The Spring Challege: Part 1

An Exciting team sales event!!!!!

We have exciting news!!! The Etsy CreateCrochet Team is thrilled to be coming together for our first ever team sale! Many of our members have come together for this event and are offering our customers 15% off with coupon code CrochetRocks. We are even having a giveaway. Customers who make a purchase during the sales event will be entered to win a free pattern from The Strumpets Tentacle.

The sale starts Wednesday June 1^st and runs through Monday June 6^th.

To find the hundreds of handmade crochet pieces and patterns that are participating in the sale, type CrochetRocks into the Etsy search and start browsing. Team members will be adding items for sale from now through the end of the event so be sure to check back for newly listed goodies!

Take a look at some of the crochet artists participating in this event

Magdalene Knits, her shop contains one of a kind crocheted baby items, as well as knitted and crocheted scarf's.

jdfootloose , her shop contains crocheted gorgeous ruffle scarf's, coin purses, and even some jewelry items.

NiftyNeedlework , her shop is full of lovely baby blankets, and one of a kind gifts like spa bath sets.

WestOnSalem , carries a variety of crocheted items for your home like colorful washcloths, face scrubbies, and coffee cozies. This is also a great place to find baby items like booties and bibs.

 

sheilarharden, your stop for fun, funky fibers, and wearable one of a kind works of art.

 

 crochetgal carries beautiful affordable yarns, hand crafted soap dishes, and one of a kind wearable art pieces.

 

jbcrochetdelights is a terrific place to find all sorts of wonderful crocheted creations including afghans, baby layettes, and scarves.

 

meredith1688 her shop carries a wide variety of boutique style baby hats, and cocoon sets; perfect for photos or just looking cute.

 

 

TheStrumpetsTentacle , this shop carries an assortment of reversible crochet and fabric blanket patterns and finished baby blankets. One lucky winner who takes advantage of our team sale will be chosen to win a free pattern from this shop!

More team interviews!

Meet Tess – aka trendymates

What was the inspiration for your challenge item?

I was greatly inspired to create something special for a wonderful friend and her family for the upcoming birth of their baby girl. The name of this piece, "Special Delivery", is very fitting. My friend and her husband already had one precious little girl. A few years ago, my friend lost a baby, and in doing so also lost the ability to ever conceive again...having come about from an extremely rare condition. They so wanted another child. An especially close friend of theirs (one who already had a family of her own) offered to be a surrogate mom for them.... the baby was born a few weeks ago, strong and healthy... a mom and a dad now have two beautiful little girls, and a little girl has the ability to say "I'm a big sister!"

It was so funny, and heartwarming hearing them talk about their experiences at the stores when out shopping for groceries or shopping for the new baby. The little girl would say "I'm going to be a big sister really soon!" Then their would be a glance at the mom tummy that was slim and flat...followed by a look of confusion. Of course there was another side to the story...the one of the surrogate mom... she would here "congratulations, and good luck", then had to tell her side of the story...Their miracle story was always followed by tears by everyone around...this little soul touched so many lives before she was even born...

The main color, yellow, in the cocoon to me represents hope. The little bursts of pink, green, blue etc, represent the bursts of joy brought about by her life...thinking of her with every stitch as I put this cocoon together.
I feel so blessed to be able to share in their joy if only in this small simple way as they hold their little girl, their little miracle, wrapped in love.

How would you describe your own personal style and how is this reflected in your crochet designs?
My style....hmmm..I'd like to think that my style is, simple, elegant, sleek, chic, and "classical with a twist". I was taught to crochet at the very young age of 4 by my grandmother, using a size 1.24 metal hook, and cotton thread from Greece. I learned how to combine the classical stitches, twisting them and changing them around to create doilies for our home...funny thing is, I never used a pattern or knew the names of the stitches I was making...nor did my grandmother...it was an art passed down from generation to generation...basically used to help decorate a home, prepare items for girls' trousseau, and make clothing...

As the years went by, I found my collection of doilies getting larger and larger...even after giving many away...I've always had to have my hands busy while sitting...so a few years ago, I started using the skills my granny taught me, expanded on them, and have given them a new twist loving the idea of my crochet taking me to levels of artistic expression I had never dreamed of finding in a doily. So now, my collection of hats, scarves, mittens, ponchos, baby items, pet-wear, bags and other accessories continues to grow....always changing, and yet always staying the same as each item begins with the stitches taught to me by my granny...and yet never a granny-square in sight...

 

and now for MsPenzCrochet (Penny)

I raised two boys and it really wasn't much fun dressing them, so I am enjoying making girly things now. The real inspiration for anything I make though is really the yarn or the challenge. I gave up crocheting for 35 years while I worked and when I retired I took it up again. You can imagine how amazed I was to find how much the yarn had changed over the years. It used to all be quite coarse and scratchy. Now its so soft and beautiful. Even the wool is soft.

Anyway, I'm addicted to yarn and I love to find designer and novelty yarns at bargain prices. I buy anything that I love at a reasonable price and then I decide what to make from it. When I found this yarn I knew I wanted to make a girls' dress. It is so soft and has a spongy feel and the color is perfect for a girl. I saw a pattern with ruffles and combined my own ideas with it. Added a cape and some flowers and had a wonderful time creating it.

I saw a shirt once that said "I crochet so I won't kill people". I won't go that far, but it is very relaxing and I feel so good when I finish creating something. I have a lot of free time now and feel that I put it to good use by crocheting.

 

Last but not least, a few final words from whippleswhimsy

I've only been with Etsy for a year. However, I have learned so much in that time. Etsy give us sellers such a resource of information to help better display and inform others of the products we offer. Also as a buyer, Etsy has made it very easy for me to find whatever I'm looking for, whether it be toy or a pendant for my mother.

I could not agree more whippleswhimsy! Etsy is a great resource to us all and a great way to bring people together through teams like CreateCrochet. Congratulations to all of our contest participants, I can’t wait to see what you all come up with next!

Four more team members with inspiration to share

Anne from bigalhats

What was the inspiration for your challenge item? the inspiration for my challenge item was (obviously) a bunny- I made up my own pattern and added the little spring like bow for extra twist.

Do you do any other types of crafting or design? I mostly design and make hats, fingerless gloves and headbands but also love to draw and paint greeting cards (only a few samples of my mini cards are in my shop).

How would you describe your own personal style and how is this reflected in your crochet designs? My style is simple, unique(as I create my own patterns and designs),and fun...the shapes are basic with accents of color , flowers, bows,etc. -

Next up is orrjessica

What was the inspiration for your challenge item? I wanted to design a pattern for mary janes for baby that are bright and colorful..... when I think spring I think babies as I live on the farm and all the animals are having babies

How long have you been crocheting and who taught you? I have been crocheting since I was 8 years old and I was taught by my mother and my maternal grandmother.

What was the first thing you made after learning? The first thing I learned to make was pot holders.

What’s on your hook now?  A baby sweater.

Meet WestOnSalem

WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR YOUR CHALLENGE ITEM?
My challenge item was actually an item I made for a coworker's niece. I loved the bright colours she chose for it and thought the colours made it perfect for the Spring category of the challenge. I'd never used that pattern before, nor the yarn, so it was a challenge on more than one front.

DO YOU DO ANY OTHER TYPE OF CRAFTING OR DESIGN?
Crocheting is definitely my favourite type of crafting right now, but I also enjoy quilting (making rag quilts), cross-stitch and photography. I really don't have the time I wish I did to indulge in all my hobbies though.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR OWN PERSONAL STYLE AND HOW IS THIS REFLECTED IN YOUR CROCHET DESIGNS?
I'm still working on developing my own personal style when it comes to my craft. I enjoy making things that I think people would want to buy, either because they are practical or because they are fun. I'm hoping to continue that in the future, as well as create items that showcase my quirky/odd sense of humour.

Give a warm hello to CrocheTrend 

What was the inspiration for your challenge item?
I wanted to do something "springy" and something that is easy to make for those who buy the pattern from me.

Has your style changed at all since you first started crochet designing?
No, it hasn't changed, I think.

Please give a quick overview of your design process from the initial idea to the finished product.
When I have a new idea I try to look for the perfect yarn for it, like cotton for babies, then I just crochet-rip-crochet-rip until I like the finished product :) I take pictures of my work while it's in process and write the pattern after it's all done.