what to hook next

Dear Diary, What to hook next It is a question that comes up for people once they have been hooking awhile. When I teach people I encourage them to start with a kit because you have everything you need to get started, then you can focus on the learning instead of gathering and finding what you need.

From there some people like to try a few more kits. Then they move on to patterns.

Once you start creating your own designs, at first you are often loaded with ideas, and may not know where to begin. I encourage people to keep good records of their ideas. You can use a sketch book, to draw and write in, keeping track of every little idea that comes into your head. You can also paste pictures from magazines in it.

On the internet, people use “pininterest”, a program to keep track of all the images you see that inspire you. Google it and see if that catches your fancy. I find it overwhelming really, there are too many images, too many influences and they overwhelm me. Others find that a great inspiration.

The best way to know what to hook next is to always keep your eyes open for the pretty, that thing that makes your heart sing a little when you see it. Remember to go to your sketchbooks, or the place you save ideas and review them. Sometimes you’ll find the most interesting things right there in your own source book. Often we keep great record books but never go back to see what records we keep. Every once in a while I will pull out an old sketch book, or a journal and remind myself how I felt, what I though, what I saw. Really what is the point of keeping such a thing if I never reference it.

Right now I have three squares on the frame that are empty. I have an idea, but today I bought I’d stew it a bit, just to be sure before I dug in like the fiend I am . It is nice to ponder. It is lovely to decide.

Written by: Deanne Fitzpatrick on February 14, 2012.