My name is Deb. I am crafty. So I guess you can call me CraftyDeb.

My real name is Deb Richey. You may not recognize my name, but you probably recognize my style. My designs have been published in every major crochet magazine (I think). Mary Maxim has carried my afghan patterns. I have been a free pattern pull in the yarn department. I still have yet to be a yarn label but I hope to get that privilege soon. I have also been published in a knitting magazine or two, as well.

My first love in crafting is crochet, although I also sew and machine-knit - I always seem to end up with a hook in my hand.

I love to create stuffed things the most. They're being called Amigurumi now. Call it what you like: It's crocheted. It's stuffed. It's fun! There's just something cool about creating a 3D object out of a piece of yarn... and it's funny, too - most critters (even the biggies like I tend to favor) take less time to make than a baby blanket. Bring a blanket to a baby shower and everyone says "nice blanket" but bring a stuffed critter and you'll be the talk of the day! Forget the pregnant lady sitting in the corner looking ridiculous with bows stuck all over her -- it's all about the stuffed critter. People are amazed by them. That's all there is to it.

I'm married and I have two young boys and a toy poodle. A lot of what I design is because they ask me to - okay, I admit that the dog doesn't ask me to crochet things for him, but he does like wearing a dog coat that I designed for Caron International. Granted, we live in The South so he doesn't need to wear coats very often, but when he does it is hard to get him to take them off! My boys tell me things they want me to create, and I do so happily. I am just ecstatic that they ask me to craft for them. There will probably come a day when they will not want that happening, so I will take what I can get when I can get it!

I have been crocheting for a long time. I have been designing for quite awhile, too. I learned to crochet when I was 18 - right before I joined the Air Force and got shipped out to Germany. My mother taught me three things - how to make a chain, a single crochet and a double crochet. So off I go to Germany in 1986, armed with a dull hook and a cheap skein of worsted weight yarn. I was a meteorologist in the service. No, I didn't get to actually predict the weather - just look at it. I worked a night shift, and had to make weather observations every 20 minutes, all night long. There was only one American TV station there, and it went off the air at midnight, so I would crochet to keep myself from falling asleep. The first thing I ever made was a blanket - just stripes and double crochets over and over again... row after row after row of double crochets. It took me about 20 minutes to get from one side to the other so that blanket (which I still have) was a good clock: At the end of each row I'd make an observation. Lo and behold - I can now make one mean double crochet! I cringe at the thought of the actual number of stitches in that blanket. It covers a queen sized bed comfortably! I eventually left the Air Force, but I returned home with the knowledge and skill that would eventually lead me to creating this web site.

My husband says I have to make an About Me page - so here it is!

I do take requests - so if you want something, just drop me a line. There is a good possibility that I will design it. You don't know until you ask!

To see more of my designs that have appeared online or in magazines, checkout my Publications page. If you find any more, let me know and I'll add them to the list!