Woohoo! April 1st, 2022 marks my 2nd anniversary since publishing my first pattern. I am so proud of all I have accomplished and I am so thankful for everyone who has supported me along the way!
I know people say it a lot, but I could not have done this without you! Yes, you! Whether you’ve purchased every pattern or liked every post I have ever posted or only just discovered me – I am thankful to have you as part of my journey! A special thank you goes to my testers: I appreciate each of you so much and I am thankful to have you on my team!
I am hoping to take you on a journey this month; through some sales and prizes and games I hope to introduce myself to all the newcomers and refresh the memories of everyone who has watched me grow.
Update: enter my Grand Prize giveaway on YouTube! Expired
So, Hi! I’m Ashlee Brotzell! I am a Canadian stay-at-home mom to three adorable little kids. I met my husband at the University of Saskatchewan; he is a mechanical engineer and I have a child psychology degree (and I am a law-school-dropout).
I learned to crochet when I was 8; it was my on-again-off-again hobby throughout the years. I picked it up again after the traumatic birth of my son in a self-therapy attempt. Regular crochet wasn’t giving my brain the challenge I needed so I started learning new things like how to read those intricate crochet charts with all the symbols, how to do crazy stitches, how to change colors, and eventually I stumbled upon interlocking crochet. It wasn’t long after learning how to do it that I thought, “hey, I could apply my art skills to my crochet skills!” (I also dropped out of art class in university – but I had a lot of previous art experience and it has always been another on-again-off-again hobby through my life).
I wasn’t sure if people would actually buy my patterns, but I was willing to give it a try.
From April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021 (my first year of designing) I published 200 patterns to Ravelry. Not all of my Doctor Who patterns made it there and I even did a couple custom pieces. On Etsy I have published the larger patterns, but most of my small squares are still not available on there. I also created a YouTube channel in May of 2020 and published 32 videos by March 31, 2021. Some of those were quick snippets, some were tutorials. My family also moved twice during that period after my husband lost his job unexpectedly. To say I was feeling a bit overwhelmed is an understatement. I do not recommend pushing yourself that hard, and I am glad it is over now.
During my second year of designing my family only moved once (woohoo!) and I was able to refine how I want to present my patterns a bit more. When I started I was just doing interlocking crochet, then I added overlay mosaic crochet, and then I had to update all 200+ patterns again when I introduced mosaic charts marked with X’s! So, I *only* (nervous laugh) published 82 patterns and another 26 YouTube videos from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022. Plus, I was published in Crochet Now! magazine!
My goal this year is to slow down just a little bit more. *This is where you can imagine my awkward grin which tells you I am probably not going to be slowing down very much*
Here’s the celebration plan:
- each week in April I will have different bundle of patterns on sale
- if you don’t want the bundle you can also get a smaller discount on the featured patterns individually
- each week I will do a pattern giveaway on a different platform (Instagram, Facebook, email newsletter, YouTube)
To enter week 1’s Instagram giveaway (closes April 9, 2022): https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cb-40OAjZPY/?utm_medium=copy_link
April 3-9, 2022: Crochet-A-Long (CAL) Bundle
To enter week two’s giveaway on my Facebook page, click here (closes April 16, 2022): https://www.facebook.com/113673156993126/posts/524391452587959/
April 10-16, 2022: Squares Bundles
April 17-23, 2022: Wall Hangings Bundle
April 24-30, 2022: Blanket Bundles
And while all of this is going on I will be working in the background trying to get my tutorials and a few patterns ready for the center-out technique! I am excited that I’ve learned something new and I am eager to share it with you.
Update: tutorials are live! Check it out
