Just Be Happy - Design Wars Heads Up!

Many of you already know me, but just in case you don't, I am going to tell you a little bit about myself. :)

I am Alessandra Hayden, the crochet addict behind "Just Be Happy Crochet". I am a mom of two adorable and full of energy kids, a boy (5 years old) and a sassy girl (almost 3 years old). I was born and raised in Brazil, but after college I came to the US in an exchange program and met the man of my dreams. I never thought I'd end up living abroad, but that man was persistent and after several trips to Brazil, we ended up getting married. We live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with our kids and 12 year old dog.

I learned to crochet from my grandma when I was 8 years old using a very tiny crochet hook and silk thread, I abandoned in middle school, but picked it back up in high school when I started making garments for myself. 

In 2008 after delivering my stillborn baby boy, Alex, I started crocheting frantically to keep my fingers and mind busy, which led me to open my shop. People liked my designs and started asking for my patterns, so I started writing them! 

In 2010 I self published a pattern book called "Just Be Happy - Crochet Hats for Babies and Toddlers" and since then I fortunately have had my patterns in several publications, if you are interested, you can read more about that by clicking here.

I am so thrilled to be part of the "Heads Up!" round of Design Wars Challenge! This is my 6th round and I must say that I still feel the same excitement and anxiety. The designing team competing is very strong, these ladies are brilliant! Here is the list of designers competing in this round, in case you want to check out their work:

- Susan Carlson -  Felted Button

- Jennifer Pionk - A Crocheted Simplicity

- Pam Dajczak -  Sincerely Pam

- Viktoria Gogolak -  CrocheTrend

- Carolina Guzman - One and Two Company

- Crystal Bulcholz - Crystalized Designs

- Salena Baca - Baca Creations

- Tara Murrary - Mamachee* Crochet makes me happy!

and yours truly, Alessandra Hayden - Just Be Happy Patterns

As you can see, I have chosen a very colorful color scheme for my design. Heads Up is bright, it's soft and a lot of fun to work with! I have used up every single inch of the yarn I received from Red Heart Yarns, seriously, I don't even half one skein left or half skein for that matter... lol

If you are not family with Design Wars, visit www.designwarschallenge.com and you will be happy you did! There are lots of free crochet patterns, interviews with crochet super stars and much more!

Happy Crocheting!