Landing my first-ever book deal was both thrilling and terrifying. To be honest, when I first received an email from an Acquisitions Editor at Rockridge Press last summer, I nearly hit delete without reading it. Then I paused and thought, “Wait, this doesn’t look like a normal marketing spam email. I should read this.” And sure enough, it was legit – they had found my work and wanted me to write a beginner Amigurumi book! 

Last Fall passed in a blur of non-stop crocheting, hours of YouTube videos (rental-friendly apartment hacks became my new obsession for a few weeks there), and quite a few trips to the physiotherapist to manage the tendonitis in my wrists. In September, one week before I was due to start work on the book, my wonderful grandmother passed away. It wasn’t a surprise, she was 94 and had lived a full and wonderful life, but she had always been such a presence in my life that it was hard to say goodbye. Perhaps starting the book so soon after was a blessing in some regards, giving me something to focus my energies on – especially knowing how excited she had been for my book.

Grandma taught me to crochet on Christmas Day of 2011 – or at least, she tried. At one point I threw my hook across the room, I was so frustrated with myself! And bear in mind, I was a fully grown adult, not a child… I got there in the end, though, and she was always one of my biggest fans. She saw a couple of prototype dolls and drawings for the book, but I wish I could show her the finished product. I know how proud she would be, and this book is dedicated to her.

So thank you, Grandma, for patiently showing me how to hold my hook and make a basic single crochet in spite of my frustration. I still wrap my yarn and hook my hook the way she taught me that Christmas Day over ten years ago, so clearly something stuck!

And thank you to everyone else who has been a part of my crochet journey these past 10+ years, and who has supported me as I developed my business and wrote my first book. Friends, family, the crochet community… I couldn’t have done it without you all! <3

Lots of love,

– Julia