And he’ll tell you all about it  Just had to share this adorableness as some Friday fun on the blog.

I LOVE CROCHET from Jessica Judkins on Vimeo. Jessica has an Etsy store called My Charming Colors.

Continuing on with the May theme of crochet inspiration snippets I wanted to share this brief news story I learned about last fall and never remembered to share. I think it’s still inspiring!

La Maestra Clinic Microcredit Crochet Program

Guadalupe Acevedo creates a handbag from aluminum pop tops and thread at La Maestra Clinic in Vista.

UT San Diego shared:

“Under a free microcredit program organized by La Maestra Clinic in Vista and City Heights, women gather weekly to crochet, sew and make jewelry, purses and other items that they can sell personally or through boutiques. Participants bring their own raw materials, and teach skills to newcomers. Guest lecturers talk about topics like nutrition, diabetes, family issues and education.”

I Hope This Inspires You To

• Learn about Lidia Calzado, shown at the top of this post, who started a successful jewelry business using the information and financial support from the La Maestra program
• Support a microcredit program in your area or somewhere else around the world
• Consider lending your crochet experience to a local program to help teach women in need to learn to crochet
• Learn more about pop tab crochet and how it helps people around the world
• Appreciate your own access to crochet materials, whatever that may be

How does this story inspire you? Share in the comments below!

I’m continuing to work through my own personal transitions but I still have lots of crochet inspiration to share with you this month. I wanted to share the site Hearts, which works with 2000 artisans around the world to promote eco-friendly, sustainable products and support freedom and human rights around the world.

Here are some of the items on their site that are crocheted:

This post is part of May inspiration series. I hope it inspires you to:

• Check out what Hearts is all about
• Learn more about fair trade crochet
• Choose to make purchases from local makers and fair trade artisans
• Think about sustainability in your own crafting
• Crochet cute products inspired by the ones you see here!

How else can this post inspire you? I’d love to know!

A little while ago I did a guest post on the lovely blog James and Jax. In it I talk about why crochet is a great craft for embracing your creative side.

The post begins:

“I believe that everyone is creative. I think it’s in our nature. I think that doing creative things not only helps to improve our quality of life, but also actually offers hands-on healing for a variety of different ailments that we may encounter. Unfortunately I have seen all too many times that there are people who don’t think of themselves as creative and who therefore limit the potential for their own healing by shying away from creative activities. In my opinion, crochet is a craft that can help with this problem, because it is a creative act that almost anyone can do.”

Do you agree? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

I’m continuing to work through my own personal transitions but I still have lots of crochet inspiration to share with you this month. Today I’m sharing a snippet of the story of Laurie Roman who had trouble learning to crochet after a brain injury but eventually figured out what the problem was.

Erica Curtis of All Things Healing shared:

“After experiencing a traumatic brain injury, Laurie Roman attempted to relearn crochet through conventional directions. It didn’t work. After much frustration, she discovered the skill was stored not in her conscious memory but someplace deeper in the fabric of her being. Without directions or explicit memory, she began to crochet again.”

The human brain is an amazing thing. I have an endless interest in the way that the brain works and the role that crochet can play in various aspects of healing from trauma. I hope this post inspires you to read Laurie’s story, learn more about muscle memory in the brain/ body, be awed by the healing power of crochet and celebrate your own crochet experience!

Back in March I introduced you to knit and crochet designer Lise Solvang who I adore for many reasons including the great positive attitude that infuses her work. Lise has recently opened a new Etsy store and is celebrating by offering a 30% discount code to shoppers through the end of May.

Personally I’m adoring Lise’s new crochet sun hats and openwork beanie patterns but the 30% discount code is good for anything in the store. The code is SPRING2013 and lasts through 5/31/13.

For today’s post in my month-long crochet inspiration series I thought I’d do a roundup of some of the stories already on this blog that talk about moms. But before I do that, I want to give a shoutout to my own mom; that’s her above with a crochet checkerboard she made in the 1980s. She was the one who originally taught me to crochet as a kid and encouraged me when I started again as an adult. She has sent me yarn, crochet projects, vintage crochet magazines and more. Mom paused her crochet for a long time but has started again in recent years and it always makes me happy to see what she’s making. So Happy Mother’s Day to my awesome mommy. And Happy Mother’s Day to all of you who are moms, biological or otherwise. Have a great day!

Crochet artist Pat Ahern learned to crochet from his crafty mom. This is a WIP crochet portrait that he did based off of a picture of her when she was younger.

Etsy’s Snippetfairy learned to crochet from Mom and Grandma. She says: “My mom taught me the very basic stitch when I was a little kid. I remember being fascinated by the process and creating many long “chains”. It was a while before I learned to actually add the stitches together in more than just a single row. It was my grandmother that guided me through my first “real” crochet project. It was a pincushion with a circle of black velvet fabric on top, surrounded by several rows of colorful crochet. I still have the thing! I must have been about 8 or 9 years old.” Another Etsy crocheter who not only learned to crochet with her mom but has a multi-generational involvement in crocheting in her family is Dona of Onajeans.

Motherhood can be wonderful but it can also be really difficult. Many women use crochet to help them through various pregnancy issues and motherhood stresses, something I wrote a lot about in my book Crochet Saved My Life. Some of those stories include: Kimberly who has a special needs child, Laurinda of Remembering Rowan, Kristine of Ambassador Crochet who had anxiety around pregnancy complications, and Rachel Brown who struggled with postpartum.

Lauren of 2nd Look Vintage has taken her mom’s vintage crochet pattern collection and updated them to be of use to crocheters today.

Artist Lauriane Lasselin was inspired by her mom’s crochet. She says, “I learned to crochet when I was around 10. Before that I would use crocheted pieces that my mother wouldn’t use and sew them together to create with patchworks technique little creations.”

Another artist who learned to crochet from her mother is Mary Tuma.

In the 1950s a teenage boy purchased a crochet baby layette from someone he considered to be like an adoptive mother. He gave it to his pregnant aunt and the item has now been worn by almost 40 babies in the family!

Feel free to give a shoutout to your own mom in the comments below and tell us how she inspires or supports your crafting! And learn more about my mom and the moms of other crochet bloggers and artists by checking out the guest post I did earlier this week on Crochet Today.

I’m running a quick sale on my book Crochet Saved My Life this weekend only. Get it for 40% off when you order before midnight Sunday 5/12/13 PST.

Crochet Saved My Life is the my story of coping with depression through the help of crochet, the story of nearly two dozen other women who used crochet to heal from various ailments and the research available about the health benefits of crochet for both physical and mental issues.

To get your 40% discount code, visit the main sales page. Add the book(s) you want to your cart. Before checking out, enter the discount code: WCHKVZ2U in the “apply discount” box.

I’m continuing to work through my own personal transitions but I still have lots of crochet inspiration to share with you this month. Today I thought I’d point you to check out the beautiful organic crochet necklaces designed by Etsy’s okapiknits.

This Etsy shop owner also does really beautiful knitwork, creating accessories, garments and other items. I hope they inspire you in your own creative crochet work!