Project Page Appreciation: LeighBlack's Essential Potholders

It is such a compliment when someone works up one of my patterns. The thing that was once in my mind has now been made by someone else for them to enjoy! It's amazing. Wanna know an amazing compliment I received? LeighBlack on Ravelry worked up not one, not two, but THREE Essential Potholders. Wow! I'm so glad you like the pattern, LeighBlack.

Awesome work! Very crisp. I can't wait to find out what patterns she chooses as her prize. 

Project Page Appreciation: fraspost's Floral Encrochetment

It's the last Friday of the February. It is already time for another Project Page Appreciation post. How quickly time passes! This time I am featuring fraspost's Floral Encrochetment, which uses the morning glory from my Morning Glory Garland. This is what she had to say about her project:

"I used the pattern for the Morning Glory flower only and found it quick and, to my appreciation, accurate in trying to show the colourway of the flower itself. I made an early colour change to light blue after round 6 and fastened this off as instructed for white. A quick and easy crochet for a striking flower corsage."

What a creative idea! If you'd like to be featured for a Project Page Appreciation day, simply work up one of my patterns and post a project page to Ravelry. You never know who is going to win! The prize is two free patterns.

Project Page Appreciation: toradora's Nautical Baby Blanket

Happy Friday and welcome to the first Project Page Appreciation Day! This month I have selected toradora as our winner for her job well done on my Nautical Baby Blanket pattern. From her project page:

"loved making this blanket once you get into the swing of things it really flys by! its very soft and squishy and drapes wonderfully. the modified reverse single crochet is a bit tricky but once you get the hang of it ; its really worth the effort! i found really relaxing my hold on the hook helped. highly recommend this pattern :)."

Great job, toradora! Your hard work really paid off. As her prize she has selected two patterns, the Color Squish Beanie and Sleepy Panda Baby Set.

Wanna be featured for Project Page Appreciation? On the final Friday of each month I will be choosing a new winner. Simply upload a project page on Ravelry to be considered.

New Plans for the New Year

Happy New Year! I send love out to you and I hope you had a great time ringing in 2016. As they were for many people, the last few days of 2015 were days of reflection and planning for me. Here's what I shared on my personal Facebook page:

Normally I don't go in for Facebook trends, but I do think there is value in evaluating the past year's adventures, hoping to become a better person. 2015 was a very interesting and very difficult year. I learned a lot of important things about myself and others, even though learning those things was sometimes painful and required a lot of hard work. During this coming year, and those that follow it, I hope to be mindful of the following sentiment from Lao Tzu: “When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everyone will respect you.”

In addition to my personal goals, I also have some professional goals with regards to Illuminate Crochet. I've come a long way in only 2 1/2 years, farther than I could have imagined, but my work is still just beginning. 2016 will be a year of hard work, focus, and achievement. Here are my fiber-y goals for the new year...

Unveil a new feature: Project Page Appreciation
Features for 2015 trailed off, in large part because securing the info I requested from interviewees in a timely fashion was very difficult and frustrating. I love collaboration, but this year I'd like to do a feature that relies less on others. I also really enjoyed the Remix Friday feature from 2014 because it connected with hobby crocheters.

With all of that in mind I am pleased to unveil the new feature for 2016: Project Page Appreciation. Project pages on Ravelry really help out designers and crocheters alike. They show everyone that your pattern can be followed to completion, often showing it in different yarns and colors as well. Plus, who wouldn't want to show off all of their hard work to people who will appreciate it? On the last Friday of each month I will select and celebrate a project page from one of my Ravelry patterns. I will also gift a small prize to the featured crocheter. That way, it's easy to enter and be considered. Just upload a project page!
 
Reveal my secret crochet projects
It's almost time to finally reveal the projects that I've been working so hard on all year long. There will be two big, awesome announcements, so stay tuned! I hope to be able to reveal them sooner rather than later.

Update my blog
There are a few things I'd like to change around here. I want to add a new permanent page with all of my patterns on it for easy reference. I also want to scrap Google's Adsense ads. I like Google and their products in general, but I don't like the idea that I can't control what ads blog readers see when they visit my page. Instead, I'm hoping start up some small, inexpensive direct ads from fiber-related sources that I trust.

Publish more patterns to Ravelry and Craftsy
I published 9 patterns this year, at least to outward appearance. The truth is that I actually wrote more than double that amount! I wrote more patterns this year than I did last, I just haven't been able to share them publicly yet. This next year I'd like to publish more patterns publicly regardless of any secret crochet I've got going on.

What are your fiber goals for 2016?