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 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 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.

Interview and Giveaway with Tanja Osswald

Meet Tanja Osswald

Tanja Osswald has loved crochet ever since she started at six years old. She is well known on Ravelry for her friendliness and her beautiful slip stitch designs. My favorite of her designs are the fingerless mitts that use her innovative horizontal cabling technique. Comet, which is perhaps the most well known of Tanja’s designs, showcases this technique beautifully. Shown on the left below, this design was also the deserving winner of the Flaming Hook of Justice Award for the Best Fingerless Mitts Design of 2015. Besides fingerless mitts, Tanja has several lovely geometric shawl designs that also use slip stitch crochet. Of these, one of my favorites is Igel, shown on the right below. Be sure to check out her designer page on Ravelry here.

The Interview

Q: If your favorite design was a robot, what would it do and how?

A: My favorite robot would wind all my hanks into nice and neat yarn cakes, ready for me to use – and it would work slowly and diligently, a pleasure to watch and meditate. My favorite design is always the next I come up with – so it is hard to imagine a matching robot.

Q: Where is your favorite place to crochet?

A: My favorite place to crochet is anywhere I can sit comfortably. That can be a couch, a seat on the train, in a cafe… good light is a bonus.

Q: Describe your first experience with slip stitch crochet. Was it love at first sight?

A: In 2008 I played around with hotpads and oven gloves (see right). I worked these at a tight gauge, so they are thick and insulating. A friend at the Häkelclub (an internet forum) brought up the idea of making projects just from slip stitches (like in Bosnian crochet) and that got me started. It was interesting to explore different stitch patterns, but I had no idea it would become such a big love for me.

Q: Describe the time you invented horizontal slip stitch cables. Was it intentional? Did it take a while to figure out?

A: That was in the spring of 2010. I wanted to make a pair of fingerless mittens for my mother. They were supposed to be just plain and mindless. Then, work stress kicked in and I just had to be creative to relax a bit. I love cables because they are pretty and mathematical (all those permutation groups) and ancient (the Celts had awesome cable patterns). What more to wish for?
I like to work my mittens sideways so I can use the stretchy back loop only slip stitch rib. I also wanted the cable to run along the whole length of the mitten. Topologically, it should be possible to make a horizontal cable with a continuing thread – so why not make one in real life? My commute was about 45 minutes. On the way to work, I tested the principle of making horizontal cables, and on the way back, I made my first cabled mitten.

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

A: Enjoy! 🙂 And just contact me if you need help with anything.

Sneak Peek and Giveaway

As a special bonus, Tanja has shared a special sneak peek of one of her upcoming designs! She has also generously offered to give away a copy of one of her patterns. Enter here and tell Tanja which of her designs is your favorite!

The giveaway ended on July 29th at 23:59 PST.