Charm and Strange Crochet

My Yiayia (Greek for grandmother) Kaity was the absolute definition of a Renaissance woman. She could knit and crochet. She could buy a thrifted sweater, unravel it, and knit a new sweater without a pattern. She sewed clothing, both new and alterations. She painted and drew. She could cook. She could sing and dance. And her garden was a paradise that you could get lost in, even in her small suburban backyard. She loved pressing flowers from her garden and decorating things like picture frames and candles with the pressed flowers. If the Internet had existed when she was young, people would have been begging her to run a blog and a YouTube channel for tutorials, recipes, and advice, and open an Etsy shop to sell her handmade goods. My favorite painting of Yiayia's - I did a tribute to this one on my nails for her funeral. See details on my old nail art blog  here ! I used to draw and paint with my Yiayia when I was young. Her rheumatoid arthritis had made most of her crafts impossib

If you follow me on social media, you probably saw my post about rebranding all the way back in May. Now it's August. What have I been up to all summer? Firstly, I commissioned a new logo from a friend of mine who is a graphic designer. My old logo for Kate's Crochets was sort of close to what I wanted, but I made that one in ten minutes using clipart and it was definitely far from perfect. The new logo from my friend is crisp, a little whimsical, and in my favorite color scheme! It's perfect: She made a header to match! It doesn't quite work here on Blogger with the layout I've set up (for now!), but you can see it in action over on my Facebook page .  The crocheted background that you see is the same fabric as the header image here on the blog: it's a shawl I've been working on a little at a time for months! It's not a pattern I plan to sell, but boy is it beautiful! Also in May, I got myself legitimate. I am now registered for a Sole Proprietorship (a