Breathe Into Life: My Sources of Inspiration

Shortly after I ventured into the realm of crochet designing I soon realized I was developing an almost superhero power that I shall arbitarily call "crochet vision". This unique vision, both voluntary and involuntary, is the ability to see a pattern, image, or just about anything, turned into crochet.

The involuntary form of this vision likes to strike when I'm in a restaurant or public venue. When it strikes there is the immediate need to capture that source of inspiration. There have been many times I've taken a picture of a plate, wall decoration, or sign having to use Pooky's cell phone camera because I forget to take mine.

The voluntary form of crochet vision I have manifests in seeing traditional art forms--mandalas, kolam, rangoli, and mehndi--as an endless source of translatable designs. When we last drove through Pennsylvania my crochet vision was activated by Amish hex signs.

Inspiration most recently struck while watching Downton Abbey when I spotted a beaded necklace worn by Lady Mary as being highly translatable. While searching for better images of the necklace in order to translate it, I came upon many other Victorian choker necklaces that sparked my vision.

Often I find myself overwhelmed with all of this source material. So many ideas, so little time. Hopefully I'll have many years of designing ahead of me so that I can translate a bit of all that inspires me.

When I first saw this image of a ceiling in the Taj Mahal I thought: "That's a doily!"