Welcome to our blog tour! Here at Crochetville, we celebrate National Crochet Month with our NatCroMo Blog Tour. This year, we’re interviewing crochet designers, teachers, and hobbyists throughout March and our theme is crochet memories. You can browse all of this year’s blog tour content on our page NatCroMo Blog Tour 2020.
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About Ashley Parker
Please allow me to introduce our featured designer of the day, Ashley Parker of The Loopy Lamb. Ashley is a crochet designer/blogger who offers fun, free crochet patterns on her blog for beginner and intermediate level crocheters. On her blog she also offers book and product reviews and tutorials.
Ashley designs accessories, blankets, home decor, amigurumi, and more. You can find her patterns on Ravelry and on her website, The Loopy Lamb. Today Ashley will share some of her crochet memories with us and we’ll showcase three of her crochet designs.
Ashley’s Crochet Memories
Would you share with us an early memory of crochet?
My earliest memory of crochet is watching my grandmother crochet. I remember just being fascinated watching how quickly she created each stitch. She would crochet (and knit) my family such beautiful projects and I wanted to be able to do that too.
Would you share with us a memory of becoming a crochet designer?
When I was first starting out, I applied to be a guest designer for the first 30 Days of Cozy project with Pam Grice of Crochetpreneur. I remember getting that acceptance email and just freaking out that I had been selected. I hadn’t been designing for long and I had applied on a whim because my husband suggested that I put myself out there. It was the first time that I remember feeling like “holy smokes. Maybe I can do this.”
Would you share with us one of your most memorable moments as a crochet designer?
I think the thing that stands out to me the most is how crochet and the crochet community has helped me overcome some fears that previously had held me back. After designing for a while, I realized that my followers wanted to actually see me more and wanted more video. That was terrifying for me. I held my first CAL and with some encouragement from friends and some of the community, I decided that I would do a weekly live video for the people doing my first CAL. I was a complete nervous wreck but the people that participated were so supportive and kind that it got a little bit easier every week. After the CAL was over, I got a lot of requests for more videos so, as a result I started a YouTube channel.
Showcase: Crochet Designs by Ashley Parker
Kaya Koala
Get the pattern: Crochet Koala Free Pattern – Kaya the Koala (on theloopylamb.com)
About the pattern: Kaya is one of my absolute favourite designs. It was my first design using faux fur yarn and I just completely fell in love with designing with it.
Buttons the Bunny
Get the pattern: Buttons the Bunny Crochet Along (on theloopylamb.com)
About the pattern: Buttons the Bunny was my first CAL pattern and we had a lot of fun during the CAL. The CAL is over now but the whole pattern is still available for free on my blog.
The Bobblelicious Bag
Get the pattern: The Bobblelicious Bag – Free Crochet Pattern (on theloopylamb.com)
About the pattern: I love to design bags and this one is my favourite. It’s a pill-box style bag and it is a great blend of crochet and pre-made accessories to give a really polished look to the bag.
Follow Ashley Online
Here’s where you can connect with Ashley online to be sure you don’t miss any of her new designs!
- Website/Blog: theloopylamb.com
- Ravelry: Ashley Parker Designer Portfolio
- Etsy: The Loopy Lamb
- Pinterest: The Loopy Lamb
- Facebook: The Loopy Lamb
- Instagram: @theloopylamb
- YouTube: The Loopy Lamb
- Newsletter: Subscribe to The Loopy Lamb Newsletter