Blog We Love: www.crochetbetweenworlds.net

[www.crochetbetweenworlds.net] MICHELLE WESTLUND & ANNE SCHUELER

TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELVES…
MICHELLE: I live in Sydney, Australia with my husband and our tortoise-shell cat Loki. I’m a lawyer by trade, but due to my chronic illness I am doing administrative work for our local rotary district and a whole lot of crochet!
ANNE: I live in Dortmund, Germany with my husband. I work as an academic consultant and am also an academic writing coach.

WHAT INSPIRED YOUR BLOG?
We were looking for a place to show our work (to each other mostly...) We talked about it and set it up in October 2013.

DO YOU USE ANY OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA?
Our Facebook page and Instagram account is @crochetbetweenworlds. These days, we spend more time on Instagram but we still enjoy blogging.

HAVE YOU MADE NEW FRIENDS?
Oh yes! We get to meet other crochet fanatics from all over the world and we love it! We even got to meet some in person when travelling and it was fantastic.

HOW DID YOU BOTH LEARN TO CROCHET?
ANNE: I lived with Michelle’s family when I undertook my masters degree in Sydney. Her mum makes blankets for charity and it was the natural thing to pick up a crochet hook and join her!
MICHELLE: My nan taught me when I was young, and I made lots of granny square blankets. When I fell ill I had more time, and discovering Facebook crochet groups fi red my imagination!

HOW DID YOU BOTH START DESIGNING?
ANNE: I started with really easy stuff but it was a teddy which really got me thinking – we hate sewing amigurumi together, so had to find a way to eliminate as much sewing as possible!
MICHELLE: I wanted wristwarmers for a cold Sydney winter but having skinny wrists and chunky arms meant straight ones never worked, so I created my own fitted version.

WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST SOURCES OF INSPIRATION?
Our inspiration mostly comes from one of three places – “I’m sure there’s an easier way to do that”, “I wonder if that (cross-stitch, patchwork, mosaic) can be done in crochet?” and “I need this thing, and can’t find a pattern…” We talk about design ideas all the time and in talking about them they change direction, become more doable (or get tossed...)

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE DESIGNS?
Maybe just because it’s new and exciting, but we have to say the Bargello Wave Baby Blanket! It is stunning to look at and holds special meaning to us as we choose the colours together when we got to see each other after fi ve years! We also love the Cross Your Heart Teddy as only the ears and nose have to be sewn on and it is totally adorable.

WHAT ARE YOU BOTH WORKING ON NOW?
ANNE: I am working on another almost-no-sew amigurumi – I really hope to finally get it out of my head…
MICHELLE: I am figuring out the design for a twisted bargello wrap. I have a jacket design coming out, and so many more bargello ideas. We have a crochet meditation podcast in the works too, so keep an eye out!