Crochet Away!
Introduction
My name is Sarah Lloyd, and I’m from Knoxville, Tennessee where I earned my Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Tennessee this past May. My dream of being an architect probably grew from my love of books and movies, telling stories that were set in beautiful places that could only come from someone’s spectacular imagination. Now, as a Designer with Smith Gee Studio, every day I get to imagine something new and help bring it to life!
Why crochet?
One of my favorite family heirlooms I have are a set of tea towels from my grandmother. She crocheted a loop along the edges to let it hang from the kitchen cabinetry or the oven door.
So when my best friend’s mom taught a beginner crochet lesson during an elementary school Girl Scout meeting, I was so excited to learn. After an hour, I was only able to crochet a single length of lumpy and disjointed loops. At the sophisticated age of 9, I added crocheting to my failed hobbies and didn’t pick it up again until the spring of 2020. With a seemingly endless amount of time and a crocheting 101 kit as a gift from my parents, I tried once again.
I’m a sentimental collector at heart; I save receipts from memorable outings and carry around little trinkets that make me smile. I treat crochet in a similar way, making little things that I can send to my long distance friends for their birthdays or funny things to keep on my car’s dashboard. Following along from a book of patterns, my first attempt was to crochet a stuffed stegosaurus using the amigurumi technique (working in rounds instead of in rows). This was the outcome.
While still lumpy and disjointed just like my elementary school project, I now have something silly and sentimental that I’ll keep forever. These are some other trinkets I’ve made, either from patterns I’ve found or ones I’ve designed myself.
Crochet in Art and Design
For my fifth year thesis, I used various materials crocheted into granny squares to create an artistic representation of a concept map. These materials ranged from yarn to electrical wire to plastic tubing, and helped me communicate the different properties of each parcel of my map (softness, flexibility, density).
What’s next?
I hope that as I continue to practice, I can learn more about creating my own patterns and grow my collection of fun trinkets and gifts. And as winter gets closer, I want to experiment with crocheting more wearable things like gloves and scarves. Maybe one day I’ll even work up the courage to try a sweater!
