My Story

It was 1975 and I was 10 years old. My mom was (and still is) a die-hard knitter, probably the best I've ever seen. Every night after finishing all the chores, she knit, and it was during the winter of 1975 that I started my first knitting project, it was a scarf in my school colors, blue and gold. It was uneven, lumpy and so ugly that I hid it, never wore it, and eventually threw it away because I was so embarrassed. Later that winter, my mom gave me a crochet hook from my grandmother Rose and taught me to chain and single crochet, I've been crocheting ever since. I still have that size K Boye silver hook. It is my favorite hook. It's worn, chipped edges makes me wonder about all the projects my grandmother must have done, for necessity. The sweaters, socks, mittens, all for need, never for hobby.

I was crocheting when crocheting wasn't cool, so I hid it from just about everyone in my life, except for my family and a few close friends. I kept my secret well and crocheted in solitude. It became my salvation during a crazy and confusing time in my life and kept me grounded. I wonder what would have become of my life if I didn't crochet. In retrospect, I think I needed crochet to survive and it became my excuse to “leave the party.” Of course, I’d never tell someone I was going home to crochet a few rows before bed. Just imagine?! I hung out with a wild rock & roll crowd in the 80’s when heavy metal ruled. In the 90's, I went to Sturgis and rode with the Harley crowd for a bit, and funny thing, I’ve always crocheted and always hid it from my friends. I was afraid of what they'd think of me.

I’ve mellowed and my wild days are just memories in my photo albums. I straightened up and went to college, got a real job in the software industry and worked as a software tester for almost 10 years. I married this great guy who accepted me for who I am and I didn't have to hide the fact that I crocheted! In fact, he encouraged it. We have 2 beautiful boys, a dream home, and I have all the love that I could ask for. I'm now the CEO of Gillette Household, Inc. (yep, I'm an "at home Mom".)

So here I am, I have been crocheting for 30 years and I've crochet just about everything, for every member of my family, my husband's family, all of my dear friends, their babies, and even some people I don't know. I proudly crochet in public, I crochet for charity, I belong to several crochet groups and have a great sense of the crochet community.

I began designing crochet patterns for my first son. When he was born, I wanted a baby hat with ear flaps. I designed and crocheted 3 of them. It all started with baby items, and I've been designing patterns ever since. When I started designing crochet patterns for women, I hoped they’d reflected my personality; hip and funky, hopefully a dash of elegance, and never boring.
My range goes from fitted and sexy, to boxy and comfy.

In 2004 I founded a crochet group called The Knotty Generation. We are taking a trend and turning it into a way of life, connecting a tradition that in years past was taught from mother to daughter for necessity, now we are embracing this as our own hobby, on our own terms, with some unique twists.

Writing a crochet book is my dream job, cultivated from my longest held and dearest hobby. Could life get any better when you combine your hobby and your work? It is like you just can't keep the smile off your face because you are doing what you love. That's my crochet story.