Crochet Queen: Royal Ramblings

While browsing    the 2017 Marketplace at the Chain Link Crochet Conference in Chicago , I approached an interesting booth, but told myself that I didn’t need any more crochet hooks or a hook holder! The name of the business, CHETnanigans , caught my eye and I had to step into the booth to know more about the name. I must admit that I didn’t get it at first; and as I was about to ask, it clicked! I realized these vendors had come up with a fantastic play on words. (Cro)-Chetnanigans! The name was the reason I fell in love with the business; and I wanted to make a purchase whether I needed anything or not, in order to support their clever approach to marketing! Sean and Holly are also lovely, friendly people and I really like people with a sense of humor. I wanted to learn more and I hope you'll enjoy my interview with them! Holly & Sean

Karen Ballard in World Wat II Knitting Hat Like her many and varied crafts skills and needlework-related interests, Karen has also earned enough college credits for the equivalent of a Bachelor's degree in computer science, with minors in management, mathematics, and sociology; and she is a generous and regular promoter of others’ art. A talented maker in her own right, Karen has many accomplishments to share about herself as well! I met Karen at A Chain Link Crochet Conference a few years ago, and it has been my pleasure to visit with her for this interview.

Imagical Seasons Vol. 1: Spring Imagical Seasons Vol. 2: Summer The interesting title of these books sets the tone for what crocheters will find inside! Making use of the “portmanteau word” which blends two or more distinct forms like smoke + fog = smog, Alla has blended the words "imagine" and "magical." You'll find imaginative and magical designs for the little ones in your life. Alla Koval “creates happy fashion designs by combining colors, texture and materials that make her designs unique and enticing.” After selling hundreds of custom-created children’s fashions, she decided to start writing up the designs to instruct others to make them. She is well suited to create original fashions that will thrill mothers as much as their children! At first Alla feared that she would burn out, but she now feels that writing the patterns is what makes her the “happiest person in the world!ead!” Read the ...

I am participating with 9 other bloggers in the Blog Tour to promote Alla Koval's 2 new books: Imagical Seasons Volumes 1 and 2. See my review here on the blog at 8:00 AM (CST) on July 15, 2015. To join in the blog tour and see other reviews, interviews and give-aways, see the schedule below. Alla Koval with Pixie CrochetQueen: Your kids fashions are charming and unique. What inspires you? Alla: Thank you so much, Gwen! Sometimes, the idea for a design just comes into my head and I don't know from where. I just visualize it clearly and then somehow turn the mental images into something real. Other times, I find inspiration in paintings and photographs—Pinterest is an amazing source of inspiration and eye-candy. I look at things and try to understand if I can see something special that has to be noticed.  Many times I start by looking for unusual stitch patterns, and start building my ideas from them. It’s so interesting to see how a stitch pattern evolves w...

It wasn't planned, but I love the fact that my 2-part article about this dynamic and loving Turkish Mother/Daughter team hugged our Mother's Day weekend! Aysegul's mother, Sebahat Crochetkween:  Aysegul, are you an experienced crocheter or is your mother teaching/tutoring you? Aysegul:  I learned basic crochet stitches from my mother when I was eight years old, I was creating clothes for my dolls. I am just a beginner when it comes to crocheting with beads and my mother does not have much time to teach me at the moment. But, I plan to learn her beaded crocheting techniques and use my experience as a learner to create educational tutorials for other crocheters in the future. Other than crocheting, I have learned a lot from my mother since we started working together. She surprises me with the way she solves her creative problems; she always finds new ideas to combine different techniques, colors and design elements. She uses her tools in unexpected and imaginative ...

Kristin Omdahl, photo courtesy of Aaron Miller Crochetqueen: What inspires your designs? Kristin: Textures in nature is a big inspiration for me: formation of flower petals, textures of leaves, feather and scale patterns on animals, etc. I also love architectural textures: tile work, brickwork, especially mosaic and Moroccan tiles. I like to get inspiration for silhouettes from the runways, but only with cut & sewn garments. I try to avoid seeing what others are doing in the fiber world. Crochetqueen:  How long have you been designing? Kristin: I’m self taught at knitting and crochet. I’ve been designing for almost as long as I’ve had yarn in my hands. Designing came quickly and easily to me. Crochetkween: I am always grateful to hear about the therapeutic benefits of crochet; it seems like that is the case for you. What got you interested in crochet? Kristin: Pregnant, alone, and living overseas, I was really homesick. Making the decision to teach myself to make...

Kathryn Vercillo Even though I have previously blogged book  reviews of two of Kathryn Vercillo's books, Crochet Saved My Life   Crochet Saved My Life and When Grandma Isn’t Crocheting, She’s Hunting Big Game ; By Kathryn Vercillo promoted her Hook to Heal project and invited her to be a Guest Blogger  here. It seems that I just can’t get enough of her!  She has a presence on the internet and her website, Crochet Concupiscence  radiates energy and joy from the community of crocheters that she covers. Recently, Kathryn has embarked upon a new assignment to bring crochet content to crocheters, so I thought it would be fun to touch base with this interesting and generous person again to bring you up to date on her exciting crochet-life. There are a few key areas of crochet that interest Kathryn: health benefits; organizations that offer people in third world countries the opportunity to use it to support themselves; all aspects of crochet art...