Crochet Queen: Royal Ramblings

Monday, January 31, 2011 I always like to say, "A new crocheter was born into the world" when I teach someone how. Today it was a private lesson with friend, Donna, in bead crochet. Bead crochet is not for the feint of heart. Donna has knitted and crocheted all her life and she did great with her first lesson. After the normal initial period of awkwardness and feeling of frustration, she regained a normal breathing pattern and went at it again. Doing much better, she reminded herself that as with any new skill there is awkwardness to begin with. Here are some pictures that illustrate that the initial "new-skill jitters" are well worth it! Donna's lesson was a warm-up for the class I will be teaching on Feb. 23 at A String Thing (weekly crochet/knit group) here in Ajijic. I hope to have up to 7 students for that class. I really DO love sharing my love of bead crochet! This must be the Season, but I find it so amazing and enjoyable to watch the flowers bl...

Monday January 24, 2011 Another week in paradise; time seems to be flying. Last night we met up with a couple from our home town-friends of friends-due to the beauty of the internet we were connected and had a really nice time comparing notes about life her in Ajijic. They have come down for the last 3 years and always rent a place for 4-6 months. We had a pretty good Chinese dinner together at a non-Chinese restaurant, Roberto's, last night. They even offered "PF Changs-style Lettuce Wraps." That's a hoot! I had the honey walnut shrimp that was just about as good as I've had in Chinatown, Chicago. We also had our first forwarded mail arrive at Mailboxes Etc. since we've been here. My Defining Crochet! magazine was included in the lot, so that was fun! A nice long walk to the boardwalk in late afternoon. A dead tree in the lake where egrets perch. Once the sun begins to set, it happens really fast!Maybe the Tecate and guacamole at the restaurant on th...

Monday, January 17, 2011 It takes a lot of planning and thinking to move thousands of miles from home for three months! I am finding out how convenient it is to have a lifetime of collections at my fingertips at "home." I have lots of time to crochet here, but I am finding that with each project I start, there is some little niggling thing that hangs me up: the gorgeous "Fat-Bottom Purse" in linen-no handles; Anniversary Miser Purse-no plastic ring to connect the chains (that one was resolved at the hardware store-yay! commplete!); cute little scarf from Vicki Howell, but didn't have the right yarn. No matter, I made it anyway. It turned out too big, but that's okay. It will make a nice gift one day when I need one in a hurry. As they say here, "asi es la vida." (Such is life). I'm not complaining. In April when I am back in my studio, I will have a week when I rangle all those niggling little things together and I will look like a Super-Cr...

Monday, January 1, 2011 If you like what I write, become a FOLLOWER! A few designers have been chatting and we have decided to band together on an educational mission. We want the crocheting, pattern-reading community to know and understand what goes into the creation of a crochet design/pattern. For those of you not interested in the process of designing, I have summarized so you can skip that part. To see a photo essay of my first week in Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico scroll down. -An innate sense of wonder is essential to translate inspiration to design -A "day job" helps pay the bills! -Time and little need for sleep! -Physical act of making the product -Writing the pattern instructions -Layout, graphics illustrations, diagrams -Photography, digital retouching -Marketing: social media, blog, newsletters Submitting an idea to a magazine or book publisher requires TIME . I must admit that many, many of my design ideas come to me in the shower! Right there I am s...

Although I am miles and miles away from where I posted last week, my life on the Internet remains the same! Although my view out the window is SO different: bougainvilla dripping down the walls of our house instead of bitter cold sunny days, I can keep in close touch with family and friends, plan new activities for Cro-Kween Designs my Ravelry design page, and post photos of my latest design and article that has just appeared in Crochet! magazine. http://www.crochetmagazine.com/webbonuses.php?_id=292 It's amazing; no, downright miraculous. Hubby and I are so thorouhly addicted to the internet that it is a really good thing that our house has dsl internet. What you say? How can that be in Mexico, a country often perceived as somewhat backward? Well, yes, there's that. Here are some examples of what we are adjusting to: -We only have a two-cup coffee pot in a land where the coffee is so rich, fragrant and delectable to a couple who are ALSO addicted to caffeine! Something ...