NatCroMo 2015, March 26: Jocelyn Sass

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National Crochet Month:

Welcome to Crochetville’s third annual Designer Blog Tour, taking place all throughout March 2015 in celebration of National Crochet Month (NatCroMo). Each day on our blog, you will find 1) in-depth profile posts for two crochet designers, with a link to their blogs so you can see what specials (free patterns, discount coupon codes, tutorials, etc.) they may be offering for NatCroMo, 2) a daily giveaway post with entries open from 8:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST the following day, and 3) during the last week of the month, daily posts from a Crochet Guild of America board member. Join us each day for a new surprise!

Today’s Posts: Jocelyn Sass, Cute Crochet | Rebecca Velasquez, RV Designs | Tammy Hildebrand, CGOA Vice President | Daily Giveaway | Halos of Hope Hat Collection | Complete Designer Schedule

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Jocelyn Sass, Cute Crochet

Crochetville is very proud to have designer Jocelyn Sass of Cute Crochet with us today, March 26, as one of the featured designers on our 2015 Designer Blog Tour in honor of National Crochet Month (NatCroMo). Jocelyn has been a professional member of the Crochet Guild of America for over 15 years. She’s also been a member of Crochetville since October 2005.

Jocelyn’s Designs:

If you’re not familiar with her work already, we’d like to share two of Jocelyn’s designs with you.

“A P (10 mm) hook was used for this project. This is a pattern that all crocheters will want to make and it IS suitable for BEGINNERS as well. The design works up very quickly in one piece with a large hook and #6 Super Bulky yarn!”

This adorable pattern includes instructions for BOTH baby BOY AND GIRL, in 5 different sizes (newborn, 3-, 6-, 12-, and 18-months).

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About Jocelyn:

Getting Off to a Good Start

Left-handed Jocelyn learned to crochet about 35 years ago when she was in Italy, taught by a right-handed friend who knew how to do only one stitch. Jocelyn made her first project with just that one stitch! When she returned to the United States, she bought a book on crochet and proceeded to teach herself everything she knows. It wasn’t until she started reading the book that she realized her friend hadn’t taught her a crochet stitch, but an actual stitch pattern (dc, ch1) instead. It was all her friend knew how to do.

Jocelyn’s first project was a black scarf to match her husband’s winter Navy uniform.

A Design Career Is Begun

In the 1980s, Jocelyn enjoyed working from Annie’s Attic and The Needlecraft Shop patterns. She started noticing that some of their patterns had the designer’s name on them, and that some were purchased from “normal” crocheters like herself. When she found herself making many changes to patterns she was crocheting, so she could give them her personal touch, she decided to give designing a try. She submitted several designs to The Needlecraft Shop in 1989. The designs were accepted, and Jocelyn has been designing ever since.

Sources of Inspiration

Jocelyn says, “Inspiration for designs come from many, many places. I have several favorite things to do for inspiration. One of them is visiting fabric stores and looking at all the wonderful colors and designs of fabric! Another one is to browse through home decor and fashion catalogs.”

Her Greatest Crochet Accomplishment

“Wow, that is a difficult question. I have over 400 published crochet patterns to my credit; but I guess my greatest accomplishment is that I had a bi-monthly crochet pattern column called Country Treasures and later Timeless Treasures in Crochet World magazine for for over 20 years!” Jocelyn says.

Personally, I think publishing over 400 patterns is a pretty big accomplishment all by itself! But writing a regularly-published crochet column for over 20 years is just as big. I’m pretty excited that a designer of this caliber wanted to be part of our blog tour!

The Wider World of Fiber Arts

Believe it or not, knitting was Jocelyn’s first love. She still enjoys relaxing with knitting for fun.

About Her Design Process:

The best suggestion I would have for budding designers is to be as professional as possible in any endeavor you undertake. Do your very best crochet work and learn as much as you can about the crochet industry. A great place to start would be the Crochet Guild of America and also reading the crochet blogs of professional designers.

 

Advice for New Designers:

Research the whole process, talk to a lot of people who are in the industry, volunteer to work a show with your favorite yarn company. There are so many aspects to this industry, it’s amazing! But in the end, it is a business and that’s the side you need to know about so you can start, thrive, and maintain your success. (It’s hard work! )

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Some of Jocelyn’s Favorites:

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• Favorite Crochet Books: ALL stitch guides!
• Designers: Jocelyn crocheted many designs by Michele Wilcox before she became a designer herself. She also loves the work of Carolyn Christmas. Jocelyn admires many of the professional crochet designers who are members of CGOA, but there are too many on that list to name them here.
• Favorite Hook: Jocelyn says, “I am a BOYE girl!”
• Favorite Yarn: Jocelyn enjoys working with yarn of any kind, but she prefers the larger weight yarns. Most of her designs use #4 worsted, #5 chunky, or her new favorite, #6 super bulky.
• Favorite Thing to Crochet: Jocelyn says, “My tastes have changed dramatically over the years, but for now, it is bulky-weight wearable accessories. I also love making baby photography props for my photographer daughter, Gina.”

Visit Jocelyn’s Blog: NatCroMo FREEBIE Sneak Peek

You will definitely want to visit Jocelyn’s blog post today! She will be giving away a FREE pattern of a never-before-published Coin Purse pattern, made with a small purse frame. She’ll even have a free tutorial for the assembly process.

Find Jocelyn Online:

Crochetville: cutecrochet (must be logged in to see profile)

Ravelry: cutecrochet (must be logged in to see profile)

Crochet Cafe Blog: http://crochetcafe.blogspot.com

Ravelry Designer Page: http://www.ravelry.com/designers/jocelyn-sass

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jocelynsassdesign

Twitter: http://twitter.com/cutecrochet

Jocelyn Designs on Etsy: http://jocelyndesigns.etsy.com

Too Cute Crochet on Etsy: http://toocutecrochet.etsy.com

Cute Crochet Shop on Etsy: http://cutecrochetshop.etsy.com

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Additional Blog Tour Information:

2015 NatCroMo Blog Tour
Links to All the Info

Daily Giveaway Schedule

Daily Designer Schedule

Learn About CGOA

Halos of Hope: Make Hats

All the Blog Tour Info in One Post