Crochet Society Box 27 – Nicola White

We caught up with Nicola White one of our fabulous box 27 designers!

Hi! What are you up to today?

I’m heading out to the local well-being centre for my first Reiki session which I’m really excited about. Then this afternoon I’ve got a photoshoot outdoors so I’ll be keeping my fingers and toes crossed the weather is kind to us. It’s so lovely to be able to interact with people again in person!

What is your favourite type of project to crochet?

I don’t have just one as I absolutely love crocheting accessories both home decor or wearables. I love making baskets, plant holders, wall hanging and small wearables, I believe there is a crochet item in every room of my apartment.

Where’s your favourite place to crochet?

On the sofa! I love getting cosy, pulling up my footstool that’s used more-so to hold my yarn, it’s never really used as a foot stool it’s more a ‘yarn stool’, a nice drink at hand and sometimes a little background noise, either music or an easy watch film.

Which of your crochet projects are you proudest of?

It’s got to be my bag design: Dessa, it’s the first pattern I’ve written so I’m really excited to see people’s reaction to it.

Aside from my bag design I’d say it’s my granny square blanket, granny squares where the first thing I learnt how to crochet. After a few sample pieces I created a continual granny square blanket made up of my favourite colours that I was super proud of, this is where it all started for me so will always be a memorable item.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve ever faced with your crochet?

It would definitely be reading patterns. I learnt how to crochet watching video tutorials on YouTube so when I first read a pattern, I found the terminology quite tricky to understand however following patterns & watching tutorials through Crochet Society was a huge help and I quickly picked up the terminology and can now create a project just from reading a pattern.

What’s the best piece of crochet advice you’ve ever received?

How to hold my yarn, I was all fingers and yarn, to begin with, I also held my yarn and hook so tight! However, once I tried a particular method that Sarah-Jayne from Bella Coco shared I felt comfortable and relaxed my hands more. I think I was so eager to learn the stitches I didn’t realise how important it is to get a good grip on your yarn and hook, I was definitely making life harder for myself when I first started to crochet!

It’s been a difficult year for many of us – what would you say to any crocheters out there who are having a hard time?

Crochet something that uses a stitch that relaxes you. Although challenging yourself & learning new stitches are great, I believe when you’re going through a hard time or if you’re feeling a little down do what makes you happy. Get your favourite colour yarn and crochet away with your favourite stitch in your safe space and don’t ever feel guilty for sitting there and crocheting. Crochet is great for mindfulness and we all need more ‘me time’ to relax our minds. I find granny squares really relaxing and they’re so versatile, you can just crochet away, a size, any colour and come back to them to sew them together into a project or just keep going until you have a snuggly blanket! They’re great to create a mood blanket!

Do you have any big crochet plans coming up?

None as of yet however I want to learn more; I’d say I’m persistent with my crochet so I won’t move on from a stitch until I can do it. I’m loving my crochet journey so far; I tend to crochet and see where things take me. I get so inspired from the wonderful crochet community online, I have so many inspiration boards bursting with ideas, my aim is to keep learning new techniques and trying out new yarns and see where it takes me next…

Where can people find out more about you?

I document and share my crochet projects on my Instagram @bunnyandblossomhome