Featured Artist - Patti Haskins

Meet Sammy, an adorable softie creation designed and crocheted by Patti Haskins. He's very huggable!

If you love dogs and cats, you'll get a kick out of Patti's Etsy shop. She has created a whole menagerie of various colored critters. There are quiet ones politely sitting, plus some "Big Mouth" ones that want your undivided attention.
She has little pillows, softies (stuffed figures), crocheted purses and fabric collages for hanging.



Visit her blog to meet her real critters, all rescue animals, like cats Ben and Betty and dog Mickey pictured here.











Patti and I are doing a collaboration series. I'm making pins from her designs, like this purple Big Mouth Cat, available in my Etsy shop. These can be custom made in colors of your choice as a pin, pendant, fridge magnet, ornament or paper weight. Just ask!








Here's what Patti had to say:
When did you learn to sew and draw?
I learned to sew in junior high officially (home ec) but my mom is a fantastic seamstress and I'm the oldest of four girls in a family that had little money so we all sewed if we wanted to have clothes to wear, no budget for new wardrobes in our house. We had quite the sewing room and stashes of fabric. We used to go Cleveland (I grew up in Youngstown, Ohio) to the Bobbie Brooks clothing factory to buy fabric from their outlet. Back in the day before there were such things as outlet malls, mind you.

My grandmother, my mom's mom, was a non-stop crocheter. She always had a hook in her hand. She didn't read patterns, she looked at the picture and figured it out. She taught me to crochet and embroider back in junior high days. She also used to make us cats, not like the ones I make, but laying down cats, lifelike size. When I started crocheting cats, it was to try to make one like hers but I got distracted with all the cool amigurumi critters I saw online and haven't got around to trying to make the laying cat yet. And I only began crocheting again about a year ago. I hadn't tried to crochet since high school. I graduated in 1974. Its been a long pause in the crocheting action.

And drawing, well, as far back as I can remember, I have always loved to draw and create and read. Never did spend a summer vacation swimming or laying in the sun or camping or any other of those typical childhood activities. I was the one laying on the porch reading or drawing or embroidering or crocheting. And I still am.


Do you sell anywhere besides Etsy?
I just now started venturing out again into the marketplace. Years ago, the day job was part-time and I did the art show circuits, at that time selling my paper mache creations.

But now I have to work full-time, mostly for health insurance for myself and the husband but the money is needed as well. And my health is not the best, I refer to myself as the disease queen. So outdoor shows with the stress and long hours and bad weather just don't work for me anymore. So I'm looking around for other possibilities.

I hope to sell what I've made so far to make room for all the items floating around in my head that I want to create!

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You can purchase Patti's items in her etsy shop!