Friday Focus: Susan Carlson aka Felted Button

One of the best things about yarn is that it comes in so many pretty colors. It's so delightful to softly run those colors through your fingers as you make your masterpiece. Today's featured designer, Susan Carlson, is a master of color. Her patterns capture the best face of the yarn with lovely textures. Don't take my word for it! Feast your eyes on the splendor that follows.

Who taught you to crochet? How long have you been doing it?
I was taught to crochet by my left-handed granny. Since I'm a righty, I'm still not certain how she pulled it off with a distracted and squirmy 9 year old, but I'll admit I found the process intriguing. From there I made only one thing that I can really recall...a hideously long, squeaky black scarf for my dad. See, my granny never taught me how to fasten off, so I just kept going until the entire skein was gone. That whole "not knowing when to stop" was a problem I faced in school, too, as my teachers confirmed. Indeed, I immediately got distracted--for over 30 years--with things like running hurdles, teaching high school sciences, and learning a lot about other crafty things. But then, being inspired by a number of crochet blogs, I found the hook my granny had given me and bought A LOT of yarn. Again, not knowing quite when to stop, I made the most ginormous blanket! But I was "hooked" and have been crocheting ever since! 

Why do you crochet?
I have what I call a very "noisy" brain. I crochet because it quiets the noise. And I remember as a child feeling the NEED to create something... anything. With crocheting, not only do I get a quiet mind, but also a wonderful, colorful, original handmade item to enjoy or share. Plus, do you realize how many colors of yarn there are?

Crochet Favorites
COLOR!! Anything colorful makes my wee heart sing! I love colorful yarn and my rainbow set of Clover Amour hooks! I love soft and colorful cotton, colorful feltable wool, and colorful buttons—hence Felted Button! Why designing and writing patterns? To have someone with their own hands translate and make a tangible creation from what started out as only an idea in my head, well, it’s magical!! Plus, I never have to make the same thing twice—it’s that distraction/focus issue again. 

For me, I tend to be more focused on the art of the design than the current style or trend. That’s probably why I am drawn to blankets and rugs as they are essentially a huge canvas on which to "paint" or "draw" with colorful yarn!

A few finished objects...
Like the Painted Pixels Blanket which is made with 7 colorways of a self-striping yarn. This one was taken on as a challenge to myself to see if I could make these 7 disparate balls of yarn actually look good together.

Or the Rainbow Sprinkles Blanket which came to me as I imagined little sprinkles of color falling against a neutral background gaining more color as they fell into a colorful pile of happiness!

Or the Pointillism Posie Blanket which dawned on me while reminiscing upon my sixth grade art class where we learned about pointillism. Each of the 29 colors of motifs—busted from my stash--makes a little spot of color that adds to the image of the huge flower!

Texture and color are vital elements in my designs, but never at the expense of crocheting that is not pleasurable, as I believe the fun is in the action of hook and yarn in hand, not merely the finished product. So I strive to make my patterns friendly for various skill levels with any unusual stitches and techniques shown in detail. It has to be fun to make, right?!

What are you working on right now?

I am adoring this hooky adventure I am on and hope to continue designing, crocheting, and sharing some happy colorful creations with the world. I love meeting other like-minded crocheting fools geniuses like me and am looking forward to challenging myself with new designs and colorful creations! Now if I could only get focused on just one design at a …squirrel!

Find Felted Button colorful crochet patterns on Ravelry, Craftsy and Etsy. Stay in the “Button” loop with me on Facebook, Pinterest or at Felted Button.

Just stunning, Susan! Thank you so much for joining us today.