This month we spoke with the talented mosaic
crochet designer Tinna, whose crochet-alongs
are simply breathtaking, and her eye for
design is certainly unique and inspiring
http://www.instagram.com/tinnahekl
DESIGNER SKETCHBOOK
Tin a Thórudót ir Th rvaldsdót ir
I
’m from Iceland and live in downtown
Reykjavik with my two boys, Ulfur (12)
and Thorvaldur (nine). I spend my days
doing the normal mum stuff, packing
lunches and helping with homework, and
I absolutely love being able to work from
home so I can always greet the boys when
they fi nish school. I’ve crocheted ever since
I was a little girl and honestly, I couldn’t
imagine my life without it. Crochet provides
me both an outlet for my creativity and
the need to produce something useful. By
chance, it turned into my job and I’ve been
working exclusively as a crocheter since2014, fi rst giving classes, then publishing
books and fi nally entering the international
crochet community in 2018 when I started
selling my patterns online. It’s been such
an adventure connecting with people all
over the globe through crochet – just a
wonderful experience – and I obviously
should have done this years ago! But
better late than never and now I am able
to support my family with my international
pattern sales, which is just a dream come
true. My fi rst crochet book in Iceland was
published back in 2011, which was a mix of
traditional and original patterns. Then I did
two all original pattern books in 2013 and
2016.I started a Facebook crochet club last
spring because I wanted to host my 2019
CAL in my own group, Tinna’s Crochet
Club, and it is so much fun there! The best
part about my job, besides just crocheting
all day long every day, is seeing all the
different versions people make with my
patterns. I absolutely love it. And since it’s
a relatively small group, it’s so close and
personal, really; we have the best members
there. And when I’ve got a CAL going it's
just extra fun. Everyone is welcome to join
us, so please do! Crochet is my art medium
and I express myself through my work.So that’s simply a part of me being true to
myself. What inspires me in my work is just
all the beauty I see around me. It can be
when travelling or simply a photo online.
I am always drawn to bright colourful
patterns in my surroundings and I think it’s
important to both appreciate and create
beautiful things. It’s my way of giving back
to the world. I’m not into conceptual art, I
just like pretty things. They make me happy.
And like I already said, I love producing
useful items.My head is fi lled with colours and pattern
ideas all the time – it’s literally cramped in
there – and I have no means of working
them all through. Some are louder and
more persistent than others, and those are36 | http://www.crochetnow.co.uk