Designer Spotlight: Meet Kate from Crafting Friends

Meet Kate from Crafting Friends!

I’m so happy to have met Kate through the online crochet community. She is a kind, hard-working woman with a great eye for design and some fabulous patterns!

Can you tell us about how you got started with crochet?

My mom liked to crochet at night while watching TV when I was little, so when I was around 10 years old, I asked her to teach me. My first small blanket was for my doll and it was a little crooked, but my 2nd project was spot on and I was addicted. I’ve been crocheting for the past 30 years non stop.

Where does your crochet design inspiration come from?

When designing clothing, my girls are my focus. They love the dresses that I’ve designed for them and it’s so fun to see them wearing my creations and getting so many compliments.
When it comes to afghans, I want to be unique! I love looking through stitch books and then pushing my own limits on how to turn a stitch into my own. I have a few basic stitch afghan patterns, but the majority are worked in ways that are not already out there.

You founded Battle of the Stitches, Can you tell us about that competition? What was your motivation?

For a couple of years, I’ve been working with other designers to coordinate designs. I wanted to focus on my dresses and it was fun to see a design such as a hat or leggings coordinate with them. It was a win-win situation because our customers could get a coordinating set, I could support other designers and it was just a good, positive feeling. 
While I absolutely love crochet, the social aspect at times can be negative. A few times in the past, I watched as 2 different designers released similar items using similar stitches and was sad to see the reactions. So much negativity and drama. Sometimes, it is a deliberate copy and yet most of the time, it’s pure coincidence. 
I wanted a way to show that it is ok for designers to use the same stitch and thought it would be fun to throw out a challenge in a group setting. The Battle of the Stitches was started in March 2014 and has involved 10- 15 designers each quarter since. It’s been an amazing experience to watch everyone join together to share their love of crochet. It’s not about WHO designed each item, but about the design itself and their thoughts behind it. Friendships, Businesses, Talent and Creativity have all grown through the Battle of the Stitches and I hope it will continue to grow in every positive way possible.

What is your favorite yarn to work with and why?

My favorite yarn for my clothing designs has been Caron Simply Soft and yes, it’s simply because it’s not really thick and it is so soft. I don’t want a yarn that is rough on infants. If it’s cotton that I want to work with, then I Love This Cotton is my go-to choice because it is a softer cotton, they have some nice colors, and it wears better than some other cottons I’ve tried. For my afghans, I’ve been using a lot of Red Heart With Love or Red Heart Soft because I need larger amounts and it’s easily accessible in my town.

What are your greatest crochet accomplishments?

My first greatest crochet accomplishment was actually making a dress. I was terrified for so long of crocheted clothing! I worried that I would start a project and something would be really off, like the arms would be different sizes or the finished result would be way larger than it should be. 
As for my afghans, I think my biggest accomplishment was my Basket Weave Chevron Afghan. Typically, this stitch is just worked in blocks, so it was so exciting to see it come together in a chevron style.

What are your most popular patterns?

My Ribbon & Lace Infant Dress was my very first dress design and still remains one of the most wanted patterns. The Butterfly Garden Afghan was picked up by ePattern Central and has been the most popular afghan design so far.

How does crochet help you?

Crochet has always been relaxing to me and given me a sense of accomplishment. That feeling you get after completing an afghan and giving it to someone, watching their reaction and knowing they appreciate your hard work and using it is wonderful. Crochet isn’t just about me and those I love. It has been an amazing opportunity for service. I’ve been able to use this talent to make blankets for Women’s shelters, Senior Citizens, and most recently, I’ve been making the With All My Heart sets with preemie dresses for local hospitals for Angel Babies. You can read about this project HERE. These are projects that I will probably never know how they affect the lives of the recipients, but just knowing that they are going to people who need comfort at the time is so worth all the work that goes into it.

Do you have any other hobbies?

I love yardwork! It may sound crazy, but working in the garden is very enjoyable. I have a large vegetable garden and many flower gardens around our yard and it’s so nice to enjoy the end results. I also love to make old fashioned candy. You know the type that takes hours to make and wrap that are old, old recipes passed down through generations? They are the best!

How do you balance your work and home life?

Right now, I don’t have the stress of an outside job. I am able to stay home and raise my 3 littlest girls and am more of a go with the flow type of person. I don’t like to let the clock run me. I crochet while watching tv and I crochet on the patio while watching my girls play outside. My family is my life and my designing is just worked around it.

How do you spend your non-crochet time?

Cooking, cleaning, yardwork, family time and shopping when needed.


Kate has been generous and offered our readers a coupon code for her website.

25% off all individual patterns with code CrochetCafe

Happy Crocheting!

~Emily

One Comment

1. 

   Flash Ragler

   July 21, 2015 at 6:45 pm

   It was so nice getting to know how you got started and your inspirations I also love hobby lobby cotton and Caron simply soft.. Thanks for sharing your story with us. Be blessed

   Reply