Bhooked Podcast: Crochet | Knitting | Yarn | Hobby | Lifestyle

Become a Certified Crochet Instructor When crochet is your passion, at some point you will want to share that passion with someone else. It was only about six months after I started crocheting that I burst at the seams and taught my friend how to crochet. I didn’t have all the answers back then (and still probably don’t) but I knew just enough to get her hooked. That first crochet lesson made me realize that teaching was my jam. Several years after teaching crochet on my YouTube channel, I came upon the Craft Yarn Council’s Certified Instructors Program and that

All it takes is the right inspiration and motivation to persevere. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has thought “published crochet designer” would sound pretty darn cool to introduce yourself. Having a design featured in a magazine or book takes the right amount of research, the right design, the right publication and a lot of time and I wonder if it’s the amount of work or the lack of information that steers crocheters away. Well, since I can’t lessen the amount of work involved, the one way I can help is to provide you with the information you need

Finding a crochet community could be the best thing you ever did for yourself. When we are extremely passionate about something, we want to share it with someone! If your spouses, friends or family members are not as into crochet as you are, you can feel somewhat alone in your hobby. Over time that can lead to less “crojo”. We need to celebrate all the wins – finishing a project that took months to create; memorizing that stitch pattern; or launching your first design. No matter what the situation, if you’re excited about it you need a companion to celebrate with!

Teaching Others to Crochet can be so much fun! I have been teaching others to crochet for more than four years now and I’ve yet to find something more rewarding. I get so much joy out of sharing something I’m so passionate about to others who then go on to make it their passion. It’s a beautiful circle! Any one can teach crochet. You really don’t need a special degree or certification, you just need patience and of course, know the content you’re teaching. Now if you’re going to make it a career, requirements are a little different but for many

Yarn Can Make or Break Your Project I was asked recently how choose yarn for my projects – pick the project and find the right yarn or vice versa. The short answer is vice versa! I rarely ever choose the project before the yarn (unless I’m following a pattern of course). This way of designing may be a bit backwards from my fellow designers but it’s how my creativity works. The yarn always decides the project. No matter how your creative juices flow, this session will help you determine what important yarn qualities to consider when choosing a yarn. There are four

Marly Bird and Red Heart – Your Questions Answered! I’ve always been a big fan of Red Heart yarn. It is a wonderful company that I have aligned myself with, yes, but I’m a fan because I love their products. It’s affordable and it’s easy to find in stores – a designer’s dream! I have designed many projects featuring various Red Heart yarns and over the years have collected dozens of questions from you about their products, usage, substitutions… the list goes on. As always, I’m working for you to make sure you have your questions answered and to make the

You put a little bit of yourself in every project you make. For most of us, crochet is life. We live and breath double crochets and yarn overs. It’s the single activity we look forward to every day and the only thing that makes our hearts pitter patter when we stroll down the yarn isle. We live to create with our hooks, hands and favorite yarn. It’s passion. When you’re as invested in something as we are, you put a little piece of yourself into every project you make. As we move from one project to the next, we discover

It’s completely normal to “get tired” of your current project. We all go through dry spells of inspiration and motivation with our crochet projects – maybe even our hobby as a whole. When we realize we aren’t alone and that these feelings are completely normal, we can focus on getting back on track. Today’s Guest Today I had the opportunity to speak with one of the nicest human beings on the planet, Ashleigh, from Sewrella. We talk about ways to stay inspired and motivated through big and small projects. She brings the goods guys! If you find yourself needing a

Saving your dollars is a big deal. I’m always on the look out for a good deal whether it be clothing, groceries or yarn. I have a natural frugal side and I’m here to share my best tips to getting quality yarn without spending a lot of money. It can be done! Now if you haven’t done so already, click on that play button at the top of the page to listen to me share my money saving tips with you! Links in this Episode We talk a lot about my favorite online yarn retailers – because they can save you money.

The Master Crochet Patterns Segment may be ending but your journey begins here. Let me begin by saying it feels so good to finally have my vision of Master Crochet Patterns come to life. It makes it even better knowing that everything you’ve learned over the last several weeks is working for you! Thank you to those who have reached out to me on Facebook, Instagram and via email to tell me of your success with patterns after listening to this segment. Our final lesson is an important one. We’ll talk about confidence and why it is so important to

You think you’re a visual only person. I’m here to convince you otherwise. The concept for this topic came early in my preparation for the Master Crochet Patterns segment because I set out to find a solution for those who have convinced themselves that they can only follow a video tutorial. What I’ve found throughout my research and preparation is that it isn’t so much a question of “can” but “will”. I’m a firm believer in that anyone can learn a topic if they have the right motivation, guidance and support. That’s exactly what we’ll address in this week of the B.hooked

When you know how to stay focused and recover from distractions, you can eliminate the frustrations of learning. It may seem a little crazy to teach the topic of staying focused but humor me for just a minute (40 to be exact). We live in a world that’s full of wonderful and not so wonderful distractions. This is okay for us to pivot around when we’re doing something that we already know how to do – cooking dinner, laundry, our work routine – but it’s detrimental to our success when pairing distractions with a new learning venture. I’m going to

Understanding Crochet Pattern Repeats The large majority of crochet designs include some kind of repetition. We repeat stitches and rows and anything in between. The repetitive motions of crochet is without a doubt one of it’s more soothing qualities, at least for me. However, in terms of crochet pattern repeats it’s usually the component that causes us the most stress and sometimes, throwing in the towel for good. Understanding repeats is step six of our Master Crochet Patterns segment. I’ve set out on  this long journey to help you learn to read crochet patterns because I know how finally “getting it” will

How to Decipher Crochet Diagrams – the visuals we crave. If teaching people how to read crochet patterns were easy, we would all know how to do it. It’s a difficult topic because we must cross a barrier of concrete and conceptual understanding – the act of taking a concept and turning it into a physical object. What we don’t realize is that crochet diagrams do just that – bridge the gap between concept and project. I’ve set out on a very long journey to help you learn to read crochet patterns because I know you struggle with it in some way or

How to Read Crochet Patterns – the million dollar question. If teaching people how to read crochet patterns were easy, we would all know how to do it. It’s a difficult topic because we must cross a barrier of concrete and conceptual understanding – the act of taking a concept and turning it into a physical object. I’ve set out on a very long journey to answer that million dollar question because I know you struggle with it in some way or another. We couldn’t possibly answer it in one episode so I’m breaking it down into seven. Yes, I need