Monkeys everywhere!

19 Oct Monkeys everywhere!

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of meeting Dana Bincer and her twin sister Deborah Bagley. Dana & Deborah focus on really unique crochet designs that are fun, whimsical and quirky. Over the last several months they’ve shared some of their ideas & work with me, and both have designs in the just released Love of Crochet Holiday 2012 issue.

Dana’s design is “Monkey See, Monkey Do” ~ an adorable baby set, and Deborah’s design is “Perfect Purse”~ a great idea for when you need just the essentials.

So this seemed like a good opportunity to introduce them to you – through an interview with Dana. (We’ll catch up with Deborah for an interview soon). I posed a few questions for Dana…so in her own words…I hope you’ll get to know & like her too.

 1. How long have you been crocheting and did someone teach you?

As teenagers in the late 1980’s, my grandmother taught my twin sister (Deborah) and me how to crochet . We (my sister and I) both remember catching on right away and requesting to be taught multiple stitches…in our first lesson! Our grandmother, however, wasn’t convinced that her young students were soaking in her pearls of wisdom. So she made us crochet large swatches to prove that we had our first stitch down! Within the week she had shown us the basics to crochet.

Crochet took the back burner for a number of years as I pursued the hobby of paper crafting (under the name Stamping With Princess). It wasn’t until Deborah picked up the hook again in 2010 that I gave crochet much thought. In 2011 I officially put card making on the back burner and became a committed Yarnivore.

2. How long have you been designing and how did you get started?

I’ve been designing for about a year. I started by pattern testing my sister’s patterns. Deborah and I would chat and brainstorm about things that would be fun to crochet or look nice in crochet. I couldn’t sit and wait for her to design everything, so I eventually started whipping stuff up on my own.

As a surprise, I crocheted her a bunch of monkey stuff for her baby shower this year (a portion of it was just published in Love of Crochet). My sister decorated the baby’s nursery in a jungle theme (including an 8 foot crocheted palm tree). So crocheting a Lil Monkey Set seemed the perfect gift.

3. What types of projects do you like to design?

My designs are quirky, fun and a bit random. When my sister and I started crocheting together, we decided that we wouldn’t pressure each other to produce certain types of projects or a specific number of them. We would crochet whatever peeked our interest at any given time. This allows us to have a lot of fun with crochet and I think it shows in our designs.

One day I may be inspired to crochet hats and the next a stuffed animal or a closet organizer to store winter accessories. My style is “realistic”. I accomplish that in a number of ways: 1) researching prior to starting to crochet, 2) color selection, and 3) paying attention to how crochet stitches impact the look and feel of a project.

4. Do you have as web site or other place people can see & buy your patterns?

You can find me (and Deborah) all over the internet as Yarn Twins. We’re on lots of social media sites. But it’s easiest to keep up with the latest and greatest on our blog: www.Yarnovations.com, or on Ravelry: https://www.ravelry.com/designers/yarn-twins, or on Craftsy: https://www.craftsy.com/user/640835/pattern-store.

As you can tell, Dana cares very much about her designs ~ being creative and accessible for crocheters of all skill levels. I hope you enjoy their fun & quirky designs as much as I do.

Happy Knitting (or Crocheting)! ~ Jean