Friday Focus: Rose Langlitz

TGIF! Friday is the best day of the week in my opinion. There is a sense of accomplishment in completing another weeks' tasks with a tingling anticipation for the weekend. How better to spend your time this weekend than treating yourself to patterns by today's Friday Focus, Rose Langlitz! Her amazingly realistic crochet food is a feast for the eyes. A highly-rated book of her designs is available on Amazon. Sweet! She is such a talented woman and her work is not limited to food patterns. Read on to see what else she has in store.

Who taught you to crochet? How long have you been doing it?
I was taught to crochet when I was about 7 years old by my babysitter, a wonderful lady named Sally Campbell. Though I learned when I was very young, I didn't really start seriously until I was 25, after the birth of my second child. So I suppose that I have been crocheting for 10 years, give or take. 

Why do you crochet? 
I crochet because it is wonderful to be creating something! I love that feeling of starting a new project and the satisfaction of making something beautiful. Crochet is so wonderful in all of the different kinds of fabric you can create with it. Lacy, textured, structural, drapey, stiff...the sky is really the limit when it comes to crochet. Like many other people, I have a hard time sitting still and just not doing anything. I crochet when I watch TV with my husband, or if it's a rainy day, I'll listen to books on Librivox and crochet. It's also nice to be able to complete something that my children aren't going to go behind me and undo.

Crochet Favorites
I've really been digging my handy-dandy Crochet Stitch Bible lately. I've been doing more work with finer weight yarns such as fingering and thread weight, and experimenting with different stitch patterns, and it's a nice resource to have. 

What are you working on right now? What is your next project? 
Well, I just finished my first doily, and it was really fun to make! I still have to pit it out and block it though, so no pictures yet. I'm not sure what I'm doing next, because I have so many things I want to do! I want to make some new pillow covers, and I'm really loving vintage patterns for baby and household. I can't decide which should come first!

A few finished objects...
I improvised this vest for my youngest daughter. I didn't have any money set aside for pattern purchases, and I didn't care for any of the free vest patterns out there. I used the Craft Yarn Council's sizing guidelines, made a gauge swatch, and went to town. It was really fun to create my own garment without using a pattern. 

This is Confucius! I made him after a local coffee shop offered to promote my book for me when it first came out. They got a lot of requests from people who wanted to buy Confucius, but he wasn't for sale. He has since retired from advertising and is now used by my husband (he dabbles in quilting) as a pin cushion.

These are from the lacy river rocks pattern from Crochet Today. I made these ones a few years ago, but I've dusted off my copy of the magazine to make some more for my vegetable garden and the community garden that I participate in. I like the patterns because they're really pretty, as well as being quick and easy.

If you're interesting in learning more about Rose and her work, be sure to check out her blog. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

If you or someone you know would like to be featured on an upcoming Friday, let me know at illuminatecrochet@gmail.com. Have a great weekend!