May is Here

Spring is in the air in Kansas and tomorrow is May Day.  As a child I made May Baskets, (usually out of construction paper or old wrapping paper) filled them with flowering blooms and gave them to my grandmother who lived near us.  Of course she was thrilled.  When my children came home with May Baskets from school, they put little posies in them and gave them to our elderly next door neighbors.  (Their grandmas lived 500 miles away.)  The neighbors loved them.  What a neat tradition to let the elderly know they are still appreciated.

May basket are very easy to make.  My favorite designer, Elizabeth Ann White, has a free tutorial and pattern for making a very quick and easy may basket.

http://bellacrochet.blogspot.com/2009/04/grannys-may-day-basket.html

This is a very simple pattern and would work up rather quickly.  Her tutorial will guide you right through the process.  Who wouldn't love such a surprising and sweet gift.  It can be filled with flowers, soaps, dried flower arrangements or little treats to be hung on the door knob.  (My kids always rang the doorbell so that the neighbor knew there was a gift just for them)

Ann has so many wonderful patterns on her website.  Having bought from her I can say they are well written with lots of helpful hints and well worth the money.  Check out her wonderful doilies, baby designs, crochet accessories and even some free patterns at: http://bellacrochet.com/

Happy May Day to all and especially to the elderly in our communities.  What would life be like without their patience, wisdom and kindness.  Do you have any plans for surprising  someone tomorrow? 

A Favorite Crochet Designer

One of the best things about designing crochet and knit patterns is getting to know some of the other wonderful designers out there.  One of the nicest and most helpful to me in getting my design business going has been Ann White.  I met her through Ravelry.com after I had favorited some of her designs.

I don't have any Fall colored designs but Ann has some wonderful Lovely Thread Ladies doilies that can be found on her web site http://www.bellacrochet.com/  Her newest (above) is called Double, Double Toil and Trouble Doily

My Favorite is Lucy and Jack's Afternoon Stroll Doily

What wonderful Wall Hanging these would make.  She has so many wonderful Thread designs with vintage and three dimensional look that I adore.  She also has some wonderful Wraps, Capes & Shawls for people who prefer to use yarn along with many free patterns such as this festive gingerbread boy and girl .

Ann Says:  "I have been a professional crochet designer for over 20 years. I will never forget the day in 1988, when I nervously walked into the Annie’s Attic design department, carrying a black plastic trash bag full of my original designs. I am lucky they did not mistake me for a bag lady! Instead, they bought all the items I had brought in that day, and sent me home with a list of ideas for other items they would like for me to make. My career as a crochet designer was launched; I was ecstatic!

 I worked as a free-lance designer for the next several years, then was offered a position as a technical editor in the Annie‘s Attic Editorial Department. I quickly found out that designing crocheted items and writing crochet patterns are two different things entirely! I trained as a technical editor for the next two years, where I learned to write accurate and easy to follow crochet patterns in what was called the “Old Annie“ style. When a position for in-house designer for Annie’s Attic and its sister company, The NeedleCraft Shop, became available, I happily moved to the Annie’s Design Department, where I worked for several more years.

I am grateful for the time I spent working for these companies, as it allowed me to learn many new crochet techniques, stitches and skills relating to crochet, as well as pattern writing and designing skills. I was also able to meet many other talented crochet designers, and gained much valuable knowledge from my association with them.

In 2008, I left DRG Publishing where I was the crochet pattern book coordinator. I am thrilled to now be in the position of self-publishing my original designs. I love creating vintage- look thread designs- I am a doily and potholder girl! I am the proud mother of 3 daughters and 3 sons, and the grandmother of 10 sweet and wonderful grandchildren (with 2 more on the way!) I live on a farm in rural East Texas, with my darling man, David."

I have bought several of her patterns and they are well written and very easy to follow.  I am so glad to have met her and had her help over the years.  I can hardly wait for her next design to come out.