Designer Spotlight: Maria

Who's ready for another fabulous Designer Spotlight?!? I'm super excited to share this week's spotlight with you all, featuring Maria of Maria's Blue Crayon. I've been seeing Maria's designs popping up all over the place lately, and for good reason! Her designs are the perfect combination of adorable details and simplicity. I'm predicting that she's going to be huge in the crochet world someday, so this is one blogger you'll definitely want to keep an eye on. So jump on the bandwagon early (if you haven't already) and learn more about what inspires her work and take a peek at some of her designs. 

How long have you been crocheting?
I learned how to crochet when I was 8, but I only knew basic stitches until I really got into it and started crocheting regularly about 7 years ago when I was in college and expecting my first born.
 
How did you learn to crochet?
My mom taught me as a child. I think it’s so special to have a family member pass down a skill to you, and I’m so grateful my mom had that skill to teach me.

Ocean Granny Square Afghan

What’s something you wish you had known when you’d first started crocheting?
The knowledge of hook sizes, yarn weights, and yarn fibers. When my mom taught me, I didn’t go out and pick out a yarn and hook, I used what we had. When I really got into crocheting later on, I mixed cotton and acrylic yarn for a hat I made - only looking at the color choices when purchasing and not the weight/fiber. I quickly learned cotton wasn’t really a good choice for a hat and slowly learned how to choose yarns and hook sizes for a desired feel/look for a certain project.
 
What is your favorite thing about crocheting?
There’s so many things I love about crocheting, but I think my favorite is seeing the result and being able to say, “Yeah, I made that”. To me, it’s so satisfying to finish a project and know that I made it with my own two hands with just some yarn and a hook.

Eloise the Unicorn

Is there a certain type of pattern you love to design the most? Why?
I love designing hats for my son. I think it’s really cool to see my son light up after I introduce a new hat that was made just for him. Also, they’re quick little projects for me that give me some satisfaction that help me along with larger projects. Sometimes larger projects seem never ending and I just need some sort of satisfaction and motivation to keep me going.
 
When you’re creating new designs, is there something that inspires you? What’s your muse?
My son. I like to create a lot of things that I know he would like. One of my bigger projects, the Woodland Granny Afghan was made with him in mind because he loves animals. I later followed up with a similar afghan - an Ocean Granny Afghan with him in mind as well. We planned the list of animals for each afghan together.
 
For wearables that I design for myself, what inspires me is practicality and comfort. I’m not into fashion and I can’t tell you what the trends are, but I can tell you that comfort is what most people are probably looking for.

Skeleton Beanie

What do you think is the most challenging aspect of designing?
Writing the pattern!  Once I started writing down my designs, I realized that I don’t always follow the ‘rules’ of crochet and some of the ‘techniques’ I used did not make sense and was completely made up. Now when I’m designing, I keep in mind that someone else is going to try to replicate the item. I try to make my patterns as easy to follow as possible with as many details as possible. I’ve learned a few things along the way of pattern writing and sometimes have to go back to old patterns to edit or add some clarification.
 
I’m sure it’s impossible to pick just one, but is there one project that you’re particularly proud of?
My Christmas Granny Afghan! It’s my first ever crochet along and I finished the entire afghan in about 2 weeks. As of right now, we are over half way through the crochet along and it’s been such a rewarding experience to see other crocheters follow along and loving something that I made.

Christmas Granny Square Afghan

What advice would you pass along to other crocheters?
Don’t limit yourself and don’t be intimidated. I just recently made a cardigan (that I haven't yet released) and I never thought I would be able to make something I could wear besides a scarf or hat. I dove in head first and I enjoyed the challenge! Now I can’t wait to make more.

Cookie Crumble Shrug

Thanks so much for sharing your crochet story with us, Maria! If you want to see more of her work, you can check out her blog, find her on Facebook, or get her patterns on Ravelry and Etsy. Happy hooking!