Megan Lapp’s Stories, Lessons & Insights

Megan Lapp shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Megan, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: When was the last time you felt true joy?
Yesterday! My daughter turned 13 years old, and we hosted a small sleep over birthday party with just a couple of friends in our home. It’s been a struggle the last handful of years to have friends come into our home, because I am immunosuppressed and my family takes the job of protecting me very seriously. So to be able to be on a good medication, proved to be in remission from Crohn’s disease, and invite some young teens into our home was an absolute joy. They had dinner, we went to a craft store together, I surprised them with a night-time scavenger hunt in the (very safe) park by our house, and celebrated with ice cream cake (my daughter’s favorite).

I accomplished everything I set out to accomplish – my daughter was beaming with happiness, her friends got to know us a bit better and felt safe and comfortable here, and they had a brilliant, giggling, happy time where hopefully they’ll have those memories for a very very long time. My heart was so full of joy watching them laugh together. It’s borderline selfish – the way I soaked up every single drop of their joy and made it my own.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Megan Lapp, I am a crochet pattern designer and author! My work stands out because I mostly publish patterns for soft sculptural creatures! Though I’m unpredictable, and do branch out into odd new designs when the mood strikes me! My patterns are unique because I often give people multiple/many choices as they follow the pattern. They get to make creative choices, and I love empowering people to embrace their creativity as they crochet. Again, it’s borderline selfish because I get such joy from seeing what people create from my patterns and deeply appreciate getting a glimpse into all of these wells of thoughtful, artful, beautiful people.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
I believed that I would never be able to pay for a life by being an artist. I believed that, even though I had a constant never ceasing drive to create art, that it wouldn’t lead me to a sustainable place to support my life, let alone a family.

I’m still not quite sure how I got here, but I AM able to do that – despite my illnesses, and more. It’s a challenge, it’s not without drawbacks, but I am an artist. And I do support my family with my work. And so I know that that belief I held, as a child, was a lie.

Is there something you miss that no one else knows about?
I miss the tools I’ve come to know and love and rely on. I used to use a “Diva Ring Light”, it was large and in charge, it had the perfect timbre of light, and adjustable brightness. I would bend it to lean over the table in front of me as I work, and it did a great job of eliminating shadows and allowing me to get really clear photos of step by step crochet pattern instructions. Unfortunately, they don’t make them anymore! I bought several second hand or used, and I got by like that for the last 3-4 years… but I’ve run out of bulbs for them, and now I need to find a new light that will work for me, but I feel curmudgeonly about it.

I have the same thing with my crochet hooks, the wire I used for a long time inside of soft sculptures, and don’t even get me started on yarn. It’s hard to believe that I am not cursed. Every time I find a yarn I really love, I use it for a big project and then it becomes discontinued. My friends joke about it even now. There was this truly beautiful gold yarn that I used for many projects and still get questioned about on an almost weekly basis, but it has since been discontinued and it is such a bummer to tell people that yes, I used it, but no, they can’t — unless they want to dive through E-bay or Ravelry Stash or Etsy to try to find an obscure single skein listed for sale somewhere second-hand.

I wish I could gather up all of those favorite yarns and make my own yarn brand/label!

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes and no! I am as authentically myself as possible, while keeping my family safe and relatively private. My kids are my life, and while my daughter occasionally models for me, it is something I am thoughtful and careful about. I have no desire for them to be put on display, or to be known by the public.

Other than that – yes! This is me. Friendly. Helpful. As Kind as I can muster. Extremely detail oriented – possibly to a fault, perfectionist, creative, introverted!

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. If immortality were real, what would you build?
If immortality were real, I would build a library of published patterns that would rival Ravelry’s entire archive.

The door in my head behind which creatures roam is so loud sometimes, and I can tell the well is so deep in there that even though I’m only 41, there is not enough time for me to write everything I want to write. If I had the time? I would write forever.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.craftyintentions.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/craftyintentions/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CraftyIntent
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CraftyIntentions
• Other: Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CraftyIntentions
  Ravelry: https://www.ravelry.com/designers/megan-lapp

Image Credits
Lauren Lewis