Flickr Member Focus .. *JoAnn*

This lady is one of the first people I ever got close to on Flickr.. She’s helped me no end, by motivating me to learn new crochet stitches, encouraging me from start to finish, through sharing patterns, tutorial links and kind comments.

 Nothing, and I mean nothing, ever seems like too much trouble when ever I’ve asked for help!

So, although I want to guard her under lock and key and keep her all to myself, I want to introduce you to JoAnn. A lady so proud of her fantastic family she will  share beautiful photos of her cheeky grand children, their creations, her cooking skills, recipes and Christmas photos as though she’s known you all her life.

This my darlings is traditional Home Cooked Crochet like never before… laced with lashings of love  and a tiny pinch of pure family pride.

 Its real life and for this I love JoAnn to bits…….she’s like my mum, ,my aunt, and biggest cyber sister all rolled into one .

 Simply by looking at her work, you can really “feel the love” in every stitch… and this shawl project just shows the dedication and the lengths this lady will go to, to make the perfect gift.

She’s the most modest Crochet Queen ever!

Have a look at her full Flickr Profile and photos here…   http://www.flickr.com/photos/jodawn/

Interview

Where did your inspiration for your crochet come from?

My Daughter Jill picked up an Autumn 2011 Crochet Magazine at work and saw this beautiful “Floral Fantasy” shawl on the cover and fell in love with it! As she never asks for anything, this was a great idea for her Christmas present.

 

What do you like most about this particular shawl design?

 

 It’s uniqueness! I had never done anything like this before… I knew it would be a challenge! I also was completely enraptured by the colour of the variegated yarn it was made from!

Explain the design principles you used and their importance to your design. Project … eg the special hooks or yarn used?

As per the designer’s pattern, Lace Weight yarn was used and a smaller hook than I am accustomed to! As I say… I was challenged at first!

How  much time to complete?

It took a month to get the yarn and get started, and about a month to complete for Christmas.

 

What makes your design different? What is unusual compared to your other projects?

My usual crochet/knit projects are afghans, scarves, hats, vests, sweaters….. Never anything as intricate as this shawl. It was a learning experience for me and one I thoroughly enjoyed!

Did you encounter any construction complications… ie the pattern or finding yarn?

I had quite a search here at home, and on the internet, for the particular yarn called for (Crystal Palace Mini Mochi) as the pattern using that Violets Rainbow colourway was a featured pattern on the cover and so very popular that the yarn was sold out everywhere! I finally found it in October 2011, at Simply Socks Yarn Company inIndianawhere Allison, the owner, went above and beyond the call of duty to obtain the colour fromCrystalPalacefor me!

It took a bit longer to crochet, as they had to substitute a variegated yarn for the solid Loden green used in the joinings, and I had to eliminate the lemony green sections as they looked so out of place! I also would NOT substitute the variegated joining yarn for solid Loden again, as I do think it did detract a bit from the finished product.

How did you over come them and what should less experienced crotchetier anticipate? What would be some possible solutions?

The problem of finding the yarn was extremely frustrating… looking at alternates just did not seem to be the answer for this beautiful creation for a very special recipient and I was so very lucky to find Allison at

http://www.simplysockyarn.com/  and I would encourage anyone looking for this type of yarn to give her a try! She was so helpful and nothing (including MANY back and forth emails) was too much bother for her in order to help me out!

What elements are critical to the success of your stunning shawl..? I.e. stitch knowledge

The dreaded “Triple Treble” stitch! It took some practice for me to get this stitch nice and even as that is what the flowers are all made with! Once that was down pat, and some of the joining techniques, I was fine! Another fairly important part of the shawl was the placement of the motifs… with the variegated yarn, the colours needed to “fade in and out” so to speak, and it took a bit of tweaking using my cutting board (sewing) to place them to my satisfaction.

 

What would be the cost of your design and how did you come to this amount?

All in all, the cost of the project was about $80 Cdn. As Allison does not charge extra for shipping over a certain amount, I was spared that cost! Now…. factoring in working time …… priceless!!

How versatile is this design?

I have seen this very design made as a window covering and it is beautiful!! I think it has great possibilities in many different projects…. would for example, make a lovely table cover, or table runner, etc.

Could you change the design? I.e. Change the actual design?

For what I wanted, I would not, or could not change a thing. It was perfect as it was!

Whats your next project going to be????

FINISHING UP MY UFO’S !! I also found out a dear neighbour is expecting, so a baby layette and blanket will be on my hooks soon!

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FINALLY, happy Saint David’s Day from me and the family… Helen  xxxxxxxxxxxx