Diwy by Titti

Who is Diwy by Titti? I am a toddler and teenage mother, married to a small landlady and live in Västmanland. I learned to crochet about 7 years ago when I saw such a nice lace curtain with my neighbor and started knitting 6 years ago when I was expecting my second child and wanted to knit baby socks.

Are you knitting, crochet or maybe both? I both knit and crochet. On my blog there are mostly crochet patterns but it sneaks in more and more knits.

If you switch to a completely different creative activity, what do you do? I like to go to the flea market and buy old furniture and gadgets. With a little color, fabric and yarn you can do a lot! When I was younger, I drew and painted a lot. Oil and dry pastel were the favorites then. The creative has been in my life since childhood. Already in preschool class I came to realize that you could melt scraps on desk lamp and make colorful artwork. Mom was crazy about my inventions and the messy room. My dream was to become an image teacher.

How did you learn to crochet / knit and when did you start creating your own design? I asked my mom to teach me crochet, think it was around 2009. My neighbor had such a beautiful curtain and I wanted something similar to the window in the front door. So it became a gray rose curtain in fillet effect. A few weeks later I had designed my own covers for flower pots with rose patterns. Then it didn't take long before I designed my first custom box.

What is your best advice for someone who would like to start creating their own design? The most difficult thing about designing your own designs is not to copy existing patterns. Sometimes you can do it without being aware of it yourself. When I have an idea, I usually google and check out pinterest so I don't do anything that already exists.

How does a design idea become a finished design and how do you best put together nice color combinations? I have a book where I save all the pattern ideas. There I draw sketches, write ideas and write pattern drafts while I crochet. Some ideas get rid of, others don't. Some may lie down and mature a little. I have a box of colored pencils that I draw with and test color combinations with. I also pasted yarn samples on magnets and used a magnetic board where you can put together different colors and also different yarn types.

What is your favorite color? Pink and turquoise.

What kind of yarn do you prefer? Cotton, merino. Preferably thinner yarns. Sometimes, however, I can get the urge to get rid of chunky yarns.

Which is your biggest knitting or crochet tab? Made a pattern on an owl rattle that I was super happy with. When I was just ready to post the pattern on the blog, I got a comment on my IG account. It said oh how nice you have worked for my pattern. I got a little sneaky and thought it was my pattern. Looked up the pattern she was referring to, and sure! They were almost identical. Must have saved the image on the retina without being aware of it. And of course, I can't publish a pattern that is so incredible like someone else's.

Which one are you most proud of? My newest riding bags coming out soon. This has been a lot of work with them and it will be nice to finally be able to release the designs.