The ‘Hooks & Books’ Part of Me

Hi everyone! My name is Lee Mac and the lovely Karin (Naelany -_^) has kindly asked if I would like to write a guest post for her wonderful blog and HECK YEAH I WOULD -_^!

I run the website http://totallee.net which is largely dedicated to sharing my love of crocheted portraits and recently, my love of reading.
Back in December of 2008, I stumbled upon the work of Todd Paschall via his website, crochetbynumbers.com and INSTANTLY fell in love! I had only ever attempted simple crochet projects familiar to beginners (e.g. granny squares, basic amigurumi, etc) but as soon as I saw that there was a way to crochet realistic portraits, I knew I had to give it a try! After ordering my first few patterns from Todd and after learning the cut and tie method from him, I set out to find a way to generate my own patterns and my god… the list of projects to crochet has been steadily stretching sky-high ever since 🙂

I am most inspired by film, music, television and most recently by books! Any character or actor or musician that I feel a wave of love for tends to inspire my hook to get moving!

Recently, my love of reading has been reignited and in turn has influenced my crochet. Just recently I started a little challenge/series over on my youtube channel  called “Hooked From a Book”, in which I set out to crochet something inspired by the books that I have read over the course of a month. I say month, but I think it has stretched a little -_^)

For instance, I recently read the much-acclaimed, “Van Gogh: The Life,” by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith and was moved to create my interpretation of one of Vincent’s most beloved works, “The Starry Night.”

I enjoyed bringing this piece to life so much, that it has inspired me to try my hand at another of Van Gogh’s masterworks in the near future!

• what are you currently reading (not limited to books; fanfiction also welcome)

I currently have two books on the go! “Cold Comfort Farm” by Stella Gibbons (which I am getting a good chuckle from) and the infamous “Don Quixote” by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (which is causing me to giggle and snort very loudly on public transport… much to the delight of my fellow passengers no doubt…)

•  what is your favorite story/book?

Oh my goodness…. Karin…. How could you?!?! The “choose your favourite child” question!!! Naturally I have many and they are favourites for many different reasons. However, I did read “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde for the first time last year and my god it blew my mind. The brilliant writing, the wit, the characters, the themes, the moral questions posed, ugh! Just. So. Perfect!

On the flip-side, “Mr. Nosey” from the Mr. Men and Little Miss series by Roger Hargreaves has also received 5 stars from me. I’m nothing but eclectic in my reading tastes.

If you would like to keep an eye on what escapes from my hook in the future or maybe give it a whirl yourself, please feel free to stop by http://totallee.net and say hello!

Many thanks to Karin for this opportunity <3!! xox