Say hello to Kelven (@kelvencrochets) the designer behind Kelven Crochets, and our Ribblr of the week!
Hey! Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a 22-year-old medical student, and I crochet on the side to not lose my mind. I love everything related to medicine, psychology, and (partly) computer science. As you can probably tell, none of these require much artistic insight or creativity so I was surprised when I started a craft that needs a lot of that. I still sometimes struggle to come up with a design or to finalize plushies (nobody talks about how frustrating designing a plushie’s face is!) but I try to not put too much pressure on myself and enjoy the process 
When did you start crafting and how?
I started crocheting in January 2021 when my entire family had COVID and I had to isolate for 2 weeks 
I found a 3.5mm hook and black yarn and made the ugliest crocheted cat you could possibly imagine (I love her tho)
And how did you start designing?
It happened almost without planning; I made a design I liked (my free Kenny the pumpkin frog pattern) and worked on the pattern. After the release I was like “wait did I really just release a pattern?” and I’ve been designing plushies ever since
Do you have a favorite craft type and if so - why?
My favorite craft type is crocheting plushies. I love having a concept in mind/on paper and seeing it come to life as an amigurumi. However I have been interested in crocheting garments recently 
maybe this will be my next era.
What was the longest project you worked on?
I crocheted the Starboy coat (Howl’s iconic coat from Howl’s moving castle) by @reclamare.ph on Instagram and it took me a good 3 months of working on and off on it 
My longest amigurumi project was a fluffy bear wearing an intarsia sky jacket; it took me a full week and was definitely the hardest thing I’ve made. You can check it out on my Instagram page!
And the shortest one? (excluding frogging!)
I occasionally do @crochetbucket 's (on instagram) free frog pattern as freebies or just for fun. It’s a 20-minute project and you get an adorable squishable frog/stress ball!
What are you currently working on? Be honest - how many WIP do you have right now? 
I would rather not say how many WIPs I currently have, but they’re definitely more than 10 
But my main project now is a frog which I hope to release the pattern for in the next month (here on Ribblr).
Which of your makes/designs are you most proud of?
I’m very proud of my Daisy Drog I did back in June. I used @fibres_of_whimsy 's adorable Drog the Frog pattern and made him sit on a big daisy. I love that it’s a simple yet cute design
What is your usual process of designing?
I start with a sketch I made myself or a drawing I found online that inspired me; this is very important as without a reference picture it’s very hard for me to apply what’s in my mind. Then I start crocheting and write down every step of the process. I change the pattern and completely restart my work at least a dozen times, but with many trials and error I finally get a plushie I’m satisfied with
What inspires you to create/design?
It can be the most random thing ever, I sometimes see potential amigurumi shapes in the farthest things from amigurumis possible, like shadows or rocks… But most of the time seeing artists’ work is what pushes me to come up with new ideas.
Any favorite song, book or movie you would like to recommend?
The last book I read before starting med school was The Song of Achilles and I can’t recommend it enough
Care to share a funny story that happened to you recently?
I started crocheting a bag recently and after doing 30+ rows i realized it was too big and decided to repeat it. I originally had 80 stitches per row and decided to remove 5 stitches from either side (so 10 stitches less in total). I repeated it but with… 60 stitches instead of 70 
10 rows in i was like wait a minute… so the bag will be staying in my WIPs for the next 3 years.
Oh no! We can’t feel the pain the frogging pain!
We’d love to know - what is your favorite feature on Ribblr?
This might sound silly but I absolutely love how easy it is to add patterns. As someone who stresses over designing things, I really appreciate the fact that I can simply copy a pattern I have in my notes app to Ribblr and have everything immediately setup with barely any effort! I also love the fact that you can cross out rows of the pattern as you finish them; this guarantees that you don’t accidentally repeat the same row (something I often do) and helps you keep track of where you’re at in the pattern in case you forget (something I also very often do).
Awesome! And finally, pay it forward - your shoutout to a fellow Ribblr
One of my favorite crocheters and friends I’ve met is @tinybunnycrochet Tinny is a great crocheter and designer (check out her patterns!) as well as a very funny person.
Thank you so much for sharing! 
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