About the Designer

Gwen Buttke McGannon

My grandmother taught me how to knit and crochet when I was in grade school. It was a tricky way to learn as I am left-handed and she was right-handed. Right away I enjoyed crochet more, and I created some clothes for my Barbie and a pencil pouch that I used for many years. I did not crochet or knit again until I was in college and was reintroduced to both crafts. I fell in love with crochet all over again! I enjoy exploring all the many facets of crochet, from lace to Tunisian and everything else in between. My love for crocheting with thread blossomed as I started making hair clips and ponytail holders for my daughter, then for my Etsy shop, gwengoods. I love making beautiful accessories. I crochet every day, and when leaving home I always have something to work on as I may find time to crochet a few stitches here and there, anywhere. I love exploring all the infinite possibilities within the art of crochet, and don’t think I will ever grow tired of trying new techniques and creating new designs. I love creating multicolored motifs that incorporate joins worked as you crochet, as it creates a flawless look. In creating the motifs for the Elvia Shawl, I thought it would be fun to have a special cluster stitch repeat within the different rounds. When I am making many motifs for a project, I start with the first color and crochet all the motifs through the final round in that color, then I continue with the second color and any remaining colors in the same way. It makes it easy to ensure all motifs are turning out the same, and a side benefit is that you can usually memorize the rounds crocheted in each color so the work goes quickly. Also, I can pack my project bag with the current color and crochet on the go!