Crochet has truly been a life line for me. It has brought me so much happiness over the years and recently I have met someone who has inspired me to use my crochet to share happiness with others. Join us on our 30 Day Happy Flower Challenge to plant happiness with crochet flowers.
The Inspiration
Just a few weeks ago a learned Olivia Fletcher’s story. She is a 22 year old girl that used crochet to overcome her depression and give herself something productive to focus on.
Crochet brought so much joy to Olivia’s life and she saw so much negativity in the everyday world that she wanted to do something about it. She challenged herself to make 100 flowers and leave them for people to find in hopes it would bring them a little joy. On each flower was a tag that said that they were allowed to take the flower home and she hoped it would make them smile. Now many other crocheters are following Olivia’s example.
Her idea was so simple and so inspiring. Inspired by her actions Cheryl from Crochet 365 Knit Too, Jessica from Stitching Together, Amanda from Love Life Yarn and myself decided we wanted to do our part and full the crochet movement by sharing the idea with our readers. To do this we thought we would create a 30 day Happy Flower Challenge. Plus during the challenge we will each release a new crochet flower pattern to help you complete the challenge.
The Happy Flower Project Challenge
These “Happy Flowers” are similar to the painted rocks that are left in park to be found by others. I find several of these when I am walking at my local water bird preserve. I have wanted to learn to make these rocks, but I have to be honest, I am a crocheter not a painter.
These flowers are our way to spread a little love and happiness in our communities. They will also help you clear out your yarn stash a bit. So, win-win!
What we are challenging you to do, is crochet up 30 flowers and through October 1st – October 30th, leave a flower in a random place to be found. Also share your pictures of your flowers in the Facebook Group or on my Facebook Page using the #happyflowerproject2019 . I will also be sharing my 30 flowers on Instagram @happyflowerproject and using the same hashtag as above.
Plus if you are a newsletter subscriber you can check out the Printable Resource Page to get printable Tags for this Project. I have both blank tags and filled out tags for your convenience.
A new flower pattern will be released each week.
Week 1: Winding Road Crochet – Happy Sunflower Pattern
Week 2: October 9th – Crochet 365 Knit Too
Week 3: October 16th – Love Life Yarn
Week 4: October 23rd – Stitching Together
Sounds easy enough? If you can’t crochet all 30 flowers, that is fine. Just make as many as you can. The idea is to get this little movement moving. Keep reading to learn more best practices, plus a round up of several flowers patterns at the end of this post.
2 Reasons to Get Involved
Just really quick I thought I would share the two reasons I think spreading Happy flowers is a great idea.
Reason 1:
First this world is full of negativity. I feel it everyday and I bet you do too. You may be having a fantastic day, then someone cuts you off, says something rude, or something else that just ruins your mood.
Imagine finding a crochet flower that was made and left just to bring you a little happiness. That can really turn around your day. I believe when people are happy they are more likely to be kind, forgiving, and patient. We need more kind, forgiving and patient people in the world. So let’s spread the joy with our little flowers.
Reason 2:
When I was young, I found a bag full of crochet hooks, little balls of yarn and a few granny squares hanging on my mom’s antique spinning wheel. They had belonged to my grandmother who had passed away when I was little. It was finding those granny squares that inspired me to start crocheting.
By spreading your Happy Flowers you may inspire someone else to learn to crochet. When you do this you will be providing them with a powerful skill. Crocheting is a skill that has helped several people overcome grief and depression. It can provide joy, a sense of accomplishment, and a sense of worth. A Happy Flower can be that start of all that.
Happy Flower Best Practices
In order to make this a fun inspiring event. I thought I would share a few best practices.
1. Leave your flowers in a noticeable location so they can be found in the next few hours. (Especially if left outside.)
2. Only leave one or two flowers at a single location. (Spread the love.)
3. If the weather is bad leave the flowers indoors.
4. Do not place a flower into someone purse. (If you want to give it to a specific person, just hand it to them. They may miss interpret what you are doing if you try and reach into their bag.)
5. Personal safety is also very important. Several crocheters have expressed the desire for the ‘flower finder’ to be able to contact them. If you wish to do this, then I recommend making a special Instagram account, or email address specifically for being contacted. You can write your Instagram tag or email address on you flower tags. Just make sure your Instagram tag or the email address does not include your full name or too much personal information.
I think that is it. If you have any other best practices leave them in the comments below.
Tons and Tons of Flowers
To make this project as easy as possible, I thought I would round up several free crochet flower patterns. Check out the photos below for flowers that inspire you. You will find their links beneath the photo. Please note that some flowers are part of larger projects.
1. Flower Shoulder Bag 2. Golden Trumpet Flower 3. Crochet Flower Crown 4. Five Petal Flower
5. April Flowers Headband 6. Simple Flower Pattern 7. Small Flower 8. Poppies Crochet Headband
9. Pretty Flower 10. Carnation Flower 11. Twisted Loop Flower 12. Sunflower
13. Rainbow Flower 14. Frilly Flower 15. Simple Rosettes 16. Easter Lily
17. 70’s Flower 18. Sweet Daisy 19. Cherry Blossom 20. Flower Squared
21. Black Eyed Susan 22. Free Flower 23. Flower Coaster 24. Spring Flower Coaster
25. Loop Flower 26. Bobble Flower 27. Dahlia Flower 28. Sunflower
Hopefully that is enough to get you started for this Happy Flower Project!
Keep an eye out for the new flower patterns that will be released during the event.
Let’s Be Friends
Want to know what I am making next? Follow me on Instagram @windingroadcrochet to see sneak peeks of what I am up to and to be notified of when I release new free patterns. You can also follow me on Pinterest and Facebook. Join our facebook group Our Crochet Journey and be a part of our community. Share, photos, ask for help and be inspired all in one place!
Written pattern, tutorials, photos, graphs and pdfs of the Happy Flower Project are copyright Windingroadcrochet.com. Please do not reprint or repost this content as your own, but please feel free to share this link with others. You can find more information on sharing my work with others in the Terms and Conditions Page.
