Welcome to the February edition of Meet the Maker – Designer Spotlight! This month I am excited to introduce Angela, crochet designer from Nine Inspired. I got to know Angela a little less than a year ago and fell in love with all her unique designs!
Tell us a little bit about yourself…
Hi my name is Angela. I’m 28 years old and I live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest of the US of A with my partner, Cam, our daughter, Echo, our schipperke mix, Finn, and our mischievous kitten, Cinnamon. I was born in Idaho but now I live in Washington. I like to watch sci fi, comedies and anime. My favorite food is Pizza (team pineapple by the way!). And my favorite season is Fall. I prefer chai over coffee, hard cider over wine and cats over dogs (but don’t tell my dog that). I work as a cashier at a local mail place and I’m still not sure what I want to be when I grow up. (Nope, definitely not grown up yet!)
How long have you been crocheting?
19 years! My mom taught me when I was 9 and I’ve been crocheting ever since! Sometimes I take breaks, like in the summer, but lately I’ve been keeping it up all year long so that I can work on more crochet designs!
What types of patterns do you design?
I have designed scarves, fingerless gloves, children’s clothes, amigurumi, afghan squares, baby blankets, accessories, and home decor. I’m a little all over the place but I love designing the children’s garments the best. I like the challenge of making something that looks good and feels comfortable. Lately, I’ve been really into designing tunisian crochet patterns. Tunisian is one of my new favorite crochet techniques.
“I find inspiration all the time just in the world around me.”
Is there anything in particular that inspires your designs?
My 8 year old daughter is always an inspiration to me. She loves to model my creations and pose for pictures and play with the crochet toys too. Oftentimes we will brainstorm ideas together so I can make sure it’s something that she’ll really love. Really though, I find inspiration all the time just in the world around me. I have a whole folder of pictures on my phone that I just randomly photographed for inspiration. My gears are always turning!
“Crochet is a form of self expression for me.”
What is the main reason that you crochet?
Crochet is a form of self expression for me. I like the process of making something that’s just in my head appear in real life. I find crocheting very relaxing and I also enjoy the puzzles I have to figure out sometimes to get designs to work the way I want them to!
How did you decide on your maker name?
Greek mythology has always been a passion of mine. I first learned about it in High School and I’ve been hooked ever since. I follow a comic book series based on Greek Mythology, and I am currently playing a video game based on it too. So it was kind of a no brainer to call myself Nine Inspired after the 9 muses: the inspirational goddesses of literature, art and science.
Do you have a favourite pattern you designed and why?
Definitely the Wayward Princess Dress that I designed for my daughter to wear for Halloween. We are both big fans of the show Star Butterfly vs the Forces of Evil and we love to watch together. That was the show that inspired her crochet cosplay. I made the signature dress with octopus applique and the main character’s magic wand. Halloween has always been my favorite holiday and I also just think that cosplay is really fun and cool!
“I still have moments of self-doubt (and projects that never see the light of day) but I’m extremely proud of what I have designed so far! “
What do you love most about being a crochet designer/maker?
I love the self confidence it has given me and how much it has made my skills as a crocheter grow. I still have moments of self-doubt (and projects that never see the light of day) but I’m extremely proud of what I have designed so far!
What do you love least about being a crochet designer/maker?
The math! Nobody ever told me there would be this much math. Gauge, yardage, and garment sizes oh my!
Is there any helpful advice you could give someone just learning to crochet?
Start small! My very first project (at the ripe old age of 9) was a very, very long chain. Seriously, I just kept going until the yarn ball ran out. It helped me gain muscle memory and it gave me ample practice in keeping an even tension and trying to make all of the chain stitches a uniform size. I know it’s hard not to just rush through everything, but having a really solid foundation is so, so important!
When you are not crocheting, what are you most likely doing?
I love hiking, rollerblading and sampling local cuisine (eating counts as a hobby, right?). I also enjoy reading, playing video games and snuggling with my dog and cat. My cat, Cinnamon, is pictured below. She really wanted to be in the photo shoot for my Lost and Found Boot Cuffs I guess!
What is your favourite type/weight of yarn to work with and why?
Worsted yarn for life! Lace weight yarn is so fiddly. Chunky yarns and big hooks tend to hurt my hands. Give me worsted weight yarn any day of the week! It is a nice happy medium weight that I find works quite well for a variety of crochet projects – including amigurumi and garments which are typically worked with thinner yarn.
Do you have a favourite place to crochet?
I have a big red wing back chair that I got for free from someone on Facebook. It’s right by the window in the living room so there’s lots of natural light and I get to soak up all those warm rays of sunshine!
Do you have any upcoming designs or new plans in the future for Nine Inspired?
I’m always working on something! Here’s a little teaser for you though…in the near future I plan to release another animal/food combination amigurumi like my Rainbow Hamburger Cat. The Rainbow Hamburger Cat is one of my all time most popular pattern designs ever, so I wanted to capture that wacky creativity again.
If you could create with any other medium (other than yarn), what would it be?
I would love to be a painter with paint and paper as my mediums.
For more Nine Inspired crochet pattern goodness, check out her Website!
You can find Nine Inspired on social media: Ravelry , Facebook , Instagram , and Pinterest!
I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit more about Angela, from Nine Inspired in this month’s edition of Meet the Maker – Designer Spotlight!
I hope you come back next month to meet another awesome maker!
Are you interested in more free patterns? Check out some of my free patterns below or click HERE to view them all!
