Featured Artist Jen's Tangle Threads

1. Jen, can you tell us a little about yourself and what you do?

I'm a single mom, a dance mom, and a crafter. I'm a paralegal in my day job. I'm also the booster club president and class mom for one of my son's dance lines.

I crochet and this year I've learned how to rhinestone and knit. I also cross-stitch on the side.

I went to college, then joined the Army to earn money for law school. I ended up getting married, had a wonderful little boy, and divorced. I moved back to Minnesota and I live in a small apartment with not enough storage space.  

2. How did you get started crocheting?

When I moved back to MN, I lived with my mom while I saved enough money to get an apartment. My mom is one of the most crafty women I've ever met. She sews, she cross-stitches, is a wiz with a grommet gun and hot glue gun. So, when she is home from work, she crafts while watching tv.

I've never been able to sit still and watch tv. I guess I have a little ADD and OCD. I learned how to cross stitch at a very young age, but I wanted to do more. I wanted to make my own patterns, but I am not an artist by any means.

I read a lot. One of my favorite series is The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. The women in this series wear elaborately embroidered shawls. I wanted one. But, I don't sew and I don't know the first thing about embroidery. My mom sews, but just short of having her read the books, she will never understand what I want. I figured the only way I would get what I wanted was to make a lace shawl. So I taught myself to crochet.

I jumped right in. I didn't start with a scarf or a washcloth. I practiced the basics, then learned how to make lace. And I've never looked back. I constantly challenge myself with new patterns. I have my favorites, and more patterns in my library than I could ever try. 

3. What made you decide to start a store on Etsy?

Back when I was making my lace shawls, I made them for friends on a fan site. I was the only one making the shawls like this. I searched for websites and found Etsy. Now, I didn't sell any of my shawls on Etsy - they only appealed to a specific clientele and they weren't going to pay $200 for a shawl. Hey, it took me the better part of 2 months to make one. So, I left Etsy for awhile until I had my great idea. 

As I said, my son is a dancer. He is in his 5th year competing. One thing I've noticed is that the girls will walk around these competition venues in half ballet shoes or bare feet. Which makes me cringe. So, I decided I was going to make a pair of slippers for the girls on my son's dance line to wear. Thus, the Flip-Fur was born. It is a fun slipper, furry and girlie, and completely customizable. One of the moms suggested I sell them online, so in April 2012, I re-opened my shop on Etsy.

4. What do you find most difficult with crocheting?

Going through a pattern for the first time is hard. But probably the most difficult part of crocheting is that I can't do it fast enough!  And it hurts my hands. I have fibromyalgia and mild arthritis. I crochet very tightly, so when I make lace, I have to wear a bandaid on my wrap finger to prevent yarn burn. I have spent weekends where I crochet for over 12 hours a day, and I pay for it. After 8 hours of typing at work, I usually spend at least 3 hours crocheting at night.

5. What part of crocheting makes it worth it to you? (i.e relaxing, fun, enjoyable, all, etc.)

I love crocheting. I love taking a pattern and making it my own. One of my next endeavors is to learn how to write doily patterns. 

Crocheting not only relaxes my eyes after staring at a computer screen (except for when I'm making lace), helps me burn more calories while watching tv, but it is also a stress reliever. I am a perfectionist, so when I make a mistake, I will rip out my project no matter how far into it I am until I find the mistake. This usually happens when I make lace. And, usually, I end up with a knot of thread or yarn. So then I will spend hours untangling that knot. 

I know, it is a bit backwards, but it works for me.

6. What is your favorite piece you have created?

That's easy. I love this shawl. This is one of those lace shawls I was talking about. I designed it myself based on a flag in The Wheel of Time. 

7. Do you have any advice for newbie crocheters out there?

I don't know how good of advice I can give. I went about learning how to crochet completely backwards. I found what I wanted to make, then learned the stitches I needed in order to make it. 

But, I would say practice, practice, practice the basic stitches. Invest in good crochet hooks. Start by making something useful and small. Finishing a project is a wonderful high.

Find Jen's Tangled Threads Outside of this Post: 

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Interested in Becoming a Featured Artist? E-mail us at: ashleychapmandesigns@aol.com (Subject Line: Featured Artist Spot- Chapman Design Addiction)

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