The Kristin Omdahl Show
The Kristin Omdahl Show Ep 1177: Wanderlust, Crochet Headbands, Sea Glass Voyage Research & Happy Moments
Sep
Welcome to Episode 1177 of The Kristin Omdahl Show!
This episode is full of works in progress, new beginnings, discoveries from the archives, and one very special Happy Moment.
I’m sharing an update on my Moonlight in Miami crochet dress, showing you the finished pickleball coasters, and officially announcing a brand-new project I’ve been working on behind the scenes: the Wanderlust Mystery Crochet Along.
Then we’re diving back into my design archives for another round of Make • Modify • Move On, heading down a historical research Rabbit Hole for Sea Glass Voyage, and ending with a Happy Moment that meant more to me than my son probably realized.
What’s on My Hook: Moonlight in Miami
The Moonlight in Miami crochet dress is currently blocking!
The dress itself has come a long way, although I’m not quite finished yet—the straps still need some attention. This project has taken me through plenty of creative twists and turns already, and I’m continuing to let it evolve rather than rushing it across the finish line.
If you’ve been following its journey, you know that the crochet also inspired my Moonlight in Miami fashion illustration. I love when one creative idea spills into another medium and then comes back around again.
Pickleball Coasters: Finished!
Remember the pickleball-inspired project I’ve been working on?
The coasters are finished!
I designed these as a birthday gift, with tiny crocheted pickleball paddles and balls layered over crocheted courts. I had so much fun translating something I’ve been enjoying in my everyday life into crochet.
And yes—the patterns are coming soon!
Introducing the Wanderlust Mystery Crochet Along
I’m also very excited to finally introduce the Wanderlust Mystery Crochet Along, a five-part crochet bag project.
You know what you’re making.
You just don’t know how.
We’ll begin with a crochet motif and build the project step by step, learning different joining techniques along the way until those individual motifs become something much more interesting.
I’m also having a lot of fun with the color-planning side of Wanderlust. I’ve created several different color palettes to demonstrate how dramatically the personality of the same project can change depending on the colors you choose.
We’ll also talk about yarn weight, fiber choices for crocheted bags, choosing yarn from your stash or within your own budget, and how the way you intend to use your finished bag can influence your material choices.
This isn’t about buying one particular yarn or copying my exact colors. I want you to make Wanderlust yours.
Make • Modify • Move On: #263 — Two Crochet Headbands
It’s time for another Make • Modify • Move On, the segment where I let a random number generator choose one design from my archive of more than 1,000 knit and crochet patterns.
And would you believe it?
The random number generator sent me back to Tilli Tomas Yarns again!
This time, #263 brought up two crochet headbands.
In the episode, I talk about why smaller projects like headbands can be wonderful opportunities to practice intermediate crochet techniques. You can learn something interesting without making the commitment—in yarn, time or money—that comes with a much larger project.
And after revisiting these designs, I still like them.
The yarn company may be gone, but the designs don’t need to disappear with it. My verdict this time is MODIFY—not because I want to change the designs, but because the discontinued yarns need modern substitutions.
Better yet, I’ve pulled both patterns out of the archive and brought them back as free crochet patterns.
Rabbit Hole: Researching Sea Glass Voyage
My research Rabbit Hole this week takes us away from crochet and back into the world of my Sea Glass Soul Series.
As I continue developing Sea Glass Voyage, I’m digging into Southwest Florida history from roughly the 1900s through the 1920s and exploring what this part of Florida looked and felt like before the version of coastal Florida we recognize today.
I’m interested in the details that can make a fictional place feel as though it has a genuine past.
That means spending time with resources at local museums and libraries, looking at historical materials, and letting seemingly unrelated artifacts send me in unexpected directions.
One of those sources of inspiration has been vintage cookbooks. Food can tell us so much about a time and place—not only what people ate, but what ingredients were available, how people entertained, what was considered special, and even how communities presented themselves to visitors.
And then there’s a plant.
I’m deliberately not telling you what it is yet.
I’ve become curious about a particular plant that could potentially become a recurring theme or symbol in Sea Glass Voyage. Rather than relying entirely on photographs and research, I want to visit a local nursery and see one for myself.
I want to study its shape, leaves and texture. I want to understand how it grows. Depending on the price, I may even bring one home for my balcony garden so I can observe it over time.
Could it influence scenes in the novel? Drawings? Recipes if it produces fruit?
Maybe.
That’s exactly why I love research Rabbit Holes. Sometimes you go looking for one small detail and discover an entire creative trail you hadn’t planned on following.
I’ll take you along when I go looking for it.
Happy Moments: “I’m Proud of You”
My Happy Moment this week happened on the pickleball court with Marlon.
I’ve been working hard at getting better at pickleball partly because I want to be able to play with him. Last night we were playing together and had what I think was our best rally yet.
And afterward, Marlon told me he was proud of me.
It was such a simple comment, but it meant so much.
Here is a short video of us playing pickleball together:
There are all kinds of reasons to work at getting better at something. Sometimes the reward isn’t winning a game or mastering a skill.
Sometimes it’s getting to share something you love with someone you love—and realizing they see how hard you’re trying.
That was my Happy Moment.
Watch Episode 1177 of The Kristin Omdahl Show
This week’s episode moves from crochet projects and an upcoming mystery crochet along to forgotten designs, Florida history, fiction research, pickleball and family.
Which is exactly what I want The Kristin Omdahl Show to be: a place where all of the things that inspire us to create, share and learn can live together.
Thank you for spending this time with me.
Let us make time to create, share, and inspire today and every day.
xoxo, Kristin
About Kristin Omdahl
Kristin Omdahl is an author, designer, and lifelong maker with more than 20 years of experience creating crochet and knit patterns, books, tutorials, recipes, and creative projects. With more than 1,000 designs published worldwide, her work blends creativity, technique, curiosity, and a love of storytelling.
She is the host of The Kristin Omdahl Show, where she shares the creative process behind what she’s making, explores ideas and rabbit holes, revisits more than two decades of creative work, and finds inspiration in everything from yarn and color to recipes, math, travel, and everyday life.
Kristin is also the author of The Sea Glass Journal, a novel about creativity, self-discovery, and beginning again, set against the beauty of coastal living. Its world continues to inspire many of the recipes, patterns, projects, and stories she shares.
Explore The Kristin Omdahl Show, more than 1,000 knit and crochet patterns, tutorials, recipes, books, and more at KristinOmdahl.com.
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