We caught up with one of the three fabulous designers from Box 40.
View this post on Instagram
Hi! What are you up to today?
Hi, today you find me on a computer day so I’m working on some of the behind the scenes admin,
like writing up patterns and writing blog posts then as it’s the weekend we usually try to fit in some
cleaning, and have a family day doing some sort of activity. Then when my children are in bed I’ll be
picking up my hook to fit in some crochet time.
What are your favourite things about Winter?
I’m going to have to say Christmas, I’m a huge Christmas fan, I love everything about it! Fairy lights
and decorations, buying gifts, family get-togethers – and enjoying that secret stash of Christmas
chocolate!
I also think there’s something magical about winter walks – frost can make things so pretty!
View this post on Instagram
What is your favourite type of project to crochet?
I love to crochet little, medium and big projects! However if I’ve been working on something big like
a blanket or a shawl I do like to then work on a small project like an amigurumi to mix things up and
vice versa.
Where’s your favourite place to crochet?
I would call myself an opportunist crocheter – I pretty much always have some crochet with me so I
can grab any given opportunity, especially when travelling somewhere or whilst at the play park
when my kids are playing!
However my favourite place to crochet is in a big squishy armchair that’s in my front room either
listening to audio books or podcasts, or binge watching a good TV series.
Which of your crochet projects are you proudest of?
Without a doubt the crochet projects I’m definitely proudest of are all the crochet-along blankets I
have designed. They usually take the longest to create so it’s wonderful when it finally all comes
together!
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve ever faced with your crochet?
I’d say that each of the crochet-along blankets I have designed usually come with their own
challenge. Particularly in considering ways that I can try and make what I write as easy as possible to
understand. But as I push myself with each design, it means that the crochet potentially becomes
more complex to potentially write instructions for, but thank goodness for my testers – they will
usually point out when what I have written something that doesn’t make much sense!
What’s the best piece of crochet advice you’ve ever received?
Hmmm I can’t remember the best piece of advice I’ve received, but definitely, advice I would give,
from what I’ve learnt in my years crocheting, would be to always check your stitch count, always
check your gauge, and blocking in your friend!
Do you have any big crochet plans coming up?
I’ve just finished working on this years crochet-along blanket which, all being well has just been
shared with the world, so now I’m going to give myself a bit of a break, though I’ll have some other
fun commissions I’ve been working on to share going into 2023.
Where can people find out more about you?
I’m in most places you’d expect on the web; but the main place you can find what I’ve been up to is
on my blog www.keepcalmandcrochetonuk.com and I’ve started hanging out a lot more on
Instagram . The most comprehensive list of my patterns you can find on Ravelry though I also sell through CraftWorld, LoveCrafts, Ribblr and Etsy too.