Zooty Owl's Crafty Blog

Colourful Crochet, Craft, Cooking, and Contemplations

Monday 18 August 2014

World Wide Artist Blog Hop


I was invited to join in on the World Wide Artist Blog Hop by the multi-talented Andrea of Kokopelli Design (http://kokopellidesign.blogspot.com/2014/08/worldwide-artist-blog-hop-and-four.html) - thank you for thinking of me Andrea!

Artists around the world post answers to 4 questions on their blogs and link to 3 (a minimum of 1) artists who post their answers the following Monday and so it continues..! 

The blog post looks like this:

 • Link/ intro to the person/blog who invited them on the blog-hop.
 • Answers to these 4 questions:

1. Why do I do what I do?
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
3. How does my creative process work?
4. What am I working on now? 

And finally the links to the artists of your choice who will post their answers the following Monday.
These are some of the other bloggers who have participated in the blog-hop: http://lovingrd.wordpress.com/ http://www.kimwerker.com/2014/06/02/around-world-blog-hop/ http://carinascraftblog.wardi.dk/2014/06/around-world-blog-hop.html http://pagesintime.blogspot.com/2014/06/blog-hop-last-week-i-received-email.html http://inthehillsofnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2014/06/blog-hop.html

WHY DO I DO WHAT I DO? 

Because I love it!     I love colour!    I love "making" things!   Even my very earliest memories revolve around crayons, paint, paper and yarn!   Creating is like breathing - something I do without thinking, but without which I would not be able to LIVE! 


crochet mandala

HOW DOES MY WORK DIFFER FROM OTHERS OF IT'S GENRE?

To say my work is unique or set apart from other work in the same genre seems a bit pretentious!    My work may be a bit different in that I do not work with a set number of colours only.   My yarn stash is more built on colour variety than type of yarn!   The only colour I do not work with is black.    I also don't worry much about trends!     I create what I FEEL!

granny square jacket

HOW DOES MY CREATIVE PROCESS WORK? 

Sometimes I wake up with an idea in my head or I see something that inspires me (colours, pictures, flowers etc).   If I cannot start crocheting or crafting immediately, I do a quick sketch and make some notes in my ideas book.    

The inspiration for THE "PACHA" PONCHO came from a Dutch design site.    It took on a personality of its own and ended up looking like Pacha's Poncho (the big guy from Disney's The Emperor's New Groove) and not even remotely similar to the original inspiration!

crochet poncho

Often when I start working on a project, more ideas seem to flow - I will also jot these down in my ideas book.

While I was making the DAISY CENTRE MANDALA, I had the idea to turn it into a SQUARE and make an afghan!


crochet mandala



mandala squares

Sometimes I am too tired to crochet or craft and I will just sit at my desk and draw and colour little doodles - a lot of my colour combinations flow from this.  The Starflower Doodle was the inspiration for the Starflower Mandala


crochet mandala

I am a "neat freak", and have a bit of an aversion to storing "scraps".  When I have crafted myself into a literal corner, and I am surrounded by half balls of yarn or mounds of cut paper,  I will have a quick tidy up and spend a bit of time "thinking" what I can make (anything not to have to hoard the scraps).


granny square afghan

WHAT AM I WORKING ON NOW? 

I have been on a serious WIP and Stash Busting mission since the beginning of July!     Part of this plan is to finish writing all my incomplete patterns.

The pattern for my SUNFLOWER MANDALA has been completed and posted on Ravelry


crochet mandala

I am also holding a crochet along on my blog for a HAPPY DAYS BLANKET, with a different square every two weeks


crochet squares

I invited the following artists to join the Worldwide Blog Hop:

Dedri Uys of LOOK WHAT I MADE

Julia Gartner of  DADA NEON CROCHET

19 comments:

  1. I love your patterns, especially the Granny Square Happyghan. :)

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  2. Wow!

    I just love your work!
    It`s amazing :-)

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  3. You are very talented, your work is amazing and inspirational.

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  4. Your stuff is amazing!! I particularly like the Happyghan and Hippie Jacket

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  5. Your stuff is amazing!! I particularly like the Happyghan and Hippie Jacket

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  6. Great post! I am really amazed you plan to finish writing all you incomplete patterns! I have soo many ideas in my head but I rarely sit down to write something down... Looking forward to see more your patterns!
    Take care
    Anne
    http://crochetbetweentwoworlds.blogspot.de

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    1. That is the problem with so many ideas! I usually cannot wait to bring them to life - and then the boring stuff (like writing it down) falls by the wayside!

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  7. All of your things you design are just amazing! Thanks for sharing them with all of us crocheters!!

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  8. I love your use of color! The Pacha Poncho I just love!

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  9. I love the mandalas, they're so ornate and colorful :)

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  10. Love your designs and thanks to you I am now hooked on mandalas!

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