Designer Focus: Alexandra Richards

We sat down with Alexandra to get to know her a bit more.

As you may know, she’s one of the repeat designers in Knotions. She’s designed the Snowcapped Cowl and Beanie, the Endless Summer Hydrangea Tote and the Blooming Coin Purse in this month’s issue (among many others!).

1. Tell us a bit more about yourself

I always find this question odd because I never really know what to say… I am Alexandra. My passion is crafting, with a specialty in crocheting, and I run an “everything-but-the-kitchen-sink” blog called EyeLoveKnots, which is mostly free crochet patterns and reviews, but I like to include a little bit about everything in there too.

While I was crafty before, what really sparked it all was learning how to do needlepoint on plastic canvas (thank you Aunt Arlys!) back in 2006, and it’s just grown from there. In 2013, I started a job in which I sat in a little booth and charged people for parking, and I found myself with a lot of spare time on my hands. I took some yarn out of my stash, picked up a crochet hook on my way to work, and sat down with YouTube. It was life changing!

These days you will almost always find me watching NCIS or Criminal Minds with some yarn in hand, and my sweet Shiloh cat laying down at my feet, or my computer in my lap, and Shiloh in the same place, hehe. On the off chance I am not doing either of these two things, I do enjoy visiting flea markets, antique and thrift stores, making my own jewelry, baking, and a relaxing day down at the lake or over at the beach.

2. What are your favorite things:

a. Colors

In the last few years, I have developed a love for a bright blue color I have seen described (in color labels) as “turqua”, “splash” and “malibu”. You can see it in the Endless Summer Hydrangea Tote Bag from the March issue of Knotions. I even picked this color for my bridesmaid’s dresses! Aside from this, I do have a big soft spot for earthy shades.

b. Yarn weights

My favorite yarn weight is lightweight #3 (as long as I am not working up a blanket, you know). I feel like I can really add a lot more detail when using this thinner yarn, and it has pretty nice drape in garments and accessories. I am still on the hunt for the “perfect” yarn, I’d love to know what lightweight #3 yarn you like to use!

c. Types of objects (e.g., shawls, hats, etc.)

My favorite types of things to make are things for my home – rugs, throw pillows, coasters, etc. If I had to narrow that down to one, I would say wreaths! You can always find my door with a fun yarn wreath hanging on it, right now, a patriotic one.

3. Why do you like to design?

It’s kind of funny, the original thing that sparked designing for me – paying for patterns that had errors in them! I am not talking about small typos, I am talking about patterns flat out not working. I started designing my own patterns, and I just loved being able to turn an idea into reality – incredible what a little piece of string can turn into! Now, I am fueled by others – I love sharing my designs with other makers, and interacting with makers all over the world.

4. Where do you get your inspiration from?

I had to kind of think a little more on this question because I don’t have a simple black and white answer. I love browsing Instagram and Pinterest. Sometimes I see something, and I think how cool would that look if I made something similar and replaced this with that. I also find inspiration in themes, like Spring, or Bobbles, or Pastels. Themes are so much fun to follow because one word can really just make your mind come up with a long list of ideas. Trends, the yarn texture or color, and nature are also quite inspirational, and even necessity, like “I have a baby shower coming up, and I need to make a baby blanket”. So many things can be inspirational.

5. Can you tell us about your process when you design?

I want to talk about one project in particular, the Endless Summer Hydrangea Tote Bag from the March issue of Knotions. I had recently worked up two motifs – a sunflower hexagon, and a hydrangea square (the same one you see on the tote bag). I knew I wanted to do something with them, but I hadn’t quite settled on one thing (because I really had about a billion flying through my head), but when the hydrangea square was chosen, first thing I thought of was a blanket, then a tote bag came to mind because mine had broke, and I was in need.

From that square, I started planning out the tote bag I wanted. I knew I wanted the squares to be along the bottom of the bag, so I created a tube (the bottom of the body) with them. Next, how to close the bottom of the bag? I could have simply whipstitched the bottom shut, but I wanted more width to the bag, so I began working on a bottom panel. As I worked on the panel, a sturdy bottom came to mind, which is where the plastic canvas mesh came into play.

For the rest of the tote bag body, in my mind, I wanted the ribbed pattern worked in the round from the start, but after I started working it, I thought it might have been too boring. I ripped back, and tried a few different stitch patterns in it’s place, but ultimately, nothing won me over like the ribbed pattern, and so it was settled.

I worked the strap so the bag would fall around my natural hip because this is how I personally love to wear my bags, and the rest is history! One idea slowly came to life, and that is what I love about designing. The biggest thing about working through the process is patience.

6. Who are your favorite designers? (both craft and non-craft)

Oh boy, I could write a novel for this answer – ha! But to keep it short, and sweet, I will name my top 10 favorite crochet designers (in no particular order): Shannon Mullett-Bowlsby, Sarah of Repeat Crafter Me, Bethany of Whistle & Ivy, Tamara of Moogly Blog, ChiWei of One Dog Woof, Ami of All About Ami, Helena of CrochetN’Crafts, Marie of Underground Crafter, Stacey of MermaidCatDesigns (on Etsy), and Marjan of Atelier Marie-Lucienne. Really, my list could go on and on.

7. What is your crochet nemesis? The thing that makes you want to run and hide when you think about it.

Weaving in ends! I have so many projects that end up in my WIPs bin because there are a billion ends to weave in. Really, it’s quite embarrassing, but hard to make myself do. To help battle it, I make it a point to not start the next section until the ends are weaved in, and it really helps get more projects finished.

8. What do you do in addition to being a designer? Do you enjoy it or is it just a job?

In addition to being a blogger/designer, I work a day job in retail. While I do quite enjoy my job, I do I wish I could just blog and design full time. Financially, this is a hard point to reach.

9. What does a typical Alexandra-day entail?

I work mornings anywhere from starting at 6:15am to 7:30am. and work into the early-late afternoon depending on my job for the day, crocheting during my break time. On my way home, I might stop at the post office to mail out custom orders, and check to see what kinds of goodies I’ve received (yarn subscription box, clothes, yarn, jewelry supplies, etc). Once I get home, I eat lunch, put on the coffee, feed the cat and squirrels, and then sit down in my recliner, put NCIS or Criminal Minds on, and open my computer.

On any given day, I could easily spend 4 or 5 hours (or way more) on the computer attending link up parties, checking on and scheduling posts for social media, shopping for craft supplies, putting together posts for my blog… I keep a planner, and every day I have a list of things that need to get done, and it really helps keep me on track. As soon as I am finished with my computer work, I get up, make myself do some adult things, like the dishes and the laundry, and then FINALLY, I get to play with my yarn. I usually have one project going that I take to work with me, and work on during my breaks, and another project that I am working on at home – helps me not get bored too easy, and I feel like I finish projects faster this way.

My fiance and I spend a lot of time talking and watching YouTube and Netflix, so I try really hard to have my computer work done by the time he gets home, so I can just enjoy my time with him while crocheting at the same time. Sometimes, this means taking a break from the computer work, and picking it back up after he goes to bed, which can mean a long night.

10. Other than crochet design, do you have any other creative endeavors?

My first love was needlepoint on plastic canvas. I still love working with this, but I don’t get to it as often as I’d like. I also enjoy making jewelry, which you can find in a small shop in Clermont, Florida called Urban Attic (along with some crocheted pieces, and fun finds for the home), baking, a tiny bit of sewing, painting my nails with fun designs, and right now, wedding planning. I am having a blast making my dress, bouquets, invitations, etc.

11. Do you have a stash? Or if you buy it you make it up pretty quickly?

I have a HUGE stash! I have really been trying to be good this year, and use up, sell, or donate what has been sitting in my stash for a while, but it is quite easy to just go out and buy new yarn, especially when I have a certain color combination or yarn fiber in mind, or am working on a project that requires something different – I do a lot of crochet pattern reviews and pattern testing for crochet designers.

I have been trying to not just buy yarn when I see it on sale, but to buy with a particular project in mind, or only stock up on colors I know I will definitely use. I am working on a Ruana at the moment, and first thing I did was turn to my stash. I had so much of Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Yarn in Olive Green, so I decided I would use that color from my stash, paired with Ivory that I always keep on hand, and only went shopping for a light gray to go with, and it worked out perfectly.

I also participate in a couple of monthly blog hops, one of them being a destash challenge, which makes it much easier to dig through the stash, and see what I can make with what I have.