Guest Blogger Week 79 Crochet Cabin Lace

I would like to say a huge welcome

to Sarah

 from Crochet Cabin Lace

• Tell us a bit about you:

I was born in London and have lived in Norfolk for the past 39 years, thoroughly enjoying the rural life with my family and animals.  I began crafting full-time after deciding life was too short not to!

• How did you decide on the name for your blog\shop? 
The name Crochet and Cabin Lace was settled upon after several searches on the internet to find a descriptive phrase to suit my work, and enable people to find me online.  I mainly work in fairly fine cotton, using the ‘hole and block’ technique to form the crochet lace patterns traditionally used by the Boatwomen on the canals. This is the ‘Cabin Lace’.  The ‘Crochet’ in the title also incorporates a growing passion to experiment, create my own designs and use different forms of crochet to create unique pieces of work.

• How long have you been blogging or how long has your shop been open and why did you start? 

www.crochet-cabin-lace.co.uk has been open since 2011, following a fascination with the window lace and porthole covers seen on passing Narrowboats during a holiday on one.  My brother and sister-in-law own a Narrowboat and wanted me to make some shelf-edging lace for their cabin when I shared my thoughts with them.  After contact with a ‘Master’ in the craft of Cabin Lace and some research, my work and the shop began.  I opened my Etsy shop CrochetCabinlace at the beginning of this year because I wanted a venue where I could combine and sell all the different craft items I make. These include other forms of crochet, knitted and dough-craft gifts. The name might well change to reflect this.

• What is your favourite item\pattern on\in your blog\shop at the moment that you would like to talk about? 
That’s a difficult one - I am often working on a different piece while writing up a pattern for sale, for a piece I’ve previously created.  I like the Alphabet Letters pattern because it enables customers to create their own piece - often the name of their boat, or the name of a new baby or grandchild.  I like to encourage others to take up or continue the craft, so that everyone can afford to have beautiful handcrafted items in their home, and to preserve the art of crochet.  With this in mind, I intend to produce more patterns and kits for the unique and free-form designs that I create, like the cushion seen below.

• What made you start ….?

I guess like many women, it was my grandmother who taught me to crochet and knit.  I think my mother had stopped knitting by the time I was interested in learning, and had taken up painting!  After mastering basic techniques, it was a desire to create something different, and the pride in seeing my children in clothes that I’d made.  I didn’t realise until looking into free-form crochet recently, that I did this many years ago! On the more traditional craft side, I’m very pleased to have been accredited in Cabin Crochet at the level of Senior Journeyman this year, by the Waterways Craft Guild.

• Where do you get your inspiration from?
The Cabin Lace was a direct response to seeing other’s work and how beautiful it was, then researching the history of this type of crochet.  This lace is usually worked in white cotton, but I love colour and colour combinations, probably inspired by my mother’s paintings, and this provides inspiration for other work.  It can be a pattern or yarn I like, or just deciding on a colour combination - for example my black and white cushion cover, and seeing where my hook and the shapes created take me!

• What other things do you like to do in your spare time?
Erm what’s that?  No, at the moment I also make and sell preserves and Christmas Puddings, keep chickens and quail, sing with a local singing group, watch TV (usually while I’m crocheting), listen to music and read. Otherwise time is spent with family or walking Willow, our dog, or chatting to Nelly, our cat.  Housework ocassionally gets a look-in.

• A couple of pictures of your favourite items:

Crochet Lace Motif Cushion Cover and Kit.
This is my own design and I sell it as a kit, complete with cushion pad, hook, cotton, instructions and buttons.

• What would be the one piece of advice would you give to a new blogger or a person setting up their own shop?
Be enthusiastic about your craft, only sell things that you have made to your best ability. Be helpful  and encouraging to customers, and fellow artisans and don’t undervalue your work, which is something I think we all do at the beginning.

You can find Sarah at:

Blog

Facebook  

Etsy

Twitter

Thank you ever so much Sarah.

I love your cushion patterns!

I hope you will all join me in thanking Sarah for her wonderful post.

Please check out her sites and shop as well!