You’ve arrived at the annual NatCroMo Blog Tour! What is that, you ask? It’s a virtual celebration of National Crochet Month with new blog content daily throughout March, including featured crochet designers, free patterns, discounts, giveaways, and more.
This year our theme is The Crochet Concert and we are celebrating music as creative inspiration. Each featured designer’s showcase will include an “Opening Act” (a quick or easy pattern); “Intermission” (the designer’s favorite crochet tools, yarn, or books); a “Showstopper” (an impressive or unique pattern); and “Designer’s Choice” (any pattern of the designer’s choice).
See all of this year’s tour here: NatCroMo Blog Tour 2021.
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About Agat Rottman
Our featured designer of the day is Agat Rottman of Made by Gootie. You can find Agat’s patterns in her Ravelry designer portfolio or in her Etsy shop.
My name is Agat (it’s the Hebrew word for Agate, a precious stone). I live in Haifa, a city near the Mediterranean Sea in the north of Israel.
I’ve been crocheting for 6 years (and knitting since I was 12 years old).
I really love designing patterns; it’s a great creative outlet. I always start out with an idea, move to a sketch and from there enthusiasm (and a good deal of iterations) make it into reality. My ideas usually start out as a project where I couldn’t find a pattern that I really like. A few years ago, I decided that I want to share my designs and started writing them down. Since then some of my patterns were published in various crochet magazines, and I’ve been getting great feedback, which motivates me to keep going.
Agat’s Special for Our Readers
Get 30% off on all patterns in Agat’s Ravelry and Etsy shops, offer good March 25-April 30, 2021.
Agat’s Creative Inspiration
Is music a source of inspiration for your crochet creativity? Or do you listen to music while you crochet? If so, tell us about it. If not, what is something else that helps fuel your creative inspiration?
Music has always been an inspiration and motivation outlet for me. I’m a bit of an old soul when it comes to music; my favorite artist is Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits – there’s nothing like a nice relaxing evening with Mark’s voice in the background.
I also love Alanis Morissette and the Foo Fighters. Alanis is such a unique voice and a strong inspirational woman.
The Foo Fighters have great energetic songs, I listen to them whenever I need to uplift my spirit, and they help me get into good mood and being more productive. 🙂
Can you recommend one or two songs/pieces of music you find inspirational?
“The Reasons I Drink” by Alanis Morissette
“The Sky Is a Neighborhood” by the Foo Fighters
Design Showcase: The Opening Act
Pattern name: Reusable Flower Face Scrubbies
Get the pattern: https://madebygootie.com/crochet/reusable-crochet-flower-face-scrubbies/
About the pattern: We made some changes in the past two years toward zero-waste life, trying to minimize the amount of waste we produce. One of the things that I saw a lot around the web was reusable face scrubbies. I’ve been wanting to make these scrubbies for a while, but I don’t wear make-up so I don’t use the disposable ones. When one of my friends who uses the disposable scrubbies had a birthday coming up, I decided to make her some scrubbies as a birthday gift. I didn’t find any pattern that I really liked, so I came up with one of my own.
Intermission
Tell us about one (or more) of your favorite crochet-related items.
I recently got to know Furls hooks. Since I’m a slow crocheter and my favorite items to make are blankets, finding the right hook is super important. A dear friend sent me two Streamline Furls hooks, which are a game-changer for me. 🙂 They are really comfortable in your hand and help me speed up my pace!
Design Showcase: The Showstopper
Pattern name: Sea Breeze Infinity Scarf
Get the pattern: https://madebygootie.com/crochet/sea-breeze-infinity-scarf-free-crochet-pattern/
About the pattern: This scarf was first published in Simply Crochet Magazine.
I named this scarf “Sea Breeze” because its texture and colors remind me of the beach when the sea is quiet and flat.
The interesting texture of this infinity scarf is created by combining several different stitches, such as front and back loop double crochet and the fun puff stitch.
The scarf is wrapped twice around the neck. and is perfect for a cold winter day, or a chilly fall day when you want that extra warmth.
Design Showcase: Designer’s Choice
Pattern name: Corner to Corner Wattle Stitch
Get the pattern: https://madebygootie.com/crochet/corner-to-corner-crochet-wattle-stitch/
About the pattern: This is by far my most popular pattern!
The Wattle crochet stitch has such a beautiful texture, it looks like a million little flowers! It’s a great stitch for a washcloth or a very soft blanket.
The Wattle stitch consists only of sc, dc, and ch, which makes it repetitive and so easy, totally mindless crocheting.
I decided to create the corner to corner version of this crochet stitch when I wanted to make a blanket using the Wattle stitch. What I like in a C2C (corner to corner) method is the flexibility you have, you can start your project and decided the size as you go, you don’t need to calculate stitches for the beginning chain.
Follow Agat Online
Here’s where you can connect with Agat online to be sure you don’t miss any of her new designs!
- Website/Blog: madebygootie.com
- Instagram: @madebygootie
- Facebook: @MadeByGootie
- Pinterest: @madebygootie
- Etsy: Made by Gootie Etsy shop
- Ravelry: Gootie (Agat Rottman) Ravelry designer portfolio
- Newsletter: Subscribe to the Made by Gootie free email newsletter
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