Many years ago a friend brought me back a souvenir from a trip to Hawaii. I expected to receive a flowered shirt, or a lei, maybe a bag of Kona coffee…. or (fingers crossed!) a box of chocolate covered Macadamias. Nope. I was presented with a small envelope. Inside was a rectangular patch embroidered with my name. Now, in the Hawaiian language, the sounds for “d”, “r” and “s” do not exist. So the closest approximation for my name is “Kolika”, which is so exotic and falls so prettily from the tongue, huh? “Doris” is your crabby great-aunt; “Kolika” is a winsome, bewitching hula girl. 🙂
Funny, I hadn’t thought about Kolika in such a long time. But last month, when my Interweave show producer, Anne Merrow, asked me to name the exclusive sweater design for my Top Down Seamless Crochet Workshop, that lyrical little word just popped into my head, and Kolika it became.
I had the best time shooting this workshop, but have been dreading the release of the DVD. Holy Crap, do I really look like THAT??!!!! It is so embarrassing to view videos of yourself, isn’t it? Seeing yourself as others see you is a major source of cognitive dissonance; the image is somehow wrong. I imagine that’s because you are so familiar with your face in the mirror, backwards from the way the rest of the world sees you. Plus, the stylist gave me wavy hair, eyeshadow and mascara. Let’s just say that this face is more Kolika than Doris. Here’s a preview of the video. YIKES! I can’t seem to stand still. TIme to switch to decaf, huh?
Never mind. I’m going to be the only one who does not recognize the person in this DVD workshop. Otherwise, I am thrilled with the results. Top Down Seamless Crochet is a brilliant presentation of techniques, demonstrations and tips for making a Kolika that fits you. Here are some random images from the shoot:
You can get the workshop as a DVD or as a download from the Interweave Store. Enjoy!
Doris Chan Crochet 
You look great! I’m sure this class is going to be a HUGE hit!
Yes kolika
Congratulations on your video! The preview looks awesome.
Well done – and the pullover is most excellent!
It is so odd how one can look at themselves every day in the mirror and think nothing of that, but to scrutinize themselves just a few moments later in a picture or video. I am sure you will be a sensation!
Dear Doris,
I have a question about your workshop,
I would like to ask if do you show how to take the customer measurements before starting the crochet work.
Thank you ^__^
Hey Daniela, I don’t measure a body on camera. But I do talk about measurements, if that helps.
Yours,
Doris
Good morning Doris,
thank you for letting me know about it.
^__^
Hi Doris, I do hope you can help me! I have bought your lovely video tutorial as a download from Interweave. But there is no pattern with it for your wonderful top! I’ve tried to get Interweave customer services to understand what the problem is, but they just keep sending info about how to download the video. Pretty useless. The video is also no use without the Kolika pattern, so as my last hope I wonder if you might be able to send me a link to it? Otherwise I’ll have to get a refund, which would be sad. Thank you, Karen (from the UK)