Blog Interview - 'Anastacia Knits' and 'Yarn and Pattern Give Away'

Having recently discovered Anastacia's Designs and her donating the 'Lantern Scarf Pattern' for 

My latest 'Give Away',

 I thought it would be great if we all got to know Anastacia and her work a little better.  Anastacia kindly agreed to subject herself to a 'Blog Interview'.  I have also decided to increase the Prize for the 'Give Away' to include enough Yarn for you to make the scarf.  (That way if you do not Crochet, even though you really should learn, you can put this pretty yarn to good use).  To enter the 'Give Away' Just leave your comment stating which of Anastacia's Designs is your favourite.  I would be delighted if you leave a link to me on your Blog directing your Blog Buddies to the 'Give Away'.  Just let me know where you have left your link and I will enter your name twice into the draw.  
You could win the pattern for 'The Lantern Scarf' and 100g of Yarn to enable you to make it.  Good Luck!  
Leave your Comment by the 17th of November and the winner will be drawn on the 18th of November.

I would describe you as a Veteran Blogger and Knitting and Crochet designer. How would you describe yourself?

I’d definitely describe myself as a crazy cat lady, seriously! I crocheted 131 cat blankets this year in memory of our beloved cat, Zorro - one for each month he lived with us. That’s 131 cat blankets in less than 10 months time, & I actually miscounted somewhere along the way & ended up with over 150. That’s crazy!

I know you have numerous designs available. How many have you got to date and where can people find them? 

I currently have 62 designs, including one sock pattern in the Lion Brand book, Just Socks. They all can be found on Ravelry here Ravelry Designers - Anastacia-Zittel & most of them are also available through my website, Anastaciaknits.net & a few weeks after release to Ravelry I also sell my paid patterns on Etsy.

How long have you been knitting and crocheting and who taught you? 

Great question, I always love hearing about this from other crafters! 
I was taught to crochet mainly by my Mom & her Mom, but my Dad & his mother also crochet (though as far as I know, my father only crocheted one afghan, which I own). I don’t remember how old I was, but I do remember being 14 & wanting a new afghan for my bedroom & no one would make me one.  So I went to the store, bought yarn & crocheted myself one. My gauge drastically changed throughout the afghan, so one side is about a foot & a half wider then the other! Right after that, I made my mother teach me how to read patterns, & my first pattern was a granny square pillow. My grandmother started giving me her old vintage patterns, & an obsession was born!

I learned how to knit from a beloved church friend, a lady who was actually closer in age to my parents then me, but somehow was my friend & not theirs. It didn’t really stick; at the time, I didn’t know there were different methods of knitting. She knit American, so that’s what she taught me. Years later, I picked up dpns & sock yarn at a lys, not having any idea really how to make socks, & I just couldn’t figure it out. I kept trying, & finally I started knitting. After about a month, I realized I was twisting my stitches, & figured out how to stop twisting my stitches. A couple of years later, I learned that what I had figured out on my own is a weird variant of combo knitting, that Annie Modesitt made famous. It’s not quite how I knit, but close.

What are your most popular three designs to date?

Dudley Do Wright is definitely my most popular paid pattern, by far.

My most popular patterns overall are my York Shawlette

My Ocean Tranquility Afghan 

 & believe it or not, a very simple dishcloth pattern that was one of my earliest designs, that I call Beginner’s Dishcloth.  It’s been used to teach beginner crocheters many times by different groups & charities, so I’m so pleased with this little design!

What is your personal favourite design?

I still really love my first ever self published paid design, though I wish I had thought of a better name for it, my 'Half Circle Shawl with Scalloped Edging'. It still sells well, and because of the success of that first pattern, I kept designing. I think of all the people & friends I wouldn’t have met, if that first design hadn’t done well.

 How would you describe your income from selling your designs?

ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!! That’s SO funny!

Seriously - I’m averaging about a sale a day, between Ravelry & Etsy. That’s enough to keep me advertising on Ravelry, covers my Rav fees & my etsy fees, & gives me enough money to pay my tech editor for the next couple of patterns. I’m not getting rich by any means! But a year ago, I was selling 3 patterns a month, so I’m really happy with how well I am doing. There’s a lot for me to learn, still, but I’m really pleased with how far I’ve come in a year.

Where would you like to see yourself, regarding your design work in five years time? 

I’m hoping to get published in a book or a magazine in the next year/18 months, but self-publishing works really well for me because I don’t do deadlines well! I’d really love to start selling my patterns in LYS (besides the program through Ravelry) & I really want to become a certified crochet teacher & start teaching using some of my designs. If I really want to talk crazy, I’d love to work at an LYS full time, teaching classes part time, & fitting in design work every other waking hour. It’s a madness, I tell ya!

How long have you been blogging? In your Recent 'Blog Tag' Post you said that this Beginners Dishcloth Pattern has had 5000 hits this month!

LOL Off & on since 2000, actually. I always kept a personal diary, and a friend introduced me to livejournal in 2000, the same year I got married. That was pretty much a personal thing. I started a blogspot craft journal maybe a year after that, but deleted it after a year because I was bored, & went back to livejournal & posted some craft stuff there, mainly things I was really proud of. At the time, I still had dreams of being a writer, though I crocheted all the time, so my blogging was more about writing then crafting at the time. Around 2005, I started a blogspot blog again, started writing up my earliest designs, & I’ve pretty much continuously craft blogged since then, though I’ve switched up the names & the formats over the years. My archives only go back to January 2007, all the other stuff has been lost over the years.