Nicolle is a fellow mama designer and has designed some amazing crochet baby blankets. One thing I love about her work is that it is always so neat! Her focus is on DIY with a simple and timeless touch.
Tell me a little bit about yourself and your business.
On the mom side of things, I have 2 kids (1.5 and almost 3). I am a veteran and my husband is still in the AF, so we move around a lot. It’s a challenge to parent without family around. So that’s a big part of things too. I’m a meteorologist by trade, and kind of as a tangent to that I’m a huge Earth lover and maybe a little bit of a tree hugger. I just started blogging regularly this past year, mostly crochet inspiration & patterns but also some other DIY things (I’m kinda big on holistic stuff). Baby blankets are my jam though! My patterns are available in my Etsy/Ravelry shops, but I don’t sell finished products because I don’t have the time! However I do have a life goal of doing a craft fair.
How many years have you been knitting/crocheting for?
I’ve been crocheting for a little over 20 years, which makes me sound really old, ha! When I was 11 years old, I learned from my grandfather’s wife. I made a blanket for my baby cousin, which I actually saw in recent years and and let me tell you it’s pretty horrific! But I’m honored that she kept it. She’s in college now. My friend taught me to knit a few years ago, but I haven’t explored that too much yet.
What are your current WIPs?
Always so many – I’ve been working on All About Ami’s Granite Cape for almost 3 years now! It’s almost done :). I mostly like to come up with my own stuff though. I’m working on a new baby blanket, a blanket for a friend’s May baby, and a temperature blanket that will represent my daughter’s first year of life. Clearly my fave thing is making baby blankets!. There is also a half finished throw blanket that honestly I probably won’t pick up again until Fall.
What is your favorite thing to design and why (Spoiler alert: it’s baby blankets)?
Blankets are really my jam. I especially love baby blankets, because I love trying to incorporate the receiver’s nursery theme and personality, etc. Since blankets are just simple rectangles, they are like a blank canvas and a challenge for making something interesting and worthy.
What are your goals for this year?
I want to put out 10 new crochet patterns. I’m working furiously on creating the projects now before I get more busy with the kids. So far I’ve put out 2, have 4 in progress and 4 more planned out. Most are blankets 🙂 I hope I can get to them all!
How do you balance mom-life and making?
This is a huge challenge and the reason I’ve been working on my Granite Cape for almost 3 years. My son is almost 3…coincidence? lol. There are a few things I’ve realized recently though. First, if you want something bad enough you will make time for it. Maybe “find” time is the better answer. I literally carry my project bag around the house with me, and the moment my kids are playing self sufficiently (and not wrestling each other) I pull it out and make some progress. It also helps when I bring it with me everywhere I go because car naps are a real thing with my 1 yr old.
Also, I know I need to be intentional with my time and not go down the rabbit hole on Instagram or get caught up with the TV. That’s time that can be used effectively to get things done. It’s also important to have intentional rest time. I’m a huge introvert and I neeeeed to rest. I’m also 30 weeks pregnant – yikes. What I still need to work on is balance. Balance is a big one for me. Trying to balance the “work at home thing” and dedicating time to work while trying to be an attentive parent is challenging . Mom life comes with so much guilt, so I try to make sure I’m not taking away from my job being a stay at home mom. Some days I just don’t get to do what I want but that’s life (preaching to myself here!).
One piece of advice for fellow mama makers?
Just be understanding of your limits. It’s true that you can make this work, but maybe you won’t grow quite as fast as you want to, or maybe you’ll have a lot of setbacks. But that’s okay. Your priority is your family. Don’t make excuses for not reaching goals, but give yourself some grace because momming isn’t easy and you’re doing the best you can.
Here is one of Nicolle’s beautiful baby blankets. This is called the “Sweet Georgia” baby blanket, which she made for a Georgia girl. It’s an infinite granny square with a scalloped border and ribbon/bow, and definitely has an heirloom quality to it. She loves the intricacy of it while still having a timeless feel to it. This was the first baby blanket she made after taking a long hiatus moving to Germany and having kids, and it’s extra special to her because the mama she made it for had tried long and hard for her baby girl. You can find this pattern on her blog and in her Etsy shop.
You can find Nicolle on Instagram, Facebook, and her blog. Find her patterns in her Etsy and Ravelry shops!
You can find a recording of the Live that I did with Nicolle here!
If you are a mama designer and/or a poc designer and would like to join me for a Live interview and be featured, you can fill out the form here.
