Friday Focus: Kathy Clark

Friday. What does it hold for you? It could be the end of a long and tiring work week and the beginning of a weekend of fun. It could mean that your kids are home from school and you're excited to spend time with them. You might have a busy weekend lined up, exciting but also a little draining. As for me, my weekend will be filled with the love of my husband and a rare night out on the town with a close friend. Living in walking distance of downtown Seattle can come in handy! All of the little moments in between will be stitched with care. Hopefully I can come close to finishing the project I've been working on for a month and a half. I can't wait to share it with you after Christmas.

Kathy Clark has spent years filling her moments with crochet, leading her to become a talented and accomplished woman. With over forty years of experience and numerous publications, she has a splendid and impressive body of work. She is enamored of snowflakes and has many delightful wintery projects available, both small and delicate as well as large and substantial. It is my pleasure to spend a few of my little moments this Friday acquainting you with Kathy. Here are a few of her insights and reflections.

Who taught you to crochet? How long have you been doing it? 
I've been crocheting for over 40 years. When I was 12, there was a crocheted vest pattern I found and was determined to make, so my mom and I figured out how to crochet together. I fell in love with crochet and have been crocheting and making up my own projects ever since.

Why do you crochet?
I always like to be busy working on something. I find crochet very mathematical and I enjoy the challenge of figuring out all the intricacies of a design.

Crochet Favorites
I am definitely a threadie at heart and use mostly Aunt Lydia's Classic crochet thread, size 10, and a small steel crochet hook for my designs. My favorite thread projects are snowflakes, but I also enjoy creating summery tops and skirts with thread. I recently discovered the new Knit Pick's Curio crochet thread which I'm also looking forward to creating many more projects with.

When I'm not working with thread, I love working on reversible designs. Typically, I work on afghans using Caron's Simply Soft or Bernat's Satin yarn because of their softness and ease to work with.

My favorite hooks are the Boye hooks. I like the shape of their hook the best.

What are you working on right now?
I'm currently working on several snowflake designs. Each year I put together a new snowflake pattern set. I'm a huge fan of the "Snowflake Man" Wilson Bentley, who photographed snowflakes in the late 1800s and early 1900s. I like to fashion my snowflakes after his photographs and try to pick up the intricate details of each. I'm also working on a second pattern set which uses snowflakes in a creative way such as a clock and area rug. In addition, I have several projects in the planning stages, like ruffle scarves using ruffle yarn in a unique way and reversible tote bags.

A few finished objects... 
Winter Shimmer Shrug: I love snowflakes and try to incorporate them into my designs as often as possible. My Winter Shimmer Shrug uses a snowflake motif for the body of the shrug and then carries elements of the snowflake motif into the sleeves. 

Cool Blue Evening Shawl: I love working with thread and figuring out motifs that can be crocheted together as you go so there is no need to sew the motifs together. I also enjoy seeing the additional designs that take shape when connecting the motifs. The Cool Blue Evening Shawl uses hexagon and half-hexagon motifs to create this triangle shawl. 

Wicker Wonder Reversible Afghan: My favorite of my reversible designs is the Wicker Wonder afghan. I was inspired by how the wicker design is woven and challenged myself to duplicate that effect in a reversible afghan.

 

My patterns can be found on my website. For updates on my current projects, you can also visit my Facebook page. I'm also on Ravelry and Craftsy. 

What gorgeous projects, and they barely touch on the wealth of patterns that Kathy has written. My personal favorite is her Hawaiian Lei Ruffle Scarf, as I have developed a fondness for Hawaii in recent years due to my husband's stories of his early childhood living near Honolulu. Kathy has something for everyone, from snowflakes to leis! Thank you so very much for sharing your treasures with us today, Kathy. In fact, I'm off to take a look at them once more!