Meet crochet lovers sheilaharden, honeybee69, gladetopshop, and honeybeebungalow

Let’s read about a few more of the crochet artists behind the Etsy shops that entered creations into our Spring challenge.

 We will start this installment off with sheilarharden.

Sheila is known for her eclectic, fun designs, you can read more about Sheila’s style in her December interview here. For the March challenge Sheila entered a gorgeous freeform scarf that depicts blooming tulips and a ponshawl inspired by Monet’s “Morning on the Seine”. I don’t know about you but I could easily picture myself strolling through Paris wearing either one of these one of a kind creations.

Sheila has recently been spending time on the photos for her shop and shared a few of the things she is learning along the way. She say’s that though she spends a lot of time on her photo’s, she is still not where she wants to be with them. Sheila recently started working with a photographer and sends props to her, the photographer keeps the items and sends Sheila the photos in return. If you would like more information about working with a photographer in your area, one of the places you can go is Ellie Bean Models. Sheila makes sure the items she gives to the photographer are not things she needs to keep in inventory for her shop.

Sheila also does very well selling her items locally. She works with so many different types of fibers, textures, shades of color, and custom bead work that seeing her work in person is always a treat.

While we can always improve upon our photo’s, one peive of advice Sheila has for any Etsy newcomers is to always do what you love and make it your own. As you can see from the monthly challenges, each of us interprets a given “theme” in a different way. Don’t jump on the bandwagon, your work will NEVER be the same as someone else’s – celebrate the differences!

Thank you Sheila for sharing a bit about your journey in experimenting with photo’s, and what a great message about the importance of individuality!

 

honeybee69 entered the challenge with this cute, cute, cute Easter play set.

If you haven’t checked out honeybee’s shop yet, I encourage you to do so. Her whimsical, peel-able play food patterns are simply amazing.

What was the inspiration for your challenge item? My inspiration for the challenge was wanting to get my garden going and because it was Easter time I had to put a bunny in there.

What was the first thing you made after learning to crochet? The first thing I made after learning to crochet was a blanket for my dolls.

What is your favorite handcrafted item of all time? My favorite handcrafted item of all time. Hhmmm. This is hard to choose! If I chose a crocheted item it would have to be the christening gown I made for my girls, my niece wore it also. Sewn, I really loved the way their first communion dress came out. I sewed on a lot of beads!

Meet the family behind gladetopshop

I am Glenda Dean and with my daughters, Rachelle and Verna, we are Gladetop Shop. I learned to crochet from my aunt when I was much younger, then revived my interest in the last few years. After teaching my daughters the basics, we began making warm winter hats for the family. That expanded into gifts for friends and eventually we had extras......those started our shop. While the bulk of our work is done during the winter months when our farm chores are slacker, we have begun working on summer items such as scrunchies, coasters, and little girl's purses made from 100% cotton.

My inspiration for the submission (girl's easter basket/purse) came from my granddaughters. We needed Easter baskets and they love purses, bags, totes, and the like. A basket that converted to a purse seemed practical and cute. We made several (they each got one) and we had a few in our shop.

We enjoy listening to classic rock (Stevie Nicks and Led Zeppelin), we love westerns (Silverado and Dances with Wolves), and we read mysteries (James Patterson, Joy Fielding, Iris Johannsen and more).
Our family farm is in south central Missouri where we raise a few horses and calves, grow a nice vegetable garden, harvest some fruit trees and enjoy rural living. I also spend time in the New Orleans, LA area where my parents and siblings still reside. With our five children grown, my husband and I now, once again, have the freedom to travel a bit without worrying about the farm.

 

And the final interview for this installment is honeybeebungalow.

What was the inspiration for your challenge item?
I decided to figure out how to crochet beads this spring because I've always loved the modern, tidy look. I was playing with some fine variegated blue threading and thought the crocheted beads had the feel of some of Monet's paintings, specifically his Water Lilies, a piece I've always found beautiful and soothing.

Do you look for any trends when deciding what to crochet, and do you have any favorite sources where you get your inspiration from?
I primarily create what makes me smile, which is somewhat eclectic and not necessarily "cutting edge". I do look around to see if anything is intriguing or emerging. I love to peruse Anthropologie, Boden, Garnet Hill and other women's catalogs that are popular but a little off the beaten track as far as a mass produced look. I also enjoy industry/art magazines. Probably my most consistent "muse" is simply nature. My husband has a huge series of gardens and we have lots of trees and flowering items in warm months, and I love the mountains, nature trails near our home and watching the seasons change.

How did your interest in crochet first begin?
Oddly enough, I was taught to crochet by an 80+ year old neighbor when I was in high school. I was the last kid at home, so at that point, my parents would travel for Dad's work and leave me home alone for a few days here and there, and during one trip they took overseas, I stayed with our neighbors. The grandmotherly neighbor decided I needed to learn to crochet, so she taught me an assortment of basic stitches. I quickly branched into lacemaking (although neither my mother nor I have a home conducive to decorating with doilies) and scarves, etc. and crocheted pretty avidly through college, then tucked it away while I toiled in public accounting for about a decade. A few years ago, a good friend asked me to teach about 20 girls to crochet, so I dusted off my hooks, got re-acquainted and decided to explore the art and figure out how to construct things from inspiration to brain to hook. My first crochet love is still thread crochet, but now I use it to make accessories, jewelry, etc... things I actually use/enjoy for my lifestyle.