Interview and Giveaway with Julie of ACCROchet

 

Meet Julie

“In French, ACCRO means addict. I am a crochet addict,” Julie writes on the About page of her blog. Julie is a French-English designer who specializes in modern crochet accessories with unique shapes and constructions. One of my favorite ACCROchet designs is the Twisted Cowl, a multicolored scarf worked in Tunisian crochet. I also love Julie’s shawls Theoretically, Adstock, and Granite and Quartz.

You can find all of Julie’s designs in her Ravelry designer page. You can also follow her on Facebook and on her website.

Left to right: Adstock, Granite and Quartz.

The Interview

1. Describe your favorite place to crochet! If you crochet everywhere, describe the most unusual place you have crocheted.

Well, I really do crochet everywhere. Most often I crochet in my living room, after the day is done. I also crochet in the car when it’s not me driving, while waiting for my food when I have breakfast out with The Man and/or The Teens, etc.

To my daughter’s dismay though, the most unusual place I’ve crocheted is probably at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal earlier this month, as we waited for One Direction to come on stage. =)

2. How did you become hooked on crochet?

I initially tried knitting, but it didn’t stick. It made my shoulders tense, and I was so anxious that my metal needles were all scratched at the tip.

A friend of mine in Minnesota (hi Heather!) was really into crochet, and she was cranking out projects like a madwoman. She got me hooked long distance. She’d help me via email! At the time, there were few resources online (pre-Ravelry, pre-Crochet Me, pre-modern fiber world) and her help was definitely what fed my becoming forever hooked.

3. Where do you find inspiration for your designs?

Everywhere seems like a cliché, but it’s really true! Often I’ll just grab yarn from my stash and play with it until I figure out what it wants to become. My entire online world is filled with crochet images – Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, RSS feeds – and they all feed that creative part of me. Images also impose themselves in my head and refuse to leave me alone until I make them come to life.

I like my designs to be simple, clean and modern. I want beginners to feel like they can accomplish them, and I want long-time crocheters to see something new in them that they want to try.

4. What is your long-term goal for your design business?

My ultimate goal is to carve a name for myself as a modern bilingual (French & English) crochet designer. It’s still somewhat hard to find good crochet designs in French, and that was my original goal, but I do also speak English and so I want to design for everyone.

I hope that ACCROchet will be a synonym of simple, clean and modern quality crochet designs. Of a designer that cares about the people who trust her, and of a trusted resource in the fiber world.

5. What advice would you give someone making one of your designs for the first time?

Crochet looks awesome and sometimes complicated, but it’s really just a matter of knowing your basic stitches and then reading where to put them. You have to take it line by line, with patience, and definitely not be afraid to frog when you find a mistake. I really believe that anyone can crochet anything, if only they have the right mindset. I write with the Craft Yarn Council guidelines, and I find they’re a super resource for beginners. I’m also around whenever anyone needs help. I love receiving emails from crocheters. =)

Giveaway

Julie has decided to give the winner of this giveaway the choice of 3 free patterns from her Ravelry Store! For a chance to win, comment below with your 3 favorite ACCROchet designs. Then, click here to enter. The giveaway will end on October 15 at 23:59 PST.

Interview and Giveaway with Patty of Happy Patty Crochet

Meet Patty

Patty of Happy Patty Crochet designs amazingly realistic crochet flowers. Above, you can see pictures of her Moth Orchids, Ranunculi, African Violets, and Magnolia Grandifloras. In all, Patty has almost 50 different flower designs.

I love how strikingly accurate Patty’s work is. She masterfully reproduces not just the shape of each leaf and petal, but their relative positions in the finished bloom. Patty also does a wonderful job capturing the delicacy of the flowers.

You can find all of Patty’s designs on her website, her Ravelry designer page, and her Etsy store. Also make sure to check out her blog here, where she shares updates about her patterns as well as tips for executing them.

The Interview

Q. Describe your designing workspace. Do you work inside or outside? Are you surrounded by fresh flowers, or do you work from photographs?

A. My studio consists of a large round table that stands in the middle of the room, and around it cabinets filled with yarn, more yarn, and more yarn and lots and lots of crocheted flowers – roses, ranunculi, orchids, daisies, magnolias, lilacs, finished flowers and failed attempts of finished flowers. 🙂

I work mostly inside. I work outside or in a coffee shop if I find that I need a change of scenery, some inspiration or when my two normally little lazy cats decide that its time to chew and destroy everything I’m working on. 🙂

If I can find the flower I’m working on, I get it from the local flower market or from just outside my house. If I cannot find the flowers, I work with photos.

Q. In what ways have you used your crochet bouquets?

A. Mostly as gifts – most of my designs either end up as decoration in my home, or in the homes of my family and friends.

Q. What advice would you give someone trying one of your designs for the first time?

A. Just enjoy it! crochet is all about fun and relaxation. Take your time, and just enjoy it! Oh, and pay attention to shaping. 🙂

Bonus Question! I read on your blog that you have a passion for fruit carving. How did you get started with that?

A. I was first introduced to fruit carving when I was around 9 years old – in school we had art classes, and occasionally, classes that focus on Thai Art. In one of those classes, we learned fruit carving, it was very basic, and we had to bring our fruits from home – I, as per usual in those days :), forgot to bring mine, and had to share a small papaya with a friend, on which we unleashed our small not-fit-for-carving knives. 🙂

As time passed, I fell in love more and more with Lai Thai (Thai Art), with its beautiful smooth and curved lines, and stunning shapes, and I got closer to fruit carving. I kept attempting and practicing at home, using mostly papayas, and I slowly got better. My teacher noticed that I had a passion (and maybe talent) for this art, and I started participating in competitions – where my responsibility was carving flowers out of pumpkins 🙂 We won some and lost some, but it was great fun and an amazing experience that changed the way I look and approach flowers even today.

Giveaway

For those of you who would like to attempt a Happy Patty Crochet design, she is sponsoring a giveaway of one of her patterns! To enter, comment below and tell Patty which of her designs is your favorite. Then, click here to submit your entry. The giveaway will end on September 23 at 23:59 PST.

More Designer Interviews

Tanja Osswald

Dedri Uys

Vicki Chan

Katya Novikova

Interview and Giveaway with Katya Novikova

  

Meet Katya Novikova

Katya Novikova is a self-described “yarnaholic” and crochet addict. She designs hats, mittens, and cowls, but the majority of her designs are airy lace shawls and scarves. I admire Katya for her ability to create light, drapy crochet fabric without large holes. I also love that Katya’s designs use stitch themes that are cohesive but not repetitive.

Pictured above are three of my favorite of Katya’s designs: Hourglass, Dunes, and Overcast. You can find all of Katya Novikova’s crochet patterns, which are both written and charted, on her Ravelry designer page, here.

The Interview

Q. Describe your yarn stash! What does it look like? Where is it stored?

A. My yarn stash is my treasure. I store it everywhere in my home, and, as a treasure, it is well hidden in places where my daughter can’t find it. I like natural fibers and I really enjoy to work with them. I have anything you can imagine in my stash – variegated and solid yarns from lace weight to bulky.

Q. Who taught you how to crochet?

A. I taught myself to crochet when my daughter was about 6 months old (now she is 3 years), just to kill the time while she napped. I used photo- and video-tutorials, mostly from YouTube. I didn’t expect I would love it so much – it turned into an obsession immediately.

Q. Where do you find inspiration for your designs?

A. I think the fine, airy textures of Japanese style impact my work. And I’m inspired a lot by other designers’ work, maybe because I’m a novice to crochet. I always find something absolutely new for me.

Q. What is your favorite part about being a crochet designer?

A. My favorite part is crocheting as it is – I always love making things with my own hands. I need to work with a material and transform it into an object. And, as a designer, I can make things my way.

Q. Can you tell me about Picnic, your newest design?

A. When I was a child, each summer I spend in countryside in my grandma’s house. And my newest shawl, Picnic, is a summery design as I mean it – in a country, rustic style.

Giveaway

Katya is sponsoring a giveaway of her beautiful shawl design, Picnic! To enter, comment below and tell Katya which of her designs is your favorite. Then, click here to submit. The giveaway ended at 23:59 PM on September 9, 2015. Congratulations to girliefriend, the winner!

Interview and Giveaway with Vicky Chan

Meet Vicky Chan

Vicky Chan is a talented knitting and crochet designer whom I have long admired for her sophisticated garment designs. Though she has only been designing for two years, Vicky has already been presented with prestigious awards.

For example, she placed third in the Pierrot Yarns Contest of Spring 2015 for her continuous motif shrug Clair. She was also the recipient of two 2015 Flaming Hook of Justice Awards. Jordan, a lacy pineapple top, was named the Best Tank/Sleeveless Top Design. Cynthia, a lacy shorts design, was named the Best Shorts/Pants design. My personal favorite of Vicky’s designs is Angela, which is a beautiful seamless oversized cardigan.

You can check out all of Vicky’s patterns, which include both charted and written instructions, on her Ravelry designer page here.

From top to bottom: Clair, Jordan, Cynthia

The Interview

Q. What are your favorite crochet tools to use?

A. I love my good old Areo crochet hooks that I have kept for many years. My other favorite tool is my Clover locking stitch markers (I actually wrote about it on my blog). Sometimes I may also use my beautiful Japanese bowl as a yarn bowl (it’s featured in the photo here on my blog).

Q. What inspired you to become a crochet designer, and what were your toughest struggles along the way?

A. I have always enjoyed arts and crafts since I was a kid. I’m glad that Ravelry has made it possible for me to become an independent designer and explore my artistic creativity. Of course, my husband’s moral support and encouragement have also played an important part, even though he cannot tell the difference between crocheting and knitting. Couple of my toughest struggles are:

• writing pattern instructions to accommodate different crochet skill levels, text and chart readers while keeping the number of pattern pages down.
• providing multiple sizes when the crochet stitch patterns are often quite challenging to size up/down.

Q. Which of your designs do you or recipients of your work wear the most?

A. “Irene”, “Clair”, “Jordan” and “Julia” are worn by me the most.

Q. What one piece of advice would you give someone creating a crochet or knit garment for the first time?

A. My advice is to take the time to make a swatch, even though it’s very tempting to dive in and make the garment right away. The swatch can help you obtain the correct gauge and is ultimately less time consuming to frog.

Giveaway

Be sure to check out Vicky’s blog, her Facebook page, and her Pinterest!

Vicky has kindly offered to sponsor a giveaway of one of her designs! To enter, comment on this blog post and tell Vicky which of her designs is your favorite. Then, click here to submit. The giveaway ended on August 27, 2015 at 12:00 AM PST.

30 Day Blogging Challenge Recap

I’ve finished my 30 day challenge!

At the beginning of 2015, I made a goal to blog at least once a week. Since I only blogged 8 times by halfway through the year, I challenged myself to write a blog post every day for 30 days.

I kept my resolution for 16 days, but missed the 17th day because I didn’t plan ahead. To make up for it, I decided to end the challenge one day later. By the end of the month, I had missed 4 days. Nonetheless, this challenge taught me to commit to writing blog posts.

My 30 day challenge also helped me develop some regular post themes! Going forward, these regular posts will include my Tuesday Bam Bam and Karissa feature as well as designer interviews every other Thursday.

If you would like to see the posts from my blogging challenge, I’ve added a gallery below featuring pictures from those posts. Click on a picture to see the corresponding post.

               

Interview and Giveaway with Dedri Uys

Meet Dedri Uys

Dedri Uys is a passionate crochet designer and blogger. She is best known for her Amish puzzle ball designs, which are modular stuffed toys perfect for baby gifts. Of these designs, my favorite is the Gregor Rhinosaur. Dedri is also well known for her gorgeous free blanket design Sophie’s Universe, which was made available in a popular crochet-along this spring. You can see a portfolio of all of Dedri’s designs on her Ravelry designer page.

Left to right: Gregor Rhinosaur, Sophie’s Universe, Sophie’s Universe close-up.

The Interview

Q: Can you tell me a little bit about how you came to be familiar with puzzle balls?

A: My mom made us some when we were children ( fabric ones) and then my mom’s friend sent me a link to a fabric one.  I was too lazy to get my sewing machine out, so I decided to crochet one instead.

Q: Can you describe your first crocheted puzzle ball? Did it look anything like the designs you went on to publish?

A: The plain Amish puzzle ball (free pattern here) was my first try and first design. It is the basis on which all the puzzle animals are created.

Q: How did you go about developing your first design? Did you have any experience with amigurumi?

A: Not really.  I’d made 3 vehicles (car, tractor, and digger-loader), but I was very much a beginner designer when I made the ball.

Q: What one piece of advice would you give someone trying one of your designs for the first time?

A: Read carefully and trust the pattern!  Sometimes written instructions don’t make sense until you actually make them. Most of the people who get stuck with the design do so before even casting on a stitch.  I have learned to follow a pattern blindly (regardless of what I think it should say), before making any judgements.  If it still doesn’t make sense when I’ve worked it up, that’s a different matter.  But sometimes patterns take a little faith.

Giveaway

Dedri has generously offered to give away a copy of her book, Amamani Puzzle Balls! To enter, comment below and tell Dedri which of her patterns is your favorite! Then, click here to submit. The giveaway ended on Wednesday, August 6 at 23:59 PST.

Announcement: Upcoming Interviews with Crochet Designers

I am continually inspired by the works and styles of other designers. I love learning new techniques, constructions, and stitch combinations. Therefore, I am excited to reveal that I will be publishing a series of interviews with some of my favorite crochet designers, starting next week. I will ask about design processes, backstories, and tips for getting the best results in your own projects. I hope you will be as inspired by them as I am!