guest post – felted button: far-out facts

Hello! I’m Susan Carlson from Felted Button  and I’m absolutely thrilled to be a guest today at A Creative Being! Thanks, Wink, for inviting me to share a bit about myself and my crochet design process!

Let’s start with a few “Far-Out Facts” about me…

• I have never colored, dyed or highlighted my hair, and have often worn it pretty short—part of my tomboy persona as a child, I suppose. (Free Cowl Pattern available here)



• I have a cherry red kitchen sink. (Can you say, “Tee Hee!”?) (Felting some Wee Blooms—a free pattern here)



• I have held track & field records in the 100m and 100m hurdles for my State for over 30 years. It’s true. I’m old. And not so fast anymore.
• I taught Jr. High and High School sciences for many years which has prepared me to “teach” crochet through my patterns. Hopefully I have been able to convey my love of all things colorful, yarny and hooky!

So let’s talk about my passion—crocheting with COLOR!

As a youngster, I remember vividly feeling this “urge” to CREATE something. So I would head off to my little space inside my head, gather supplies, and busily create. Looking back, my bedroom as a teen was a rainbow; the flowers in my wedding were intensely bold; my wardrobe has always been abounding with colorful attire; and when entering a room, my eye is immediately drawn to anything bright.

After learning to crochet from my Grandma at 9 years old, I didn’t do much with it until about 7 years ago when I picked up a hook and retaught myself–mostly using the web. Last year after my friends had about as many yarny gifts as they could stand, I opened my Felted Button shop on Etsy. Shortly after, I had written my first pattern!

So what inspires my designs? That varies. Sometimes I see a picture, place or, well… anything, and it’s the color or form or shape that inspires me. Sometimes it’s a need I have to fill—a gift for a friend’s new baby, or a hat for the upcoming winter, or a throw pillow to brighten up my room.

Sometimes I just “play” with my hook and yarn with no real idea of where it will take me, like this mandala /stool cover…

Sometimes one design flows into another—with an element of stitch placement, motif shape, or color.

For example, with both of these designs, my brain was in an “ombre” color mode. (But I secretly love that they can be worked up in any color scheme and still look pretty nifty.)

MANY times a design looks perfect in my head but doesn’t translate well on the hook without a lot of modifications.  Those either end up as WIPs, frogged or something entirely unexpected.

And sometimes, but rarely, a surprising little accident occurs that makes me giggle and do a silly little happy dance—embarrassing, I know.

I have many designs where I get stuck, or frustrated or DISTRACTED (squirrel!) with some other fabulous design. I currently have six designs in the works:  two which are really stuck, one on the cusp of being released, one that I have set aside to let my brain ruminate on solving a stitch-count issue, and two more that are very close to completion. But I’m always most excited about the one in my head that is yet to be actually crocheted—oh, wait until you see this next one!!!  Seriously, AWESOME!! (It just came to me this morning—thank you PINTEREST for the inspiring picture of a print!)

Anyway you look at the design process, it is a blast! It is so exciting to see something that started as a random idea in my head that is translated into a beautiful and tangible object by another’s hands. Seriously satisfying.

If you would like to stay in the “Button Loop” regarding my crazy colorful antics, designs, pattern releases and other fun crochet happenings, head to Felted Button and subscribe to the newsletter or follow me around. You can find me on Ravelry, Pinterest, Etsy and Facebook (where I typically call for pattern testers, if you are ever interested.)

Thanks again for letting me share!! And Happy Hooking!!

The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul.  —Dieter F. Uchtdorf