Say hello to Scarlet (@Scarletskies)- our new Ribblr of the Week and the designer behind Scarlet Creations 
Tell us a little about yourself
Hi! I’m Scarlet and I am the crocheter who runs Scarlet Creations! I live in the Southern US and am an avid nature lover, I love going hiking and doing some wildlife photography along the way. But I have always liked the more cozy indoor hobbies like crafting, painting, and reading too.
When did you start crafting and how?
I technically first starting crocheting when I was around 8 or 9 because I had a friend who could and she always made the prettiest coasters so I asked her if she could teach me. Sadly I was not very good at the time and could only really chain and slip stitch, but I actually got into loom knitting and normal knitting because of it, which I was much better at. I however dropped those hobbies as I was really getting into painting, but then over a decade later I was having a lot of bee species visiting the flowers in my yard and I just had the overwhelming urge to have a bee plush and saw that I could crochet a bee and the rest was history!
And how did you start designing?
I found that I could fairly easily freehand things (bar my very first freehand, poor guy was a little disproportioned) and just started to write them down for myself. But what I would consider my first real design would be my Cherry the Tomato frog, as I could not find a pattern I liked and that was small enough to keep my attention, so I made my own! After that, I got the designing bug and just have so many ideas that I hope to bring to life one day!
Do you have a favorite craft type and if so - why?
Crochet is definitely my favorite, but I have recently picked up knitting again and have really enjoyed that process again. But I say crochet because it is very easy for me to visualize what I want to make and it honestly is a very good creative outlet for me.
What has been the most memorable project you worked on?
That’s honestly so hard to pick, but if I had to say it would probably be the matching blankets I made for me and my mom. They took so long for me to complete and they came out huge! But I loved that I could just sit with my mom and enjoy the process. She would help me pick out the colors she wanted and just the time I spent with her throughout the process just made it feel all the more special.
What are you currently working on? Be honest - how many WIP do you have right now?
Right now I have a few designs I’m working on. One is a Binturong that I just can’t seem to get right, another is a new pattern in my 4-in-1 animals series where I am making amphibians this time, and another that I haven’t even started and just have been thinking about for weeks now is a chubby Gorilla. As far as WIPs, I generally try to not keep that many, but I have two; one is a dragon I lost motivation to make about a year ago and the other is a forest goblin that I lost yarn chicken with and have yet to get new yarn.
Which of your makes/designs are you most proud of?
It’s so hard to pick one, I love all of them for many different reasons, but if I had to pick one it would probably be my 6-in-1 Forest Sprites pattern. It was so different from my norm and I really felt I was just having fun with experimenting with stitches that I don’t normally use. And that experimentation and figuring things out is one of my favorite parts of designing.
What is your usual process of designing?
I used to sketch out my ideas a lot, but I have gotten better with mental imaging to the point where I rarely have to sketch something out anymore unless it is a particularly detailed piece that I can’t visualize as well. But with my visual I try to figure out size, what I should make first, how I should make the more complicated shapes; I basically do A LOT of thinking before I ever even pick up my hook. I learn a lot from traditional, digital, ceramic, and clay artist about basic shape for anatomy, which helps me better understand and visualize how to shape my designs.
When I make my first piece it basically sets the entire size of the entire project and I just make pieces in the order that makes the most sense to me. I’m writing/typing everything down as I go and once I complete the project I decide whether it matches my vision and try again if I need to. I am normally able to get the design right on the first or second try, if not I have to take a break and learn a bit more before trying again.
What inspires you to create/design?
I draw inspiration from basically every type of art form and from nature itself. But sometimes I just see a funny video of some silly animal, like the binturong pattern I’m working on just a really funny, goofy animal that I just really want to make. But at the heart of things I’m a true nature lover and just want to be surrounded by animals so why not build an army of animals that I would love to see one day? And I also tend to get hyper-fixated on one specific animal or group of animals to the point I just have to make them at that point!
Any favorite song, book or movie you would like to recommend?
I’m a huge animation lover, so I would honestly recommend the How to Train Your Dragon series, the animation is just stunning! Some of my favorites from my childhood include Disney’s Fantasia and Make Mine Music and practically any Tim Burton and Henry Selick movie. But I love to watch any animated movie really.
What is your favorite feature on Ribblr?
I LOVE how the patterns are interactive! Just being able to cross out my rounds/rows is the best. I really don’t like to print out patterns and just having something helping me keep track of where I am in the pattern is by far my favorite thing. But as a designer, I love how easily it is for me to convert my written pattern into an interactive pattern.
Where can others find you?
The only other socials I have for my crochet is Instagram @scarletskies.creates https://www.instagram.com/scarletskies.creates/
Would you like to shout anyone out on Ribblr?
@cheerfulcoyote overall just a fantastic designer with a wonderful range of patterns!
@siphs love seeing the concepts she comes up with!
@Kitsune22 just the perfect mix of cute and detailed work!
@mayabaker love the minis, they are so quick but have the perfect amount of detail!
@Merlin1 all the animals are just so sweet!
Thanks so much for being here this week Scarlet, it’s a pleasure reading about you!
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Now I know! 
