There are so many amazing amigurumi patterns inside the upcoming ‘Friends: The One With The Crochet Book’ and a few of my absolute favourites are The Holiday Armadillo and The Chick & The Duck patterns! These were both designed by my lovely and amazing friend Chrisandra Skipper from And She Laughs Crochet, and I am so excited to share her experience with the book today!
Where to Purchase ‘Friends: The One With Crochet’ by Lee Sartori
The ‘Friends: The One With The Crochet’ Book is so special to my heart! You can read all about how it was created and learn more about our upcoming Virtual Book Tour Dates with all of the designers involved here >> https://www.cococrochetlee.com/friends-the-one-with-crochet-book/
The Pre-Order and Release Date
Before I introduce you to more of ‘Friends: The One With The Crochet’ by Lee Sartori, let me tell you about where you can purchase the book!
-The Pre-Order Campaign has officially begun, and when you purchase your pre-order through the publisher of this book, Insight Editions, you will receive a bonus pattern PDF sent to you as a free gift!
You can also purchase the book on Amazon here >>
The book officially releases on April 25th, 2023, so there is plenty of time to secure your copy with a pre-order.
Interviewing Crochet Designer Chrisandra Skipper
I have been so grateful to be able to work with so many amazing designers for the ‘Friends: The One With The Crochet’ project, and it was so fitting due to the subject that many of them are my dear and talented friends! Chrisandra and I have been friends for a few years now and we used to live in the same city back in Ontario! Sadly I moved away to another province in Canada just over a year ago, and I miss her terribly! Luckily we were able to remain in touch throughout this project, and it has been so fun to see it finally get to the point that the book is releasing soon!
Chrisandra designed the amazing amigurumi The Holiday Armadillo and The Chick & The Duck, and they are all so sweet and adorable! Big thank you to Chrisandra once again for joining me for this book, and for bringing so much joy and talent to the team!
Here is our interview for our Virtual Book Tour, but before you dive in, be sure to follow Chrisandra on her social media on Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, and her Blog!
1). Can you tell me about how you became part of the Friends Crochet Book, and any experiences/thoughts/feelings you had at joining the book?
I don’t know if there is anything more exciting than being part of the Friends Crochet
Book with my crochet friends.
Lee and I are real-life friends and bonded over crochet. Can I gush about our friendship here? It’s hard to make friends as adults, that’s no secret. But it didn’t take much for Lee and I to connect. We had many a coffee date chatting about crochet and family and life. So, when she asked if I wanted to design something for the book I actually couldn’t believe it.
There are so many other contributors to the book that I talk with on a regular basis and
the fact that we could work together on this project makes me so happy. Not only that, I
love Friends and these designs were fun to make.
2). Describe your design and its inspiration in relation to the Show.
I am a Monica who found her Chandler. So while I love all of the characters, I look at a lot of the show through that lens. I think The Chick and The Duck are the perfect symbols for Chandler’s fun-loving, easy-going personality. Such a balance to Monica! Growing up with Friends, the fact that Chandler and Joey had these pet birds was what I thought adulthood was going to be like. Adults can do anything, like have a chick and duck as a pet in the city. So, these were so fun and sort of sentimental to make!
The Holiday Armadillo is such a classic on Friends and the fact that I could create the crochet version was an honour! (And come on, how could you not fall in love with Ross after that parenting win!) I worked really hard trying to use the actual costume as my inspiration for the armadillo and get those shapes and ridges to come through in the design. And as I strung the lights around him I was so proud of this design I’d made of this classic character!
3). How did you approach your design? Was there anything you found fun or exciting about the design process?
For the Holiday Armadillo, there are a lot of images of real armadillos, toy armadillos and I looked at those for inspiration, but I wanted to try to capture the vibe of Ross’ Holiday Armadillo! The biggest thing is I wanted him to stand up/sit on it’s bottom rather that on all four legs. Ross doesn’t crawl, he walks so it’s an upright armadillo and that was important for me to capture. It was also super fun to get all kinds of dimension and texture in the shell and head and tail.
4). Are you a fan of the Friends TV Show? What are some of your favourite memories or moments?
I love Friends. I’ve watched it over and over. It’s probably the show I’ve rewatched most. It really is my comfort show. I was a teenager when it was airing and the characters on Friends were what I envisioned adulthood to be like. I didn’t watch the whole series until I was in my 20s. I love the Thanksgiving episodes the most! I do see myself as a Monica and I think my husband is a Chandler!
5). If you could make any other design from the book, which would you make first? Why?
If I have to pick one, it’s “The Front Door” cardigan. I think it’s a super creative design with the simplicity of the cardigan with the pop of those pockets. It makes me happy. Close runners-up are the Girls sweater and Marcel!
Pattern Support
Because this book will be distributed and sold worldwide, the designers and Author of ‘Friends: The One With The Crochet’ will not be available for the high volume of pattern support questions related to each of the designs inside the book. If you have a pattern question, please do not contact the designers directly, but rather contact the Publishers at info@insighteditions.com – and they will be happy to help you. If needed, the Publishers will contact the designers directly on your behalf. Thank you for your understanding!
Thank you so much for your support of ‘Friends: The One With Crochet’ by Lee Sartori. I am so thrilled that this book is out there for you to enjoy! If you make anything, please tag me on Instagram at @coco.crochet.lee and use the hashtag #friendscrochetbook and #friendstheonewithcrochetbook so we can see your beautiful makes!
