heehee

I was a little disappointed in the whole thing. The employees were so totally bored, it seemed. It might've been more fun if they'd acted like they were having fun, too. No great yarn bargains at my store.

[Yarnmistress]

Yeah, I do not think they organized the event very well. In the back of the store they had two tables set up. One had a bunch of blankets for project linus and another was a kids crafts table. There were no sales on anything in the store during the event and from what I saw, most people were buying scrapbooking stuff.

They had a lady at the front sitting at a sort of podium making things on the knifty knitter loom, but there were lots of woman crowded around her asking lots of questions. She was making a poncho and also had some bags on display that she made.

[deneen]

I lost, but my Michaels had 17 competitors and yes, Boye hooks (I use Bates) and I even brought my own and couldn't use it. That and Red Heart yarn. It was timed for 3 minutes and the DC rows, Of course, you sat in folding chairs (which most of us don't crochet in) and there were mobs of people around, very distracting. I have to tell you, the lady who won was amazing! She was like two rows ahead of everyone else, I never saw anyone crochet that fast.

Now for the knit, only two people competed!

[mimi_mia]

I won at my Michaels, we had to cast on 60 st, I was the fastest and I didn't even finish the row I did 56dc in the 3 minutes.......the thing that got to me was how nervous I was, my hands were shaking, I was competing with 2 others, but being watched by quite a few. I won 2 balls of Moda Dea and a 3 pk of Boye hooks H, I, J and a spool knitter. We were using RH yarn and size J hooks.

[KellyA]

I too won at my Michaels. :cheer All they had were metal crochet hooks, I had to beg for a lucite one...She came through with flying colors:hug
Sat down and had at it...Talk most of the time until the announcer said I was 1/2 way through my time.:eek Then I kicked it into gear and ended up with 59 stitches:clap :cheer
Won 4 skeins of yarn...will go to charity projects on my list.
--DH wanted to know "how I could walk into Michaels with a question about circular knitting needles and win a crocheting contest? I guess this was only meant to be :devil

[donnalynn2]

I too won at my Michaels. :cheer All they had were metal crochet hooks, I had to beg for a lucite one...She came through with flying colors:hug
Sat down and had at it...Talk most of the time until the announcer said I was 1/2 way through my time.:eek Then I kicked it into gear and ended up with 59 stitches:clap :cheer
Won 4 skeins of yarn...will go to charity projects on my list.
--DH wanted to know "how I could walk into Michaels with a question about circular knitting needles and win a crocheting contest? I guess this was only meant to be :devil

Woo Hoo! Congrats!!

Did anybody's local Michaels store actually have the "stitching" party? I noticed on the flyer and the website they said that you could all join together squares for charity.

The woman who won at my store asked and the employee said "you can work on em if you want to but we really aren't doing that here. people keep bringing us squares and i just don't have the time to bother."

Uh, hello! They solicited on their website and flyers for squares for charity and then when people want to volunteer to help you get brushed off? I was really glad I didn't bring a bunch of squares I wanted to donate myself. I think I'll just join them and send them to a deserving charity in my area...

[threeolivemartini]

our michaels event was nice.. it was at the front of the store.. and believe it or not NO knitters to be found.. how funny .. and only two of us in the crochet contest..

we could choose boye or bates.. or even a crystallite .. they had a whole set of each .. what ever size and could use simply soft or red heart.. i had simply soft and a boye hook.. i lost by 2 stitches.. but it was fun .. and you know the prize was a whole basket of fun fur.. so the winner was more than happy to have it and i was more than happy to lose it.. and had i won i would have given it to her cause that is just something i don t use much and the colours.. well .. lets just say nothing in that basket i would have taken a second look at if they were giving it away .. so..

every one was nice .. and i was asked if i knit or crocheted.. and said i did both .. the winner said she wanted to learn to knit but it didnt make sense to her .. so i showed her continental and sent her to knittinghelp.com .. she was nice.. and said that way i showed her made way more sense than the english method.. it was fun.. then after i went to lunch at Panera bread.. got an ice cream treat at Cold Stone Creamery .. and did some shopping at PetsMart and Bed Bath and Beyond.. it was a good day .. even though i am a loser LOL

[AmyS]

I won again at my Michael's this afternoon with 64 stitches! There were 4 other entrants. The next closest lady had 59 stitches. I got a huge basket filled with a bunch of Caron yarn, enough to make a stained glass type of afghan, a Crochet! magazine (which I already have since I'm a CGOA member), another set of H, I, and J hooks, 3 skeins of Glitterspun, and 2 skeins of something else with the labels removed. (I think these are things they're clearancing out and don't want anybody to return!)

They didn't have the party with people joining squares, although they did ask us to contribute and bring in 7x9 squares whenever we can. They do join them together. Last time, they donated the blankets to Hurricane Katrina victims, this time they're going to donate to Hope Place, a local battered women's shelter.

I posted a pic with all the goodies on my blog. Here's the link to the specific entry: http://catsinmycraftbasket.blogspot.com/2006/01/still-fastest-crocheter-in-huntsville.html

However, I've added a couple other posts today, so if you want to see them, you may just want to follow the link in my signature.

[KellyA]

Three olive, that would be a perfect day of shopping for me!! Love the soup at Panera, and ice cream at the stone cold would cheer me.... now I am hungry for ice cream.. to bad I can't have it due to allergies

[Empress Busy Bee]

I did not enter the crochet contest, because there were about seven other women entering. The Michael's lady said that they were going to do the contest a little differently because there were so many entrants.

There was one Boye K hook and one skein of yarn (RH or Caron). The employee did the chain and a base row of 20 dc. Then, she timed the first lady for two minutes...how many ever dc she could do on that base. The stitches were noted, then the second lady picked up where the first ended, and they just counted from there. No frogging or anything.

Does that seem kinda wonky to anyone else? I mean, everyone's sitting there watching *you* crochet. I was under the impression that each person got a skein and a hook and competed at the same time. It sure did take a long time for them to pass the hook, so to speak. I went and did some shopping during the contest...saw the beginning and saw the end. Anyway, the winner did 31 dc in two minutes. I'm gonna have hubby time me later tonight, just for giggles.

Only one lady showed up for the knitting contest. :heehee

I was a little disappointed in the whole thing. The employees were so totally bored, it seemed. It might've been more fun if they'd acted like they were having fun, too. No great yarn bargains at my store. I was there. :)
I totally agree with everything you said. I was ticked the way she did it. One lady who'd done it there before even told her they all did their own last time. We were timed for two minutes so our stitch count is less than anyone here. No biggie. lol
I was nervous too and shaked horribly. Nothing like pressure of having everyone watch you. I came in second by one stitch. Honestly I tied but I counted wrong and didn't want to correct myself after I'd said it out loud. Didn't want to sound like nit picky loser. LOL
Our gift basked sucked. It was one hook (don't know what size or brand), once skein of a white with baby colored flecked yarn, and one of purple eyelash. Not trying to be greedy but I really don't need another regular hook or one skein of either of what they choose.
We actually had a tie, so the sales lady made another basket for her but I didn't stay to see if it was any different.
They did have only one knitter but they convinced another lady who was there watching to do it. I didn't stay to see how that turned out.

As for you timing yourself tonight, I'm sure you'll do great with no one there to watch you and no pressure to beat everyone else. :lol
I am thinking about timing myself too. The full three minutes. ;)

[rebeccav]

**** it!!! i totally forgot about this!
grrrr......
guess i'll have hubby time me too, just for the heck of it - 'cuz i wanna know :lol

[pragmatica]

I won at my Michael's; there were three other crocheters, and bunch of nice knitters hung around after their contest to cheer us on. We went for five minutes instead of three. My kids managed to not destroy anything or pester me too mercilessly. (My daughter held up a "Go, Mom!" sign which was both cute and embarrassing; luckily, craft store patrons are generally child-friendly and -tolerant.)

The hooks/needles in use depended on what they have enough stock of to make sure that everyone uses the same item. At my store, they let us keep the hook and the yarn, which was nice -- it was very friendly and pleasant.

We did our own foundation chains of 20, and put in at the third stitch from the hook. By my count (I kept my swatch), I managed to get 19 stitches on each row, so something must have gone terribly wrong -- seems like the swatch should be 17 stitches. I ended up doing 84 stitches in five minutes. Regardless of my possibly-too-long row, I was a lot faster than everyone else; the nearest person only finished three rows (I did four and a half).

I was at one of the bigger, newer Michael's out in the more remote suburbs -- I needed some stuff for a kid diorama that my regular tiny cranky store doesn't stock. And now that I know that some stores are reselling the used hooks and needles, well, I'm just going to keep going to the one that worked out so well.

I got a set of Boye hooks, Susan Bates stitch markers, two skeins Red Heart Baby Clouds, Susan Bates needle protectors (no use for a crocheter, right?), and a Leisure Arts baby afghan book with 19 patterns.

I'd do it again, just to get the hooks. I keep losing mine. Right now I can't finish a knitting project because I lost one of my stinking needles and I don't want to buy any more and I don't want to frog it so I just keep hoping it'll turn up.

--Elissa

[Empress Busy Bee]

I ended up doing 84 stitches in five minutes. You got 5 minutes? Now I really feel cheated. :P :lol

[Natasha]

You were?! Which one were you? I wish we could've introduced ourselves. :(

I was there. :)
I totally agree with everything you said. I was ticked the way she did it. One lady who'd done it there before even told her they all did their own last time. We were timed for two minutes so our stitch count is less than anyone here. No biggie. lol
I was nervous too and shaked horribly. Nothing like pressure of having everyone watch you. I came in second by one stitch. Honestly I tied but I counted wrong and didn't want to correct myself after I'd said it out loud. Didn't want to sound like nit picky loser. LOL
Our gift basked sucked. It was one hook (don't know what size or brand), once skein of a white with baby colored flecked yarn, and one of purple eyelash. Not trying to be greedy but I really don't need another regular hook or one skein of either of what they choose.
We actually had a tie, so the sales lady made another basket for her but I didn't stay to see if it was any different.
They did have only one knitter but they convinced another lady who was there watching to do it. I didn't stay to see how that turned out.

As for you timing yourself tonight, I'm sure you'll do great with no one there to watch you and no pressure to beat everyone else. :lol
I am thinking about timing myself too. The full three minutes. ;)

[earthwhisper]

You ladies all rock!!:rock

[fairietat2]

I had so much fun at my local contest today. I didn't win though. Only 4 people competed. My best friend, myself, and 2 other women. We had to chain 23, and do 20 dc's for a total of 21dc/row. We then had 2 min. to do as many as we could. I get really nervous and after the first minute my hands started shaking like crazy! Even though I didn't win, the cool thing was that my friend and I tied!! We also had ours in the front of the store. I don't know why considering there we all those empty classrooms in the back. I hated having a dozen or so people watching me. Not to mention my DH stood about 6 inches behind me. I was a good sport, not a sore loser. I can't wait to do it next time. Congrats to all of you guys that won at your store!!

[LadyBeBop]

I didn't do well at all. But I didn't expect to. I was just going to go watch, but I was hooked (no pun intended) into competing.

My stitch of choice is single crochet, so of course, it's a double crochet competition. And the absolute hardest part for me is the first row (getting the yarn through the chain).

Five competitors, I came in fourth (with 22 stitches...told you I'm slow). :blush Two people tied with 44, so they had a crochet-off to determine the winner. The winner received a gift basket of yarn and a book.

Crazy thing...no one showed up for knitting.

By the way, at my Michaels, there are classes for the Knifty Knitter. :)

[shelain22]

OMG, how funny, I jsut baught a nifty knitter today and was going to ask for patterns here when I got home! There wa sa book, it has a stole, some scarves, some hats and a pillow, if anyone would like it and you cant find it I would be happy to pick it up and send it to you, just pm me:hook


Good job everyone. even if youdidnt win, at least youhad the nerve to go, I didnt, lol

[marnie413]

They also had ours right at the front of the store. I swear people were all sorts of grumpy today. The lady who won the knitting contest and I had our picture taken as well.

btw, does anyone here know of a place to get patterns online for those knifty knitter kits? I won one through a drawing adn the lady who was at the table showing how to use them said there really weren't any nifty knitter loom books....to try online.
Here is a link to some patterns
http://www.macphersoncrafts.com/FreeProjects/FreeProject_KniftyKnitter_Detail.asp

[photojenic]

I lost. :ohdear But actually it was such a fiasco that I started giggling and almost quit halfway into it. Lol!

First, I had DS (18 mo) with me sitting in a cart. He was tired, cranky and started acting like he was getting a cold. So I had to stand up at my cart for the competition (my choice). They handed us each a skein of acrylic yarn and a Boye hook. Right away I realize that I'm screwed cuz I can't crochet with a Boye to save my life. :yuck

I didn't have anywhere to put my skein of acrylic yarn, so I tucked it in my armpit to hold. Ummm...that dosen't work! Duh! So I hand the skein to DS, which of course turns out to be almost as bad an idea as holding it under my arm.....except that at the same time I'm also fighting with a knot of yarn and can't pull any yarn out of the skein. At that moment DS throws my yarn to the floor, yanking the knot out into the open, where I frantically start picking away at it.

"Two minutes ladies!" says the time keeper.

I've finally gotten the knot undone, but at this point, I'm so frazzled that I can barely make a stitch. I can't handle the **** hook, I have no idea what my stitch count is, and I start giggling because it's so awful. At least I hope I was laughing, cuz I also felt a little like crying. Lol!

When they finally called time, I think I had a row and a half completed. Well, sorta completed. Some of my DC stitches were more like Mutant DCs from Outer Space. The winner got to go pick out $25 worth of store merchandise. Whhhaaaaahahahahaaaaa!! :cry

[Empress Busy Bee]

You were?! Which one were you? I wish we could've introduced ourselves. :(

Black shirt, long blonde hair.
It would have been nice to meet you. We should set some day to just meet there and oogle yarn. :lol

[AngelFairy]

I'm so glad to hear so many went to michaels I also went. I just had the intention of watching the contest. But since I got there so early I
volunteer to join squares for warm-up America the lady was very
happy and she kept thanking me for volunteering. There was a contest
for knitting,crochet and for the nifty knitter there were like two for that one
the other lady that volunteer to join the squares won the contest.
I joined the
crochet contest but I was so nervous my hands started shaking and there were
alot of people watching and some ladies that were standing behind me were
saying how the other contestant was crocheting
that they had never seen her style and how fast she was that got
more nervous and I really didn't need so I lost I knew If I had been
relaxed and all that I would have won. A few weeks ago I had been timing
myself I was fast but oh well maybe next year and I the lady that
won left so fast that she didn't wait to be congratulated, I enter a ruffle
and I won a nifty knitter I was so surprise that I won anything
and right before that I was thinking of buying one right after
I finished joining my square good thing I didn't. I had alot fun today
I can't wait for next year.:hook

[sprtsbear]

All of you who went to Michael's either to participate or just watch, should email Michaels. Tell them what you saw and how some of the problems can be fixed. The rules should be set from the main company. The amount of the prize should also be set. They should probably give the winners a $25 gift certificate. Doing this would be a fair prize. This way you could get things you like and can use. Congratulations to all the winners and a big hooray for all who participated.

[crochetdiva]

I was going to go in the knitting contest...but I chickened out. Now that I have heard so many of you had the guts to try, I think I will next time.

Here's to the brave souls that competed: :cheer :cheer :cheer :cheer

[Natasha]

Well, good grief! You were making a call on your cell phone after the competition as I walked past you toward the yarn, then you came back to the yarn, and we practically bumped into one another. I had on a red shirt, tan pants, shoulder-length wavy brown hair. :D How cool is that? We will have to meet up there sometime!

Black shirt, long blonde hair.
It would have been nice to meet you. We should set some day to just meet there and oogle yarn. :lol

[linderkay]

I went to my local Michael's here, they had the tables set up in the front, but there was only the employee sitting at the table. I said I'd like to sign up for the contest and she said, well, we aren't having one because no one signed up. Oo,,,,K. I said, I see you are doing the demo of the Nifty Knitter, and she said oh yea, it is on sale today. If you want to be in the drawing put your name in here. So, I did. I had some shopping to look at and came back up at about 2 PM and there were still no people to sign up. It was like no one cared. When I asked her about the drawing she said they had already had it, and I said, oh I didn't even hear you announce it! She said well the lady was standing right here so I didn't bother. Oo....k. I asked this employee whether she knitted or crocheted and she said, Jeez, with trying to keep my house clean and all the crap I have to do I barely have time to sleep much less do crafts! (She did look as though she needed some sleep:) Well, I did come home quite disappointed. It was like they really didn't even care, it was very poorly handled. There wasn't even a gift basket put together in case anyone had wanted to enter. When I checked out I said to the cashier, where is Scott? (I am also an ex-employeee of Michaels) and the guy said, Oh Scott walked out. They treated him like a DOG!! Too bad because the quality of the Michael's is going down, and it is a shame. I loved all the people I worked for but their High UP management is the absolute worst. Not the local managers, but the district. I miss my friends but not the way they treat you. :D

[donnalynn2]

The woman who handled the whole thing at my local store yesterday meant well but it wasn't all that great. For the knifty knitter drawing she would grab a kid and have them pull a name. I watched for both the 1 and 2 pm drawings and both kids pulled out the entry right on top (she didn't bother to mix them around) and both people that won were relatives of employees...

I agree about the upper management of Michaels. They really treat most employees and customers badly. Everytime I have an exchange or return I dread if this one FES is working because she always gives me the third degree and is nasty.

I cannot wait for our Hobby Lobby to open! One week from today! YIPPEEE! If their selection is half as good as Michaels, I may never go in there again!

[Angelhair]

My Michaels is downsizing and I heard my boss's job will be gone and they are not going to have the kids club anymore because it doesnt bring in enough money :(

[wendyb532]

I went to the yarn event at Michael's in Meriden yesterday. What a dissapointment! They had nothing going on except for some kids winding yarn around some cones and a woman demonstrating the kniffty knitter. I didn't enter for it because there was nothing for me to do for the hour before they were going to draw for one. The yarns for sale were not that great a sale, and I wanted to sign up for knitting classes but they didn't have anyone to teach one yet! They wanted to know if I wanted to teach crochet but I don't have time, I already work full time. I did sign up to crochet together squares on February 26th. Hopefully they might have a knitting teacher by then and I can sign up for classes. I definitly prefer A.C. Moore's over Michael's. Larger selection of yarn and books.

Wendyb532

[Yarnmistress]

I think it's a good suggestion to write to Michael's and maybe let them know that their events could have been a bit more organized. I mean the whole point of having these things is to get people into the store, sell products and get people interested in crafting..... the people that were at the Michael's where I live were pretty much getting scrapbooking stuff. The lady who handled the contests was actually pretty nice and did a good job making sure it was done well. The knifty knitter lady could have done more demonstrations and the back tables had no one but employees there working on squares.

A few times I saw women with children asking where the kids crafts were and they were sent to the back only to come back up front disappointed because all they had were these pieces of cardboard to wind yarn around....boring! Especially for a craft store.

I think I will email them and let them know.

[Empress Busy Bee]

Well, good grief! You were making a call on your cell phone after the competition as I walked past you toward the yarn, then you came back to the yarn, and we practically bumped into one another. I had on a red shirt, tan pants, shoulder-length wavy brown hair. :D How cool is that? We will have to meet up there sometime!

Oh that's so funny! And very cool. I'd love to meet up, let me know. :)

[falfal115]

the competition at the michaels near my house was cancelled due to the fact that the woman in charge never showed. it was disappointing because I wanted to see others crochet/knit and how fast others can go. i guess there is always next year :hook

[firemanshunny]

I can't believe that I forgot all about this!! But now that I know how it was handled I am going to time myself tonight and see how many DCs I can do in 3 mintues!!

[**Ann**]

The one I went to in Portland was a big dissappointment too I'm afraid. The only doorprize was the knifty knitter and I thought that would be fine for 1 doorprize but not all of them-I wanted yarn or needles or a book or something else at least...They had a table set up with teachers to help individuals but weren't doing any demos for anyone to stop and see. I made a big point of taking my friend and she said "this is it?"
They didn't have that much yarn on sale at all either-just what they had in the ad which for a yarn event wasn't that much.
They could have done alot more IMO-I left with some scrapbooking stuff but no yarn...
Ann

[chenille4]

I also brought my friend/knitting teacher, and was very disapointed. I felt pretty bad because I felt like I had brought her there for nothing. We weren't able to come in time for the contests, but the lady in the front of the store said that we missed them, so at least they were held. I was really hoping for some good deals and was disapointed at the stuff they had on sale. The kids craft table had no employee at it, and there was no one joining squares. Oh well, I got supplies for my next knitting project and got to use my gift card from Christmas, so that was good. I do want to try out the crochet contest next time, though. The gift baskets you all were mentioning sound worth it for that.