"Hey We Crochet" crochet group

Hey We Crochet Facebook crochet group
 
I started the day off normal enough... 

Declutter my desk area, always a must after finishing one project and before starting a new one. Well at least it is for me, not everyone is nuts like me. While I was doing that I was also browsing Facebook. 

I ran across an interesting post in a group page for designers talking about group pages that let you self promote. I started doing some searches of crochet groups, unfortunately so many look fun to be in but don't allow self promotion. 

Mostly this rule is because some people post their stuff everyday and sometimes multiple times a day, ruining it for the rest. I get it but boy can it be frustrating. Say I want to post a pic of my work, as a designer, it is of course going to be something I created with my own pattern. Other members of the group ask where can they get the pattern. Guess what! You are not allowed to post the link because that would be self promoting, it can get very aggravating. 

I know if this bugs me and other designers as well, then there needs to be a fix.

Suddenly I remembered my sister had opened a crochet page awhile back (turns out "awhile back" was actually 8 yrs ago! LOL!), I hadn't thought of her group in such a long time I had actually forgotten about it to tell the truth. Last I saw, she and I were the only members.

I looked it up. It said the page had been archived because the admin left, I was the only member left and did I want to reactivate the page and be the admin. 

I thought "well here is my chance to have a group that can be fun and allows limited self promotion." I really didn't have to think on it too long, I knew almost immediately it was time to do it.

I do hope you will join us over at Hey We Crochet

Happy Crocheting 

Feeling stuck...

Some days are spent with the yarn in my hand waiting for something to come to me, like Frankie sitting there with a blank canvas and a paintbrush just waiting for the brush to take over and do something, some times all you get are two eyes.

I have had soo many of those days throughout my career as a crochet designer. But after it hasn't happened in awhile you tend to forget till... wham it happens. 

I have tried several times to get my brain going on a project and I literally end up with a ball that wont take the form I am trying to achieve. 

It's a reality check. I am not a master artesian of yarn by any means but when the patterns just flow forth with ease, I guess I tend to get a big head about it. 

Then sets in the frustration cause seriously this shouldn't be that complicated but for some reason it is messing with me. 

Best thing to do is walk away, find something else to do while you process what might be going wrong. This usually helps me clear my head and also keeps me from scrapping the whole project completely. But that is not to say I haven't ever totally given up on a project cause believe me, I have. 

I humbly admit there are some ideas in my head that I truly don't have enough knowledge to make it happen. Maybe someday but not anytime soon. A goal to look forward to.

I hope if you are feeling stuck that this will help you to know it happens to everyone.

Happy Crocheting!

 

Designing inspiration...

How do I come up with the designs? 

Honestly, the designs come to me in different ways.

I am currently working on a swan. The idea for him was from a picture I saw online. It was a picture of a cabinet, with what appeared to be a knick-knack of a swan on it, I drew it out on paper. After getting a closer look of the item on the cabinet, turns out it was just a ordinary vase.  So it appears I see things that aren't there. LOL!

Here is another one.. 

My hubby has a old flip phone and on this phone the front has worn off. 

I'm sure not everyone will see what I see but I see an alien.

As you can see my vision came out different but the wear on the phone is what inspired it.

And then there are moments when I draft out something like my recent gnome and all of a sudden I am on a new piece of paper drafting one after another of animals to do in a series using the same base design.

For me you just never know where the inspiration is going to come from, I thought it was this and it turned out to be that, weird shapes that look like something or a base design that multiplies itself into different animals.

Happy crocheting!