NatCroMo 2015, March 6: Phyllis Serbes

Blog tour posts may contain affiliate links.

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: Phyllis Serbes, Many Creative Gifts | Anastacia Zittel, Anastacia Knits Designs | Daily Giveaway | Halos of Hope Hat Collection | Complete Designer Schedule

.

Phyllis Serbes, Many Creative Gifts

Crochetville is very proud to have designer Phyllis Serbes of Many Creative Gifts with us today, March 6, as one of the featured designers on our 2015 Designer Blog Tour in honor of National Crochet Month (NatCroMo).

 

Three Truths and a Lie:

Take a guess as to which of the following statements isn’t true. We’ll let you know which statement is “The Lie” somewhere in this post, so keep reading to learn the truth!

1. Phyllis crocheted a custom-designed axolotl for a Canadian girl who lost her pet axolotl and asked Phyllis to recreate him in crochet.
2. Phyllis once crocheted for 28 hours straight so she wouldn’t miss an important deadline.
3. The 10th anniversary of Many Creative Gifts is coming up  in April.
4. Phyllis sponsors the DC Rollergirls.

 

Phyllis’s Designs:

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

Clownie the Crocheted Clown Doll, available for $4.95 on Ravelry

 

Beaded Turkish Bracelets, available on Ravelry for $2.95

 

About Phyllis:

Phyllis was lucky enough to have two crochet teachers when she was young. Her favorite sixth grade teacher taught her the fundamentals of crochet while her aunt taught her how to make Barbie clothes. Phyllis thinks her first crochet project was a multicolored scarf made with single crochet stitches in the back loops only, with the addition of some pretty groovy fringe as well.

When some of her friends were having babies in the early 2000s, Phyllis decided to make little booties and hats as gifts. She received a lot of compliments and requests, which led her to join Etsy in 2005 and begin filling all sorts of custom orders through the “alchemy” board, including a custom-made crocheted axolotl.

Her husband asked her why she didn’t write down the instructions for her designs so she could also sell her pattern over and over again. She decided he had a point, so she began writing patterns. Ravelry was just getting started about the same time, so she opened a Ravelry pattern shop, started blogging, and started teaching crochet at her local yarn store. She was fortunate to have some of her designs published in a new UK magazine called Inside Crochet.

In addition to her crochet work, Phyllis also enjoys knitting. She also loves the idea of learning how to dye and spin her own yarn.

 

About Her Design Process:

I should be more methodical in my approach to design, but sometimes I start with the yarn, sometimes I feel like using a certain size hook, or I have a particular item in mind. I just keep experimenting until what’s on my hook looks like what I see in my mind’s eye.

 

Prediction about the Next Big Crochet Trend:

I think it will be designs that combine crochet and knitting or crochet and fabric.

 

Some of Phyllis’s Favorites:

Favorite Designer: Any time I see a design that I really love and keep going back to, it seems to be one of Robyn Chachula’s works!

Favorite Hook: Boye

Favorite Yarn: 100% mercerized cotton in DK weight

Favorite Thing to Crochet: Little baby hats

 

Visit Phyllis’s Blog: NatCroMo FREEBIE Sneak Peek

You will definitely want to visit Phyllis’s blog post today! She plans to give away the patterns for three tiny squares for FREE for a limited time only. She may also be giving away some other little goodies, but you’ll need to visit her blog to find out just what!

 

The Truth:

Phyllis may not have crocheted for 28 hours straight, but she has indeed crocheted an axolotl.

 

Find Phyllis Online:

Ravelry: manycreativegifts

Many Creative Gifts website: http://www.manycreativegifts.com

Many Creative Gifts blog: http://www.manycreativegifts.blogspot.com

Ravelry Designer Page: http://www.ravelry.com/designers/phyllis-serbes

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/manycreativegifts

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/PhyllisofMCG

Craftsy: http://www.craftsy.com/user/354164/pattern-store

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/phyllisofmcg/

 

Additional Blog Tour Information: