WELCOME!
Crocheters, this is your new favorite place if you appreciate boho-inspired, relaxed-fitting original crochet designs
Welcome!!!!
Settle in, grab a hook and your (current) favorite yarn, and join me Fiona Langtry, as I take you through my journey as a crocheter, then crochet designer, then published crochet designer!
My crochet journey has taken over 12 years so far; longer than that really, because my love of crafting goes back to my childhood (but I digress – that’s a subject for another post).
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Why should you stay?
It has taken a loooong time for me to post this welcome page. You may wonder why, and you may think this means I’m new.
Not so.
By joining me in this journey we call crochet / creativity / crafting you will be inspired, you will be encouraged and you will definitely be tempted to create more and more gorgeous items. Your family will recieve precious gifts, your friends will feel extra special because you’ve made something “just for you”, and your hands, hooks and mind will be kept busy for years to come!
EasyFit Fingered Gloves Crochet Pattern
$7.15 Add to cartInside Out Mitts – reversible fingerless gloves
$6.05 Add to cartInside Out Slouch – reversible beanie
$6.05 Add to cartTraverse My Heart Ponchette Crochet Pattern
$6.05 Add to cartPineapple Poncho Crochet Pattern – Easy and Fun
$6.60 Add to cart
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Who am I - Basic Biography
Hi! I’m Fiona (or Fi).
I live in a small town called Yass (yes, it’s a real place!), just north of Canberra, the capital of Australia.
My Family
Trevor (my husband of nearly 36 years) and I have 2 adult children, Blake, 23 and Jessica, 19, as well as 2 golden retrievers called Chanel (pictured), born in 2013 and Coco, born in 2020. Trev is just-retired, loves breeding tropical fish – particularly Killifish – pursuing his Goju-Ryu Karate training (he’s a 2nd dan black belt) and planning his camping getaways with his new “Troopie”.
Blake is attending University during the week, and working in a local coffee shop, Kaffine 2582, on the weekends. Gemma, his lovely girlfriend, compliments him well.
Jess is studying Early Childhood Education, working for an Early Learning Centre and teaching horse riding on weekends. She loves all things horses and dogs.
I Work Full-Time!
Since late June, 2023, I’ve been working full-time at Brindabella Christian College as the Accounts administrator for the Early Learning Centres attached to the school. This involves me driving to and from Canberra every weekday. I love my job, and the people are amazing.
Other Important Details:
I am a Christian. We’ve been members of our local penticostal church since 2006. I love to sing and I lead worship most weekends.
Oh, and I LOOOOVE yarn! The squishier, more uniquely colored and sensual to the touch, the better!
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Crafting Through My Life
When I was young, I learned knitting from my grandmothers. They tried, unsuccessfully, to teach me crochet, but the crafting bug got me, anyway. For many years, knitting was my craft. I made jumpers (Aussie for sweater), scarves, baby clothes and blankets.
Unfortunately, while I was a competent knitter, and I enjoyed the challenge of lacework and new patterns, I was quite slow. It was frustrating.
I took a detour starting from around 2001, when I decided to give cross-stitching a try. I picked up a “starters” magazine, progressed to more complex designs and, by 2011, I had created 2 “wildflower bouquet” pictures for my mother’s 70th birthday in November.
Bitten by the Crochet Bug
By the time her birthday arrived in November 2011, however, a new craft had “bitten” me – crochet was just starting to enter my life… A friend at my craft group asked for help making 30+ crocheted flowers, taught me the stitches, and the rest, as they say, is history!
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Why Crochet, You Ask?
The moment my friend, Jan, asked me to help her with the flowers, something sparked in my brain!
Yes, to start with, I was feeling awkward, but the ease of the shaping, and the speed I could create the stitches inspired me.
Over the next year, I played with my new craft, realising quickly that there was versatility, speed and endless possibilities in the stitches and in the shapes possible.
I started by making a few (very rough) scarves, enjoying color play, the contrast of directions, and making some very unusual creations. Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos of these early makes – many of them were sold for fundraising.
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Fast Forward... Crocheting & Designing
There have been may twists and turns in my story since that early exposure to crochet – I’ll post about all of that at a later time.
The important thing for you to know, is that for over 10 years, crochet has been my ONLY craft! I honed my skills, wrote my first pattern (thank you all those years of knitting!). I opened one, then 2 Etsy shops and self-published one (MadeforYOUbyFi.com, then a second website (this one).
I have been privileged to have my original designs published in magazines (see “In the Media” page for more details), I’ve been interviewed by Bloggers and YouTubers, and I have self-published over 90 designs.
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The Plan Going Forward
For many years I’ve put off starting a blog, because I simply didn’t know where to begin. Now that I’m dipping my foot in the water, I plan on creating posts about the following:
- Designs, past, present and new;
- Favorite yarns, crochet hooks & other tools;
- Crochet stitches – these are the glue that hold our creations together;
- Tips and Tricks – we all have our favorites – I’ll share mine & maybe yours;
- My business coaches and things I learn myself;
- Other designers – I have developed a number of close relationships, and I’ll be inviting some of these amazing creatives to write content.
How often I’ll get time and energy to write is an unknown at this point, but I’ll be aiming to post at least once a month to start with…
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How YOU Can Benefit...
Reading MY story is all very well, but YOU need to get something for your trouble.
Not only can you join my VIPs (called ReVers), receive a 20% lifetime coupon and two FREE patterns, but I’d like to offer you my very first published design, the EasyFit Beanie Crochet Pattern as a gift. Use WELCOME as the coupon code when you click the button below:
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Thank you so much for your interest, your time and for getting to know me a little.
I wish you all the best in your crocheting journey. If you have any feedback, please don’t hesitate to email me at hello@revedesignco.com
